Opposite Cairo, across the Nile river, lies the most famous architectural wonder of the world — the Great Pyramid at Gizeh. It is still the world's most massive building. For 3500 years it was also the world's tallest building. It is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world which still remains. At the true entrance to the Great Pyramid may be seen the hieroglyphic carving containing the name of the builder of this architectural masterpiece. His name is spelled Khufu by modern writers. The Greeks spelled his name Cheops today. That is why the Pyramid is often called the Pyramid of Cheops today. Who was Cheops? Consider the name itself. The ancient Greeks, in using the name Cheops, pronounced the letters "ch" almost as if they were an "h". In German, Job is called "hiob". The final "b" is pronounced as if it were a "p" much as the ancient Greeks did. Plainly, Cheops is but an altered pronunciation of the name Job!
Cheops Was Job
Dr. Hoeh has found numerous proofs that Cheops and Job were one and the same person. These proofs were published in the May, 1964, Plain Truth in the article, "Who Built the Great Pyramid?" As a prelude to a discussion of Job and Dynasty IV. They should be summarized here. It is clear that Cheops was not an Egyptian. The Egyptians themselves admit this fact. Proof of this comes from two famous historians. Manetho and Herodotus. Manetho wrote that Khufu — "was of a DIFFERENT RACE" from the Egyptians ("Wathen's Arts and Antiquities of Egypt", p. 54). Herodotus states that the builders of the Great Pyramid were SHEPHERDS (book II. Section 128). The Egyptians hated this occupation. They hired others to tend their cattle and sheep. The Bible makes this plain in Gen. 46:31-34 where it is recorded that "every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians." Yet Khufu, or Cheops, the builder of the Great Pyramid, was a shepherd. The answer is obvious. Cheops was an Israelite. The Israelites brought vast herds of cattle and sheep to Egypt with them in 1726. As we saw in the previous chapters they contracted, through Joseph, to care for the Pharaoh's cattle. What did Cheops look like? It is possible to know. A damaged but unbroken ivory statuette of him has been found at Abydos, Egypt. This is the only statue of Cheops that has ever been found. It shows that his facial features were distinctly non-Egyptian. Here is added proof of Cheops being of Israelitish ancestry. Further proof of Cheop's true identity as Job concerns his religion. Cheops was not an idolater. He was not a Polytheist. He was a worshipper of the true God. Herodotus, in Book II of his History, section 124, wrote, "Cheops closed the temples and prohibited the Egyptians from offering sacrifices." Not only did Cheops worship the true God, he also wrote Scripture. Listen to what Manetho, the Egyptian historian, wrote of Cheops: "He was arrogant toward the gods, but repented and wrote the Sacred Book 268, and Budge's "Egypt", Vol. II, p. 31). What individual was arrogant, repented of his sin, and wrote a Sacred Book? This can only be a description of the Job of the Bible. So here, in a source outside the Bible, in the writings of an Egyptian historian, is a remarkable reference to the book of Job.
Internal Evidence in the Book of Job
Since Job is written of in Egyptian history, and since he erected a Great Pyramid in the land of Egypt, he must have held the rank of king. We find this to be true not only in secular history, but right in the book of Job itself. You probably never noticed these passages in this light before. Both Job's kingly rank and the Pyramid are mentioned. When Job was going through his terrible plagues, he cried out that he wished he had died: "Why died I not from the womb? why did I not expire when I came out of the womb ... Then had I been at rest with kings and counsellors of the earth, which build desolate places for themselves" (Job 3:11-14). Job buried with kings? Of course, he was of a royal family. Notice: "Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. After my words they spake not again .... I ... sat as chief, and dwelt as a KING in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners" (Job 29:21-25). Job left a great monument in stone, the Great Pyramid. Much more will de added shortly about this immense edifice. It swelled Job's pride. Bildad, one of Job's friends, taunted Job: "Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, shall the earth be foresaken of thee? Or shall THE ROCK be moved out of its place?" (Job 18:4, Jewish translation). Why would not the earth be foresaken of Job even if he died? Because the rock monument he built would remain for ages, could not "be removed out of its place." Here is a definite reference to the Great Pyramid.
WHEN Did Job Live?
The book of Job not only provides information on Job's status and achievements it also reveals the approximate time in which he lived. One clue is this: none of the conversation in the book of Job refers to the Exodus under Moses. Rather, the Flood is still uppermost in the minds of the people. Notice Job 22:15-17, Eliphaz is speaking: "Dost thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundations was overflown with a Flood: which said unto God, depart from us; and what can the Almighty do for them?" Here was a brief comment on the wicked pre-Flood society and a recognition that its sinful course was cut short by the Deluge. The book of Job also shows that Job lived before the Mosaic law, which permitted only Levites to sacrifice. Notice that Job sacrificed to God for his family as was customarily done in patriarchal times (Job 1:5; 42:8). Here is even more specific indication: Job lived in the generation after Esau, for one of his friends was Eliphaz the Temanite (Job 2:11). Eliphaz was the father of the Temanites (Gen. 36:11) and the son of Esau, Jacob's brother (verse 10). Eliphaz and Joseph were first cousins. In addition to the book of Job, Egyptian history makes it possible to pin-point the life of Job exactly. Consider the following. A noted man who helped Cheops in building the Great Pyramid was named "Souf." He was "Chief of the works of Khufu" (Rawlinson's Egypt, ch. 14). This man, long an enigma to the historians, has been proved to be Joseph. Recall the discussion of this in the previous chapter. Elsewhere he is called "Safhotep" — meaning "saf the servant." The name given Joseph by Pharaoh was "Zaph-nathpaaneah" (Gen. 41:45). Wathen, in his "Antiquities", page 142, substantiates what we have already seen in the previous chapter — that Yousuf or Yusuf was one of twelve brothers who built the Labyrinth, the "Pentagon" of ancient Egypt. THE EGYPTIANS STILL CALL JOSEPH, "YOUSUF." Don't forget that the "Bahr Yusuf." — the River of Joseph — is still in existence today. A corrupted Egyptian story records an incident in the later life of Cheops, Khufu, or Job, in which he calls an aged Egyptian sage to his palace (Budge's "Egypt", Vol. II, p. 43). This sage lived 110 years. Joseph died at 110 years of age (Gen. 50:26). Hardly mere coincidence! The facts are too well-founded to be denied. Job was a contemporary of Joseph. They lived at the same time, talked to each other, and worked together. Job's place in history need not remain a mystery. There are facts even more specific about when Job lived. The Egyptian historian, Budge, records that king Zoser of Dynasty III built the "Step Pyramid" shortly before Cheops or Job built the Great Pyramid. As we saw earlier, Zoser, the first ruler of the Third Dynasty, reigned 1737-1718. Now read Genesis 46 again which tells of the entrance of Jacob and his family into Egypt. "And these are the names of the Children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons ... and the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron" (verses 8, 13). Job, as this verse plainly shows, was the grandson of Jacob. He entered Egypt the same year Jacob did. This was 1726, the second year of the seven years' famine, a date established in the previous chapter.
Job in the Fourth Dynasty
Two fundamental points have already been established: 1) Job was contemporary with Joseph and 2) Dynasties III and IV are parallel because Joseph ("'Suphis") is listed in both of them. Where does Job appear in the dynastic history of Egypt? Job is listed in Dynasty IV under the names of Khufwey or Cheops, names we are already familiar with. On pages 75-76 of Volume I of the Compendium of World History, Dr. Hoeh shows that there are two lists of kings for this Fourth Dynasty, one from the Turin Papyrus and the other from Manetho. In the first list Cheops or Job is assigned a reign of 23 years. This period extends from 1726 when the Israelites entered Egypt down to 1703 (indicating that 1703 was an important juncture in the life of Job). The second list gives a period of 63 years' reign, 1726-1663. There is no contradiction here — both lists are correct. They simply reflect two different versions of the life of Job. Before discussing more of Job's activities, another point needs to be understood. In Manetho's list for Dynasty IV. Job is listed as Suphis and Cheops. Why is Job called "Suphis?" The Bible supplies the answer. In I Chron. 7:1, Job's name appears as Jashub, or Iashub: "and the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, JASHUB, and Shimron, four." Since the "j" sound is not in the Hebrew, Job is actually "Iob" in one part of the Bible and "Iashub" in another. It is from Iashub that Manetho derived the name Suph or Suf. (the -is ending is simply a Greek addition: the Greeks did not like to end a name without an "s" sound.) In both cases of Iashud and Joseph (Yusuf), Manetho dropped the first non-consonantal syllable. Hence Joseph was Suph while Iashub became "Shub" or "Sub." Many languages, including Greek, do not have an "sh" sound. Thus Iashub may be "Iasub" or, simply, "Sub." Now "Sub" and "Suph" are very commonly interchanged; that is, the lip sounds of "f" and "b" can be substituted one for the other. In short, this philological analysis demonstrates how Manetho could arrive at the name "Suph" for both Job and Joseph. And, while on the subject, it would be well to explain the use of "Khufu." Some Egyptians used "Khu" instead of "Su." In one Egyptian dialect he was referred to as Khufu while in the other he was Suf (or Suphis with the Greek ending). On the monuments his name was transcribed as Khufu but Manetho, who used another dialect as a basis, wrote it Suph or Suphis. These are all variations of the same name. Now we can understand why Manetho lists not one but two rulers named Suphis in Dynasty IV. One is Job and the other is Joseph. Both were Pharaohs in Egypt in the days of Amenemhe III. Suphis I is designated also as Cheops so this obviously is Job. The 63 years assigned to him are to be dated 1726-1663. Suphis II is Joseph and. As we know, his 66 years are to be dated 1734-1668 (Compendium. Vol. I, p. 76). In Book II of his History, Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, has quite a bit to say about Cheops. However, though the name Cheops is in no way derived from Joseph, it is evident from the account that Herodotus was actually describing Joseph and not Job. Here is the explanation: The dynastic lists of Egyptian history (we have the example of Dynasty IV) differentiate two individuals but, despite this, a tradition developed which spoke of only one person. In other words, people came to think of Job and Joseph as one individual. This is easily understandable knowing that they were contemporary, had the same religion, came from the same family, had similar names, and worked together on the Great Pyramid and other projects. Their lives easily blended together in the same story. This information becomes important later in learning the identity of other individuals in this Fourth Dynasty.
Job's Domain
Since Job was a king in Egypt, over what territory did he rule? A clue to the answer is found in Egyptian records. Cheops or Job had yet another name — called Saaru or Shaaru (Petrie's "History of Egypt", Vol. I. p. 37). Saaru is another name "for the inhabitants of Mt. Seir" (Rawlinson's History of Egypt. ch. 22). Job, it needs to be understood, was a foreigner who became king in Egypt by marrying into Egyptian royalty. The very first ruler in the Fourth Dynasty, just prior to Job, was Snefru (1750-1726). By marrying the widow of Snefru, his predecessor, Job gained claim to Snefru's realm outside Egypt. He ruled over a domain which extended from Mt. Seir to lower Egypt during and after the time of Joseph. Petra, the famous cave-city, is located in the region of Mt. Seir. Mt. Seir was famous in history as the "land of Uz" (Vol. III of Clarke's Commentary. Preface to book of Job). Uz was a descendent of Seir the Horite (Gen. 36:28). The Arabs preserved a corrupt record of Cheops of Mt. Seir or of the land of Uz. They call him the "wizard of Oz." In connection, notice the description of Job in the first chapter of the book of Job: "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job .... this man was the greatest of all the men of the East." Here the Bible alludes to the fact that Job was a great ruler with a reputation that was widely known. To get a proper perspective on this period, it would be good to review the political arrangement in Egypt. Remember that ancient Egypt was a confederation of small city states. Amenemhe III (1741-1692) was king of upper Egypt and Pharaoh of all Egypt. Under him were lesser kings, among whom was Zoser of Dynasty III. King Zoser ruled part of lower Egypt at the same time Joseph was Prime Minister under Amenemhe. Then, Job, as a foreign king, ruled over a domain which extended into the Delta of Egypt. All four of these rulers, Amenemhe, Joseph, Job, and Zoser, appear in one or more of the lists of the three famous parallel Dynasties, III, IV, and XII. This was a fabulous period in biblical history and in the history of Egypt.
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