by that logic then there would be far less diversity than we see on the planet

case and point the different types of finches on the galapagos.

We think of a world covered in dinosaurs but in reality we haven't actually found that many fossils

Job 40:15-19

We've got ancient drawings of them

going back to one of my older points, the flood would have done nothing to distort our detection of the radiological cosmic background, and most physicist will tell you that that is an adequate means of measuring the age of the universe

Mankind has a lot of creativity but I don't see them inventing a monster in their heads that turns out to be real 5000 years later but predating the artist by 500 million years

65-150 million years to be precise. if it were only 5000 years old, and remember that Job is after genesis, then they would be still around.

maybe not where Job was, but they would have been referenced by many more cultures than just the Hebrew, especially since Job takes place after the events of Solomon (about 870-830BC)

Most Biblical scholars put Job as the oldest book

Job cannot be older than Genesis, otherwise job would be first in the bible, and from what I know Job was first written between the 7th and 4th century BC

The physical writing, not the event obviously

Job 22:16 references the flood. So we know it's after Noah

The sacrifice in Job 1:5 is of the patriarchal "rite" which is pre-Mosaic

Same for the daughters' inheritances in Job 42:15

And the measurement of his wealth in flocks instead of money, Job 42:12

keep in mind that in oral cultures the core details of a story are preserved very well, but the secondary details tend to fluctuate.

And for him to live 200 or so years, this happened for some time after the flood but not by the time of Moses

So I'd put him pre-Abraham

But not by much

it's reasonable to assume that the secondary details of the story changed over the possible millenniums. but here we ask, is it unreasonable to say that is Job were a big part of the story of the bible, surely he would have been mentioned in the details of Genesis?

or even exodus?

There's a lot of stuff left out, or even stuff included that may seem strange

Most people don't notice it

I'm Catholic so this may seem like a biased perspective but there's a ton of references to deuterocanonical books (rejected by Protestants). But to be fair there are actually Biblical references to books rejected by all Christians, and even books entirely lost forever.

the problem I've had with Genesis is that in oral cultures legendary details tend to seep in over the generations (usually after 120-130 years), so when the bible says "days" in genesis, I've never taken it to mean literal days. the new testament I've taken much more literally since the people who were in the events were still alive as the books were written down, in some cases as little as five years after the death of christ

And other books that we may not know what it refers to; could be books we still have, some we don't

Well I have to rely a bit on the supernatural for this; God's word isn't gonna be lost.

you don't have to for god's word. the bible states it clearly that everything that can decay into nothing will before even the slightest word of god is gone

By supernatural I mean, God, above the natural and observable

for me, it isn't just the bible that is the word of god but the laws of the universe he wrote to permit the very existance of life

the code in my DNA is the word of god, recordable but so far uncrackable

Joshua 10:13 refers to the Book of the Just Man. Which is lost.

the book of chronicles refers to a book which recorded all the deeds of the kings of Israel

that one is gone too

Numbers 21:14-15 refers to the Book of the Wars of the Lord

the only way these can be reconciled is if they aren't physical books

The Just Man is sometimes called Jasher

as in they are books recorded by god but not for man

Well I believe in them being physical books, that are lost, but aren't necessarily the word of God

then that is why they are lost to time