No exact date is given
Job appears at the opening of his book as a man from the land of Uz, with a large family, extensive livestock, and a reputation for fearing God and turning away from evil (Job 1:1-3). Yet the account does not say which king ruled in his day, nor does it link his story to an event such as Israel's escape from Egypt or the building of the temple.
So honesty matters here. We can recognise historical-looking details in Job's life, but the Bible doesn't provide enough information to assign him a particular year. Any proposed date is an informed suggestion, not something Scripture states plainly.
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Clues from his household
One reason many people place Job near the patriarchs is that he offered sacrifices for his own children after their feasts (Job 1:5). He appears as the spiritual leader of his family, much as Abraham built altars and worshipped God wherever he travelled (Genesis 12:8).
Later in Israel's story, God gave specific instructions for priests and sacrifices through Moses. Job's family practice does not prove that he lived before Moses, but it feels closer to the household-centred worship seen in Genesis. It is a clue worth noticing, not a final answer.
And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Clues from wealth and long life
Job's possessions included sheep, camels, oxen, and asses (Job 1:3). Livestock was a major sign of wealth for Abraham too, whose possessions included cattle, silver, and gold (Genesis 13:2). That shared pattern fits the nomadic, family-based world associated with the patriarchs.
After Job's suffering, he lived another 140 years and saw four generations of descendants (Job 42:16). Abraham lived to 175 years old (Genesis 25:7). Job's long life therefore sounds more like the lifespans recorded in the earlier parts of Genesis than the lives of many later biblical figures.
Still, long life alone cannot date him. The closing chapter also shows God's restoration and kindness to Job after terrible loss. The number may carry that message as well as offering a historical clue.
After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
A careful answer
The best answer is that Job may have lived in the broad era of the patriarchs, but nobody can date him with certainty from the Bible alone. Even the names around him offer only possible connections. Elihu is called a Buzite, while Buz appears among the relatives in Abraham's wider family line (Job 32:2; Genesis 22:21).
Job's place in Scripture isn't mainly about giving us a timeline. His story faces a harder question: can a person keep seeking God when suffering makes no sense? As you read, notice Job's honest grief, his friends' flawed certainty, and God's patient invitation to see beyond what Job can understand.