The phrase "There once was a man" can begin a parable (symbolic story with asocial meanings) or a historical account (2 Samuel 12:1; 1 Samuel 25:2).
Ezekiel 14:14, 20 and James 5:11 also mention Job.
Uz is east of the Jordan River, either in Edom to the south or in Aram to the north (Genesis 36:28; 1 Chronicles 1:42; Jeremiah 25:19–20; Lamentations 4:21; Genesis 10:23; 22:21; 1 Chronicles 1:17, 42). Job was not from Israel. He lived before the nation of Israel existed and outside its later territory.
Job had no moral faults, he was a man of complete integrity (Job 1:8; 2:3; see Psalms 25:21; 37:37; Proverbs 2:7; 20:11; 29:10). He did not claim to be perfect or without sin (Job 6:24; 7:21; see also Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). But he was righteous (in a right relationship with God) so his suffering was not because of guilt. Here, fearing God probably means he did not worship any Ancient Near Eastern gods (see Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Job 9:8; 23:13; 31:26–28).