The book of Job was written by a Judean, a Jew, who refers to the deity in the narrative framework of the book by the Israelite name YHWH (read traditionally as ’Adonai, “My Lord”). Originally it may have meant “the One Who Is” or “the One Who Causes to Be.” The name ceased to be pronounced around the time Job was composed, sometime in the Persian period.
The characters in the book, Job and his companions, are not Israelites but “Sons of Qedem”—Transjordanians. Allusions to the narratives about Israel’s patriarchs and matriarchs place Job and his interlocutors in that era. As non-Israelites of an early period and, so far as we can tell, monotheists, Job and his companions refer to the deity by biblically attested names that are not specifically Israelite: El, Elohim, Eloah, and Shaddai. ’El is the generic term for a deity and when used as a proper name is identical with the name of the head of the Canaanite pantheon. Based on etymology, the name connotes power, not goodness, the way the English term “God” does. Accordingly, to use the term “God” to translate Hebrew ’El would produce an inaccurate impression. When speakers use the name El and its derivatives Elohim (plural) and Eloah (a secondary singular form, made by dropping the plural suffix on Elohim), they do not imply the deity’s goodness but rather his power.
The name Shaddai, most commonly translated “the Almighty,” is of uncertain origin but is most likely derived from an archaic term for “mountain” (namely, “the One of the Mountain”) or from the word for a divine spirit or demon (shed) or from both. It is used especially in the book of Genesis, usually in combination with El (El Shaddai). In Job it occurs alone or in parallel with El or Eloah.
In order to avoid an excessive intrusion of modern associations and to preserve the apparent intentions of the poet to create an antique atmosphere, the names of God will not be translated into English equivalents.