1 “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness, and searches out, to the furthest bound, the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live. They are forgotten by the foot. They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread; Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
KJVKing James Version
1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
1 For there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the dust, and brass is molten out of the stone.
3 Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones of thick darkness and of the shadow of death.
4 He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot that passeth by; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
Deuteronomy 8:9(v2)a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose…
Ecclesiastes 1:13(v3)I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given…
1 Peter 1:7(v1)that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in…
Genesis 4:22(v2)Zillah also gave birth to Tubal Cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of bronze and iron. Tubal Cain’s sister was Naamah.
Numbers 31:22(v2)however the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
Show all 30 cross-references
Proverbs 17:3(v1)The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.
Isaiah 28:25-29(v5)When he has leveled its surface, doesn’t he plant the dill, and scatter the cumin seed, and put in the wheat in rows, the barley in the…
Isaiah 48:10(v1)Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
Malachi 3:2-3(v1)“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap;…
Genesis 1:11-12(v5)God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the…
Genesis 1:29(v5)God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit…
Genesis 2:11-12(v1)The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good.…
Genesis 23:15(v1)“My lord, listen to me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Therefore bury your dead.”
Genesis 24:22(v1)As the camels had done drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight…
1 Kings 7:48-50(v1)Solomon made all the vessels that were in Yahweh’s house: the golden altar and the table that the show bread was on, of gold; and the lamp…
1 Kings 10:21(v1)All king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of…
1 Chronicles 22:14(v2)Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for Yahweh’s house one hundred thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and…
1 Chronicles 29:2-5(v1)Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the…
Job 10:21-22(v3)before I go where I will not return from, to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; the land dark as midnight, of the shadow of…
Job 12:22(v3)He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings out to light the shadow of death.
Job 38:16-17(v3)“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to…
Psalms 12:6(v1)Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.
Psalms 104:14-15(v5)He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth: wine that makes…
Proverbs 2:4(v3)if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:
Proverbs 27:21(v1)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
Ezekiel 28:13-14(v5)You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise,…
Habakkuk 2:13(v3)Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
Zechariah 13:9(v1)I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will…
Matthew 6:33(v3)But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
Luke 16:8(v3)“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (24 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4, 5His purpose is to declare that man may attain…
His purpose is to declare that man may attain in this world to divers secrets of nature, but man is never able to comprehend the wisdom of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the…
Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold [where] they fine [it].
Ver. 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver] For there is a vein, &c., so Tremellius readeth it. But here is no reason rendered of God’s heavy judgments on the wicked, last discoursed of; but the unsearchableness of God’s wisdom, and the righteousness of his proceedings asserted, while some bad men prosper, and some good men suffer. The reason whereof lieth hid (as a river that runneth underground) from the natural man (and in part, from the spiritual also), be he never so perspicacious or industrious in prying into Nature’s secrets. The silver vein lieth very low, and far out of sight; yet is found out and known; as also is the art of fining it. This art was soon learned in the world; and mortals were quickly become metallaries. Effodiuntur opes, &c. (Ovid). A great part of their skill they might have from Adam, according to that of the Divine chronologer, Ex Adami sapientissimi Doctoris ore promanavit, tanquam ex fonte, quicquid in mundo est utilium doctrinarum, disciplinarum, scientiae et sapientiae. He that knew so much before his fall (far more than ever Solomon did) of Nature’s most hidden mysteries, who can doubt that afterwards also he retained and imparted to his nephews a great deal of abstruse and rich skill? such as was this here instanced, and afterwards by Cicero, among others, celebrated in his second book, De Nat. Deor., where, discoursing about men’s witty inventions, he saith among other things, Nos aeris, argenti, auri venas penitus abditas invenimus, &c., We have found out the veins of brass, silver, gold, and other metals, though deeply hidden in the bowels of the earth. Some of the ancients have wished that we had never found out these metals, because of the great abuse of them. Josephus saith that Cain heaped up great store of them. Strabo saith, that Phaletius feared lest, in digging for gold and silver, men would dig themselves a new way to hell, Et Plutonem brevi ad superos adducturos, and bring up the devil among them (Geog. l. 5). Some say that he haunteth the richest mines, and will not suffer them to be searched. Sure it is, that, by the inordinate love of these metals, he drowneth many a soul in perdition and destruction, 1Ti 6:9-10 Auri sacra fames, &c. So subject they are to sin, as that God made a law to have them purified before he would have them used by his people, Num 31:22-23, &c., who should herein have the mind of those Persians, Isa 13:12; Isa 13:17, which regarded not silver, nor were desirous of gold. If Satan offered them these outward things in a temptation, they should answer him, as Abraham did the king of Sodom, with a "God forbid that I should," &c., Gen 14:23, and send them away from whence they came; as Pellican sent back the silver bowl sent him by the bishop for a token with this answer, Astricti sunt quotquot Tiguri cives, &c., All the inhabitants of our city are sworn not to take any gift from a foreign prince (Melch. Adam). Or as that noble marquis Caracciolus answered the Jesuit, who tempted him with money to revolt from the reformed religion, and to return to Italy, Let their money perish with them, who esteem all the gold in the world worth one day’s society with Jesus Christ, &c. Let it be remembered, that gold is that which the basest element yields, the most savage Indians get, servile apprentices work, Midianitish camels carry, miserable muckworms admire, covetous Jews swallow, unthrifty ruffians spend. Gold makes many men run quick to the devil on an errand; yea, sell their souls to him, as Pope Sixtus V did, for seven years’ enjoyment of the popedom. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things," &c., 1Ti 6:11, and while others lay fast hold on these base and bootless businesses, lay thou hold on eternal life, Job 28:12. But this by way of passing only.
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And a place for the gold where they fine it] Or, From whence they fine it; or, Which they refine. The Spaniards are said to have found in the mines of America more gold than earth. It is accounted of metals the most precious; but it is opinion that sets the price upon it. The only material of money among us is gold and silver; but among the Roman provinces it was most times brass, sometimes leather, Corium forma publica impressum (Seneca). The like is said to have been used here in England in the time of the barons’ wars. And why not? since, A.D. 1574, the Hollanders then being in their extremities, made money of paste board. Who the first man was that made money of gold, Pliny saith is uncertain. But Herodotus writeth, that the Lydians were the first coiners of gold and silver for that use. And Pliny, that Cadmus, the Phoenician, was the first that found gold; viz. at the hill Pangaeus, in Thracia; a place that aboundeth with gold and silver, as Herodotus testifieth. But so did Havilah (afterwards called Susiana, in East India) long before Cadmus was born, Gen 2:11. Near unto this land of Havilah, Solinus saith, were two islands, called Chryse and Argyre, that is, the golden and silver islands, because they were so full of those richest metals, Ut plerique eas aurea sola prodiderint et argentea habere, that many have affirmed the soil thereof to be of gold and silver. Junius thinketh that Solinus and Pliny called this land of Havilah (by mistake of letters) Babytace, the inhabitants whereof, saith Solinus, through hatred of gold, for the hurt it doth mankind, buy up and bury very deep in the earth all the gold they can get. Like as Crates, the Theban philosopher, is said to have cast his gold into the sea for a similar reason, as he pretended when he said, at the same time, Abite malae cupiditates: ego vos mergam, ne ipse mergar a vobis, but indeed, for a name, as Jerome rightly judgeth; calling him therefore, Gloriae animal, popularis aurae vile mancipium, a vain glorious fool (Hier. ep. ad Julian consolat.). There is no hurt in having these metals, so we love them not; so they do not get within us, as Luk 11:41; so we make not our gold our god, nor say to the fine gold, "Thou art my confidence," Job 31:25, Divites magis aurum suspiciunt quam caelum (Minut. Octav.).
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1–5There is a vein for the silver; where it…
There is a vein for the silver; where it is hid by God, and found and fetched out by the art and industry of man. The connexion of this chapter with the former is difficult, and diversly apprehended; but this may seem to be the fairest account of it: Job having in the last chapter discoursed of God’s various providences and carriages towards wicked men, and showed that God doth sometimes for a season give them wealth and prosperity, but afterwards calls them to a sad account, and punisheth them severely for their abuse of his mercies; and having formerly showed that God doth sometimes prosper the wicked all their days, so as they live and die without any visible token of God’s displeasure against them, when, on the contrary, good men are exercised with many and grievous calamities; and perceiving that his friends were, as men in all ages have been, scandalized at these methods of Divine Providence, and denied the thing, because they could not understand the reason of such unequal dispensations: in this chapter he declares that this is one of the depths and secrets of Divine Wisdom, not discoverable by any mortal man in this world; and that although men had some degree of wisdom whereby they could dig deep, and search out many hidden things, as the veins of silver, gold, &c., yet this was a wisdom of a higher nature, and out of man’s reach. And hereby he secretly checks the arrogance and confidence of his friends, who, because they had some parts of wisdom, the knowledge of natural things, such as are here contained, and of human affairs, and of some Divine matters, therefore presumed to fathom the depths of God’s wisdom and providence, and to judge of all God’s ways and works by the scantling of their own narrow understandings. Possibly it may be connected thus: Job having been discoursing of the wonderful ways of God, both in the works of nature, Job 26:5-14, and in his providential dispensations towards wicked men, Job 27:13-23 to the end, he here returns to the first branch of his discourse, and discovers more of God’s wisdom and power in natural things. And this he doth partly, that by this manifestation of his singular skill in the ways and actions of God, he might vindicate himself from that contempt which they seemed to have of him, and oblige them to hear what he had further to say with more attention and consideration; and partly that by this representation of the manifold wisdom and power of God, they might be wrought to a greater reverence for God and for his works, and not presume to judge so rashly and boldly of them, and to condemn what they did not understand in them.
Where they fine it; or rather, as it is in the margin of our Bibles, which they, to wit, the refiners, do fine. For he speaks not here of the works of men and of art, but of God and of nature, as is manifest from the foregoing and following words.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v1Here Job shows, 1. What a great way the…
Here Job shows, 1. What a great way the wit of man may go in diving into the depths of nature and seizing the riches of it, what a great deal of knowledge and wealth men may, by their ingenious and industrious searches, make themselves masters of. But does it therefore follow that men may, by their wit, comprehend the reasons why some wicked people prosper and others are punished, why some good people prosper and others are afflicted? No, by no means. The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of heaven. 2. What a great deal of care and pains worldly men take to get riches. He had observed concerning the wicked man (Job 27:16) that he heaped up silver as the dust; now here he shows whence that silver came which he was so fond of and how it was obtained, to show what little reason wicked rich men have to be proud of their wealth and pomp. Observe here,
I. The wealth of this world is hidden in the earth. Thence the silver and the gold, which afterwards they refine, are fetched, Job 28:1. There they lay mixed with a great deal of dirt and dross, like a worthless thing, of no more account than common earth; and abundance of them will so lie neglected, till the earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up. Holy Mr. Herbert, in his poem called Avarice, takes notice of this, to shame men out of the love of money: -
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Money, thou bane of bliss, thou source of woe,
Whence com'st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
I know thy parentage is base and low;
Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.
Surely thou didst so little contribute
To this great kingdom which thou now hast got
That he was fain, when thou wast destitute,
To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.
Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich,
And while he digs out thee falls in the ditch.
Iron and brass, less costly but more serviceable metals, are taken out of the earth (Job 28:2), and are there found in great abundance, which abates their price indeed, but is a great kindness to man, who could much better be without gold than without iron. Nay, out of the earth comes bread, that is, bread-corn, the necessary support of life, Job 28:5. Thence man's maintenance is fetched, to remind him of his own original; he is of the earth, and is hastening to the earth. Under it is turned up as it were fire, precious stones, that sparkle as fire - brimstone, that is apt to take fire - coal, that is proper to feed fire. As we have our food, so we have our fuel, out of the earth. There the sapphires and other gems are, and thence gold-dust is digged up;, Job 28:6. The wisdom of the Creator has placed these things, 1. Out of our sight, to teach us not to set our eyes upon them, Pro 23:5. 2. Under our feet, to teach us not to lay them in our bosoms, nor to set our hearts upon them, but to trample upon them with a holy contempt. See how full the earth is of God's riches (Psa 104:24) and infer thence, not only how great a God he is whose the earth is and the fulness thereof (Psa 24:1), but how full heaven must needs be of God's riches, which is the city of the great King, in comparison with which this earth is a poor country.
II. The wealth that is hidden in the earth cannot be obtained but with a great deal of difficulty. 1. It is hard to be found out: there is but here and there a vein for the silver, Job 28:1. The precious stones, though bright themselves, yet, because buried in obscurity and out of sight, are called stones of darkness and the shadow of death. Men may search long before they light on them. 2. When found out it is hard to be fetched out. Men's wits must be set on work to contrive ways and means to get this hidden treasure into their hands. They must with their lamps set an end to darkness; and if one expedient miscarry, one method fail, they must try another, till they have searched out all perfection, and turned every stone to effect it, Job 28:3. They must grapple with subterraneous waters (Job 28:4, Job 28:10, Job 28:11), and force their way through rocks which are, as it were, the roots of the mountains, Job 28:9. Now God has made the getting of gold, and silver, and precious stones, so difficult, (1.) For the exciting and engaging of industry. Dii laboribus omnia vendunt - Labour is the price which the gods affix to all things. If valuable things were too easily obtained men would never learn to take pains. But the difficulty of gaining the riches of this earth may suggest to us what violence the kingdom of heaven suffers. (2.) For the checking and restraining of pomp and luxury. What is for necessity is had with a little labour from the surface of the earth; but what is for ornament must be dug with a great deal of pains out of the bowels of it. To be fed is cheap, but to be fine is chargeable.
III. Though the subterraneous wealth is thus hard to obtain, yet men will have it. He that loves silver is not satisfied with silver, and yet is not satisfied without it; but those that have much must needs have more. See here, 1. What inventions men have to get this wealth. They search out all perfection, Job 28:3. They have arts and engines to dry up the waters, and carry them off, when they break in upon them in their mines and threaten to drown the work, Job 28:4. They have pumps, and pipes, and canals, to clear their way, and, obstacles being removed, they tread the path which no fowl knoweth (Job 28:7, Job 28:8), unseen by the vulture's eye, which is piercing and quick-sighted, and untrodden by the lion's whelps, which traverse all the paths of the wilderness. 2. What pains men take, and what vast charge they are at, to get this wealth. They work their way through the rocks and undermine the mountains, Job 28:10. 3. What hazards they run. Those that dig in the mines have their lives in their hands; for they are obliged to bind the floods from overflowing (Job 28:11), and are continually in danger of being suffocated by damps or crushed or buried alive by the fall of the earth upon them. See how foolish man adds to his own burden. He is sentenced to eat bread in the sweat of his face; but, as if that were not enough, he will get gold and silver at the peril of his life, though the more is gotten the less valuable it is. In Solomon's time silver was as stones. But, 4. Observe what it is that carries men through all this toil and peril: Their eye sees every precious thing, Job 28:10. Silver and gold are precious things with them, and they have them in their eye in all these pursuits. They fancy they see them glittering before their faces, and, in the prospect of laying hold of them, they make nothing of all these difficulties; for they make something of their toil at last: That which is hidden bringeth he forth to light, Job 28:11. What was hidden under ground is laid upon the bank; the metal that was hidden in the ore is refined from its dross and brought forth pure out of the furnace; and then he thinks his pains well bestowed. Go to the miners then, thou sluggard in religion; consider their ways, and be wise. Let their courage, diligence, and constancy in seeking the wealth that perisheth shame us out of slothfulness and faint-heartedness in labouring for the true riches. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier and safer! Yet gold is sought for, but grace neglected. Will the hopes of precious things out of the earth (so they call them, though really they are paltry and perishing) be such a spur to industry, and shall not the certain prospect of truly precious things in heaven be much more so?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Surely there is a vein for the silver,.... Silver…
Surely there is a vein for the silver,.... Silver is mentioned first, not because the most valuable, for gold is preferable to it, as brass is to iron, and yet iron is mentioned first in Job 28:2; but because silver might be first known, or was first in use, especially in the coinage of money; we read of pieces of silver, or shekels of silver, in the times of Abraham, but not of any golden coin, Gen 23:15; and among the old Romans silver was coined before gold (p); it has its name from a word which signifies "desire", because it is desirable to men, it answering to various uses and purposes; and sometimes the desires and cravings of men after it are enlarged too far, and become criminal, and so the root of all evil to them: and now there is a "vein" for it in the earth, or a mine in which it may be dug for, and found, in which it runs as veins in a man's body, in certain ramifications, like branches of trees, as they do; and the inhabitants of Hispaniola, and other parts of the West Indies, when found out by Columbus, which abounded with gold mines, declared that they found by experience that the vein of gold is a living tree, (and so the same, perhaps, may be said of silver,) and that it spreads and springs from the root, which they say extends to the centre of the earth by soft pores and passages of the earth, and puts forth branches, even to the uppermost part of the earth, and ceases not till it discovers itself unto the open air; at which time it shows forth certain beautiful colours instead of flowers, round stones of golden earth instead of fruits, and thin plates instead of leaves (q); so here there is a vein, or a "going out for the silver" (r), by which it makes its way, as observed of the gold, and shows itself by some signs and tokens where it may be found; or rather this egress is made for it, by opening the mine where it is, digging into it, and fetching it out of it, and from whence great quantities are often brought. In Solomon's time it was made as the stones in Jerusalem, Kg1 10:27;
and a place for gold where they fine it; there are particular places for this most excellent of all metals, which has its name in Hebrew from its yellow colour; all countries do not produce it; some are famous for it, and some parts of them, as the land of Havilah, where was gold, and that gold was good, Gen 2:11; and Ophir; hence we often read of the gold of Ophir, so called from the place where it was found, as in this chapter, Job 28:16; and now the Spanish West Indies; but nearer to Job than these gold was found; there were not only mountains that abounded with gold near to Horeb, in the desert of Arabia (s), but it was to be found with the Sabeans (t), the near neighbours of Job; yea, the Ophir before referred to was in Arabia. Some understand this of the place where pure gold is found already refined, and needs no melting and refining; and of such Pliny (u) speaks, and of large lumps and masses of it; but for the most part it lies in ore, which needs refining; and so here it may intend the place where it is found in the ore, and from whence it is taken and had to the place where it is refined; for melting places used to be near where the golden ore was found; and so when Hispaniola was first found by Columbus, the gold that was dug out of the mountains of Cibana, and other places, were brought to two shops, which were erected with all things appertaining to melt and refine it, and cast into wedges; and so early as that, in these two shops, were molten yearly three hundred thousand pound weight of gold (w).
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(p) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 3. (q) Peter Martyr. Decad. 3. l. 8. (r) "exitus", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Drusius, Michaelis; "egressio", Vatablus. (s) Hieron. de loc. Heb. fol. 90. A. (t) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. (u) Ut supra, (Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33.) c. 4. (w) P. Martyr. Decad. 1. l. 10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4, 5The wisdom of God in the works of nature,…
The wisdom of God in the works of nature, ver. 1-11. A wisdom like this cannot be found in man, neither can it be bought at any price, ver. 12-21. Death makes a report concerning it, ver. 22. It is hid in God, ver. 23-27. To fear God is man's wisdom, ver. 28.
Surely - Job having in the last chapter discoursed of God's various providences toward wicked men, and shewed that God doth sometimes, for a season, give them prosperity, but afterwards calls them to a sad account, and having shewed that God doth sometimes prosper the wicked all their days, so they live and die without any visible token of God's displeasure, when on the contrary, good men are exercised with many calamities; and perceiving that his friends were, scandalized at these methods of Divine providence, and denied the thing, because they could not understand the reason of such dispensations: in this chapter he declares that this is one of the depths of Divine wisdom, not discoverable by any mortal man, and that although men had some degree of wisdom whereby they could search out many hidden things, as the veins of silver, and gold, yet this was a wisdom of an higher nature, and out of man's reach. The caverns of the earth he may discover, but not the counsels of heaven.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Job, in showing the vanity of human pursuits in…
CHAPTER XXVIII
Job, in showing the vanity of human pursuits in reference to
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genuine wisdom, mentions mining for and refining gold and
silver, 1;
iron and other minerals, 2;
the difficulties of mining, 3, 4;
produce of grain for bread from the earth, and stones of fire
from under it, 5.
He speaks of precious stones and gold dust, 6;
of the instinct of fowls and wild beasts in finding their way,
7, 8;
and of the industry and successful attempts of men in mining
and other operations, 9-11:
but shows that with all their industry, skill, and perseverance,
they cannot find out true wisdom, 12;
of which he gives the most exalted character, 13-22;
and shows that God alone, the fountain of wisdom, knows and can
teach it, 24-27;
and in what this true wisdom consists, 28.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII
Verse 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver] This chapter is the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world, and gives us very important information on several curious subjects; and could we ascertain the precise meaning of all the original words, we might, most probably, find out allusions to several useful arts which we are apt to think are of modern, or comparatively modern, invention.
The word מוצא motsa, which we here translate vein, signifies literally, a going out; i.e., a mine, or place dug in the earth, whence the silver ore is extracted. And this ore lies generally in veins or loads, running in certain directions.
A place for gold where they fine it.] This should rather be translated, A place for gold which they refine. Gold ore has also its peculiar mine, and requires to be refined from earthy impurities.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 4, 5Job 28:1. Surely, &c. — Job, having confuted his…
Job 28:1. Surely, &c. — Job, having confuted his three friends on their own principles, in the last two and some of the preceding chapters, here falls into a kind of soliloquy on the difficulty of obtaining true wisdom. His friends had laid claim to it from their great age, and from their knowledge of ancient traditions: see Job 5:27, and Job 8:8-9, and Job 15:9-10, and Job 20:4; but he had shown them of how little importance or signification their conclusions were. Where, then, it became the question, is wisdom to be found? To answer this question is the intent of Job’s discourse in this chapter, which is evidently an inquiry after wisdom; not the unsearchable depths of God’s counsels, but wisdom in general; or, rather, the wisdom proper to man: see Job 28:28. Job here determines, that even that wisdom is not attainable by the human capacity and industry without a revelation from God. The several arts of discovering and purifying silver, of refining gold, making iron and brass from the ore, the art of mining itself, the secrets of husbandry, are all within the reach of human ability and diligence: but to comprehend the ways of Divine Providence, and understand the reasons of God’s dispensations toward mankind, whether the righteous or the wicked, is above man’s capacity, and can only be known so far as God is pleased to reveal them: that God, however, has furnished man with a sufficient rule to walk by, and that to attend to it is his highest wisdom, and, indeed, the only way to be truly wise; all other speculations and attempts to attain true wisdom being vain and fruitless.
There is a vein for silver, &c. — Thus the chapter begins with a fine description of the indefatigable industry and ardour of mankind in searching after things which contribute either to the use or ornament of life; how they dig into the bowels of the earth for metals, gold, silver, iron, brass; and that the industry or avarice of man is without bounds: he searcheth into the land of darkness itself for hidden treasures. The word rendered vein, מוצא, mutza, signifies properly a going forth; there is a going forth for the silver: that is, “man hath found where silver may be dug out of the earth.” And a place for gold where they fine it — Or, as it is in the margin, rather, for gold which they fine. For he speaks not here of the works of men and of art, but of those of God and nature, as is manifest from the foregoing and following words.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Surely there is a vein for silver - Margin,…
Surely there is a vein for silver - Margin, “mine” Coverdale renders this, “There are places where silver is molten.” Prof. Lee renders it, “There is an outlet for the silver,” and supposes it means the coming out or separation of the silver from the earthy particles by which it is surrounded in the ore, not the coming out from the mine. The word rendered “vein” (מוצא môtsâ') means properly a going forth, as the rising of the sun, Psa 19:6; the promulgation of an edict Dan 9:25; then a place of going forth - as a gate, door; Eze 42:11; Eze 43:11, and thence a mine, a vein, or a place of the going forth of metals; that is, a place where they are procured. So the Septuagint here, Ἔστι γὰρ άργυρίῳ τό πος ὅθεν γίνεται Esti gar arguriō topos hothen ginetai - “there is a place for silver whence it is obtained.” The idea here is that man had evinced his wisdom in finding out the mines of silver and working them. It was one of the instances of his skill that he had been able to penetrate into the earth, and bring out the ore of the precious metals, and convert it to valuable purposes.
And a place for gold - A workshop, or laboratory, for working the precious metals. Job says, that even in his time such a laboratory was a proof of the wisdom of man. So now, one of the most striking proofs of skill is to be found in the places where the precious metals are purified, and worked into the various forms in which they are adapted to ornament and use.
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Where they fine it - - יזקו yāzoqû. The word used here (זקק zâqaq) means properly to bind fast, to fetter; and then to compress, to squeeze through a strainer; and hence, to strain, filter; and thence to purify - as wine that is thus filtered, or gold that is purified Mal 3:3. It may refer here to any process of purifying or refining. It is commonly done by the application of heat. One of the instructive uses of the book of Job is the light which it throws incidentally on the state of the ancient arts and sciences, and the condition of society in reference to the comforts of life at the early period of the world when the author lived. In this passage it is clear:
(1) that the metals were then in general use, and
(2) that they were so worked as to furnish, in the view of Job a striking illustration of human wisdom and skill.
Society was so far advanced as to make use not only of gold and silver, but also of copper and brass. The use of gold and silver commonly precedes the discovery of iron, and consequently the mention of iron in any ancient book indicates a considerably advanced state of society. It is of course, not known to what extent the art of working metals was carried in the time of Job, as all that would be indicated here would be that the method of obtaining the pure metal from the ore was understood. It may be interesting, however, to observe, that the art was early known to the Egyptians, and was carried by them to a considerable degree of perfection. Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in vestures of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck; Gen 41:42, and great quantities of gold and silver ornaments were borrowed by the Israelites of the Egyptians, when they were about to go to the promised land. Gold and silver are mentioned as known in the earliest ages; compare Gen 2:11-12; Gen 41:42; Exo 20:23; Gen 23:15-16. Iron is also mentioned as having been early known; Gen 4:22. Tubal Cain was instructor in iron and brass. Gold and silver mines were early worked in Egypt, and if Moses was the compiler of the book of Job, it is possible that some of the descriptions here may have been derived from that country, and at all events the mode of working these precious metals was probably the same in Arabia and Egypt. From the mention of ear rings, bracelets, and jewels of silver and gold, in the days of Abraham, it is evident that the art of metallurgy was known at a very remote period. Workmen are noticed by Homer as excelling in the manufacture of arms, rich vases, and other objects inlaid or ornamented with vessels:
Pēleidēs d' aips alla tithei tachutēnos aethla,
Argirepm kratēra tetugmeion.
Iliad xxiii. 741.
His account of the shield of Achilles (Iliad xviii. 474) proves that the art of working in the precious metals was well known in his time; and the skill required to delineate the various objects which he describes was such as no ordinary artisan, even at this time, could be supposed to possess. In Egypt, ornaments of gold and silver, consisting of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets, have been found in considerable abundance of the times of Osirtasen I, and Thothmes III, the contemporaries of Joseph and of Moses. Diodorus (i. 49) mentions silver mine of Egypt which produced 3,200 myriads of minae. The gold mines of Egypt remained long unknown, and their position has been ascertained only a few years since by M. Linant and M. Bonomi. They lie in the Bisharee desert, about seventeen days’ journey to the South-eastward from Derow. The matrix in which the gold in Egypt was found is quartz, and the excavations to procure the gold are exceedingly deep.
The principal excavation is 180 feet deep. The quartz thus obtained was broken by the workmen into small fragments, of the size of a bean, and these were passed through hand mills made of granitic stone, and when reduced to powder the quartz was washed on inclined tables, and the gold was thus separated from the stone. Diodorus says, that the principal persons engaged in mining operations were captives, taken in war, and persons who were compelled to labor in the mines, for offences against the government. They were bound in fetters, and compelled to labor night and day. “No attention,” he says, “is paid to these persons; they have not even a piece of rag to cover themselves; and so wretched is their condition, that every one who witnesses it, deplores the excessive misery which they endure. No rest, no intermission from toil, are given either to the sick or the maimed; neither the weakness of age, nor women’s infirmities, are regarded; all are driven to the work with the lash, until, at last, overcome with the intolerable weight of their afflictions, they die in the midst of their toil.”
Diodorus adds, “Nature indeed, I think, teaches that as gold is obtained with immense labor, so it is kept with difficulty, creating great anxiety, and attended in its use both with pleasure and with grief.” It was perhaps, in view of such laborious and difficult operations in obtaining the precious metals, and of the skill which man had evinced in extracting them from the earth, that Job alluded here to the process as a striking proof of human wisdom. On the early use of the metals among the ancient Egyptians, the reader may consult with advantage, Wilkinsoh’s “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,” vol. iii. pp. 215ff.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Silver. Hebrew, "Surely there is a vein, or mine,…
Silver. Hebrew, "Surely there is a vein, or mine, for silver." (Haydock) --- The sagacity of man has discovered all these things. Wonderful also is the instinct of animals, ver. 7. Yet wisdom comes from God alone; and those act rashly, who pretend to dive into his counsels in punishing his creatures and ruling the world. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv2–5brass--that is, copper; for brass is a mixed metal…
brass--that is, copper; for brass is a mixed metal of copper and zinc, of modern invention. Iron is less easily discovered, and wrought, than copper; therefore copper was in common use long before iron. Copper-stone is called "cadmium" by PLINY [Natural History, 34:1; 36:21]. Iron is fitly said to be taken out of the "earth" (dust), for ore looks like mere earth.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Section third — PANEGYRIC OF WISDOM, chap. 28.
Section third — PANEGYRIC OF WISDOM, chap. 28.
First strophe — Man has wonderful power and skill for surmounting the obstacles of nature and extracting from the gloomiest depths of earth her most precious treasures, Job_28:1-11.
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1. For beauty of thought and richness of imagery, Job’s eulogium of wisdom is worthy to be compared with Paul’s panegyric of charity. (1 Corinthians 13.) Delitzsch calls it “a song of triumph without vain-glory.” Job is unconsciously carving for himself a monolith with an ineffaceable inscription of the two predominant traits of his character, the fear of God and the eschewing of evil. (Compare Job_28:28 with Job_1:8.) The deep mysteriousness of the divine procedure in the punishment of the wicked, the main thought of the preceding chapter, leads him to speak of divine wisdom in general, whose ways are unsearchable, and, like the field of the miner’s toil, buried in darkness. The wicked through toil and danger may, like the miner, acquire jewels, precious stones, and great store of wealth, but the true and abiding treasures are with God, and come from God alone. The covetous rich man treasures up silver and costly vestments, Job_27:16, but fails of celestial good — the divine wisdom, a “pearl of great price;” and this loss is his punishment also — a carrying forward of the retributive thought of the preceding chapter. Hengstenberg, following Von Hofmann, thus traces the connexion: “Sin is the destruction of men; the wicked man must go to the ground; FOR wisdom, which alone can ward off destruction, is to be found only in God; the sinner is excluded from this wisdom, and must therefore run into the arms of destruction.” “The sea of life abounds in rocks on which the bark must soon split, if so be wisdom sit not at the helm.” — 2:181, 172. “In the organism of the work this chapter is the jewelled clasp that binds the one half, the complication of the plot, to the other half, its solution.” — Delitzsch.
Surely — For, links the entire chapter with the last ten verses of 27. The transition is abrupt, and is in perfect keeping with Job and the Oriental mode of thought in general.
A vein — Literally, outlet, for the silver. In the most ancient times silver was more scarce than gold. Hence throughout the Old Testament we find keseph, silver, used as a term for money. Abraham bought the field of Ephron for “four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.” Gen_23:16. The most important silver mines of the ancients were in Spain.
A place for gold — Gold abounded in Ethiopia, also in Nubia, as is indicated by the word noub, old Egyptian for gold. There remains to the present time an historical tablet of Rameses II., relating to the gold mines of Ethiopia, possibly the very mines which have been recently discovered in the Bisharee desert, by Linant and Bonomi. Jerome speaks of ancient gold mines in Idumaea, Job’s home.
Where they fine — Which they refine. The two different words employed by the Hebrew for refining, זקק, of the text, and tsaraph, point to two different processes of refining, the one (that of the text) of filtering or straining, the other of smelting by fire. Both of these Hebrew words for refining appear in Mal_3:3, and are in later times probably used interchangeably.
The process of refining by filtering is described at length by Diodorus, iii, chap. 1. The figure below illustrates the Egyptian mode of smelting.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–51. surely there is] Rather, for there is. The…
1. surely there is] Rather, for there is. The connexion, however, with the preceding is difficult to perceive (see at the end of the chapter).
there is a vein] lit. an issue or source. The emphasis falls on is—there is a place from which silver comes forth, it has a source out of which it may be gotten.
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where they fine it] Rather, which they (men) refine. The most precious ores, both silver and gold, have a place where they may be found; however distant and dark and deep in the earth their place be, such a place is known, men penetrate to it, and bring them forth. The antithesis is presented in Job_28:12, But whence shall Wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? It hath no place known to man.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 4, 5(1) Surely there is a vein for the silver.—In…
XXVIII.
(1) Surely there is a vein for the silver.—In this chapter Job draws out a magnificent contrast between human skill and ingenuity and Divine wisdom. The difficulty to the ordinary reader is in not perceiving that the person spoken of in Job_28:3 is man, and not God. Man possesses and exercises this mastery over nature, but yet is ignorant of wisdom unless God bestows it on him. That Job should say this is but natural, after his painful experience of the want of wisdom in his friends.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–5Vers. 1-28. The connection of this chapter with the…
Vers. 1-28. The connection of this chapter with the preceding is somewhat obscure. Probably we are to regard Job as led to see, even while he is justifying God"s ways with sinners, (Job_27:8-23) how many and how great are the difficulties in the way of forming a single consistent theory of the Divine action, which shall be applicable to all cases. Hence he comes to the conclusion that God is incomprehensible by man and inscrutable; and that it is only given to man to know him sufficiently for his practical guidance. To impress this on his hearers is his main object (vers. 12-28); and, to impress it the more, he introduces it by a sharp contrast. Wonderful as is man"s cleverness and ingenuity in respect of earthly things and physical phenomena (vers. 1-11), with respect to heavenly things and the spiritual world wherewith true wisdom is concerned he knows next to nothing. All that he knows is just enough to guide his conduct aright (ver. 28).
Surely there is a vein for the silver; literally, an issue for silver? i.e. a place or places whence it is drawn forth from the earth. The silver-mines of Spain were very early worked by the Phoenicians, and produced the metal in great abundance (see the author"s "History of Phoenicia," p. 314). But Asia itself was probably the source whence silver was obtained in primitive times. And a place for gold where they fine it; or, fuse it. Gold is very widely spread over the earth"s surface, and in ancient times was especially abundant in Arabia (Diod. Sic.. 2:1; 3:42; Strabo, 16:4. Pity, "Hist. Nat.," 6:32, etc.); so that Job might easily have been acquainted with the processes of fusing and refining it. Two processes of refining are mentioned by Diedorus as practised by the Egyptians. (Jer_3:11)
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Vers. 1-28. Job"s first parable: 3. A discourse upon true wisdom.
I THE WISDOM UNDISCOVERABLE BY HUMAN GENIUS. Among the stupendous efforts of human industry and skill with which Job was acquainted, nothing was better fitted to impress the mind with a sense of man"s illimitable daring, resistless might, and wonderful success in searching out all perfection (ver. 3), and brining hidden things to light (ver. 11), than the operations of the miner. These, a knowledge of which may have been derived from mines then being worked in Egypt, the Sinaitic peninsula, and Arabia (vide Exposition; and cf. Delitzsch, in loco), are with much accuracy and vividness portrayed.
1. The treasures the miner seeks. These are set forth by their names and the places where they commonly are found.
(1) Silver from the issuing place, i.e. from the mine; and gold, which men refine, from its place, i.e. also from the mine. Expositors generally remark upon the accuracy of these statements, which speak of silver as being found in a vein or "issue" at some depth below the ground, and gold as obtained near the surface; of the silver as requiring to be dug from the earth, and of gold as needing to be washed out from the pulverized rock. The first mention in Scripture of "gold and silver" is in connection with Abraham"s return out of Egypt, (Gen_13:2) though gold afterwards abounded in Arabia and Judaea in the time of Solomon. (1Ki_10:2, 1Ki_10:21, 1Ki_10:27) If "the use of gold and silver commonly precedes the. discovery of iron (Barnes), then it is probable that those precious metals were not unknown to Tubal-Cain and his contemporaries. (Gen_4:22) It is impossible to say to what extent the art of metal-working had advanced in Job s time, but the mention of ear-rings and bracelets in the days of Abraham, (Gen_24:30) and of silver cups, gold rings, and gold chains in the age of Joseph, (Gen_41:42 Gen_44:2) makes it obvious that considerable proficiency had been attained prior to the era of Moses. In the estimation of Job the procuring and preparing of these precious metals were signal illustrations of the power and skill of man.
(2) Iron from the dust, i.e. from the bowels of the earth, and copper from the stone, i.e. from the ore by smelting. Tubal-Cain is the first known worker in brass (copper) and iron. (Gen_4:22) Iron is afterwards mentioned in the time of Og King of Bashan, B.C. 1350. The working of iron and copper mines is more difficult than those of gold or silver; hence the use of the former metals indicates a more advanced state of civilization.
(3) Stones of darkness and of the shadow of death. These may be the copper and iron ores which are fetched up from the lowest depths of the earth; the miner in pursuit of them penetrating into the remotest regions, making an end of darkness, lighting up the lightless interior of the earth, and carrying his search into every extremity, i.e. into every nook and corner (ver. 3). Or they may include all kinds of precious stones, such as the sapphire (ver. 6), lying buried in the dark recesses of the earth, which, in order to appease man"s insatiable thirst of acquisition, are turned up as it were by fire, although out of it, i.e. from the surface of the earth, there cometh forth bread (ver. 5).
2. The path the miner follows. A solitary path.
(1) Remote from human ken (ver. 4). Out amid the solitudes of the Sinaitic peninsula the miner sinks his shaft down beneath the surface of the ground, leaving behind him the homes and habitations of men. There, forgotten by travellers overhead, he swings himself down the pit-shaft by a rope, descending to his lonely toil; or, perhaps, sitting suspended at his work, he swings to and fro, far removed from human-kind.
(2) Withdrawn from creature-observation (vers. 7, 8). Sweeping far and wide in search of prey, the eagle"s or the vulture"s eye cannot gaze on the hidden path by which the miner presses towards his spoils; nay, in quest of earth"s treasures he travels by a road inaccessible to, and even imperceptible by, the lion and other proud beasts of prey. That man can penetrate to secret retreats in pursuit of wealth, where neither quick-sighted bird nor keen-scented beast can follow, is a striking testimony to man"s superiority over the brute creation.
3. The works the miner executes. Some of these have been mentioned already, but for the sake of continuity may be here repeated.
(1) Sinking a shaft (ver. 4), down which he descends by a rope.
(2) Exploring the interior of the earth"s crust (ver. 5), turning it up as it were by fire.
(3) Blasting and clearing away the rock that contains no ore (ver. 9), laying his hand upon the quartz and turning up the mountains by the roots. That blasting was practised in ancient times is stated by Pliny (vide Exposition; and of. Delitzsch).
(4) Cutting channels, or galleries, in the rock to drain off the water (ver. 10), or, according to another view, to bring in water to wash the gold ore.
(5) Guarding against the flooding of the mine (ver. 11), by binding up the watercourses that they weep not (a technical term still used among colliers), i.e. damming up the water that percolates through the roof and sides of the pit, which would otherwise interfere with the operations of the miner, but which, being restrained, enables him to bring to light whatever precious things the bowels of the earth conceal. And now, having finished this vivid and instructive sketch of the enterprise, skill, and power with which the miner explores the deep places of the earth in search of wealth, the poet tarns to ask in triumph Where are man"s corresponding successes in the pursuit of wisdom? Man can dig and cut and blast his way through rocks and mountains till he reaches the place of sapphires; but the haunt of wisdom, i.e. of the true principles of the Divine administration, and the place of understanding, i.e. the faculty of applying these to particular cases, are and must remain for ever beyond his ken.
II TRUE WISDOM INCOMPARABLE IN ITS VALUE. Picturing a pearl-merchant anxious to purchase this heavenly treasure, (of Mat_13:45, Mat_13:46) Job remarks:
1. That it cannot be discovered in order to be valued. Should one roam through the land of the living, i.e. traverse the face of earth in every direction in pursuit of it, it would still elude his observation. Should he "take the wings of the morning, and flee to the uttermost parts of the sea", (Psa_139:9) inquiring after it, the sea with every rippling billow would reply, "It is not with me." Nay, should he dive into the subterranean abyss of waters, (Psa_139:8) still prosecuting his research after wisdom, up from those dark depths would sound the answer, "Not in me.
2. That, if it could be discovered, man cannot estimate its worth. "A mortal knoweth not its price" (ver. 13). So transcendent in its excellence is this heavenly wisdom, so l at surpassing man"s ordinary conceptions, that the task of appreciating its essential value is beyond the capacities of his finite understanding. "Man is the measure of the universe," said Pythagoras. "Be it so," is Job"s thought; "here is something outside of the universe of which the vastest human intelligence is not the measure the Divine wisdom, in accordance with which it has been framed, and by which it is continually governed, including the Divine intelligence that devised the ideal plan of the world, the ideal plan or pattern itself, and the combined wisdom and power by which that plan is carried forward into minute and complete realization.
3. That, even if its price could be told, its equivalent could not be found by man. "The poet lays everything under contribution to illustrate the thought that the worth of wisdom exceeds the worth of the most valuable earthly thing" (Delitzsch). Nothing that the miner can bring up from the bowels of the earth, nor aught that the merchant can import from foreign climes; nay, not all of these together can be set in comparison with heaven"s jewel of eternal wisdom. (Pro_3:14, Pro_3:15) Gold and silver of the rarest, purest, brightest quality; costly pearls of most delicate hue and of fabulous worth; the entire wealth of a world, cannot purchase it. (Pro_8:10, Pro_8:11) What Job asserts of the wisdom which enables one to understand and appreciate the. principles of Divine government on earth is more true of that wisdom which maketh wise unto salvation. It also is in itself undiscoverable by man. (1Co_1:21) Its true worth cannot properly be appreciated by man. (Rom_11:33) Its mercantile equivalent cannot be offered or even found by man. (Mat_16:26) The price of him who is the Wisdom of God (1Co_1:24) is above rubies.
III TRUE WISDOM POSSESSED BY GOD ALONE. Since wisdom can neither be discovered by man"s intelligence nor purchased by man"s gold, the question naturally recurs, "Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" in response to which Job affirms:
1. That true wisdom is the secret of God alone. God"s exclusive knowledge of wisdom is impressively represented by a renewed declaration of the utter ignorance of all created beings concerning this transcendent theme.
(1) Man is absolutely powerless to speak a profitable word upon the subject, "seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living" (ver. 21). So the Divine plan of redemption is one which it never would have entered into the mind of man to conceive. (1Co_2:8, 1Co_2:9) And hence human schemes of salvation have ever proved insufficient and worthless.
(2) The creatures generally are unable to afford information on this lofty question. Even the far-seeing birds, to which ancient diviners were wont to turn in their perplexities, have no oracle to utter, seeing it is "kept close from the fowls of the air" (ver. 21).
(3) The inhabitants of the underworld are equally at a loss on this high matter. "Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears" (ver. 22). That is to say, the dwellers in the realms of the dead are aware of its existence, but can communicate no knowledge of its nature and worth. And, having thus shut off all created beings from participation in this wisdom, the poet ends by solemnly declaring:
2. That true wisdom is the property of God alone. "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof" (ver. 23). Besides stating that God knows whence true wisdom is to be obtained, Job designs to convey the thought that God alone is in possession of this wisdom. Looking to the ends of the earth and searching under the whole heaven, he not only comprehends with his omniscient glance "where wisdom dwelleth;" but, in virtue of that knowledge, he is himself the infinitely wise and understanding One. (Job_12:13)
3. That true wisdom has been exemplified by God alone. The creation of the world was a sublime manifestation of this wisdom. (Pro_8:27-31) In particular the establishment of those laws which regulate the force of the wind, the distribution of land and water, the collecting and emptying of the rain-clouds, and the origin and course of the lightning, was a signal display of celestial intelligence (vers. 25, 26). Nay, when the almighty Artificer fashioned the universe, then did he search out this wisdom, assign to it a place and function in his grand creative work, and commit to it the production, preservation, and providential government of all finite things (ver. 27). With this unbeginning Wisdom St. John (Joh_1:1-4) identifies the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV TRUE WISDOM DIVINELY REVEALED TO MAN. Though undiscoverable by human genius, and unpurchaseable by human gold, true wisdom has not been withheld from man. He has received it by revelation.
1. The Divinity of this revelation. It has not been imparted by nature. The material fabric of creation is a product and a display of celestial wisdom; but it is not sufficient for man as a law by conforming to which he too may attain unto wisdom. Nor has man himself discovered it, either by physical or scientific research, or by philosophical or religious speculation, or by heathen and superstitious divination. The law which should constitute man a participator in eternal wisdom was and is something distinct from the laws which regulate matter. It was a something communicated to man over and above all that God said to him indirectly through the medium of nature.
2. The antiquity of this revelation. At various subsequent periods, as e.g. at Sinai, and again at the Advent, repeated and enlarged, it was yet first delivered in the day of man"s creation, when God, having made man an intelligent and responsible creature, placed him under the law of right, engraven on the fleshy tablets of his heart.
3. The import of this revelation. That heavenly wisdom has for man an inward essential principle, and an outward permanent expression.
(1) The inward essential principle: "the fear of the Lord (Adonai)." This fear is not a slavish dread, but a filial and reverential awe, based upon a just conception of God"s greatness, (Job_25:2) and of man"s relation to him as moral Governor. (Psa_33:8) Such fear is the root and mainspring of all piety in souls. (Deu_5:29 Deu_10:12 2Ki_17:36 Psa_96:4, 9 147:11 Ecc_12:13 Mat_10:28 1Pe_1:17) It is also the true source and commencement of all genuine wisdom. (Psa_111:5 Pro_1:7 Pro_9:10) Hence "wisdom" and "piety" "or religion" are synonymous terms. Nor can it be doubted that for a human soul to fear God, in the comprehensive and exalted sense above referred to, is supremely reasonable in itself, and incontestably wise as a principle for the regulation of life. The term briefly defines the attitude intelligent beings should maintain towards God, the all-glorious moral Governor of the universe. Originally implanted in man at creation, and afterwards obliterated by the Fall, it is now being reimplanted or reawakened in man by the gospel.
(2) The outward permanent expression: "to depart from evil." To fear God and yet continue in sin is a moral contradiction. The soul that reveres God"s majesty and trembles at God"s power, much more that admires God"s character and loves God"s Person, will of necessity find its highest happiness in respecting God"s Word and doing God"s will. Hence a prompt, earnest, decisive, complete, and final separation from evil (i.e. from errors both in doctrine and practice) of every kind is largely insisted on as the only satisfactory evidence of genuine religion, (Job_11:14 Psa_4:4 Isa_1:16 Pro_3:7 Pro_8:13 Pro_16:6) while the truly pious, whose hearts are really possessed by holy fear, are ever characterized by a more or less resolute determination to keep the Divine Law. (Psa_112:1 Psa_119:63 Pro_14:2, 16 2Co_7:1 Eph_5:21 1Pe_1:17) Cf. the language of an ancient religious hymn to Amen: "I cry, The beginning of wisdom is the way of Amen" (vide "Records of the Past," vol. 6. p. 99).
Learn:
1. To admire God"s wisdom and goodness in the construction and arrangement of this material globe. Besides being fashioned by Divine wisdom, the earth is also full of the Divine riches.
2. To see in the monuments of man"s engineering skill, mechanical industry, commercial enterprise, and scientific research at once a striking testimony to man"s dominion over the creatures, and an admirable confirmation of the truth of Scripture.
3. To rate material wealth at its true value, observing both its weakness and its power. While contributing largely to man"s physical comfort and social influence, it cannot impart either wisdom or happiness, and still less can it serve as a substitute for religion and salvation.
4. To reason that the same Divine wisdom which placed the material creation under law would not forget to institute a rule of life for man. Hence morality and religion are not accidental and relative, but absolute and eternal, being inseparably bound up with man"s constitution as an intelligent and responsible creature.
5. To recognize the inborn foolishness of those who neither fear God nor depart from evil. "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
6. To gratefully acknowledge the Divine loving-kindness in making known to man the manifold wisdom of God in Christ and his salvation. The secret of the Divine administration which Job could not fathom has been clearly discovered in the gospel.
7. To perceive that ever since the Fall the world has been governed on substantially the same principles. Christ conducts mundane affairs to-day as he did in Job"s time by the law of grace and in the interests of holiness.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-28. Praises of Divine wisdom.
Amidst the darkness of suffering, and the deep sense of the mysteries of life, inexplicable by human wisdom, Job rises to the contemplation of that Divine wisdom which has founded all things, which knows all things, and in the reverent acknowledgment of which man may find for himself the true path both of wisdom and of power. Already the spirit of Job, purified by long suffering and experience, is rising into that presence where there is light and no darkness at all; and from this height of calm contemplation is fitted to become the teacher of his teachers, the "instructor of many.
I TRUE WISDOM TO BE FOUND NOWHERE ON EARTH. (Vers. 1-11) To illustrate this, we are pointed, in a fine description, to the art of mining, by which man lays open the costly treasures of the earth, (Deu_8:9) but cannot gain possession of this highest and best treasure of all. Gold, silver, iron, and copper are dug out of the bowels of the earth, and melted from their ores; the miner"s lamp dispels the darkness, as in every direction he searches for the "ore of darkness and deadly night." It is a picture of the eager, industrious, untiring toil with which men in all ages in the mines of Egypt, of Palestine, of the old and the new worlds, have sought to gather and to lay up treasures on earth for themselves. There is often even a frenzy, a reckless disregard of health and of life, in this passionate pursuit. With what eagerness should we rather pursue the quest of the heavenly treasures, the inward blessings which make men truly rich and happy! (Mat_16:26) The description proceeds. The shaft (ver. 4) is broken away from those who dwell above; the miners plunge deeply into the earth, further and further from the habitations of men, so that they are forgotten by the step of every one who walks above. They are depicted as hanging far from mortals by ropes on the perilous descent of the shaft in their way to obtain the ore (Pliny, "Hist. Nat." 33:4. 21). Above, upon the bright earth, the bread-corn is growing, while belong. men are stirring, and rummaging in its bowels, using sometimes the disturbing and destructive force of fire (ver. 5). Precious stones as well as metals, sapphires as well as golden ore, fall a prize to the diligent miner (ver. 6). Then, to heighten the description, the inaccessibility of these subterranean ways is depicted. The all-roaming birds and beasts of prey have not discovered them (ver. 8). But undaunted man lays his hand on the flint, uproots the mountains, and bursts open paths through the rocks, and the fire of eager desire glitters in his eye as it falls on each precious thing. He toils to keep the water out of his shafts, by which they are so readily overflowed and spoiled; and thus he brings the hidden treasures to light (ver. 11). Such are the splendid capabilities of man the courage, the energy, the defiance of danger called out by his desires. His reward comes; but does it correspond to his exertions? Having passed the best of his days in these severe toils and anxieties and dangers, he thinks to sit down and solace his age with the acquisitions of his younger and more daring yea, s; but does the enjoyment of the poor remainder of life balance these struggles which perhaps brought age upon him before his time, and cut him off from pleasure in the proper days of pleasure, and from the youthful satisfactions that were then denied? "I am this day fourscore years old, and can I yet taste what I eat and what I drink?". (2Sa_19:35) "Whoever lives to Parzillai"s years shall not be able, with all Barzillai"s wealth and greatness, to procure himself a quicker and better relish of what shall be set before him than Barzillai had" (South).
II WISDOM NO OUTWARD GOOD, AND BY NO OUTWARD MEANS TO BE FOUND. (Vers. 12-22) Practical wisdom, the principle of right conduct, and theoretical wisdom, or insight, where in all the wide world shall they be found (ver. 12)? None knows the purchase-price, nor the market for wisdom in all the wide land of the living. "Put money in thy purse" is the one maxim which applies in everything but this. "Money answereth all things;" but there are exceptions, and this is one. Gold and silver have no more power than stones and clods in this spiritual commerce. Cross the seas; visit the great cities; enter the churches; study at the schools; see and hear all; yet still the aching heart will cry, "Where is wisdom to be found? and what is its price?" All the gold and jewels of the Indies cannot buy it. Its worth is incomparable. Weight nor measure can be applied to it; it has no place in the business and exchange of the world (vers. 13-19). Again, then, and again tie question recurs, "Whence comes wisdom? where is the place of understanding?" Science cannot answer, with all her keenness of vision and wealth of knowledge; no brightest eagle-eye has searched out its locale. Neither the living nor the kingdom of the dead can bring us news of its site (vers. 20-22). It must, then, be immaterial. And being real, it must be sought for and found by that which is real and spiritual in ourselves. The things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor imagination conceived, God reveals to the spirit. We must be conscious of a spiritual life and of spiritual needs; of a destiny for heavenly as well as earthly things; we must yield to the spiritual impulse, and labor for the satisfaction of the spiritual hunger as well as for the bread that perisheth, if this great question is ever for us to be answered.
III WISDOM IS IN THE FEAR OF GOD. (Vers 23-28)
1. The question answered. God knows the way to wisdom, for he knows its seat and place. (Ver. 23) He is himself the All-wise One. His wisdom is seen in the marvellous construction and arrangement of the natural world. He regulates the winds and the waters, (Isa_40:12) the rain, the lightning, and the thunder (vers. 24-26). And his absolute wisdom is the rule for the inward life of man, the still more wonderful world of the spiritual life. In the creation as a whole he announces typically his eternal will to all rational creatures (ver. 27).
2. The Divine declaration. (Ver. 28, "The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.") God would not keep his wisdom altogether secret. He reveals, as well as is, wisdom. This is the original eternal command, the law that "is not of yesterday," and which has never been unknown in any generation of mankind.
LESSONS.
1. The eternal wealth of God"s nature. He needed no model or copy from which to frame his world. "He spake, and it was done; commanded, and it stood fast "( ver. 27).
2. There is a wisdom which is an example and end, and a wisdom which is a shadow and means. The former is in God, the latter from God in us. So are we "partakers of the Divine nature" in reflection from him, union with him, and enjoyment of him. (2Pe_1:4)
3. Wisdom is the nature of God, (Pro_8:25) uncreated, essential; with us it is an acquisition, a derivation.
4. True wisdom for us depends on the living, moral communion of the heart with God. Without this it is vain to seek to know him. An Eastern proverb says, "He who would learn the secrets of the mighty, must diligently keep watch at his doors." Blessed they who thus wait continually at God"s doors.
5. True wisdom is not to be obtained without its price. It must be wrought for by the endeavour of a holy and pious life. The departing from evil, the mortification of sin, the weeding out of vices, lays out work enough for us in this life, and makes the toils of man for perishable good seem small in comparison. "But the end is noble, and the reward is great.
6. The energy of man in the pursuit of earthly good should be a constant reminder to us of the need for like zeal in the pursuit of the eternal good. J. (Mat_6:19 1Ti 6 Jas 5)
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 1-12. The path of true wisdom.
With singular fulness Job describes the early methods of mining, and the knowledge man had already gained of the hidden treasures of the earth, and the power he could wield over them. In this recognition of the power of man, and of his deep insight into the nature and constitution of the earth, and its many treasures and processes, he prepares the way for a setting forth of the limits beyond which man cannot go. With all his searching he finds not out the path of "wisdom," and with all his getting he fails to get "understanding." And this further prepares for a setting forth of the true sources of wisdom and the place of understanding. The path of true wisdom does not lie in those dark recesses of the earth where the vein of the silver lies hidden. It is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture"s keen eye hath not seen, and over which the beasts of prey have not trodden; nor hath the fierce lion passed by it. God alone understandeth the way thereof, and he alone knoweth its path. The plain inference, then, is Man must ask wisdom of God.
I THE ERROR OF SUPPOSING THAT A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESSES OF NATURE GIVES A TRUE AND PERFECT WISDOM. In all these man may be deeply learned, and yet there be a path hidden from him. The danger of this day is a supposing that science truly so called is a sufficient knowledge for man. An accurate acquaintance with "the laws of nature" still leaves man ignorant of many necessary truths. For the right use of material substances, a knowledge of those substances and the laws of their combination is necessary; and for the safety of the animal life, a knowledge of its structure and processes the laws of animal life is equally needful. But the total idea of the human life is not reached by these. Fie who is capable of moral and spiritual acts has a moral and spiritual nature; and he has need of the knowledge of the laws of the moral government under which he is placed, and of the spiritual nature with which he is endowed.
II THE LOWLY SEARCHING FOE THIS HIDDEN WISDOM WILL LEAD MEN TO A CONVICTION OF THEIR INABILITY TO ARRIVE AT A PERFECT ACQUAINTANCE WITH IT. It is hid from the eyes of all living. Very humbling is this to the proud heart of him who has obviously a supreme position amidst the works of God who is above all creatures, subduing them to his authority; and above "nature," compelling it to be subservient to his wish. To know that he knows not, and to know that by searching he cannot find out the knowledge he desires, brings down his high looks. Here he must sit in the seat of the scholar; here, confessing his ignorance, ask.
III THE TRUE SEARCHER, BAFFLED IN HIS MANY EFFORTS, TURNS AT LAST TO GOD, AND FINDS THE SOURCE OF WISDOM IN HIM; and learns that the fear of the Lord is the possession of the true wisdom, and the careful keeping of the path of righteousness the true understanding. That is to say, the highest wisdom is a moral state, and the truest understanding a religious obedience.
From how many is this "hidden," and how unwilling are the ignorant to ask, and the proud to acknowledge their need! While he who consciously lacks this highest wisdom, and asks of God, proves that he giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not any for asking. R.G.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY Vers. 1-11. The miner.
This passage is justly famous for its graphic description of ancient mining. It gives us a picture of the miner"s toil and peril, his industry, his skill, and his adventure. Let us see what lessons may be learnt from the miner and his craft.
I GOD HAS LAID UP GREAT RICHES FOR MAN. People talk foolishly about exhausting the mines. Particular mines may come to an end, and certain lodes may be worked out. But the earth is not one mine or one English county. No one can calculate what vast stores of metal lie under the surface of the ground. The great treasury has scarcely been touched; ages upon ages will not suffice to ransack its stores. When we learn about Australia, Asia Minor, South America, etc., we discover that there is still boundless wealth under the soil. Thus God has made ample provision for the wants of his children.
II THESE RICHES ARE HIDDEN BENEATH THE EARTH. Men must sink shafts and blast racks. God gives us great possessions, but we must put forth energy in acquiring them. Thus Israel had to fight for Canaan. Wisdom is got through toil and effort. Spiritual wealth is won at the cost of spiritual conflict. Though the chief conflict was Christ"s, and though the best treasures are freely given, we must seek if we would find. (Mat_7:7)
III THE MINER"S WORK IS TOILSOME. Few men have so disagreeable or hard a task. In dark subterranean regions, often breathing a close, unwholesome atmosphere, suffering from tremendous heat, labouring with axe and shovel, the miner has no idle lot. He may be forgotten by those who tread the greensward over his head. But we all profit by his industry. It is only right that his brave and arduous work should be generously recognized. In our happy homes and beautiful churches we should do wall to think of the miner, and pray for him just as we pray for "those in peril on the sea.
IV INGENUITY AND ENTERPRISE CHARACTERIZE THE WORK OF THE MINER. What thought and effort and daring are put into mining! Surely this is nobler work than the killing which all the world honours in the soldier? We can understand why God has hidden the precious metals in the bowels of the earth, when we see what manly traits are evolved in the work of obtaining them. But if so, should not the same high qualities be brought forth in the search for the hidden treasure of the kingdom of heaven? Its gold, and silver, and iron, and copper are worth so much trouble, are not wisdom and goriness and eternal life deserving of the most strenuous efforts?
V THERE IS PERIL IN THE MINER"S LIFE. Mining disasters are more fatal than shipwrecks. The miner needs to know a refuge more secure than any that art or science can contrive. He, indeed, should have his trust in God. But for others his peril is an occasion to rouse interest and deepen sympathy. We all profit by his labours; at least, then, let us all do what we can to protect him from the dangers which carelessness and selfishness create. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v1A place for gold where they fine it.
Job_28:1
A place for gold where they fine it.
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Refining the gold
There is a place for the gold where they fine it. This line from the Book of Job--so strong in its monosyllables--describes a spiritual as well as a chemical process. Over and over again in the Bible godly character is described by the happy simile of gold. It would be easy to run out the points of resemblance. All nations, from the polished to the savage, have agreed in regarding it the most beautiful of metals. It typifies the beauty of holiness. It is an imperishable metal. When they opened the tomb of an old Etrurian king, buried twenty-five centuries ago, they found only a heap of royal dust. The only object that remained untouched by time was a fillet of gold which bound the monarchs brow. So doth true godliness survive the havoc of time and the ravages of the grave. Gold is the basis of a solvent currency; and genuine fear of God is the basis of all the virtues which pass current among humanity. The essence of all piety is obedience to God. It is the eternal law of right put into daily practice. Too much is said in these days about the aesthetics of religion and its sensibilities. Religions home is in the conscience. Its watchword is the word ought. Its highest joy is in doing Gods will. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1
XXIII.
CHORAL INTERLUDE
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JOB 28
THE controversy at length closed, the poet breaks into a chant of the quest of Wisdom. It can hardly be supposed to have been uttered or sung by Job. But if we may go so far as to imagine a chorus after the manner of the Greek dramas, this ode would fitly come as a choral descant reflecting on the vain attempts made alike by Job and by his friends to penetrate the secrets of Divine providence. How poor and unsatisfying is all that has been said. To fathom the purposes of the Most High, to trace through the dark shadows and entanglements of human life that unerring righteousness with which all events are ordered and overruled-how far was this above the sagacity of the speakers. Now and again true things have been said, now and again glimpses of that vindication of the good which should compensate for all their sufferings have brightened the controversy. But the reconciliation has not been found. The purposes of the Most High remain untraced. The poet is fully aware of this, aware even that on the ground of argument he is unable to work out the problem which he has opened. With an undertone of wistful sadness, remembering passages of his countrys poetry that ran in too joyous a strain, as if wisdom lay within the range of human ken, he suspends the action of the drama for a little to interpose this cry of limitation and unrest. There is no complaint that God keeps in his own hand sublime secrets of design. What is man that he should be discontented with his place and power? It is enough for him that the Great God rules in righteous sovereignty, gives him laws of conduct to be obeyed in reverence, shows him the evil he is to avoid, the good he is to follow. "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." Those who have a world to explore and use, the Almighty to adore! and trust, if they must seek after the secret of existence and ever feet themselves baffled in the endeavour, may still live nobly, bear patiently, find blessed life within the limit God has set.
First the industry of man is depicted, that: search for the hidden things of the earth which is significant alike of the craving and ingenuity of the human mind.
Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place for gold which they refine.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper is molten out of the stone.
Man setteth an end to darkness,
And searcheth, to the furthest bound,
The stones of darkness and gloom.
He breaks a shaft away from where men dwell;
They are forgotten of the foot;
Afar from men they hang and swing to and fro.
The poet has seen, perhaps in Idumaea or in Midian where mines of copper and gold were wrought by the Egyptians, the various operations here described. Digging or quarrying, driving tunnels horizontally into the hills or sinking shafts in the valleys, letting themselves down by ropes from the edge of a cliff to reach the vein, then, suspended in mid air, hewing at the ore, the miners variously ply their craft. Away in remote gorges of the hills the pits they have dug remain abandoned, forgotten. The long winding passages they make seem to track to the utmost limit the stones of darkness, stones that are black with the richness of the ore.
On the earths surface men till their fields, but the hidden treasures that lie below are more valuable than the harvest of maize or wheat.
"As for the earth, out of it cometh bread;
And from beneath it is turned up as by fire.
The stones thereof are the place of sapphires,
And it hath dust of gold."
The reference to fire as an agent in turning up the earth appears to mark a volcanic district, but sapphires and gold are found either in alluvial soil or associated with gneiss and quartz. Perhaps the fire was that used by the miners to split refractory rock. And the cunning of man is seen in this, that he carries into the very heart of the mountains a path which no vulture or falcon ever saw, which the proud beasts and fierce lions have not trodden.
"He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock,
He overturneth mountains by the roots."
Slowly indeed as compared with modern work of the kind, yet surely, where those earnest toilers desired a way, excavations went on and tunnels were formed with wedge and hammer and pickaxe. The skill of man in providing tools and devising methods, and his patience and assiduity made him master of the very mountains. And when he had found the ore he could extract its precious metal and gems.
"He cutteth out channels among the rocks;
And his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not
And the hidden thing brings he forth to light."
For washing his ore when it has been crushed he needs supplies of water, and to this end makes long aqueducts. In Idumaea a whole range of reservoirs may still be seen, by means of which even in the dry season the work of gold washing might be carried on without interruption. No particle of the precious metal escaped the quick eye of the practised miner. And again, if water began to percolate into his shaft or tunnel, he had skill to bind the streams that his search might not be hindered.
Such then is mans skill, such are his perseverance and success in the quest of things he counts valuable-iron for his tools, copper to fashion into vessels, gold and silver to adorn the crowns of kings, sapphires to gleam upon their raiment. And if in the depths of earth or anywhere the secrets of life could be reached, men of eager adventurous spirit would sooner or later find them out.
It is to be noticed that, in the account given here of the search after hidden things, attention is confined to mining operations. And this may appear strange, the general subject being the quest of wisdom, that is understanding of the principles and methods by which the Divine government of the world is carried on. There was in those days a method of research, widely practised, to which some allusion might have been expected-the so-called art of astrology. The Chaldaeans had for centuries observed the stars, chronicled their apparent movements, measured the distances of the planets from each other in their unexplained progress through the constellations. On this survey of the heavens was built up a whole code of rules for predicting events. The stars which culminated at the time of any ones birth, the planets visible when an undertaking was begun, were supposed to indicate prosperity or disaster. The author of the Book of Job could not be ignorant of this art. Why does he not mention it? Why does he not point out that by watching the stars man seeks in vain to penetrate Divine secrets? And the reply would seem to be that keeping absolute silence in regard to astrology he meant to refuse it as a method of inquiry. Patient, eager labour among the rocks and stones is the type of fruitful endeavour. Astrology is not in any way useful; nothing is reached by that method of questioning nature.
The poet proceeds:-
"Where shall wisdom be found,
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the way thereof,
Neither is it to be found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;
And the sea saith, It is not with me."
The whole range of the physical cosmos, whether open to the examination of man or beyond his reach, is here declared incapable of supplying the clue to that underlying idea by which the course of things is ordered. The land of the living is the surface of the earth which men inhabit. The deep is the underworld. Neither there nor in the sea is the great secret to be found. As for its price, however earnestly men may desire to possess themselves of it, no treasures are of any use; it is not to be bought in any market.
Never is wisdom got for gold,
Nor for its price can silver be told.
For the gold of Ophir it may not be won,
The onyx rare or the sapphire stone.
Gold is no measure and glass no hire,
Jewels of gold twice fined by fire.
Coral and crystal tell in vain,
Pearls of the deep for wisdoms gain.
Topaz of Cush avails thee nought,
Nor with gold of glory is it bought.
While wisdom is thus of value incommensurate with all else men count precious and rare, it is equally beyond the reach of all other forms of mundane life. The birds that soar high into the atmosphere see nothing of it, nor does any creature that wanders far into uninhabitable wilds. Abaddon and Death indeed, the devouring abyss and that silent world which seems to gather and keep all secrets, have heard a rumour of it. Beyond the range of mortal sense some hint there may be of a Divine plan governing the mutations of existence, the fulfilment of which will throw light on the underworld where the spirits of the departed wait in age-long night. But death has no knowledge any more than life. Wisdom is Gods prerogative, His activities are His own to order and fulfil.
God understandeth the way thereof,
And He knoweth the place thereof.
For He looketh to the ends of the earth,
And seeth under the whole heaven,
Making weight for the winds;
And He meteth out the waters by measure.
When He made a decree for the rain.
And a way for the lightning of thunder,
Then did He see it and number it,
He established it, yea, and searched it out.
The evolution, as we should say, of the order of nature gives fixed and visible embodiment to the wisdom of God. We must conclude, therefore, that the poet indicates the complete idea of the world as a cosmos governed by subtle all-pervading law for moral ends. The creation of the visible universe is assumed to begin, and with the created before Him God sees its capacities, determines the use to which its forces are to be put, the relation all things are to have to each other, to the life of man and to His own glory. But the hokhma or understanding of this remains forever beyond the discovery of the human intellect. Man knoweth not the way thereof. The forces of earth and air and sea and the deep that lieth under do not reveal the secret of their working; they are but instruments. And the end of all is not to be found in Sheol, in the silent world of the dead. God Himself is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.
Yet man has his life and his law. Though intellectual understanding of his world and destiny may fail however earnestly he pursues the quest, he should obtain the knowledge that comes by reverence and obedience. He can adore God, he can distinguish good from evil and seek what is right and true. There lies his hokhma, there, says the poet, it must continue to lie.
"And unto man He said,
Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding."
The conclusion lays a hush upon mans thought-but leaves it with a doctrine of God and faith reaching above the limitations of time and sense. Reverence for the Divine will not fully known, the pursuit of holiness, fear of the Unseen God are no agnosticism, they are the true springs of religious life.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1The place occupied by this chapter one peculiar to…
JOB’S DESCANT ON TRUE WISDOM
The place occupied by this chapter one peculiar to itself. Its connection with the preceding or succeeding portions of the book by no means obvious. Appears scarcely to form a part of the dialogue. Seems, as it stands before us, to have been delivered by Job during a lull in the controversy. Forms a poetical descant on the praises of true wisdom. Job left alone in the field, and now in a much calmer mood, in circumstances to enter on such a subject. Perhaps led to it by what he had stated in the preceding chapter in regard to the wicked, as well as by his own affliction and the inabiltiy of his friends and himself to account for it. Strongly expresses his approbation of true piety, and so affirms his own character. Himself an exemplification of his own definition of true wisdom. That definition the character secretly given him by God, and which Job was resolved at all hazards to hold fast. The section thus appears to be introduced by the author to give prominence to Job’s real character. Probably indicates the author’s design in the book to give an exhibition of the nature of true wisdom. Has a special importance in connecting the book with other parts of Scripture, especially with the writings of David and Solomon, and the wise men of that period (1Ki_4:30-31), and, in the New Testament, with those especially of Paul and James (1 Corinthians 13; Jas_1:3). Its similarity to passages in the Proverbs at once obvious, especially to chapters 1, 3,
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8. The last verse of the section, which gives the key of the whole, almost an echo of Psa_111:10; Pro_1:7; and Pro_9:10. Perhaps an indication thus afforded of the period of the composition of the book, as one when the attention of thoughtful pious men was especially directed to the subject of true wisdom. The section exhibits—
(1) The inability of man, by his own unaided powers, either to discover or acquire true wisdom.
(2) The supreme excellence of that wisdom.
(3) Its origin and discovery with God Himself, the Creator of all things.
(4) Its nature, as consisting of true piety—the fear of God and the consequent departing from all evil.
This chapter, the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world (Adam Clarke). Indicates Job to have lived in a period of considerable advancement in civilization.—Barnes.
True Wisdom
I. Man unable, by his own unaided powers, either to discover or acquire it
Wisdom not to be discovered or obtained like metals or gems. These hid in the bowels of the earth, but discovered and obtained by human art and industry. (Job_28:1)—“Surely (or, ‘for indeed’ the speaker being about to show the rarity and excellence of true wisdom as contrasted with what he had said of the prosperous ungodly) there is a vein (or ‘outlet,’ Margin, ‘mine’) for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it” (or, “which they smelt,” to render it fit for the purposes of life). Gold formerly found in Arabia. Abundant in Judæa in the time of Solomon (1Ki_10:12; 1Ki_10:14-15). The art of extracting and refining it learned at an early period of the world. Mortals soon became metallaries. Trapp. The discovery and earliest manufacture of metals apparently ascribed to the descendants of Cain (Gen_4:22). The search for gold and silver poetically ascribed by Milton to the suggestion of Mammon, a fallen angel whose name denotes “riches:”
“By him first
Men also, and by his suggestion taught,
Ransack’d the centre, and with impious hands
Rifled the bowels of their mother earth,
For treasures better hid.”
According to Pliny, gold first found by Cadmus, the Phœnician. According to Herodotus, first coined into money by the Syrians. Job_28:2.—“Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass (or ‘copper’) is molten out of [and so separated from] the stone. He (the miner or metallurgist, in searching for and producing these metals from the earth) setteth an end to darkness [by sinking shafts, and, with the aid of torches, exploring mines], and searcheth out all perfection (or, ‘searcheth out with the utmost thoroughness’) the stones of darkness (lying hid beneath the earth’s surface), and the shadow of death” (or places of deepest darkness). Tubal-Cain, probably identical with the Vulcan of Greek and Roman mythology, represented by Moses as the first artificer in brass and iron (Gen_4:22). The Chalybes, or Cyclops, said by Pliny to be the discoverers and earliest workers of these metals. Brass and iron said by Moses to be found in the rocky mountains of Palestine (Deu_8:9). Iron appointed by Lycurgus to be used by the Spartans for money instead of gold, to prevent its accumulation. Job_28:4.—“The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant (or, ‘he’ [the miner] openeth a channel or shaft away from the habitations of men,—or, ‘from the foot of the mountain’); even the waters forgotten of the foot (or, ‘the men forgotten of the foot,’ i.e., descending to places in the mine untrodden by human or any other feet,—nothing in the Hebrew text either for waters or men): they are dried up, they are gone away from men (or, ‘they [the miners] are suspended,’ viz., by ropes from the mouth of the mine; ‘they swing away from men’ [who remain above on the surface]). As for the earth, out of it cometh bread (or bread-corn), and under it (or ‘underneath,’ or ‘its lower parts’) is turned up as it were fire (combustible materials, as sulphur, bitumen, naphtha, coal (Gen_14:10); or perhaps precious stones glowing like lire (Eze_28:14). Note—Underground warmth, boiling springs, and red-hot mud, are believed to prove that fire still exists within the globe.—“The stones of it are the place (or bed) of sapphires, and it hath [belonging to it] the dust of gold” (‘clods or lumps of gold’—Margin, gold ore’). There is (or ‘it is,’ viz. the mine) a path which no fowl [however keen-sighted] knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen. The lion’s whelps (or, ‘the proud wild beasts,’ in their search for prey) have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it” [being deep below the surface of the earth]. Yet even there man’s skill and enterprise find a way. Job_28:9.—“He [the miner] putteth forth his hand upon the rock (Heb., ‘the flinty rock,’ viz. with a view to its excavation); he overturneth the mountains by the roots [by means of wedges and hammers, acid liquids, or, as in more modern times, by gunpowder—overcoming every obstacle that stands in his way]. He cutteth out rivers (or ‘channels’) among the rocks [in searching for the precious, metals or still more precious gems]; and his eye [with the aid of torches] seeth every precious thing [whether metal or gem, contained in those dark recesses]. He bindeth the floods from overflowing (stops or dams up the water to prevent them from trickling and overflowing the mine); and the thing that is hid (the metals or gems he is in quest of) bringeth he forth to light.” Observe—
1. The remarkable provision of Divine goodness and wisdom in making the earth itself a storehouse of substances that should contribute so largely to the comfort, gratification, and improvement of the human race. For example, iron and coal, not to speak of gold, silver, and precious stones. Beds of coal, many feet thick, and extending over an area of many hundreds of miles, stored up far below the earth’s surface. These beds the remains of ancient forests, and the result of changes on what was the earth’s surface many thousand years ago. Iron, so important for man’s use and progress in the arts of civilized life, largely embedded in rocks, slowly formed thousands of years before man was upon the earth. Remarkable, too, that as these beds of iron-stone required fire both for the extraction and working of the metal, they are generally found in close proximity to beds of coal, as well as to sulphur which facilitates its production.
2. Man’s art and industry necessary to the acquisition and use of those, materials which God has stored up in the earth for his benefit. Man intended for work, and so to be a kind of fellow-worker with his Creator. The materials provided for him by God, but, in order to his enjoyment and use of them, requiring to be discovered, obtained, and elaborated by himself through the intellect with which God has endowed him. Man not only to exercise his art and industry on the productions of the earth’s surface in order to obtain his daily food, but also on what lies beneath it for the purposes of civilized life. In the one case, as well as the other, man must eat his bread in the sweat of his brow.
3. Remarkable adaptation between the productions and content of the earth, and the faculties given to man for their discovery and use. Faculties bestowed on man to fit him for subduing the earth and turning its treasures to his advantage. The art and industry of the miner and metallurgist from the same Creator as the minerals on which he works. The ant operates on his little hill; the bee on its comb; the beaver on his dam; man on the earth itself, with all that it contains. “His God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him” (Isa_28:26). Human intelligence and skill a faint reflection of that wisdom with which God made the world, and part of that Divine image in which man was created. “This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working” (Isa_28:29).
4. Man’s industry in searching for the precious metals an example of the earnestness and perseverance with which he should seek for the better and more enduring riches. Treasures exist for man, compared with which all earthly possessions are but as the dust of the balance. Heavenly wisdom, in which are durable riches and unending happiness, to be sought for as silver, and to be searched for as for hid treasures (Pro_2:4). The earnestness of the miner, with much less toil, under the direction afforded by the Gospel, sufficient to put a man in speedy possession of gold which no thief can steal, and of which not even death itself can deprive him. Eternal riches close at hand wherever the Gospel is revealed, and awaiting only the humble and earnest seeker (Rev_3:18; Mat_13:44).
II. The supreme value and excellence of true wisdom. Job_28:12-19.—“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding [where it may be found like gold and silver]? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living (not only not to be discovered by the highest human intellect, but not to be purchased with anything on earth). The depth (or abyss—waters under the earth—perhaps the ocean with its ‘deep un-fathomed caves’) saith, It is not in me; and the sea (waters on the earth’s surface) saith, It is not with me (nothing in either one or the other able either to discover it to man or afford him a price to buy it with). Note—The ocean’s bed covered for hundreds of miles with beautiful seaweeds, and with submarine forests and jungles thronged with living beings. “It cannot be gotten for gold (the most precious and pure, 1Ki_6:20-21): neither shall silver be weighed (as in ancient times, Gen_23:16) for the price-thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir (stamped gold, or the golden wedge or ingot from the place most distinguished for its production), with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal (or vases of crystal and gold) cannot equal it; and the exchange (or barter of it, according to the ancient mode of traffic) shall not be for jewels of fine gold (vessels or ornaments of pure and massive gold, such as have been recently discovered in the coffin of an Egyptian princess living in the time of Joseph, nearly four thousand years ago). No mention shall be made of coral (some costly gem or natural production—long uncertain what), or of pearls (always held in highest esteem among men, Mat_13:45-46); for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it; neither shall it be valued with pure gold.” Gold so abundant in Job’s time and country, and so variously employed, that five kinds or forms of it are mentioned in these few verses.
Similar language to that of the text in reference to the excellence and preciousness of true wisdom, found in Pro_3:13-15; Pro_4:7; Pro_8:10-11; Pro_8:18-19. That exhibited in various particulars by Solomon in the Book of Proverbs, which is only asserted by the author of Job. (Compare Pro_3:16-18; Pro_4:5-9; Pro_8:20-21; Pro_8:35). The superiority of Divine wisdom or true piety over all earthly treasures evinced—
1. In its intrinsic excellence. Other treasures only material, and of the earth; this spiritual—a thing of the soul—as much excelling material treasures as spirit excels matter, and as moral and spiritual beauty excels material. Gems and gold adorn the body, wisdom and piety the soul. Those beautiful and attractive to the eye of sense; these to the spiritual eye, both of God, angels, and holy men. True wisdom, or the fear of God, assimilates us to God Himself, the source and model of wisdom, “the only wise God.” That which mainly constitutes the Divine image in us (Pro_3:19-20; Pro_8:22-31; Col_3:10). Allies us to all holy beings, the unfallen intelligences of heaven. Is to man what creative and providential wisdom is to God. Prepares us for correct, satisfying, and ever-increasing knowledge of God and of His ways and works. Purifies the heart, sanctifies the will, and enlightens the understanding.
2. In its ability to afford true and solid happiness. Other treasures only gratify the senses, or furnish the means of gratifying them. This gives peace and satisfaction to the soul. Other things unable to repel sickness and trouble, or to give solace under them. This acts like oil on the troubled waters. Divine wisdom like the voice of Jesus to the winds and waves: Peace be still. Her ways pleasantness and her paths peace. Delivers from the disturbing and destructive tyranny of the passions. Secures enjoyment of the Divine favour, which is life. Wisdom is a tree of life to every one who lays hold of her. Gives health to the soul, and even contributes to that of the body. Profitable to all things, having the promise both of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
3. In its endless durability. All earthly treasures perishable. Gold and gems soon cease to delight. At most only follow us to the grave. Unable, except as rightly used, to further our interests or promote our happiness in another world. Wisdom or true piety not only accompanies its possessor to the grave, but beyond it. The greatest of the noble triad—faith, hope, and charity. Faith ultimately changed into sight, and hope into enjoyment; charity or love, another name for wisdom, lives on and never dies. A cut rather than a comfort in the words of Abraham and Dives—“Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things.” Sad when our good things must end with our life. The excellence of heavenly wisdom that it not only gives solid peace here, but prepares us for eternal joy hereafter. Wisdom not only accompanies her children through the chilly waves of death, but takes them by the hand on the other side, and introduces them into the presence of God and the Lamb, who is wisdom itself. True wisdom, like its Author and Archetype, everlasting.
III. God Himself the author and revealer of true wisdom (Job_28:20-28). “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living (or of every beast or animal), and kept close from the fowls of the air (referring to Job_28:7-8). Destruction and death (the regions of the dead or under-world, or those inhabiting it) say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears” (only heard of it, as neither possessing it themselves nor able to communicate it to others, but as if approaching nearer to the knowledge of it, men often having their eyes opened only when it is too late, and regretting the loss of past opportunities for obtaining the knowledge and possession of true wisdom, Pro_5:11-14). Observe—
(1) That of which earlier generations only heard the report, now clearly revealed.
(2) Sad to be only hearing the fame of a good thing which can make us happy, and to be unable to obtain it. The case of the lost in another world; happily not the case of those in this. The rich man in hell “saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,” but was unable to reach him. Job_28:23.—“God understandeth the way thereof (how it is to be obtained), and He knoweth the place thereof (where it is to be found and in what it consists). For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven” (penetrating the universe with one glance of His omniscient eye; therefore able to instruct man as to true wisdom,—what is his highest interest, and the way to secure it). God, however, not only omniscient and surveying all things, but the all-wise creator and disposer of universal nature, and as such the fountain and model of wisdom to His intelligent creatures. For the same thought see Pro_3:13-20; Pro_8:11-29. Divine wisdom displayed in establishing the universe with all its mysterious laws and forces, assigning to each department of nature its bounds and operations. Job_28:25.—“To make (while making or about to make) the weight for the winds (giving due weight to the atmospheric air when at rest—fifteen pounds of it pressing on every square inch of the earth’s surface—as well as proper momentum to it when in motion in the form of wind, through the earth’s motion on its axis, and more especially through the rarefaction of some parts of it by the sun’s heat, and the rushing in of colder parts to take their place; so as to be not only not hurtful and destructive to the earth’s inhabitants, but in many respects highly beneficial to them); and He weigheth the waters by measure” (having at creation assigned their respective quantities to land and water, so that there should be sufficient of the latter for the irrigation of the former, as also to the waters on the earth, and those suspended in the atmosphere, whether as clouds or invisible vapour). Observe—
(1) All things in nature arranged in exact measure and proportion, of which chemistry affords an interesting example.
(2) As winds and waters, so also trials and afflictions are measured (Isa_27:8). Job_28:26.—“When he made a decree for the rain (constituting those natural laws by which it should be formed from the vapour exhaled from land and sea, and should descend in showers according to the earth’s requirements), and a way for the lightning of the thunder (or the lightning which precedes the thunder; how it should be produced as the electric flash which proceeds from the clouds, when, to restore the equilibrium, the superabundant electricity discharges itself in passing from one cloud to another, causing the thunder to follow it as the report of a gun follows the flash, by the particles of the rent atmosphere suddenly striking together again—electricity, of which that flash is the expression, being one of the most mysterious forces in nature). Then (even when at the creation He prescribed the laws by which external nature was to be governed) did he see it (contemplate this wisdom in its excellence and suitability for man’s welfare and happiness), and declare it (Margin, ‘number it,’ as carefully considering its nature and results,—take an exact survey of it, noting it as it were in a book for future communication); he prepared it (set it before him for contemplation, or established it as what should constitute man’s true wisdom), yea, and searched it out (examined it fully in all its properties and bearings,—actions ascribed to God in condescension to our capacity, in order to indicate the excellence and importance of the thing; spoken of). And unto man [as that work of His hands in whom the image of His own essential wisdom was to be reflected] he said [on the day of his creation, either speaking by an external voice or writing it internally on his conscience, in order that he might know wherein his true interest lay, and what was the true wisdom for him as a moral and intelligent creature], Behold, the fear of the Lord [not the proud self-sufficient scrutiny, or even the mere intellectual study, of the Divine operations, whether in creation or providence], that is wisdom [the wisdom for him, as a finite but moral and intelligent creature]; and to depart from evil [not the knowledge or examination of my secret purposes in dealing thus or thus with any of my creatures] is understanding” [that fear of the Lord and departing from evil being at the same time the best way by which he will come to know and understand why I act as I do in my providential dispensations]. This emphatic, cardinal, and ever-outstanding statement introduced with a “Behold,” as indicating—
(1) The importance of it.
(2) The unlikeness of it to what proud man might himself have conceived.
(3) The backwardness of man to believe, learn, and embrace it. Observe—
1. All nature under lam prescribed by God Himself. Nature itself God’s work. The universe, with all its laws, only the material expression of His being and attributes. Every part formed and placed by Him in exact fitness to each other, and to the whole. Those laws established by Him at the first in infinite wisdom, and preserved in their operation according to His own will and for His own purposes. God’s kingdom a kingdom of settled law; not of chance or caprice. Hence the comfort and confidence of His intelligent creatures. Men not afflicted capriciously, but in wisdom. The execution as well as constitution of natural laws with God Himself, who may suspend or contravene them for His own purposes as He pleases.
2. Man enabled to penetrate far into the secrets of nature and the facts of the universe, but unable of himself to discover true wisdom. The greatest philosophers of antiquity in the dark in regard to it. Professing themselves wise, they became fools. Man, like the mole, does all his works underground (Epiphanius). Homer called all-wise, and said to know all things human. Aristotle, for his soaring wisdom, called an eagle fallen from the clouds. Yet the greatest of Grecian sages professed they wanted other lights, and took it for granted the time would come when God would impart a further revelation of His will to mankind.
“The first and wisest of them all (Socrates) profess’d
To know this only, that he nothing knew;
The next (Plato) to fabling fell and smooth conceits;
A third sort (Pyrrho) doubted all things, though plain sense;
Others (Aristotle) in virtue placed felicity,
But virtue joined with riches and long life;
In corporal pleasures he (Epicurus), and careless ease;
The Stoic last, in philosophic pride,
By him called virtue; and his virtuous man,
Wise, perfect in himself, and all possessing,
Equal to God, oft shames not to prefer,
As fearing God nor man.”
Paradise Regained, Book iv.
Jerome said to have known all that was knowable, yet one of the most devoted students of revelation. The greatest philosophers in our own or any other country, as Newton, Faraday, and Brewster, have loved to sit with the humility of a child at the feet of Jesus, to learn wisdom out of the Scriptures of truth.
3. God alone able to inform man as to his true interests. One of the great problems among the sages of antiquity, wherein lies man’s chief good. A question naturally occurring to thinking men. God answers it for man: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good” (Mic_6:8). As great diversity of opinion among ancient sages about wisdom as about the chief good. With those of Chaldæa, it was the study of the starry firmament and its interpretation as declarative of the events of Providence; with those of Arabia, that of the designs of God in His dealings with men and the whole system of the Divine government; with those of Egypt, the origin of the universe; with those of Greece and Rome, the nature of the Deity, with the problems of their own existence and of the universe around them. Such Speculations, apart from revealed truth, represented by Milton as the employment, perhaps in part the punishment, of some of the fallen angels.
“Others apart sat on a hill retired,
In thoughts more elevate, and reason’d high
Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate;
Fix’d fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute;
And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.
Of good and evil much they argued then,
Of happiness and final misery,
Passion and apathy, and glory and shame;
Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy.”
In opposition to all this, God Himself declares what is the true wisdom for man,—the fear of the Lord, and as its consequence, to depart from evil. This prescribed by God to man in the exercise of His own infinite wisdom as Creator and Governor of the universe. Made the law for man by Him who gave laws to universal nature, and at the time that He did so. A wisdom that is “earthly, sensual, devilish.” True wisdom from above,—the gift of “the Father of lights.” “The law (or revealed will) of the Lord maketh wise the simple.” The Scriptures able to make men “wise unto salvation.” The Gospel of Christ “the hidden wisdom.” Christ Himself the “wisdom of God” and the “light of the world.” Whoever follows Him “shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Christ the teacher come from God. Anoints with eye salve the eyes of the spiritually blind, “that they may see.” Gives “the unction of the Holy One,” that we know all things. Nature, in all its departments, tells of a God, but not how to obtain His favour and forgiveness. Christ reveals both in His Word. Himself, as the Son of God, eternal wisdom; as the Son of Man, incarnate wisdom; and “of God is made wisdom” to all who are “in Him” (1Co_1:24; 1Co_1:30; Pro_8:12-36).
IV. The nature of true wisdom. Job_28:28.—“The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” The gold and the silver, the sapphire and the ruby, have their place in the bowels of the earth. Wisdom has its place in the “fear of the Lord” and the “departing from evil.” The one the root, the other the stem and the branches. The former the spring, the latter the streams issuing from it.
1. The “fear of the Lord” (Heb. ‘Adonai,’ denoting ‘lord’ or ‘governor,’—usually applied to the Messiah, and by the Jews substituted for Jehovah) the first part of true wisdom. That fear not a slavish, but a filial one. A reverential feeling and conduct as much allied to love as fear. The fear rather of a child in regard to a beloved parent, than of a slave in regard to a dreaded master. When genuine, always combined, if not identical, with love. Love as directed to a superior, especially to the Supreme Being. A feeling and deportment due from an intelligent creature to his Creator—a being at once of unbounded goodness, infinite excellence, supreme majesty, and almighty power. A fear that shudders at offending, not so much from the dread of punishment as from an inward consciousness of, and love to, what is right. A principle originally implanted in man as the law of his being. Obedience to it his wisdom and interest. The violation of it his ruin. Actually violated and cast off at the Fall. Now universally violated by fallen humanity. Its violation the cause of all the misery in the world. Its observance the harmony of the soul, the harmony of man with man, and the harmony of man with his Maker. May be re-implanted in man’s breast. Its re-implanting the object of the Saviour’s mission, and the effect of the Holy Spirit’s grace in the soul (Jer_32:40).
2. To “depart from evil” the second part of true wisdom. Moral evil, or sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates (Jer_44:4). To be departed from—
(1) As contrary to the nature and will of our Creator.
(2) As opposed to our own interest and happiness. All sin the opposite of God’s character which is goodness, purity, and holiness. Moral evil the necessary source of all physical and social evil. The fear of the Lord necessarily evinced by, and conducting to, a departure from evil. The two combined constitute the perfect man. Job’s own character (ch. Job_1:1.], 8). Evil to be departed from—
(1) Earnestly.
(2) Entirely.
(3) Perseveringly.
(4) At all hazards. Moral evil both internal and external—both in heart and life. Both to be equally departed from. Departure from evil necessarily connected with the practice of good. The only way for a fallen man to depart from evil is by the implantation of a new nature through the operation of God’s Spirit in the heart. Hence the promise (Jer_24:7; Jer_32:39; Eze_11:19; Eze_36:26-27).
3. The fear of God or true religion the wisdom of man. Wisdom the choice of the best end, and employment of the best means for attaining it. True religion both aims at and secures glory to God and our own best interests. Seeks and secures the chief end for which man was made—to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever. The only means of man’s happiness, either here or hereafter. Godliness favourable both to his physical and spiritual, temporal and eternal, welfare. Has the promise both of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. The way to make the best of both worlds. Gives much in the hand, more in the hope. Is in harmony with man’s moral nature given him by his Creator. The foundation of personal and domestic, social and civil, peace. Fits for the enjoyment of the Divine fellowship—man’s highest happiness. Smooths the pillow of death. Prepares for a happy eternity beyond the grave. Preserves him from many troubles, and enables him calmly to meet and patiently to endure those that are unavoidable. Allies him with the noblest and choicest of God’s intelligent creatures. Opens to him an ever-brightening path of excellence and delight. Renders him a blessing to others and a fellow-worker with God.
4. Lay testimonies from Statesmen, Philosophers, and Poets, to the value of true religion in promoting men’s best interests.
“That summum bonum which is only able to make thee happy, as well as in thy death as in thy life; I mean the true knowledge and worship of thy Creator and Redeemer, without which all other things are vain and miserable.”—Lord Burleigh to his Son.
“I have lived to see five sovereigns, and have been privy councillor to four of them; I have seen the most remarkable things in foreign parts, and have been present at most state transactions for the last thirty years; and I have learned, after so many years’ experience, that seriousness is the greatest wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a good conscience the best estate.”—Sir John Mason: died 1566.
“Love my memory, cherish my friends, but, above all, govern your will and affections by the will and Word of your Creator; in me beholding the end of this world with all her vanities.”—Sir Philip Sidney to his Brother, 1586.
“Love God, and begin betimes. In Him you shall find everlasting and endless comfort; when you have travelled and wearied yourself with all sorts of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down by sorrow in the end.”—Sir Walter Raleigh to his Wife, before his execution, 1618.
“Living in an age of extraordinary events and revolutions, I have learned from thence this truth, which I desire might thus be communicated to posterity: that all is vanity which is not honest, and that there is no solid wisdom but in real piety.”—John Ecelyn—Epitaph by Himself, 1706.
“Depend upon this truth, that every man is the worse looked upon, and the less trusted, for being thought to have no religion, in spite of all the pompous, specious epithets he may assume, of esprits forts, free-thinker, or moral philosopher; and a wise atheist, if such thing there is, would, for his own interest and character in this world, pretend to some religion.”—Lord Chesterfield—Letters to his Son.
“Philosophy may infuse stubbornness, but religion only can give patience.”—Dr. S. Johnson.
“Hold fast, therefore, by this sheet anchor of happiness, religion. You will often want it in the times of most danger—the storms and tempests of life. Cherish true religion as preciously as you would fly with abhorrence and contempt from superstition and enthusiasm. The first is the perfection and glory of human nature; the two last the depravation and disgrace of it. Remember, the essence of religion is a heart void of offence towards God and man; not subtle, speculative opinions, but an active vital, principle of faith.”—Lord Chatham—Letters to his Nephew.
“To religion, then, we must hold in every circumstance of life for our truest comforts; for, if we are already happy, it is a pleasure to think that we can make that happiness unending; and if we are miserable, it is very consoling to think there is a place of rest. Thus, to the fortunate, religion holds out a continuance of bliss; to the wretched, a change from pain.”—Oliver Goldsmith.
“We know, and, what is better, we feel inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort.”—Edmund Burke, on the French Revolution.
“With all my follies of youth, and, I fear, a few vices of manhood, still I congratulate myself as having had, in early days, religion strongly impressed on my mind.… I look on the man who is firmly persuaded of infinite wisdom and goodness, superintending and directing every circumstance that can happen in his lot, I felicitate such a man as having a solid foundation for his mutual enjoyment, a firm prop and sure stay in the hour of difficulty, trouble, and distress; and a never-failing anchor of hope when he looks beyond the grave.”—Robert Burns.
“Where there is most love of God, there will be the truest and most enlarged philanthropy. No other foundation is secure. There is no other means whereby nations can be reformed, than that by which alone individuals can be regenerated.… While men are subject to disease, infirmity, affliction, and death, the good never will exist without the hopes of religion; the wicked never without its fears.”—Southey.
“I envy no quality of the mind or intellect in others; not genius, wit, or fancy. But if I could choose what would be most delightful, and I believe most useful to me, I should prefer a firm religious belief to every other blessing. For it makes life a discipline of goodness, creates new hopes when all earthly hopes vanish, and throws over the decay and the destruction of existence, the most gorgeous of all rights; awakens life even in death; and from corruption and decay calls up beauty and divinity; makes an instrument of torture and of shame the ladder of ascent to paradise.”—Sir Humphrey Davy.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1Job 28:1, Job 28:12-13, Job 28:20-28
Job 28:1, Job 28:12-13, Job 28:20-28
This chapter falls naturally into three sections, the first two sections being terminated by this question, with a slight variety of statement: "Whence then cometh wisdom?" and the last by the result of the investigation.
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I. The first of these sections is occupied with the abstruseness and marvellousness of human discoveries. Job speaks of the discovery of natural objects—gems for the monarch’s brow, metals for the husbandman, minerals for the physician—but we can speak of the far more curious discovery of natural powers. Have we, with all our toilings, brought to light that wisdom in the possession of which we may acquiesce throughout eternity?
Alas! no. There is no rest, no peace, no satisfaction, in wisdom of this kind.
II. The second section of this Divine poem sets forth to us the truth that, though human discoveries be exceeding abstruse and wonderful, yet there is an impassable limit which they cannot go beyond. There is a field of knowledge which baffles us at the outset, and that is the field of Providence. Nature affords us no light whatever in solving the secret of the Divine dispensations. Of this wisdom the depth saith, "It is not in me;" and the sea saith, "It is not with me."
III. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." It must be so, if you will consider the matter. Evil, moral evil or sin, is the parent and root of folly. It follows, then, that to depart from it must be the highest, the only true, wisdom. The path is so plain that the simplest may enter upon it, and that without delay. In whatever employment we be engaged, there is room for the cultivation of this simple, grand, majestic wisdom, room for us to fear the Lord, room for us to depart from evil.
E. M. Goulburn, Occasional Sermons, p. 211.
References: Job 28:7, Job 28:8.—A. P. Stanley, Addresses and Sermons at St. Andrews, p. 127. Job 28:10.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 985; J. Martineau, Hours of Thought, vol. ii., p. 176.
Job 28:12
Every man has, down in the depths of his own being, a wisdom much greater than the wisdom of the life which he is living, or of the thoughts which he is already thinking.
I. There is a conscience, there is a light, there is a view of truth, there is a spirit, in every one, however he may speak and however he may act, which had he cultivated and obeyed, he would have been a better and a happier man than he is. The great power of our Saviour’s teaching often lay in drawing out the latent good which was in every man that came in contact with Him; and he is wise who believes it in himself and recognises it in every man with whom he has to do.
II. Wisdom is in all the experience of life. It is in every mind with whom you converse. It is in every providence. It is in every language of nature. All life is a lesson-book of wisdom.
III. Wisdom is a revelation. No mind, though it be of the highest order, ever was, or ever can be, independent of revelation. The storehouse of wisdom is the word of God. But God has given us more than a book; He has given us an embodiment, a visible reality. A Person, and a living Person, is much more than all the words. The words are the framework of the Man, and that Man is the Lord Jesus Christ.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 10th series, p. 133.
Reference: Job 28:12.—A. P. Stanley, Sermons on Special Occasions, p. 212.
Job 28:12, Job 28:28
Man’s interests and activities find their highest inspiration in culture and religion. The relations which these sides of human action may bear to each other can never be of slight importance. Some maintain that they are antagonistic. It is said, the ages of faith are not the times of intelligence; learning causes religion to dwindle. If this be so, it is indeed strange that history should furnish us with repeated illustrations of what we may almost term a law of the development of the human race, namely, that the epochs of man’s progress, when there is a larger force and a more vigorous vitality, are marked by stimulus, not only to the intelligence and learning of the human mind, but also to the faith and corresponding character of the human heart. When man has awakened from the sleep which often overtakes him in the midst of a thick night of gloom, he has not only exhibited a fresh interest in objects of mental research, but he has also raised his eyes once more to the stars that shine in heaven, and stretched his hands with a more vigorous grasp towards the Power and the Person who are only revealed to his spiritual nature.
I. Observe, first, that religion is itself a means of mental discipline. The objects of study which religion furnishes are (1) the nature of the human soul; (2) the progress of Christian doctrine and the development of the Church; (3) the nature of God and His relationship to man. Where will you find a discipline so high, so severe, so perfect, as in the objects of thought which religion can supply?
II. The other side of the relation which religion bears to mental cultivation is that protective and meditative influence which it can exert so as to guard against or remedy the evils in peril of which an exclusively mental exercise always lies. (1) Religion corrects the tendency of culture to ignore the limits of man’s power. (2) Religion teaches us the lesson of humility. Faith, and worship, and adoring love for ever keep the human heart in the ready and loyal acknowledgment of its God. (3) A learning that is nothing but intellectual tends to make us forget our brotherhood. There is nothing more selfish than culture. It withdraws us to a narrow circle. It makes us members of a set. For this fault the only corrective is religion. In- her courts we stand upon a common ground. Here we find an altar whereon the choicest mental endowments shall be too poor an offering, and here we may gain the inspiration of that example which forms the highest pinnacle of human attainment.
L. D. Bevan, Christ and the Age, p. 333.
Job 28:28
I. Wisdom is not learning. A great part of what his contemporaries admired in Solomon consisted of the accumulated mass of facts with which his memory was stored. Yet it is an observation we are constantly forced to make how much a man may know and yet what a fool he may be. That Solomon, for instance, with all his wisdom, was a wise ruler, we have not the slightest reason to suppose. The hasty reader is so impressed with all that is told of his magnificence that he often fails to take notice of what is also told of the cost at which it was kept up—the corvées of forced labour, the grinding taxation of the subjects. We find that on the king’s death the people insisted on an absolute change of system, and failing to obtain it, hurled his dynasty from the throne.
II. Wisdom is not cleverness. I refer to that kind of ability which finds it easy to invent arguments in favour of any line of action it wishes to commend, which is not easily taken by surprise, is ready with plausible answers to objections, and can throw into the most attractive form the reasons for coming to the desired conclusion. All this is but the cleverness of the advocate. What we really want for our practical guidance is the wisdom of the judge.
III. "The fear of the Lord is wisdom," is the declaration of the Old Testament. Wisdom teaches us to provide for our happiness in the most enlightened way. But in the New Testament we have what seems quite a different rule: Seek not your own happiness at all; live and work for the happiness of others; give up all thought of self, all calculation how you may make yourself greater, or more honoured, or more prosperous. That may be noble conduct, but can it be said to be wisdom?
IV. The key to the paradox is found in that golden saying of our Lord, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And there is no difficulty in understanding that this really is the case. Those to whom God has given powers find happiness in their exercise quite independently of the fruits these powers may gain. And in the case of work done for others, it is not only that there is pleasure in the exercise of our powers, it is not only that it is more flattering to our pride to give than to receive, but the heart must be cold which does not find delight when through our gift happiness springs up for others, and their sorrow is turned into joy.
V. If, then, the New Testament has taught us to understand by "the fear of the Lord" something more than had been distinctly revealed in the Old Testament, still we can truly say that the fear of the Lord is wisdom. It is eminently true of love, "Give, and it shall be given to you." If one were found by experience to be perfectly free from selfish aim, one by whom no unkind word was ever spoken, one who was always planning some act of kindness to others, it is impossible but that such a one would inspire such perfect trust, and would be surrounded by such love and gratitude, as would brighten his own life as he strove to brighten those of others.
G. Salmon, Non-miraculous Christianity, p. 171.
References: Job 28:28.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 57; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. vi., p. 21.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1The Mystery of Divine Wisdom
The Mystery of Divine Wisdom
In this famous chapter Job declares that Wisdom—that is, the principle of the divine government of the world—is a mystery not to be solved by man. Man's wisdom lies in fearing God, and in departing from evil. But this conclusion is quite at variance with the position taken by Job in the chapters before and after it. 'It might no doubt be supposed that Job has reached a calmer mood; and abandoning the attempt to discover a speculative solution of the difficulties which distress him, finds man's wisdom to consist in the practical fulfilment of life (Job_28:28). But if Job has risen to this tranquil temper, how comes it that he falls back into complainings (Job_30:20-23) and dissatisfaction at not having been justified by God (Job_31:35)? And, further, if he has reached by the unaided force of his own meditations this devout and submissive frame of mind, how is the ironical tone of the Divine speeches (Job 38 f.) to be accounted for? If he is already resigned to the inscrutability of the divine ways, how does it need to be again pointed out to him?' (Driver). These considerations have induced many scholars to regard the chapter as a later insertion. Some have regarded it as a part of Zophar's third speech, but its quiet beauty and detachment in temper forbid this view. The chapter constitutes an independent poem, which a reader may have inserted here to indicate that the discussion which has just closed deals with subjects too lofty for human understanding.
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1-11. Man can discover precious metals by mining processes, but where can Wisdom be found?
1. Surely] RM 'For.' Perhaps the question in Job_28:12 and Job_28:20, 'Where shall Wisdom be found?', 'Whence then cometh Wisdom?' may be understood at the beginning of this verse. It has even been suggested that it once stood at the beginning and has been omitted by accident.
1. Vein] RV 'mine.' Remains of.mines have been found in Edom a little N. of Petra, and it is well known that copper and turquoise mines were worked by the Egyptians in the Sinaitic Peninsula at least as early as the reign of Sa-nekht, the founder of the third Egyptian dynasty, i.e. according to Prof. Flinders Petrie about 4950 b.c. (see his 'Researches in Sinai'). Where they fine it] RV 'which they refine.'
2. Brass] rather, 'copper.'
3. Render, 'Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones,' etc., a reference to mining operations.
4. RV 'He (the miner) breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They (miners) are forgotten of the foot that passeth by (overhead); They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro (i.e. by ropes).' The word rendered 'shaft' should be' channel.' Ancient mines were often not vertical shafts, but sloping tunnels. A slight change would give 'He breaketh open a shaft away from light.'
5. As it were fire] RV 'as it were by fire,' a reference to mining operations. 7. A path] the miner's tunnel.
9. The miner's excavations.
10. Rivers] RM 'passages.' IIa. RV 'He bindeth (with clay) the streams that they trickle not,' i.e. he prevents water from entering the mine.
12-28. Man can discover some things by his cleverness, but Wisdom, the mystery of the universe and its ordering, is beyond his ken. It is the secret of God who ordained its existence.
13. The price thereof] LXX reads, 'the way thereof.'
14. The depth] the primeval abyss supposed to lie under the earth: cp. Gen_1:2.
15f Cp. Pro_3:14-15; Pro_8:10-11;
17. Crystal] RV 'glass': known to the ancients, but extremely costly.
18. No mention] because there is no comparison. Rubies] RM 'pearls.'
22. Destruction] Heb. Abaddon, the realm of the dead. The fame of Wisdom, but not the knowledge of it, has reached these gloomy regions.
23. See on 12-28. Since God is the creator of the universe, and knows even its most secret recesses, He must know where Wisdom is to be found. Not only so, but the very work of creation and the adjustment of natural phenomena are indications of Wisdom, and prove not merely God's knowledge of Wisdom's abode, but his possession of Wisdom itself.
25. RM 'When he maketh a weight for the wind: yea, he meteth out the waters by measure,' i.e. the regulation by God of the forces of nature.
26. A decree for the rain] i.e. for its regulation.
27. 'When God ordered creation, Wisdom was present to Him; He declared it, gave it existence, and contemplated it in all its fulness with divine approval' (Gibson).
28. Man's wisdom is a distinct thing from the Divine Wisdom. It is that right conduct which accompanies reverence for a holy God.
The description of Wisdom in this chapter closely connects the book of Job in this respect with the other Wisdom literature of the OT., viz. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The personification is, however, less distinct in Job. Wisdom here is only God's attribute. Pro_8:22-31 should be carefully compared with this c.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v11. The treasures of the earth (Job 28:1-6)
CHAPTER 28
1. The treasures of the earth (Job 28:1-6)
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2. The better treasures (Job 28:7-22)
3. God knoweth the way and the true wisdom (Job 28:23-28)
Job 28:1-6. This part of the monologue of Job does not seem to have much relation, if any, to the controversial matter of the previous chapters. He speaks first of the treasures of the earth, the riches which man seeks after, but which do not last, and are so often man’s undoing. Job shows that he had a good knowledge of mining operations. He knows of veins of silver and how gold is refined. Iron is taken out of the earth and copper molten out of stone. Then he describes how the miner with his mining lamp makes an end to the darkness when he digs into the mountains and then he sinks a shaft. They are so far down that the foot which passeth above knows nothing where they are. The dangers of mining he also mentions--”they hang (suspended by ropes) afar from men, they swing to and fro.” All this man does, risking life and comfort, to get gold and the treasures of the earth.
Job 28:7-22. But there are better treasures, truer riches than these. Job evidently aims at a contrast with what man seeks in earthly things and the better things which are for him. There is a better way than digging into the earth for gold and precious stones.
There is a path no bird of prey has ever known,
Nor has the eagle’s eye discovered it.
A path which no proud beast hath ever trod;
Not e’en the lion ever passed that way.
But these paths are not for finding treasures of the earth; and so there is another way to get other riches, far better than silver and gold. Then he speaks again of what man does to bring hidden things to light, how he lays his hand on the flinty rock and overturns the mountains in his mining operations, stemming the subterranean waters, and all to bring the hidden treasures to light. Then he asks: “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” Alas! man does not know the price of wisdom; it is not found in the deep, nor in the sea. Gold cannot buy it, nor silver. The price of wisdom is above rubies, the gold of Ophir, the precious onyx (beryl) or the sapphire. “Whence then cometh wisdom?”
Job 28:23-28. Here is the answer: “God understandeth the way thereof. Yea, in all His creation, He knows the way and much more so in redemption He is in the person of His blessed son, the way to Himself, and in Him all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge are hid.” Then comes the revelation of true wisdom: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” God has spoken to his heart and answered the question concerning wisdom and understanding. And ere long Job himself will demonstrate in his experience the meaning of this verse. In reverence and fear he then turns to Him, bowing in the dust; from evil, yea, from himself he turns, departs and finds the true wisdom and understanding.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1Man’s Foolish Search for Riches
Man’s Foolish Search for Riches
v. 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver, a place prepared by the Creator where it is found, and a place for gold where they fine it, where men refine gold, after the ore has been taken out of the ground. The connection of thought between the statements in this paragraph and that of the previous chapter is this, that true wisdom cannot be dug out of the earth or acquired by the wicked rich like minerals.
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v. 2. Iron is taken out of the earth, brought out by means of deep shafts, and brass is molten out of the stone, that is, the stone of the ore is smelted into copper, this metal being comparatively easily gained.
v. 3. He setteth an end to darkness, men have found ways of lighting up even the dark shafts of the mines beneath the earth, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness and the shadow of death, that is, the enterprise of men has enabled them to penetrate into the earth in every direction, building their shafts in the subterranean darkness and following the lead of the veins of ore to their very end.
v. 4. The flood, the place of cutting through, breaketh out from the inhabitant, that is, man opens or cuts through a shaft, away from those sojourning above, straight down into the earth; even the waters forgotten of the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men, literally, "where forgotten by every one’s foot they dangle, far from mortals, they swing," that is, men dig their shafts down so deeply that they are entirely out of sight and ken of men walking above; they are suspended by ropes far from the surface where other men are living and going about their business. All this is done in order to bring metals up to the surface. But true wisdom cannot be so acquired.
v. 5. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, on its surface the cultivated fields yield grain for man’s food; and under it, by contrast, it is turned up as it were fire, cut up into shafts and galleries, as though fire had eaten through. Man is not satisfied with the products which grow out of the earth, but digs for treasures in its deepest recesses.
v. 6. The stones of it are the place of sapphires, for this precious stone is found in the earth; and it hath dust of gold, the nuggets and grains of gold which settle in pockets of mountain streams become the property of the miner.
v. 7. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, no eagle knows the path to the hidden treasures, and which the vulture’s eye, as sharp as it is, hath not seen, not even he has gazed upon them:
v. 8. the lion’s whelps have not trodden it, the proud beasts of prey, nor the fierce lion passed by it. None of them knew the places where all these riches were hidden.
v. 9. He, that is, man in his restless search for wealth, putteth forth his hand upon the rock, laying his hand even upon flint, the hardest of rocks; he overturneth the mountains by the roots, by digging and blasting for the treasures contained in the ground.
v. 10. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks, cutting passages through solid granite; and his eye seeth every precious thing, for by such digging and blasting the hidden treasures are revealed to the eyes of men.
v. 11. He bindeth the floods from overflowing, stopping the dripping or the seams of water which threaten to fill up the pits and galleries of the mines; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light, by such strenuous mining operations men succeed in bringing up the precious metals and stones hidden in the bosom of the earth. They spare themselves no trouble to gain the vain treasures of this world.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3, 5This is a place where people dig rocks out…
mine
This is a place where people dig rocks out of the earth. These rocks have metal in them.
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refine
This is the process of heating a metal to remove all of the impurities that are in it.
Iron is taken out of the earth
This can be stated in active form. AT: "People take iron out of the earth" (See: Active or Passive)
copper is smelted out of the stone
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people smelt copper out of the stone" or "people heat stone to melt copper out of it" (See: Active or Passive)
copper
an important red-brown colored metal
smelted
This is a process of heating rocks to melt the metal in them in order to get the metal out of the rocks.
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 528:1-28 This section is a self-contained speech. No speaker…
28:1-28 This section is a self-contained speech. No speaker is listed, so it could be a continuation of the preceding words. However, some consider this a poetic interlude by the author of Job that sums up the argument to this point, emphasizes the failure of human wisdom, and lays the foundation for the Lord’s speeches.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5 His purpose is to declare that man may attain…
His purpose is to declare that man may attain in this world to divers secrets of nature, but man is never able to comprehend the wisdom of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the…
Job 28:1 Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold [where] they fine [it].
Ver. 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver] For there is a vein, &c., so Tremellius readeth it. But here is no reason rendered of God’s heavy judgments on the wicked, last discoursed of; but the unsearchableness of God’s wisdom, and the righteousness of his proceedings asserted, while some bad men prosper, and some good men suffer. The reason whereof lieth hid (as a river that runneth underground) from the natural man (and in part, from the spiritual also), be he never so perspicacious or industrious in prying into Nature’s secrets. The silver vein lieth very low, and far out of sight; yet is found out and known; as also is the art of fining it. This art was soon learned in the world; and mortals were quickly become metallaries. Effodiuntur opes, &c. (Ovid). A great part of their skill they might have from Adam, according to that of the Divine chronologer, Ex Adami sapientissimi Doctoris ore promanavit, tanquam ex fonte, quicquid in mundo est utilium doctrinarum, disciplinarum, scientiae et sapientiae. He that knew so much before his fall (far more than ever Solomon did) of Nature’s most hidden mysteries, who can doubt that afterwards also he retained and imparted to his nephews a great deal of abstruse and rich skill? such as was this here instanced, and afterwards by Cicero, among others, celebrated in his second book, De Nat. Deor., where, discoursing about men’s witty inventions, he saith among other things, Nos aeris, argenti, auri venas penitus abditas invenimus, &c., We have found out the veins of brass, silver, gold, and other metals, though deeply hidden in the bowels of the earth. Some of the ancients have wished that we had never found out these metals, because of the great abuse of them. Josephus saith that Cain heaped up great store of them. Strabo saith, that Phaletius feared lest, in digging for gold and silver, men would dig themselves a new way to hell, Et Plutonem brevi ad superos adducturos, and bring up the devil among them (Geog. l. 5). Some say that he haunteth the richest mines, and will not suffer them to be searched. Sure it is, that, by the inordinate love of these metals, he drowneth many a soul in perdition and destruction, 1Ti 6:9-10 Auri sacra fames, &c. So subject they are to sin, as that God made a law to have them purified before he would have them used by his people, Num 31:22-23, &c., who should herein have the mind of those Persians, Isa 13:12; Isa 13:17, which regarded not silver, nor were desirous of gold. If Satan offered them these outward things in a temptation, they should answer him, as Abraham did the king of Sodom, with a "God forbid that I should," &c., Gen 14:23, and send them away from whence they came; as Pellican sent back the silver bowl sent him by the bishop for a token with this answer, Astricti sunt quotquot Tiguri cives, &c., All the inhabitants of our city are sworn not to take any gift from a foreign prince (Melch. Adam). Or as that noble marquis Caracciolus answered the Jesuit, who tempted him with money to revolt from the reformed religion, and to return to Italy, Let their money perish with them, who esteem all the gold in the world worth one day’s society with Jesus Christ, &c. Let it be remembered, that gold is that which the basest element yields, the most savage Indians get, servile apprentices work, Midianitish camels carry, miserable muckworms admire, covetous Jews swallow, unthrifty ruffians spend. Gold makes many men run quick to the devil on an errand; yea, sell their souls to him, as Pope Sixtus V did, for seven years’ enjoyment of the popedom. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things," &c., 1Ti 6:11, and while others lay fast hold on these base and bootless businesses, lay thou hold on eternal life, Job 28:12. But this by way of passing only.
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And a place for the gold where they fine it] Or, From whence they fine it; or, Which they refine. The Spaniards are said to have found in the mines of America more gold than earth. It is accounted of metals the most precious; but it is opinion that sets the price upon it. The only material of money among us is gold and silver; but among the Roman provinces it was most times brass, sometimes leather, Corium forma publica impressum (Seneca). The like is said to have been used here in England in the time of the barons’ wars. And why not? since, A.D. 1574, the Hollanders then being in their extremities, made money of paste board. Who the first man was that made money of gold, Pliny saith is uncertain. But Herodotus writeth, that the Lydians were the first coiners of gold and silver for that use. And Pliny, that Cadmus, the Phoenician, was the first that found gold; viz. at the hill Pangaeus, in Thracia; a place that aboundeth with gold and silver, as Herodotus testifieth. But so did Havilah (afterwards called Susiana, in East India) long before Cadmus was born, Gen 2:11. Near unto this land of Havilah, Solinus saith, were two islands, called Chryse and Argyre, that is, the golden and silver islands, because they were so full of those richest metals, Ut plerique eas aurea sola prodiderint et argentea habere, that many have affirmed the soil thereof to be of gold and silver. Junius thinketh that Solinus and Pliny called this land of Havilah (by mistake of letters) Babytace, the inhabitants whereof, saith Solinus, through hatred of gold, for the hurt it doth mankind, buy up and bury very deep in the earth all the gold they can get. Like as Crates, the Theban philosopher, is said to have cast his gold into the sea for a similar reason, as he pretended when he said, at the same time, Abite malae cupiditates: ego vos mergam, ne ipse mergar a vobis, but indeed, for a name, as Jerome rightly judgeth; calling him therefore, Gloriae animal, popularis aurae vile mancipium, a vain glorious fool (Hier. ep. ad Julian consolat.). There is no hurt in having these metals, so we love them not; so they do not get within us, as Luk 11:41; so we make not our gold our god, nor say to the fine gold, "Thou art my confidence," Job 31:25, Divites magis aurum suspiciunt quam caelum (Minut. Octav.).
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–5 There is a vein for the silver; where it…
There is a vein for the silver; where it is hid by God, and found and fetched out by the art and industry of man. The connexion of this chapter with the former is difficult, and diversly apprehended; but this may seem to be the fairest account of it: Job having in the last chapter discoursed of God’s various providences and carriages towards wicked men, and showed that God doth sometimes for a season give them wealth and prosperity, but afterwards calls them to a sad account, and punisheth them severely for their abuse of his mercies; and having formerly showed that God doth sometimes prosper the wicked all their days, so as they live and die without any visible token of God’s displeasure against them, when, on the contrary, good men are exercised with many and grievous calamities; and perceiving that his friends were, as men in all ages have been, scandalized at these methods of Divine Providence, and denied the thing, because they could not understand the reason of such unequal dispensations: in this chapter he declares that this is one of the depths and secrets of Divine Wisdom, not discoverable by any mortal man in this world; and that although men had some degree of wisdom whereby they could dig deep, and search out many hidden things, as the veins of silver, gold, &c., yet this was a wisdom of a higher nature, and out of man’s reach. And hereby he secretly checks the arrogance and confidence of his friends, who, because they had some parts of wisdom, the knowledge of natural things, such as are here contained, and of human affairs, and of some Divine matters, therefore presumed to fathom the depths of God’s wisdom and providence, and to judge of all God’s ways and works by the scantling of their own narrow understandings. Possibly it may be connected thus: Job having been discoursing of the wonderful ways of God, both in the works of nature, Job 26:5-14, and in his providential dispensations towards wicked men, Job 27:13-23 to the end, he here returns to the first branch of his discourse, and discovers more of God’s wisdom and power in natural things. And this he doth partly, that by this manifestation of his singular skill in the ways and actions of God, he might vindicate himself from that contempt which they seemed to have of him, and oblige them to hear what he had further to say with more attention and consideration; and partly that by this representation of the manifold wisdom and power of God, they might be wrought to a greater reverence for God and for his works, and not presume to judge so rashly and boldly of them, and to condemn what they did not understand in them.
Where they fine it; or rather, as it is in the margin of our Bibles, which they, to wit, the refiners, do fine. For he speaks not here of the works of men and of art, but of God and of nature, as is manifest from the foregoing and following words.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here Job shows, 1. What a great way the…
Here Job shows, 1. What a great way the wit of man may go in diving into the depths of nature and seizing the riches of it, what a great deal of knowledge and wealth men may, by their ingenious and industrious searches, make themselves masters of. But does it therefore follow that men may, by their wit, comprehend the reasons why some wicked people prosper and others are punished, why some good people prosper and others are afflicted? No, by no means. The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of heaven. 2. What a great deal of care and pains worldly men take to get riches. He had observed concerning the wicked man (Job 27:16) that he heaped up silver as the dust; now here he shows whence that silver came which he was so fond of and how it was obtained, to show what little reason wicked rich men have to be proud of their wealth and pomp. Observe here,
I. The wealth of this world is hidden in the earth. Thence the silver and the gold, which afterwards they refine, are fetched, Job 28:1. There they lay mixed with a great deal of dirt and dross, like a worthless thing, of no more account than common earth; and abundance of them will so lie neglected, till the earth and all the works therein shall be burnt up. Holy Mr. Herbert, in his poem called Avarice, takes notice of this, to shame men out of the love of money: -
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Money, thou bane of bliss, thou source of woe,
Whence com'st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
I know thy parentage is base and low;
Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.
Surely thou didst so little contribute
To this great kingdom which thou now hast got
That he was fain, when thou wast destitute,
To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.
Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich,
And while he digs out thee falls in the ditch.
Iron and brass, less costly but more serviceable metals, are taken out of the earth (Job 28:2), and are there found in great abundance, which abates their price indeed, but is a great kindness to man, who could much better be without gold than without iron. Nay, out of the earth comes bread, that is, bread-corn, the necessary support of life, Job 28:5. Thence man's maintenance is fetched, to remind him of his own original; he is of the earth, and is hastening to the earth. Under it is turned up as it were fire, precious stones, that sparkle as fire - brimstone, that is apt to take fire - coal, that is proper to feed fire. As we have our food, so we have our fuel, out of the earth. There the sapphires and other gems are, and thence gold-dust is digged up;, Job 28:6. The wisdom of the Creator has placed these things, 1. Out of our sight, to teach us not to set our eyes upon them, Pro 23:5. 2. Under our feet, to teach us not to lay them in our bosoms, nor to set our hearts upon them, but to trample upon them with a holy contempt. See how full the earth is of God's riches (Psa 104:24) and infer thence, not only how great a God he is whose the earth is and the fulness thereof (Psa 24:1), but how full heaven must needs be of God's riches, which is the city of the great King, in comparison with which this earth is a poor country.
II. The wealth that is hidden in the earth cannot be obtained but with a great deal of difficulty. 1. It is hard to be found out: there is but here and there a vein for the silver, Job 28:1. The precious stones, though bright themselves, yet, because buried in obscurity and out of sight, are called stones of darkness and the shadow of death. Men may search long before they light on them. 2. When found out it is hard to be fetched out. Men's wits must be set on work to contrive ways and means to get this hidden treasure into their hands. They must with their lamps set an end to darkness; and if one expedient miscarry, one method fail, they must try another, till they have searched out all perfection, and turned every stone to effect it, Job 28:3. They must grapple with subterraneous waters (Job 28:4, Job 28:10, Job 28:11), and force their way through rocks which are, as it were, the roots of the mountains, Job 28:9. Now God has made the getting of gold, and silver, and precious stones, so difficult, (1.) For the exciting and engaging of industry. Dii laboribus omnia vendunt - Labour is the price which the gods affix to all things. If valuable things were too easily obtained men would never learn to take pains. But the difficulty of gaining the riches of this earth may suggest to us what violence the kingdom of heaven suffers. (2.) For the checking and restraining of pomp and luxury. What is for necessity is had with a little labour from the surface of the earth; but what is for ornament must be dug with a great deal of pains out of the bowels of it. To be fed is cheap, but to be fine is chargeable.
III. Though the subterraneous wealth is thus hard to obtain, yet men will have it. He that loves silver is not satisfied with silver, and yet is not satisfied without it; but those that have much must needs have more. See here, 1. What inventions men have to get this wealth. They search out all perfection, Job 28:3. They have arts and engines to dry up the waters, and carry them off, when they break in upon them in their mines and threaten to drown the work, Job 28:4. They have pumps, and pipes, and canals, to clear their way, and, obstacles being removed, they tread the path which no fowl knoweth (Job 28:7, Job 28:8), unseen by the vulture's eye, which is piercing and quick-sighted, and untrodden by the lion's whelps, which traverse all the paths of the wilderness. 2. What pains men take, and what vast charge they are at, to get this wealth. They work their way through the rocks and undermine the mountains, Job 28:10. 3. What hazards they run. Those that dig in the mines have their lives in their hands; for they are obliged to bind the floods from overflowing (Job 28:11), and are continually in danger of being suffocated by damps or crushed or buried alive by the fall of the earth upon them. See how foolish man adds to his own burden. He is sentenced to eat bread in the sweat of his face; but, as if that were not enough, he will get gold and silver at the peril of his life, though the more is gotten the less valuable it is. In Solomon's time silver was as stones. But, 4. Observe what it is that carries men through all this toil and peril: Their eye sees every precious thing, Job 28:10. Silver and gold are precious things with them, and they have them in their eye in all these pursuits. They fancy they see them glittering before their faces, and, in the prospect of laying hold of them, they make nothing of all these difficulties; for they make something of their toil at last: That which is hidden bringeth he forth to light, Job 28:11. What was hidden under ground is laid upon the bank; the metal that was hidden in the ore is refined from its dross and brought forth pure out of the furnace; and then he thinks his pains well bestowed. Go to the miners then, thou sluggard in religion; consider their ways, and be wise. Let their courage, diligence, and constancy in seeking the wealth that perisheth shame us out of slothfulness and faint-heartedness in labouring for the true riches. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier and safer! Yet gold is sought for, but grace neglected. Will the hopes of precious things out of the earth (so they call them, though really they are paltry and perishing) be such a spur to industry, and shall not the certain prospect of truly precious things in heaven be much more so?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Surely there is a vein for the silver,.... Silver…
Surely there is a vein for the silver,.... Silver is mentioned first, not because the most valuable, for gold is preferable to it, as brass is to iron, and yet iron is mentioned first in Job 28:2; but because silver might be first known, or was first in use, especially in the coinage of money; we read of pieces of silver, or shekels of silver, in the times of Abraham, but not of any golden coin, Gen 23:15; and among the old Romans silver was coined before gold (p); it has its name from a word which signifies "desire", because it is desirable to men, it answering to various uses and purposes; and sometimes the desires and cravings of men after it are enlarged too far, and become criminal, and so the root of all evil to them: and now there is a "vein" for it in the earth, or a mine in which it may be dug for, and found, in which it runs as veins in a man's body, in certain ramifications, like branches of trees, as they do; and the inhabitants of Hispaniola, and other parts of the West Indies, when found out by Columbus, which abounded with gold mines, declared that they found by experience that the vein of gold is a living tree, (and so the same, perhaps, may be said of silver,) and that it spreads and springs from the root, which they say extends to the centre of the earth by soft pores and passages of the earth, and puts forth branches, even to the uppermost part of the earth, and ceases not till it discovers itself unto the open air; at which time it shows forth certain beautiful colours instead of flowers, round stones of golden earth instead of fruits, and thin plates instead of leaves (q); so here there is a vein, or a "going out for the silver" (r), by which it makes its way, as observed of the gold, and shows itself by some signs and tokens where it may be found; or rather this egress is made for it, by opening the mine where it is, digging into it, and fetching it out of it, and from whence great quantities are often brought. In Solomon's time it was made as the stones in Jerusalem, Kg1 10:27;
and a place for gold where they fine it; there are particular places for this most excellent of all metals, which has its name in Hebrew from its yellow colour; all countries do not produce it; some are famous for it, and some parts of them, as the land of Havilah, where was gold, and that gold was good, Gen 2:11; and Ophir; hence we often read of the gold of Ophir, so called from the place where it was found, as in this chapter, Job 28:16; and now the Spanish West Indies; but nearer to Job than these gold was found; there were not only mountains that abounded with gold near to Horeb, in the desert of Arabia (s), but it was to be found with the Sabeans (t), the near neighbours of Job; yea, the Ophir before referred to was in Arabia. Some understand this of the place where pure gold is found already refined, and needs no melting and refining; and of such Pliny (u) speaks, and of large lumps and masses of it; but for the most part it lies in ore, which needs refining; and so here it may intend the place where it is found in the ore, and from whence it is taken and had to the place where it is refined; for melting places used to be near where the golden ore was found; and so when Hispaniola was first found by Columbus, the gold that was dug out of the mountains of Cibana, and other places, were brought to two shops, which were erected with all things appertaining to melt and refine it, and cast into wedges; and so early as that, in these two shops, were molten yearly three hundred thousand pound weight of gold (w).
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(p) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 3. (q) Peter Martyr. Decad. 3. l. 8. (r) "exitus", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Drusius, Michaelis; "egressio", Vatablus. (s) Hieron. de loc. Heb. fol. 90. A. (t) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. (u) Ut supra, (Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33.) c. 4. (w) P. Martyr. Decad. 1. l. 10.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5 The wisdom of God in the works of nature,…
The wisdom of God in the works of nature, ver. 1-11. A wisdom like this cannot be found in man, neither can it be bought at any price, ver. 12-21. Death makes a report concerning it, ver. 22. It is hid in God, ver. 23-27. To fear God is man's wisdom, ver. 28.
Surely - Job having in the last chapter discoursed of God's various providences toward wicked men, and shewed that God doth sometimes, for a season, give them prosperity, but afterwards calls them to a sad account, and having shewed that God doth sometimes prosper the wicked all their days, so they live and die without any visible token of God's displeasure, when on the contrary, good men are exercised with many calamities; and perceiving that his friends were, scandalized at these methods of Divine providence, and denied the thing, because they could not understand the reason of such dispensations: in this chapter he declares that this is one of the depths of Divine wisdom, not discoverable by any mortal man, and that although men had some degree of wisdom whereby they could search out many hidden things, as the veins of silver, and gold, yet this was a wisdom of an higher nature, and out of man's reach. The caverns of the earth he may discover, but not the counsels of heaven.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Job, in showing the vanity of human pursuits in…
CHAPTER XXVIII
Job, in showing the vanity of human pursuits in reference to
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genuine wisdom, mentions mining for and refining gold and
silver, 1;
iron and other minerals, 2;
the difficulties of mining, 3, 4;
produce of grain for bread from the earth, and stones of fire
from under it, 5.
He speaks of precious stones and gold dust, 6;
of the instinct of fowls and wild beasts in finding their way,
7, 8;
and of the industry and successful attempts of men in mining
and other operations, 9-11:
but shows that with all their industry, skill, and perseverance,
they cannot find out true wisdom, 12;
of which he gives the most exalted character, 13-22;
and shows that God alone, the fountain of wisdom, knows and can
teach it, 24-27;
and in what this true wisdom consists, 28.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII
Verse 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver] This chapter is the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world, and gives us very important information on several curious subjects; and could we ascertain the precise meaning of all the original words, we might, most probably, find out allusions to several useful arts which we are apt to think are of modern, or comparatively modern, invention.
The word מוצא motsa, which we here translate vein, signifies literally, a going out; i.e., a mine, or place dug in the earth, whence the silver ore is extracted. And this ore lies generally in veins or loads, running in certain directions.
A place for gold where they fine it.] This should rather be translated, A place for gold which they refine. Gold ore has also its peculiar mine, and requires to be refined from earthy impurities.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5 Job 28:1. Surely, &c. — Job, having confuted his…
Job 28:1. Surely, &c. — Job, having confuted his three friends on their own principles, in the last two and some of the preceding chapters, here falls into a kind of soliloquy on the difficulty of obtaining true wisdom. His friends had laid claim to it from their great age, and from their knowledge of ancient traditions: see Job 5:27, and Job 8:8-9, and Job 15:9-10, and Job 20:4; but he had shown them of how little importance or signification their conclusions were. Where, then, it became the question, is wisdom to be found? To answer this question is the intent of Job’s discourse in this chapter, which is evidently an inquiry after wisdom; not the unsearchable depths of God’s counsels, but wisdom in general; or, rather, the wisdom proper to man: see Job 28:28. Job here determines, that even that wisdom is not attainable by the human capacity and industry without a revelation from God. The several arts of discovering and purifying silver, of refining gold, making iron and brass from the ore, the art of mining itself, the secrets of husbandry, are all within the reach of human ability and diligence: but to comprehend the ways of Divine Providence, and understand the reasons of God’s dispensations toward mankind, whether the righteous or the wicked, is above man’s capacity, and can only be known so far as God is pleased to reveal them: that God, however, has furnished man with a sufficient rule to walk by, and that to attend to it is his highest wisdom, and, indeed, the only way to be truly wise; all other speculations and attempts to attain true wisdom being vain and fruitless.
There is a vein for silver, &c. — Thus the chapter begins with a fine description of the indefatigable industry and ardour of mankind in searching after things which contribute either to the use or ornament of life; how they dig into the bowels of the earth for metals, gold, silver, iron, brass; and that the industry or avarice of man is without bounds: he searcheth into the land of darkness itself for hidden treasures. The word rendered vein, מוצא, mutza, signifies properly a going forth; there is a going forth for the silver: that is, “man hath found where silver may be dug out of the earth.” And a place for gold where they fine it — Or, as it is in the margin, rather, for gold which they fine. For he speaks not here of the works of men and of art, but of those of God and nature, as is manifest from the foregoing and following words.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Surely there is a vein for silver - Margin,…
Surely there is a vein for silver - Margin, “mine” Coverdale renders this, “There are places where silver is molten.” Prof. Lee renders it, “There is an outlet for the silver,” and supposes it means the coming out or separation of the silver from the earthy particles by which it is surrounded in the ore, not the coming out from the mine. The word rendered “vein” (מוצא môtsâ') means properly a going forth, as the rising of the sun, Psa 19:6; the promulgation of an edict Dan 9:25; then a place of going forth - as a gate, door; Eze 42:11; Eze 43:11, and thence a mine, a vein, or a place of the going forth of metals; that is, a place where they are procured. So the Septuagint here, Ἔστι γὰρ άργυρίῳ τό πος ὅθεν γίνεται Esti gar arguriō topos hothen ginetai - “there is a place for silver whence it is obtained.” The idea here is that man had evinced his wisdom in finding out the mines of silver and working them. It was one of the instances of his skill that he had been able to penetrate into the earth, and bring out the ore of the precious metals, and convert it to valuable purposes.
And a place for gold - A workshop, or laboratory, for working the precious metals. Job says, that even in his time such a laboratory was a proof of the wisdom of man. So now, one of the most striking proofs of skill is to be found in the places where the precious metals are purified, and worked into the various forms in which they are adapted to ornament and use.
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Where they fine it - - יזקו yāzoqû. The word used here (זקק zâqaq) means properly to bind fast, to fetter; and then to compress, to squeeze through a strainer; and hence, to strain, filter; and thence to purify - as wine that is thus filtered, or gold that is purified Mal 3:3. It may refer here to any process of purifying or refining. It is commonly done by the application of heat. One of the instructive uses of the book of Job is the light which it throws incidentally on the state of the ancient arts and sciences, and the condition of society in reference to the comforts of life at the early period of the world when the author lived. In this passage it is clear:
(1) that the metals were then in general use, and
(2) that they were so worked as to furnish, in the view of Job a striking illustration of human wisdom and skill.
Society was so far advanced as to make use not only of gold and silver, but also of copper and brass. The use of gold and silver commonly precedes the discovery of iron, and consequently the mention of iron in any ancient book indicates a considerably advanced state of society. It is of course, not known to what extent the art of working metals was carried in the time of Job, as all that would be indicated here would be that the method of obtaining the pure metal from the ore was understood. It may be interesting, however, to observe, that the art was early known to the Egyptians, and was carried by them to a considerable degree of perfection. Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in vestures of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck; Gen 41:42, and great quantities of gold and silver ornaments were borrowed by the Israelites of the Egyptians, when they were about to go to the promised land. Gold and silver are mentioned as known in the earliest ages; compare Gen 2:11-12; Gen 41:42; Exo 20:23; Gen 23:15-16. Iron is also mentioned as having been early known; Gen 4:22. Tubal Cain was instructor in iron and brass. Gold and silver mines were early worked in Egypt, and if Moses was the compiler of the book of Job, it is possible that some of the descriptions here may have been derived from that country, and at all events the mode of working these precious metals was probably the same in Arabia and Egypt. From the mention of ear rings, bracelets, and jewels of silver and gold, in the days of Abraham, it is evident that the art of metallurgy was known at a very remote period. Workmen are noticed by Homer as excelling in the manufacture of arms, rich vases, and other objects inlaid or ornamented with vessels:
Πηλείδης δ ̓ ἆιψ ἄλλα τίθει ταχυτῆτος ἄεθλα,
Αργύρεον κρατῆρα τετυγμειον.
Pēleidēs d' aips alla tithei tachutēnos aethla,
Argirepm kratēra tetugmeion.
Iliad xxiii. 741.
His account of the shield of Achilles (Iliad xviii. 474) proves that the art of working in the precious metals was well known in his time; and the skill required to delineate the various objects which he describes was such as no ordinary artisan, even at this time, could be supposed to possess. In Egypt, ornaments of gold and silver, consisting of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets, have been found in considerable abundance of the times of Osirtasen I, and Thothmes III, the contemporaries of Joseph and of Moses. Diodorus (i. 49) mentions silver mine of Egypt which produced 3,200 myriads of minae. The gold mines of Egypt remained long unknown, and their position has been ascertained only a few years since by M. Linant and M. Bonomi. They lie in the Bisharee desert, about seventeen days’ journey to the South-eastward from Derow. The matrix in which the gold in Egypt was found is quartz, and the excavations to procure the gold are exceedingly deep.
The principal excavation is 180 feet deep. The quartz thus obtained was broken by the workmen into small fragments, of the size of a bean, and these were passed through hand mills made of granitic stone, and when reduced to powder the quartz was washed on inclined tables, and the gold was thus separated from the stone. Diodorus says, that the principal persons engaged in mining operations were captives, taken in war, and persons who were compelled to labor in the mines, for offences against the government. They were bound in fetters, and compelled to labor night and day. “No attention,” he says, “is paid to these persons; they have not even a piece of rag to cover themselves; and so wretched is their condition, that every one who witnesses it, deplores the excessive misery which they endure. No rest, no intermission from toil, are given either to the sick or the maimed; neither the weakness of age, nor women’s infirmities, are regarded; all are driven to the work with the lash, until, at last, overcome with the intolerable weight of their afflictions, they die in the midst of their toil.”
Diodorus adds, “Nature indeed, I think, teaches that as gold is obtained with immense labor, so it is kept with difficulty, creating great anxiety, and attended in its use both with pleasure and with grief.” It was perhaps, in view of such laborious and difficult operations in obtaining the precious metals, and of the skill which man had evinced in extracting them from the earth, that Job alluded here to the process as a striking proof of human wisdom. On the early use of the metals among the ancient Egyptians, the reader may consult with advantage, Wilkinsoh’s “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,” vol. iii. pp. 215ff.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Silver. Hebrew, "Surely there is a vein, or mine,…
Silver. Hebrew, "Surely there is a vein, or mine, for silver." (Haydock) --- The sagacity of man has discovered all these things. Wonderful also is the instinct of animals, ver. 7. Yet wisdom comes from God alone; and those act rashly, who pretend to dive into his counsels in punishing his creatures and ruling the world. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–5 brass--that is, copper; for brass is a mixed metal…
brass--that is, copper; for brass is a mixed metal of copper and zinc, of modern invention. Iron is less easily discovered, and wrought, than copper; therefore copper was in common use long before iron. Copper-stone is called "cadmium" by PLINY [Natural History, 34:1; 36:21]. Iron is fitly said to be taken out of the "earth" (dust), for ore looks like mere earth.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Section third — PANEGYRIC OF WISDOM, chap. 28.
Section third — PANEGYRIC OF WISDOM, chap. 28.
First strophe — Man has wonderful power and skill for surmounting the obstacles of nature and extracting from the gloomiest depths of earth her most precious treasures, Job_28:1-11.
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1. For beauty of thought and richness of imagery, Job’s eulogium of wisdom is worthy to be compared with Paul’s panegyric of charity. (1 Corinthians 13.) Delitzsch calls it “a song of triumph without vain-glory.” Job is unconsciously carving for himself a monolith with an ineffaceable inscription of the two predominant traits of his character, the fear of God and the eschewing of evil. (Compare Job_28:28 with Job_1:8.) The deep mysteriousness of the divine procedure in the punishment of the wicked, the main thought of the preceding chapter, leads him to speak of divine wisdom in general, whose ways are unsearchable, and, like the field of the miner’s toil, buried in darkness. The wicked through toil and danger may, like the miner, acquire jewels, precious stones, and great store of wealth, but the true and abiding treasures are with God, and come from God alone. The covetous rich man treasures up silver and costly vestments, Job_27:16, but fails of celestial good — the divine wisdom, a “pearl of great price;” and this loss is his punishment also — a carrying forward of the retributive thought of the preceding chapter. Hengstenberg, following Von Hofmann, thus traces the connexion: “Sin is the destruction of men; the wicked man must go to the ground; FOR wisdom, which alone can ward off destruction, is to be found only in God; the sinner is excluded from this wisdom, and must therefore run into the arms of destruction.” “The sea of life abounds in rocks on which the bark must soon split, if so be wisdom sit not at the helm.” — 2:181, 172. “In the organism of the work this chapter is the jewelled clasp that binds the one half, the complication of the plot, to the other half, its solution.” — Delitzsch.
Surely — For, links the entire chapter with the last ten verses of 27. The transition is abrupt, and is in perfect keeping with Job and the Oriental mode of thought in general.
A vein — Literally, outlet, for the silver. In the most ancient times silver was more scarce than gold. Hence throughout the Old Testament we find keseph, silver, used as a term for money. Abraham bought the field of Ephron for “four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.” Gen_23:16. The most important silver mines of the ancients were in Spain.
A place for gold — Gold abounded in Ethiopia, also in Nubia, as is indicated by the word noub, old Egyptian for gold. There remains to the present time an historical tablet of Rameses II., relating to the gold mines of Ethiopia, possibly the very mines which have been recently discovered in the Bisharee desert, by Linant and Bonomi. Jerome speaks of ancient gold mines in Idumaea, Job’s home.
Where they fine — Which they refine. The two different words employed by the Hebrew for refining, זקק, of the text, and tsaraph, point to two different processes of refining, the one (that of the text) of filtering or straining, the other of smelting by fire. Both of these Hebrew words for refining appear in Mal_3:3, and are in later times probably used interchangeably.
The process of refining by filtering is described at length by Diodorus, iii, chap. 1. The figure below illustrates the Egyptian mode of smelting.
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Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–5 1. surely there is] Rather, for there is. The…
1. surely there is] Rather, for there is. The connexion, however, with the preceding is difficult to perceive (see at the end of the chapter).
there is a vein] lit. an issue or source. The emphasis falls on is—there is a place from which silver comes forth, it has a source out of which it may be gotten.
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where they fine it] Rather, which they (men) refine. The most precious ores, both silver and gold, have a place where they may be found; however distant and dark and deep in the earth their place be, such a place is known, men penetrate to it, and bring them forth. The antithesis is presented in Job_28:12, But whence shall Wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? It hath no place known to man.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5 (1) Surely there is a vein for the silver.—In…
XXVIII.
(1) Surely there is a vein for the silver.—In this chapter Job draws out a magnificent contrast between human skill and ingenuity and Divine wisdom. The difficulty to the ordinary reader is in not perceiving that the person spoken of in Job_28:3 is man, and not God. Man possesses and exercises this mastery over nature, but yet is ignorant of wisdom unless God bestows it on him. That Job should say this is but natural, after his painful experience of the want of wisdom in his friends.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–5 Vers. 1-28. The connection of this chapter with the…
Vers. 1-28. The connection of this chapter with the preceding is somewhat obscure. Probably we are to regard Job as led to see, even while he is justifying God"s ways with sinners, (Job_27:8-23) how many and how great are the difficulties in the way of forming a single consistent theory of the Divine action, which shall be applicable to all cases. Hence he comes to the conclusion that God is incomprehensible by man and inscrutable; and that it is only given to man to know him sufficiently for his practical guidance. To impress this on his hearers is his main object (vers. 12-28); and, to impress it the more, he introduces it by a sharp contrast. Wonderful as is man"s cleverness and ingenuity in respect of earthly things and physical phenomena (vers. 1-11), with respect to heavenly things and the spiritual world wherewith true wisdom is concerned he knows next to nothing. All that he knows is just enough to guide his conduct aright (ver. 28).
Surely there is a vein for the silver; literally, an issue for silver? i.e. a place or places whence it is drawn forth from the earth. The silver-mines of Spain were very early worked by the Phoenicians, and produced the metal in great abundance (see the author"s "History of Phoenicia," p. 314). But Asia itself was probably the source whence silver was obtained in primitive times. And a place for gold where they fine it; or, fuse it. Gold is very widely spread over the earth"s surface, and in ancient times was especially abundant in Arabia (Diod. Sic.. 2:1; 3:42; Strabo, 16:4. Pity, "Hist. Nat.," 6:32, etc.); so that Job might easily have been acquainted with the processes of fusing and refining it. Two processes of refining are mentioned by Diedorus as practised by the Egyptians. (Jer_3:11)
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Vers. 1-28. Job"s first parable: 3. A discourse upon true wisdom.
I THE WISDOM UNDISCOVERABLE BY HUMAN GENIUS. Among the stupendous efforts of human industry and skill with which Job was acquainted, nothing was better fitted to impress the mind with a sense of man"s illimitable daring, resistless might, and wonderful success in searching out all perfection (ver. 3), and brining hidden things to light (ver. 11), than the operations of the miner. These, a knowledge of which may have been derived from mines then being worked in Egypt, the Sinaitic peninsula, and Arabia (vide Exposition; and cf. Delitzsch, in loco), are with much accuracy and vividness portrayed.
1. The treasures the miner seeks. These are set forth by their names and the places where they commonly are found.
(1) Silver from the issuing place, i.e. from the mine; and gold, which men refine, from its place, i.e. also from the mine. Expositors generally remark upon the accuracy of these statements, which speak of silver as being found in a vein or "issue" at some depth below the ground, and gold as obtained near the surface; of the silver as requiring to be dug from the earth, and of gold as needing to be washed out from the pulverized rock. The first mention in Scripture of "gold and silver" is in connection with Abraham"s return out of Egypt, (Gen_13:2) though gold afterwards abounded in Arabia and Judaea in the time of Solomon. (1Ki_10:2, 1Ki_10:21, 1Ki_10:27) If "the use of gold and silver commonly precedes the. discovery of iron (Barnes), then it is probable that those precious metals were not unknown to Tubal-Cain and his contemporaries. (Gen_4:22) It is impossible to say to what extent the art of metal-working had advanced in Job s time, but the mention of ear-rings and bracelets in the days of Abraham, (Gen_24:30) and of silver cups, gold rings, and gold chains in the age of Joseph, (Gen_41:42 Gen_44:2) makes it obvious that considerable proficiency had been attained prior to the era of Moses. In the estimation of Job the procuring and preparing of these precious metals were signal illustrations of the power and skill of man.
(2) Iron from the dust, i.e. from the bowels of the earth, and copper from the stone, i.e. from the ore by smelting. Tubal-Cain is the first known worker in brass (copper) and iron. (Gen_4:22) Iron is afterwards mentioned in the time of Og King of Bashan, B.C. 1350. The working of iron and copper mines is more difficult than those of gold or silver; hence the use of the former metals indicates a more advanced state of civilization.
(3) Stones of darkness and of the shadow of death. These may be the copper and iron ores which are fetched up from the lowest depths of the earth; the miner in pursuit of them penetrating into the remotest regions, making an end of darkness, lighting up the lightless interior of the earth, and carrying his search into every extremity, i.e. into every nook and corner (ver. 3). Or they may include all kinds of precious stones, such as the sapphire (ver. 6), lying buried in the dark recesses of the earth, which, in order to appease man"s insatiable thirst of acquisition, are turned up as it were by fire, although out of it, i.e. from the surface of the earth, there cometh forth bread (ver. 5).
2. The path the miner follows. A solitary path.
(1) Remote from human ken (ver. 4). Out amid the solitudes of the Sinaitic peninsula the miner sinks his shaft down beneath the surface of the ground, leaving behind him the homes and habitations of men. There, forgotten by travellers overhead, he swings himself down the pit-shaft by a rope, descending to his lonely toil; or, perhaps, sitting suspended at his work, he swings to and fro, far removed from human-kind.
(2) Withdrawn from creature-observation (vers. 7, 8). Sweeping far and wide in search of prey, the eagle"s or the vulture"s eye cannot gaze on the hidden path by which the miner presses towards his spoils; nay, in quest of earth"s treasures he travels by a road inaccessible to, and even imperceptible by, the lion and other proud beasts of prey. That man can penetrate to secret retreats in pursuit of wealth, where neither quick-sighted bird nor keen-scented beast can follow, is a striking testimony to man"s superiority over the brute creation.
3. The works the miner executes. Some of these have been mentioned already, but for the sake of continuity may be here repeated.
(1) Sinking a shaft (ver. 4), down which he descends by a rope.
(2) Exploring the interior of the earth"s crust (ver. 5), turning it up as it were by fire.
(3) Blasting and clearing away the rock that contains no ore (ver. 9), laying his hand upon the quartz and turning up the mountains by the roots. That blasting was practised in ancient times is stated by Pliny (vide Exposition; and of. Delitzsch).
(4) Cutting channels, or galleries, in the rock to drain off the water (ver. 10), or, according to another view, to bring in water to wash the gold ore.
(5) Guarding against the flooding of the mine (ver. 11), by binding up the watercourses that they weep not (a technical term still used among colliers), i.e. damming up the water that percolates through the roof and sides of the pit, which would otherwise interfere with the operations of the miner, but which, being restrained, enables him to bring to light whatever precious things the bowels of the earth conceal. And now, having finished this vivid and instructive sketch of the enterprise, skill, and power with which the miner explores the deep places of the earth in search of wealth, the poet tarns to ask in triumph Where are man"s corresponding successes in the pursuit of wisdom? Man can dig and cut and blast his way through rocks and mountains till he reaches the place of sapphires; but the haunt of wisdom, i.e. of the true principles of the Divine administration, and the place of understanding, i.e. the faculty of applying these to particular cases, are and must remain for ever beyond his ken.
II TRUE WISDOM INCOMPARABLE IN ITS VALUE. Picturing a pearl-merchant anxious to purchase this heavenly treasure, (of Mat_13:45, Mat_13:46) Job remarks:
1. That it cannot be discovered in order to be valued. Should one roam through the land of the living, i.e. traverse the face of earth in every direction in pursuit of it, it would still elude his observation. Should he "take the wings of the morning, and flee to the uttermost parts of the sea", (Psa_139:9) inquiring after it, the sea with every rippling billow would reply, "It is not with me." Nay, should he dive into the subterranean abyss of waters, (Psa_139:8) still prosecuting his research after wisdom, up from those dark depths would sound the answer, "Not in me.
2. That, if it could be discovered, man cannot estimate its worth. "A mortal knoweth not its price" (ver. 13). So transcendent in its excellence is this heavenly wisdom, so l at surpassing man"s ordinary conceptions, that the task of appreciating its essential value is beyond the capacities of his finite understanding. "Man is the measure of the universe," said Pythagoras. "Be it so," is Job"s thought; "here is something outside of the universe of which the vastest human intelligence is not the measure the Divine wisdom, in accordance with which it has been framed, and by which it is continually governed, including the Divine intelligence that devised the ideal plan of the world, the ideal plan or pattern itself, and the combined wisdom and power by which that plan is carried forward into minute and complete realization.
3. That, even if its price could be told, its equivalent could not be found by man. "The poet lays everything under contribution to illustrate the thought that the worth of wisdom exceeds the worth of the most valuable earthly thing" (Delitzsch). Nothing that the miner can bring up from the bowels of the earth, nor aught that the merchant can import from foreign climes; nay, not all of these together can be set in comparison with heaven"s jewel of eternal wisdom. (Pro_3:14, Pro_3:15) Gold and silver of the rarest, purest, brightest quality; costly pearls of most delicate hue and of fabulous worth; the entire wealth of a world, cannot purchase it. (Pro_8:10, Pro_8:11) What Job asserts of the wisdom which enables one to understand and appreciate the. principles of Divine government on earth is more true of that wisdom which maketh wise unto salvation. It also is in itself undiscoverable by man. (1Co_1:21) Its true worth cannot properly be appreciated by man. (Rom_11:33) Its mercantile equivalent cannot be offered or even found by man. (Mat_16:26) The price of him who is the Wisdom of God (1Co_1:24) is above rubies.
III TRUE WISDOM POSSESSED BY GOD ALONE. Since wisdom can neither be discovered by man"s intelligence nor purchased by man"s gold, the question naturally recurs, "Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" in response to which Job affirms:
1. That true wisdom is the secret of God alone. God"s exclusive knowledge of wisdom is impressively represented by a renewed declaration of the utter ignorance of all created beings concerning this transcendent theme.
(1) Man is absolutely powerless to speak a profitable word upon the subject, "seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living" (ver. 21). So the Divine plan of redemption is one which it never would have entered into the mind of man to conceive. (1Co_2:8, 1Co_2:9) And hence human schemes of salvation have ever proved insufficient and worthless.
(2) The creatures generally are unable to afford information on this lofty question. Even the far-seeing birds, to which ancient diviners were wont to turn in their perplexities, have no oracle to utter, seeing it is "kept close from the fowls of the air" (ver. 21).
(3) The inhabitants of the underworld are equally at a loss on this high matter. "Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears" (ver. 22). That is to say, the dwellers in the realms of the dead are aware of its existence, but can communicate no knowledge of its nature and worth. And, having thus shut off all created beings from participation in this wisdom, the poet ends by solemnly declaring:
2. That true wisdom is the property of God alone. "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof" (ver. 23). Besides stating that God knows whence true wisdom is to be obtained, Job designs to convey the thought that God alone is in possession of this wisdom. Looking to the ends of the earth and searching under the whole heaven, he not only comprehends with his omniscient glance "where wisdom dwelleth;" but, in virtue of that knowledge, he is himself the infinitely wise and understanding One. (Job_12:13)
3. That true wisdom has been exemplified by God alone. The creation of the world was a sublime manifestation of this wisdom. (Pro_8:27-31) In particular the establishment of those laws which regulate the force of the wind, the distribution of land and water, the collecting and emptying of the rain-clouds, and the origin and course of the lightning, was a signal display of celestial intelligence (vers. 25, 26). Nay, when the almighty Artificer fashioned the universe, then did he search out this wisdom, assign to it a place and function in his grand creative work, and commit to it the production, preservation, and providential government of all finite things (ver. 27). With this unbeginning Wisdom St. John (Joh_1:1-4) identifies the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
IV TRUE WISDOM DIVINELY REVEALED TO MAN. Though undiscoverable by human genius, and unpurchaseable by human gold, true wisdom has not been withheld from man. He has received it by revelation.
1. The Divinity of this revelation. It has not been imparted by nature. The material fabric of creation is a product and a display of celestial wisdom; but it is not sufficient for man as a law by conforming to which he too may attain unto wisdom. Nor has man himself discovered it, either by physical or scientific research, or by philosophical or religious speculation, or by heathen and superstitious divination. The law which should constitute man a participator in eternal wisdom was and is something distinct from the laws which regulate matter. It was a something communicated to man over and above all that God said to him indirectly through the medium of nature.
2. The antiquity of this revelation. At various subsequent periods, as e.g. at Sinai, and again at the Advent, repeated and enlarged, it was yet first delivered in the day of man"s creation, when God, having made man an intelligent and responsible creature, placed him under the law of right, engraven on the fleshy tablets of his heart.
3. The import of this revelation. That heavenly wisdom has for man an inward essential principle, and an outward permanent expression.
(1) The inward essential principle: "the fear of the Lord (Adonai)." This fear is not a slavish dread, but a filial and reverential awe, based upon a just conception of God"s greatness, (Job_25:2) and of man"s relation to him as moral Governor. (Psa_33:8) Such fear is the root and mainspring of all piety in souls. (Deu_5:29 Deu_10:12 2Ki_17:36 Psa_96:4, 9 147:11 Ecc_12:13 Mat_10:28 1Pe_1:17) It is also the true source and commencement of all genuine wisdom. (Psa_111:5 Pro_1:7 Pro_9:10) Hence "wisdom" and "piety" "or religion" are synonymous terms. Nor can it be doubted that for a human soul to fear God, in the comprehensive and exalted sense above referred to, is supremely reasonable in itself, and incontestably wise as a principle for the regulation of life. The term briefly defines the attitude intelligent beings should maintain towards God, the all-glorious moral Governor of the universe. Originally implanted in man at creation, and afterwards obliterated by the Fall, it is now being reimplanted or reawakened in man by the gospel.
(2) The outward permanent expression: "to depart from evil." To fear God and yet continue in sin is a moral contradiction. The soul that reveres God"s majesty and trembles at God"s power, much more that admires God"s character and loves God"s Person, will of necessity find its highest happiness in respecting God"s Word and doing God"s will. Hence a prompt, earnest, decisive, complete, and final separation from evil (i.e. from errors both in doctrine and practice) of every kind is largely insisted on as the only satisfactory evidence of genuine religion, (Job_11:14 Psa_4:4 Isa_1:16 Pro_3:7 Pro_8:13 Pro_16:6) while the truly pious, whose hearts are really possessed by holy fear, are ever characterized by a more or less resolute determination to keep the Divine Law. (Psa_112:1 Psa_119:63 Pro_14:2, 16 2Co_7:1 Eph_5:21 1Pe_1:17) Cf. the language of an ancient religious hymn to Amen: "I cry, The beginning of wisdom is the way of Amen" (vide "Records of the Past," vol. 6. p. 99).
Learn:
1. To admire God"s wisdom and goodness in the construction and arrangement of this material globe. Besides being fashioned by Divine wisdom, the earth is also full of the Divine riches.
2. To see in the monuments of man"s engineering skill, mechanical industry, commercial enterprise, and scientific research at once a striking testimony to man"s dominion over the creatures, and an admirable confirmation of the truth of Scripture.
3. To rate material wealth at its true value, observing both its weakness and its power. While contributing largely to man"s physical comfort and social influence, it cannot impart either wisdom or happiness, and still less can it serve as a substitute for religion and salvation.
4. To reason that the same Divine wisdom which placed the material creation under law would not forget to institute a rule of life for man. Hence morality and religion are not accidental and relative, but absolute and eternal, being inseparably bound up with man"s constitution as an intelligent and responsible creature.
5. To recognize the inborn foolishness of those who neither fear God nor depart from evil. "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
6. To gratefully acknowledge the Divine loving-kindness in making known to man the manifold wisdom of God in Christ and his salvation. The secret of the Divine administration which Job could not fathom has been clearly discovered in the gospel.
7. To perceive that ever since the Fall the world has been governed on substantially the same principles. Christ conducts mundane affairs to-day as he did in Job"s time by the law of grace and in the interests of holiness.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-28. Praises of Divine wisdom.
Amidst the darkness of suffering, and the deep sense of the mysteries of life, inexplicable by human wisdom, Job rises to the contemplation of that Divine wisdom which has founded all things, which knows all things, and in the reverent acknowledgment of which man may find for himself the true path both of wisdom and of power. Already the spirit of Job, purified by long suffering and experience, is rising into that presence where there is light and no darkness at all; and from this height of calm contemplation is fitted to become the teacher of his teachers, the "instructor of many.
I TRUE WISDOM TO BE FOUND NOWHERE ON EARTH. (Vers. 1-11) To illustrate this, we are pointed, in a fine description, to the art of mining, by which man lays open the costly treasures of the earth, (Deu_8:9) but cannot gain possession of this highest and best treasure of all. Gold, silver, iron, and copper are dug out of the bowels of the earth, and melted from their ores; the miner"s lamp dispels the darkness, as in every direction he searches for the "ore of darkness and deadly night." It is a picture of the eager, industrious, untiring toil with which men in all ages in the mines of Egypt, of Palestine, of the old and the new worlds, have sought to gather and to lay up treasures on earth for themselves. There is often even a frenzy, a reckless disregard of health and of life, in this passionate pursuit. With what eagerness should we rather pursue the quest of the heavenly treasures, the inward blessings which make men truly rich and happy! (Mat_16:26) The description proceeds. The shaft (ver. 4) is broken away from those who dwell above; the miners plunge deeply into the earth, further and further from the habitations of men, so that they are forgotten by the step of every one who walks above. They are depicted as hanging far from mortals by ropes on the perilous descent of the shaft in their way to obtain the ore (Pliny, "Hist. Nat." 33:4. 21). Above, upon the bright earth, the bread-corn is growing, while belong. men are stirring, and rummaging in its bowels, using sometimes the disturbing and destructive force of fire (ver. 5). Precious stones as well as metals, sapphires as well as golden ore, fall a prize to the diligent miner (ver. 6). Then, to heighten the description, the inaccessibility of these subterranean ways is depicted. The all-roaming birds and beasts of prey have not discovered them (ver. 8). But undaunted man lays his hand on the flint, uproots the mountains, and bursts open paths through the rocks, and the fire of eager desire glitters in his eye as it falls on each precious thing. He toils to keep the water out of his shafts, by which they are so readily overflowed and spoiled; and thus he brings the hidden treasures to light (ver. 11). Such are the splendid capabilities of man the courage, the energy, the defiance of danger called out by his desires. His reward comes; but does it correspond to his exertions? Having passed the best of his days in these severe toils and anxieties and dangers, he thinks to sit down and solace his age with the acquisitions of his younger and more daring yea, s; but does the enjoyment of the poor remainder of life balance these struggles which perhaps brought age upon him before his time, and cut him off from pleasure in the proper days of pleasure, and from the youthful satisfactions that were then denied? "I am this day fourscore years old, and can I yet taste what I eat and what I drink?". (2Sa_19:35) "Whoever lives to Parzillai"s years shall not be able, with all Barzillai"s wealth and greatness, to procure himself a quicker and better relish of what shall be set before him than Barzillai had" (South).
II WISDOM NO OUTWARD GOOD, AND BY NO OUTWARD MEANS TO BE FOUND. (Vers. 12-22) Practical wisdom, the principle of right conduct, and theoretical wisdom, or insight, where in all the wide world shall they be found (ver. 12)? None knows the purchase-price, nor the market for wisdom in all the wide land of the living. "Put money in thy purse" is the one maxim which applies in everything but this. "Money answereth all things;" but there are exceptions, and this is one. Gold and silver have no more power than stones and clods in this spiritual commerce. Cross the seas; visit the great cities; enter the churches; study at the schools; see and hear all; yet still the aching heart will cry, "Where is wisdom to be found? and what is its price?" All the gold and jewels of the Indies cannot buy it. Its worth is incomparable. Weight nor measure can be applied to it; it has no place in the business and exchange of the world (vers. 13-19). Again, then, and again tie question recurs, "Whence comes wisdom? where is the place of understanding?" Science cannot answer, with all her keenness of vision and wealth of knowledge; no brightest eagle-eye has searched out its locale. Neither the living nor the kingdom of the dead can bring us news of its site (vers. 20-22). It must, then, be immaterial. And being real, it must be sought for and found by that which is real and spiritual in ourselves. The things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor imagination conceived, God reveals to the spirit. We must be conscious of a spiritual life and of spiritual needs; of a destiny for heavenly as well as earthly things; we must yield to the spiritual impulse, and labor for the satisfaction of the spiritual hunger as well as for the bread that perisheth, if this great question is ever for us to be answered.
III WISDOM IS IN THE FEAR OF GOD. (Vers 23-28)
1. The question answered. God knows the way to wisdom, for he knows its seat and place. (Ver. 23) He is himself the All-wise One. His wisdom is seen in the marvellous construction and arrangement of the natural world. He regulates the winds and the waters, (Isa_40:12) the rain, the lightning, and the thunder (vers. 24-26). And his absolute wisdom is the rule for the inward life of man, the still more wonderful world of the spiritual life. In the creation as a whole he announces typically his eternal will to all rational creatures (ver. 27).
2. The Divine declaration. (Ver. 28, "The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.") God would not keep his wisdom altogether secret. He reveals, as well as is, wisdom. This is the original eternal command, the law that "is not of yesterday," and which has never been unknown in any generation of mankind.
LESSONS.
1. The eternal wealth of God"s nature. He needed no model or copy from which to frame his world. "He spake, and it was done; commanded, and it stood fast "( ver. 27).
2. There is a wisdom which is an example and end, and a wisdom which is a shadow and means. The former is in God, the latter from God in us. So are we "partakers of the Divine nature" in reflection from him, union with him, and enjoyment of him. (2Pe_1:4)
3. Wisdom is the nature of God, (Pro_8:25) uncreated, essential; with us it is an acquisition, a derivation.
4. True wisdom for us depends on the living, moral communion of the heart with God. Without this it is vain to seek to know him. An Eastern proverb says, "He who would learn the secrets of the mighty, must diligently keep watch at his doors." Blessed they who thus wait continually at God"s doors.
5. True wisdom is not to be obtained without its price. It must be wrought for by the endeavour of a holy and pious life. The departing from evil, the mortification of sin, the weeding out of vices, lays out work enough for us in this life, and makes the toils of man for perishable good seem small in comparison. "But the end is noble, and the reward is great.
6. The energy of man in the pursuit of earthly good should be a constant reminder to us of the need for like zeal in the pursuit of the eternal good. J. (Mat_6:19 1Ti 6 Jas 5)
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 1-12. The path of true wisdom.
With singular fulness Job describes the early methods of mining, and the knowledge man had already gained of the hidden treasures of the earth, and the power he could wield over them. In this recognition of the power of man, and of his deep insight into the nature and constitution of the earth, and its many treasures and processes, he prepares the way for a setting forth of the limits beyond which man cannot go. With all his searching he finds not out the path of "wisdom," and with all his getting he fails to get "understanding." And this further prepares for a setting forth of the true sources of wisdom and the place of understanding. The path of true wisdom does not lie in those dark recesses of the earth where the vein of the silver lies hidden. It is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture"s keen eye hath not seen, and over which the beasts of prey have not trodden; nor hath the fierce lion passed by it. God alone understandeth the way thereof, and he alone knoweth its path. The plain inference, then, is Man must ask wisdom of God.
I THE ERROR OF SUPPOSING THAT A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESSES OF NATURE GIVES A TRUE AND PERFECT WISDOM. In all these man may be deeply learned, and yet there be a path hidden from him. The danger of this day is a supposing that science truly so called is a sufficient knowledge for man. An accurate acquaintance with "the laws of nature" still leaves man ignorant of many necessary truths. For the right use of material substances, a knowledge of those substances and the laws of their combination is necessary; and for the safety of the animal life, a knowledge of its structure and processes the laws of animal life is equally needful. But the total idea of the human life is not reached by these. Fie who is capable of moral and spiritual acts has a moral and spiritual nature; and he has need of the knowledge of the laws of the moral government under which he is placed, and of the spiritual nature with which he is endowed.
II THE LOWLY SEARCHING FOE THIS HIDDEN WISDOM WILL LEAD MEN TO A CONVICTION OF THEIR INABILITY TO ARRIVE AT A PERFECT ACQUAINTANCE WITH IT. It is hid from the eyes of all living. Very humbling is this to the proud heart of him who has obviously a supreme position amidst the works of God who is above all creatures, subduing them to his authority; and above "nature," compelling it to be subservient to his wish. To know that he knows not, and to know that by searching he cannot find out the knowledge he desires, brings down his high looks. Here he must sit in the seat of the scholar; here, confessing his ignorance, ask.
III THE TRUE SEARCHER, BAFFLED IN HIS MANY EFFORTS, TURNS AT LAST TO GOD, AND FINDS THE SOURCE OF WISDOM IN HIM; and learns that the fear of the Lord is the possession of the true wisdom, and the careful keeping of the path of righteousness the true understanding. That is to say, the highest wisdom is a moral state, and the truest understanding a religious obedience.
From how many is this "hidden," and how unwilling are the ignorant to ask, and the proud to acknowledge their need! While he who consciously lacks this highest wisdom, and asks of God, proves that he giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not any for asking. R.G.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY Vers. 1-11. The miner.
This passage is justly famous for its graphic description of ancient mining. It gives us a picture of the miner"s toil and peril, his industry, his skill, and his adventure. Let us see what lessons may be learnt from the miner and his craft.
I GOD HAS LAID UP GREAT RICHES FOR MAN. People talk foolishly about exhausting the mines. Particular mines may come to an end, and certain lodes may be worked out. But the earth is not one mine or one English county. No one can calculate what vast stores of metal lie under the surface of the ground. The great treasury has scarcely been touched; ages upon ages will not suffice to ransack its stores. When we learn about Australia, Asia Minor, South America, etc., we discover that there is still boundless wealth under the soil. Thus God has made ample provision for the wants of his children.
II THESE RICHES ARE HIDDEN BENEATH THE EARTH. Men must sink shafts and blast racks. God gives us great possessions, but we must put forth energy in acquiring them. Thus Israel had to fight for Canaan. Wisdom is got through toil and effort. Spiritual wealth is won at the cost of spiritual conflict. Though the chief conflict was Christ"s, and though the best treasures are freely given, we must seek if we would find. (Mat_7:7)
III THE MINER"S WORK IS TOILSOME. Few men have so disagreeable or hard a task. In dark subterranean regions, often breathing a close, unwholesome atmosphere, suffering from tremendous heat, labouring with axe and shovel, the miner has no idle lot. He may be forgotten by those who tread the greensward over his head. But we all profit by his industry. It is only right that his brave and arduous work should be generously recognized. In our happy homes and beautiful churches we should do wall to think of the miner, and pray for him just as we pray for "those in peril on the sea.
IV INGENUITY AND ENTERPRISE CHARACTERIZE THE WORK OF THE MINER. What thought and effort and daring are put into mining! Surely this is nobler work than the killing which all the world honours in the soldier? We can understand why God has hidden the precious metals in the bowels of the earth, when we see what manly traits are evolved in the work of obtaining them. But if so, should not the same high qualities be brought forth in the search for the hidden treasure of the kingdom of heaven? Its gold, and silver, and iron, and copper are worth so much trouble, are not wisdom and goriness and eternal life deserving of the most strenuous efforts?
V THERE IS PERIL IN THE MINER"S LIFE. Mining disasters are more fatal than shipwrecks. The miner needs to know a refuge more secure than any that art or science can contrive. He, indeed, should have his trust in God. But for others his peril is an occasion to rouse interest and deepen sympathy. We all profit by his labours; at least, then, let us all do what we can to protect him from the dangers which carelessness and selfishness create. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v1 A place for gold where they fine it.
Job_28:1
A place for gold where they fine it.
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Refining the gold
There is a place for the gold where they fine it. This line from the Book of Job--so strong in its monosyllables--describes a spiritual as well as a chemical process. Over and over again in the Bible godly character is described by the happy simile of gold. It would be easy to run out the points of resemblance. All nations, from the polished to the savage, have agreed in regarding it the most beautiful of metals. It typifies the beauty of holiness. It is an imperishable metal. When they opened the tomb of an old Etrurian king, buried twenty-five centuries ago, they found only a heap of royal dust. The only object that remained untouched by time was a fillet of gold which bound the monarchs brow. So doth true godliness survive the havoc of time and the ravages of the grave. Gold is the basis of a solvent currency; and genuine fear of God is the basis of all the virtues which pass current among humanity. The essence of all piety is obedience to God. It is the eternal law of right put into daily practice. Too much is said in these days about the aesthetics of religion and its sensibilities. Religions home is in the conscience. Its watchword is the word ought. Its highest joy is in doing Gods will. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1
XXIII.
CHORAL INTERLUDE
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JOB 28
THE controversy at length closed, the poet breaks into a chant of the quest of Wisdom. It can hardly be supposed to have been uttered or sung by Job. But if we may go so far as to imagine a chorus after the manner of the Greek dramas, this ode would fitly come as a choral descant reflecting on the vain attempts made alike by Job and by his friends to penetrate the secrets of Divine providence. How poor and unsatisfying is all that has been said. To fathom the purposes of the Most High, to trace through the dark shadows and entanglements of human life that unerring righteousness with which all events are ordered and overruled-how far was this above the sagacity of the speakers. Now and again true things have been said, now and again glimpses of that vindication of the good which should compensate for all their sufferings have brightened the controversy. But the reconciliation has not been found. The purposes of the Most High remain untraced. The poet is fully aware of this, aware even that on the ground of argument he is unable to work out the problem which he has opened. With an undertone of wistful sadness, remembering passages of his countrys poetry that ran in too joyous a strain, as if wisdom lay within the range of human ken, he suspends the action of the drama for a little to interpose this cry of limitation and unrest. There is no complaint that God keeps in his own hand sublime secrets of design. What is man that he should be discontented with his place and power? It is enough for him that the Great God rules in righteous sovereignty, gives him laws of conduct to be obeyed in reverence, shows him the evil he is to avoid, the good he is to follow. "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." Those who have a world to explore and use, the Almighty to adore! and trust, if they must seek after the secret of existence and ever feet themselves baffled in the endeavour, may still live nobly, bear patiently, find blessed life within the limit God has set.
First the industry of man is depicted, that: search for the hidden things of the earth which is significant alike of the craving and ingenuity of the human mind.
Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place for gold which they refine.
Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper is molten out of the stone.
Man setteth an end to darkness,
And searcheth, to the furthest bound,
The stones of darkness and gloom.
He breaks a shaft away from where men dwell;
They are forgotten of the foot;
Afar from men they hang and swing to and fro.
The poet has seen, perhaps in Idumaea or in Midian where mines of copper and gold were wrought by the Egyptians, the various operations here described. Digging or quarrying, driving tunnels horizontally into the hills or sinking shafts in the valleys, letting themselves down by ropes from the edge of a cliff to reach the vein, then, suspended in mid air, hewing at the ore, the miners variously ply their craft. Away in remote gorges of the hills the pits they have dug remain abandoned, forgotten. The long winding passages they make seem to track to the utmost limit the stones of darkness, stones that are black with the richness of the ore.
On the earths surface men till their fields, but the hidden treasures that lie below are more valuable than the harvest of maize or wheat.
"As for the earth, out of it cometh bread;
And from beneath it is turned up as by fire.
The stones thereof are the place of sapphires,
And it hath dust of gold."
The reference to fire as an agent in turning up the earth appears to mark a volcanic district, but sapphires and gold are found either in alluvial soil or associated with gneiss and quartz. Perhaps the fire was that used by the miners to split refractory rock. And the cunning of man is seen in this, that he carries into the very heart of the mountains a path which no vulture or falcon ever saw, which the proud beasts and fierce lions have not trodden.
"He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock,
He overturneth mountains by the roots."
Slowly indeed as compared with modern work of the kind, yet surely, where those earnest toilers desired a way, excavations went on and tunnels were formed with wedge and hammer and pickaxe. The skill of man in providing tools and devising methods, and his patience and assiduity made him master of the very mountains. And when he had found the ore he could extract its precious metal and gems.
"He cutteth out channels among the rocks;
And his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not
And the hidden thing brings he forth to light."
For washing his ore when it has been crushed he needs supplies of water, and to this end makes long aqueducts. In Idumaea a whole range of reservoirs may still be seen, by means of which even in the dry season the work of gold washing might be carried on without interruption. No particle of the precious metal escaped the quick eye of the practised miner. And again, if water began to percolate into his shaft or tunnel, he had skill to bind the streams that his search might not be hindered.
Such then is mans skill, such are his perseverance and success in the quest of things he counts valuable-iron for his tools, copper to fashion into vessels, gold and silver to adorn the crowns of kings, sapphires to gleam upon their raiment. And if in the depths of earth or anywhere the secrets of life could be reached, men of eager adventurous spirit would sooner or later find them out.
It is to be noticed that, in the account given here of the search after hidden things, attention is confined to mining operations. And this may appear strange, the general subject being the quest of wisdom, that is understanding of the principles and methods by which the Divine government of the world is carried on. There was in those days a method of research, widely practised, to which some allusion might have been expected-the so-called art of astrology. The Chaldaeans had for centuries observed the stars, chronicled their apparent movements, measured the distances of the planets from each other in their unexplained progress through the constellations. On this survey of the heavens was built up a whole code of rules for predicting events. The stars which culminated at the time of any ones birth, the planets visible when an undertaking was begun, were supposed to indicate prosperity or disaster. The author of the Book of Job could not be ignorant of this art. Why does he not mention it? Why does he not point out that by watching the stars man seeks in vain to penetrate Divine secrets? And the reply would seem to be that keeping absolute silence in regard to astrology he meant to refuse it as a method of inquiry. Patient, eager labour among the rocks and stones is the type of fruitful endeavour. Astrology is not in any way useful; nothing is reached by that method of questioning nature.
The poet proceeds:-
"Where shall wisdom be found,
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the way thereof,
Neither is it to be found in the land of the living.
The deep saith, It is not in me;
And the sea saith, It is not with me."
The whole range of the physical cosmos, whether open to the examination of man or beyond his reach, is here declared incapable of supplying the clue to that underlying idea by which the course of things is ordered. The land of the living is the surface of the earth which men inhabit. The deep is the underworld. Neither there nor in the sea is the great secret to be found. As for its price, however earnestly men may desire to possess themselves of it, no treasures are of any use; it is not to be bought in any market.
Never is wisdom got for gold,
Nor for its price can silver be told.
For the gold of Ophir it may not be won,
The onyx rare or the sapphire stone.
Gold is no measure and glass no hire,
Jewels of gold twice fined by fire.
Coral and crystal tell in vain,
Pearls of the deep for wisdoms gain.
Topaz of Cush avails thee nought,
Nor with gold of glory is it bought.
While wisdom is thus of value incommensurate with all else men count precious and rare, it is equally beyond the reach of all other forms of mundane life. The birds that soar high into the atmosphere see nothing of it, nor does any creature that wanders far into uninhabitable wilds. Abaddon and Death indeed, the devouring abyss and that silent world which seems to gather and keep all secrets, have heard a rumour of it. Beyond the range of mortal sense some hint there may be of a Divine plan governing the mutations of existence, the fulfilment of which will throw light on the underworld where the spirits of the departed wait in age-long night. But death has no knowledge any more than life. Wisdom is Gods prerogative, His activities are His own to order and fulfil.
God understandeth the way thereof,
And He knoweth the place thereof.
For He looketh to the ends of the earth,
And seeth under the whole heaven,
Making weight for the winds;
And He meteth out the waters by measure.
When He made a decree for the rain.
And a way for the lightning of thunder,
Then did He see it and number it,
He established it, yea, and searched it out.
The evolution, as we should say, of the order of nature gives fixed and visible embodiment to the wisdom of God. We must conclude, therefore, that the poet indicates the complete idea of the world as a cosmos governed by subtle all-pervading law for moral ends. The creation of the visible universe is assumed to begin, and with the created before Him God sees its capacities, determines the use to which its forces are to be put, the relation all things are to have to each other, to the life of man and to His own glory. But the hokhma or understanding of this remains forever beyond the discovery of the human intellect. Man knoweth not the way thereof. The forces of earth and air and sea and the deep that lieth under do not reveal the secret of their working; they are but instruments. And the end of all is not to be found in Sheol, in the silent world of the dead. God Himself is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.
Yet man has his life and his law. Though intellectual understanding of his world and destiny may fail however earnestly he pursues the quest, he should obtain the knowledge that comes by reverence and obedience. He can adore God, he can distinguish good from evil and seek what is right and true. There lies his hokhma, there, says the poet, it must continue to lie.
"And unto man He said,
Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding."
The conclusion lays a hush upon mans thought-but leaves it with a doctrine of God and faith reaching above the limitations of time and sense. Reverence for the Divine will not fully known, the pursuit of holiness, fear of the Unseen God are no agnosticism, they are the true springs of religious life.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 The place occupied by this chapter one peculiar to…
JOB’S DESCANT ON TRUE WISDOM
The place occupied by this chapter one peculiar to itself. Its connection with the preceding or succeeding portions of the book by no means obvious. Appears scarcely to form a part of the dialogue. Seems, as it stands before us, to have been delivered by Job during a lull in the controversy. Forms a poetical descant on the praises of true wisdom. Job left alone in the field, and now in a much calmer mood, in circumstances to enter on such a subject. Perhaps led to it by what he had stated in the preceding chapter in regard to the wicked, as well as by his own affliction and the inabiltiy of his friends and himself to account for it. Strongly expresses his approbation of true piety, and so affirms his own character. Himself an exemplification of his own definition of true wisdom. That definition the character secretly given him by God, and which Job was resolved at all hazards to hold fast. The section thus appears to be introduced by the author to give prominence to Job’s real character. Probably indicates the author’s design in the book to give an exhibition of the nature of true wisdom. Has a special importance in connecting the book with other parts of Scripture, especially with the writings of David and Solomon, and the wise men of that period (1Ki_4:30-31), and, in the New Testament, with those especially of Paul and James (1 Corinthians 13; Jas_1:3). Its similarity to passages in the Proverbs at once obvious, especially to chapters 1, 3,
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8. The last verse of the section, which gives the key of the whole, almost an echo of Psa_111:10; Pro_1:7; and Pro_9:10. Perhaps an indication thus afforded of the period of the composition of the book, as one when the attention of thoughtful pious men was especially directed to the subject of true wisdom. The section exhibits—
(1) The inability of man, by his own unaided powers, either to discover or acquire true wisdom.
(2) The supreme excellence of that wisdom.
(3) Its origin and discovery with God Himself, the Creator of all things.
(4) Its nature, as consisting of true piety—the fear of God and the consequent departing from all evil.
This chapter, the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world (Adam Clarke). Indicates Job to have lived in a period of considerable advancement in civilization.—Barnes.
True Wisdom
I. Man unable, by his own unaided powers, either to discover or acquire it
Wisdom not to be discovered or obtained like metals or gems. These hid in the bowels of the earth, but discovered and obtained by human art and industry. (Job_28:1)—“Surely (or, ‘for indeed’ the speaker being about to show the rarity and excellence of true wisdom as contrasted with what he had said of the prosperous ungodly) there is a vein (or ‘outlet,’ Margin, ‘mine’) for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it” (or, “which they smelt,” to render it fit for the purposes of life). Gold formerly found in Arabia. Abundant in Judæa in the time of Solomon (1Ki_10:12; 1Ki_10:14-15). The art of extracting and refining it learned at an early period of the world. Mortals soon became metallaries. Trapp. The discovery and earliest manufacture of metals apparently ascribed to the descendants of Cain (Gen_4:22). The search for gold and silver poetically ascribed by Milton to the suggestion of Mammon, a fallen angel whose name denotes “riches:”
“By him first
Men also, and by his suggestion taught,
Ransack’d the centre, and with impious hands
Rifled the bowels of their mother earth,
For treasures better hid.”
According to Pliny, gold first found by Cadmus, the Phœnician. According to Herodotus, first coined into money by the Syrians. Job_28:2.—“Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass (or ‘copper’) is molten out of [and so separated from] the stone. He (the miner or metallurgist, in searching for and producing these metals from the earth) setteth an end to darkness [by sinking shafts, and, with the aid of torches, exploring mines], and searcheth out all perfection (or, ‘searcheth out with the utmost thoroughness’) the stones of darkness (lying hid beneath the earth’s surface), and the shadow of death” (or places of deepest darkness). Tubal-Cain, probably identical with the Vulcan of Greek and Roman mythology, represented by Moses as the first artificer in brass and iron (Gen_4:22). The Chalybes, or Cyclops, said by Pliny to be the discoverers and earliest workers of these metals. Brass and iron said by Moses to be found in the rocky mountains of Palestine (Deu_8:9). Iron appointed by Lycurgus to be used by the Spartans for money instead of gold, to prevent its accumulation. Job_28:4.—“The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant (or, ‘he’ [the miner] openeth a channel or shaft away from the habitations of men,—or, ‘from the foot of the mountain’); even the waters forgotten of the foot (or, ‘the men forgotten of the foot,’ i.e., descending to places in the mine untrodden by human or any other feet,—nothing in the Hebrew text either for waters or men): they are dried up, they are gone away from men (or, ‘they [the miners] are suspended,’ viz., by ropes from the mouth of the mine; ‘they swing away from men’ [who remain above on the surface]). As for the earth, out of it cometh bread (or bread-corn), and under it (or ‘underneath,’ or ‘its lower parts’) is turned up as it were fire (combustible materials, as sulphur, bitumen, naphtha, coal (Gen_14:10); or perhaps precious stones glowing like lire (Eze_28:14). Note—Underground warmth, boiling springs, and red-hot mud, are believed to prove that fire still exists within the globe.—“The stones of it are the place (or bed) of sapphires, and it hath [belonging to it] the dust of gold” (‘clods or lumps of gold’—Margin, gold ore’). There is (or ‘it is,’ viz. the mine) a path which no fowl [however keen-sighted] knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen. The lion’s whelps (or, ‘the proud wild beasts,’ in their search for prey) have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it” [being deep below the surface of the earth]. Yet even there man’s skill and enterprise find a way. Job_28:9.—“He [the miner] putteth forth his hand upon the rock (Heb., ‘the flinty rock,’ viz. with a view to its excavation); he overturneth the mountains by the roots [by means of wedges and hammers, acid liquids, or, as in more modern times, by gunpowder—overcoming every obstacle that stands in his way]. He cutteth out rivers (or ‘channels’) among the rocks [in searching for the precious, metals or still more precious gems]; and his eye [with the aid of torches] seeth every precious thing [whether metal or gem, contained in those dark recesses]. He bindeth the floods from overflowing (stops or dams up the water to prevent them from trickling and overflowing the mine); and the thing that is hid (the metals or gems he is in quest of) bringeth he forth to light.” Observe—
1. The remarkable provision of Divine goodness and wisdom in making the earth itself a storehouse of substances that should contribute so largely to the comfort, gratification, and improvement of the human race. For example, iron and coal, not to speak of gold, silver, and precious stones. Beds of coal, many feet thick, and extending over an area of many hundreds of miles, stored up far below the earth’s surface. These beds the remains of ancient forests, and the result of changes on what was the earth’s surface many thousand years ago. Iron, so important for man’s use and progress in the arts of civilized life, largely embedded in rocks, slowly formed thousands of years before man was upon the earth. Remarkable, too, that as these beds of iron-stone required fire both for the extraction and working of the metal, they are generally found in close proximity to beds of coal, as well as to sulphur which facilitates its production.
2. Man’s art and industry necessary to the acquisition and use of those, materials which God has stored up in the earth for his benefit. Man intended for work, and so to be a kind of fellow-worker with his Creator. The materials provided for him by God, but, in order to his enjoyment and use of them, requiring to be discovered, obtained, and elaborated by himself through the intellect with which God has endowed him. Man not only to exercise his art and industry on the productions of the earth’s surface in order to obtain his daily food, but also on what lies beneath it for the purposes of civilized life. In the one case, as well as the other, man must eat his bread in the sweat of his brow.
3. Remarkable adaptation between the productions and content of the earth, and the faculties given to man for their discovery and use. Faculties bestowed on man to fit him for subduing the earth and turning its treasures to his advantage. The art and industry of the miner and metallurgist from the same Creator as the minerals on which he works. The ant operates on his little hill; the bee on its comb; the beaver on his dam; man on the earth itself, with all that it contains. “His God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him” (Isa_28:26). Human intelligence and skill a faint reflection of that wisdom with which God made the world, and part of that Divine image in which man was created. “This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working” (Isa_28:29).
4. Man’s industry in searching for the precious metals an example of the earnestness and perseverance with which he should seek for the better and more enduring riches. Treasures exist for man, compared with which all earthly possessions are but as the dust of the balance. Heavenly wisdom, in which are durable riches and unending happiness, to be sought for as silver, and to be searched for as for hid treasures (Pro_2:4). The earnestness of the miner, with much less toil, under the direction afforded by the Gospel, sufficient to put a man in speedy possession of gold which no thief can steal, and of which not even death itself can deprive him. Eternal riches close at hand wherever the Gospel is revealed, and awaiting only the humble and earnest seeker (Rev_3:18; Mat_13:44).
II. The supreme value and excellence of true wisdom. Job_28:12-19.—“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding [where it may be found like gold and silver]? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of the living (not only not to be discovered by the highest human intellect, but not to be purchased with anything on earth). The depth (or abyss—waters under the earth—perhaps the ocean with its ‘deep un-fathomed caves’) saith, It is not in me; and the sea (waters on the earth’s surface) saith, It is not with me (nothing in either one or the other able either to discover it to man or afford him a price to buy it with). Note—The ocean’s bed covered for hundreds of miles with beautiful seaweeds, and with submarine forests and jungles thronged with living beings. “It cannot be gotten for gold (the most precious and pure, 1Ki_6:20-21): neither shall silver be weighed (as in ancient times, Gen_23:16) for the price-thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir (stamped gold, or the golden wedge or ingot from the place most distinguished for its production), with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal (or vases of crystal and gold) cannot equal it; and the exchange (or barter of it, according to the ancient mode of traffic) shall not be for jewels of fine gold (vessels or ornaments of pure and massive gold, such as have been recently discovered in the coffin of an Egyptian princess living in the time of Joseph, nearly four thousand years ago). No mention shall be made of coral (some costly gem or natural production—long uncertain what), or of pearls (always held in highest esteem among men, Mat_13:45-46); for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it; neither shall it be valued with pure gold.” Gold so abundant in Job’s time and country, and so variously employed, that five kinds or forms of it are mentioned in these few verses.
Similar language to that of the text in reference to the excellence and preciousness of true wisdom, found in Pro_3:13-15; Pro_4:7; Pro_8:10-11; Pro_8:18-19. That exhibited in various particulars by Solomon in the Book of Proverbs, which is only asserted by the author of Job. (Compare Pro_3:16-18; Pro_4:5-9; Pro_8:20-21; Pro_8:35). The superiority of Divine wisdom or true piety over all earthly treasures evinced—
1. In its intrinsic excellence. Other treasures only material, and of the earth; this spiritual—a thing of the soul—as much excelling material treasures as spirit excels matter, and as moral and spiritual beauty excels material. Gems and gold adorn the body, wisdom and piety the soul. Those beautiful and attractive to the eye of sense; these to the spiritual eye, both of God, angels, and holy men. True wisdom, or the fear of God, assimilates us to God Himself, the source and model of wisdom, “the only wise God.” That which mainly constitutes the Divine image in us (Pro_3:19-20; Pro_8:22-31; Col_3:10). Allies us to all holy beings, the unfallen intelligences of heaven. Is to man what creative and providential wisdom is to God. Prepares us for correct, satisfying, and ever-increasing knowledge of God and of His ways and works. Purifies the heart, sanctifies the will, and enlightens the understanding.
2. In its ability to afford true and solid happiness. Other treasures only gratify the senses, or furnish the means of gratifying them. This gives peace and satisfaction to the soul. Other things unable to repel sickness and trouble, or to give solace under them. This acts like oil on the troubled waters. Divine wisdom like the voice of Jesus to the winds and waves: Peace be still. Her ways pleasantness and her paths peace. Delivers from the disturbing and destructive tyranny of the passions. Secures enjoyment of the Divine favour, which is life. Wisdom is a tree of life to every one who lays hold of her. Gives health to the soul, and even contributes to that of the body. Profitable to all things, having the promise both of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
3. In its endless durability. All earthly treasures perishable. Gold and gems soon cease to delight. At most only follow us to the grave. Unable, except as rightly used, to further our interests or promote our happiness in another world. Wisdom or true piety not only accompanies its possessor to the grave, but beyond it. The greatest of the noble triad—faith, hope, and charity. Faith ultimately changed into sight, and hope into enjoyment; charity or love, another name for wisdom, lives on and never dies. A cut rather than a comfort in the words of Abraham and Dives—“Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things.” Sad when our good things must end with our life. The excellence of heavenly wisdom that it not only gives solid peace here, but prepares us for eternal joy hereafter. Wisdom not only accompanies her children through the chilly waves of death, but takes them by the hand on the other side, and introduces them into the presence of God and the Lamb, who is wisdom itself. True wisdom, like its Author and Archetype, everlasting.
III. God Himself the author and revealer of true wisdom (Job_28:20-28). “Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living (or of every beast or animal), and kept close from the fowls of the air (referring to Job_28:7-8). Destruction and death (the regions of the dead or under-world, or those inhabiting it) say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears” (only heard of it, as neither possessing it themselves nor able to communicate it to others, but as if approaching nearer to the knowledge of it, men often having their eyes opened only when it is too late, and regretting the loss of past opportunities for obtaining the knowledge and possession of true wisdom, Pro_5:11-14). Observe—
(1) That of which earlier generations only heard the report, now clearly revealed.
(2) Sad to be only hearing the fame of a good thing which can make us happy, and to be unable to obtain it. The case of the lost in another world; happily not the case of those in this. The rich man in hell “saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,” but was unable to reach him. Job_28:23.—“God understandeth the way thereof (how it is to be obtained), and He knoweth the place thereof (where it is to be found and in what it consists). For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven” (penetrating the universe with one glance of His omniscient eye; therefore able to instruct man as to true wisdom,—what is his highest interest, and the way to secure it). God, however, not only omniscient and surveying all things, but the all-wise creator and disposer of universal nature, and as such the fountain and model of wisdom to His intelligent creatures. For the same thought see Pro_3:13-20; Pro_8:11-29. Divine wisdom displayed in establishing the universe with all its mysterious laws and forces, assigning to each department of nature its bounds and operations. Job_28:25.—“To make (while making or about to make) the weight for the winds (giving due weight to the atmospheric air when at rest—fifteen pounds of it pressing on every square inch of the earth’s surface—as well as proper momentum to it when in motion in the form of wind, through the earth’s motion on its axis, and more especially through the rarefaction of some parts of it by the sun’s heat, and the rushing in of colder parts to take their place; so as to be not only not hurtful and destructive to the earth’s inhabitants, but in many respects highly beneficial to them); and He weigheth the waters by measure” (having at creation assigned their respective quantities to land and water, so that there should be sufficient of the latter for the irrigation of the former, as also to the waters on the earth, and those suspended in the atmosphere, whether as clouds or invisible vapour). Observe—
(1) All things in nature arranged in exact measure and proportion, of which chemistry affords an interesting example.
(2) As winds and waters, so also trials and afflictions are measured (Isa_27:8). Job_28:26.—“When he made a decree for the rain (constituting those natural laws by which it should be formed from the vapour exhaled from land and sea, and should descend in showers according to the earth’s requirements), and a way for the lightning of the thunder (or the lightning which precedes the thunder; how it should be produced as the electric flash which proceeds from the clouds, when, to restore the equilibrium, the superabundant electricity discharges itself in passing from one cloud to another, causing the thunder to follow it as the report of a gun follows the flash, by the particles of the rent atmosphere suddenly striking together again—electricity, of which that flash is the expression, being one of the most mysterious forces in nature). Then (even when at the creation He prescribed the laws by which external nature was to be governed) did he see it (contemplate this wisdom in its excellence and suitability for man’s welfare and happiness), and declare it (Margin, ‘number it,’ as carefully considering its nature and results,—take an exact survey of it, noting it as it were in a book for future communication); he prepared it (set it before him for contemplation, or established it as what should constitute man’s true wisdom), yea, and searched it out (examined it fully in all its properties and bearings,—actions ascribed to God in condescension to our capacity, in order to indicate the excellence and importance of the thing; spoken of). And unto man [as that work of His hands in whom the image of His own essential wisdom was to be reflected] he said [on the day of his creation, either speaking by an external voice or writing it internally on his conscience, in order that he might know wherein his true interest lay, and what was the true wisdom for him as a moral and intelligent creature], Behold, the fear of the Lord [not the proud self-sufficient scrutiny, or even the mere intellectual study, of the Divine operations, whether in creation or providence], that is wisdom [the wisdom for him, as a finite but moral and intelligent creature]; and to depart from evil [not the knowledge or examination of my secret purposes in dealing thus or thus with any of my creatures] is understanding” [that fear of the Lord and departing from evil being at the same time the best way by which he will come to know and understand why I act as I do in my providential dispensations]. This emphatic, cardinal, and ever-outstanding statement introduced with a “Behold,” as indicating—
(1) The importance of it.
(2) The unlikeness of it to what proud man might himself have conceived.
(3) The backwardness of man to believe, learn, and embrace it. Observe—
1. All nature under lam prescribed by God Himself. Nature itself God’s work. The universe, with all its laws, only the material expression of His being and attributes. Every part formed and placed by Him in exact fitness to each other, and to the whole. Those laws established by Him at the first in infinite wisdom, and preserved in their operation according to His own will and for His own purposes. God’s kingdom a kingdom of settled law; not of chance or caprice. Hence the comfort and confidence of His intelligent creatures. Men not afflicted capriciously, but in wisdom. The execution as well as constitution of natural laws with God Himself, who may suspend or contravene them for His own purposes as He pleases.
2. Man enabled to penetrate far into the secrets of nature and the facts of the universe, but unable of himself to discover true wisdom. The greatest philosophers of antiquity in the dark in regard to it. Professing themselves wise, they became fools. Man, like the mole, does all his works underground (Epiphanius). Homer called all-wise, and said to know all things human. Aristotle, for his soaring wisdom, called an eagle fallen from the clouds. Yet the greatest of Grecian sages professed they wanted other lights, and took it for granted the time would come when God would impart a further revelation of His will to mankind.
“The first and wisest of them all (Socrates) profess’d
To know this only, that he nothing knew;
The next (Plato) to fabling fell and smooth conceits;
A third sort (Pyrrho) doubted all things, though plain sense;
Others (Aristotle) in virtue placed felicity,
But virtue joined with riches and long life;
In corporal pleasures he (Epicurus), and careless ease;
The Stoic last, in philosophic pride,
By him called virtue; and his virtuous man,
Wise, perfect in himself, and all possessing,
Equal to God, oft shames not to prefer,
As fearing God nor man.”
Paradise Regained, Book iv.
Jerome said to have known all that was knowable, yet one of the most devoted students of revelation. The greatest philosophers in our own or any other country, as Newton, Faraday, and Brewster, have loved to sit with the humility of a child at the feet of Jesus, to learn wisdom out of the Scriptures of truth.
3. God alone able to inform man as to his true interests. One of the great problems among the sages of antiquity, wherein lies man’s chief good. A question naturally occurring to thinking men. God answers it for man: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good” (Mic_6:8). As great diversity of opinion among ancient sages about wisdom as about the chief good. With those of Chaldæa, it was the study of the starry firmament and its interpretation as declarative of the events of Providence; with those of Arabia, that of the designs of God in His dealings with men and the whole system of the Divine government; with those of Egypt, the origin of the universe; with those of Greece and Rome, the nature of the Deity, with the problems of their own existence and of the universe around them. Such Speculations, apart from revealed truth, represented by Milton as the employment, perhaps in part the punishment, of some of the fallen angels.
“Others apart sat on a hill retired,
In thoughts more elevate, and reason’d high
Of Providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate;
Fix’d fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute;
And found no end, in wandering mazes lost.
Of good and evil much they argued then,
Of happiness and final misery,
Passion and apathy, and glory and shame;
Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy.”
In opposition to all this, God Himself declares what is the true wisdom for man,—the fear of the Lord, and as its consequence, to depart from evil. This prescribed by God to man in the exercise of His own infinite wisdom as Creator and Governor of the universe. Made the law for man by Him who gave laws to universal nature, and at the time that He did so. A wisdom that is “earthly, sensual, devilish.” True wisdom from above,—the gift of “the Father of lights.” “The law (or revealed will) of the Lord maketh wise the simple.” The Scriptures able to make men “wise unto salvation.” The Gospel of Christ “the hidden wisdom.” Christ Himself the “wisdom of God” and the “light of the world.” Whoever follows Him “shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Christ the teacher come from God. Anoints with eye salve the eyes of the spiritually blind, “that they may see.” Gives “the unction of the Holy One,” that we know all things. Nature, in all its departments, tells of a God, but not how to obtain His favour and forgiveness. Christ reveals both in His Word. Himself, as the Son of God, eternal wisdom; as the Son of Man, incarnate wisdom; and “of God is made wisdom” to all who are “in Him” (1Co_1:24; 1Co_1:30; Pro_8:12-36).
IV. The nature of true wisdom. Job_28:28.—“The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” The gold and the silver, the sapphire and the ruby, have their place in the bowels of the earth. Wisdom has its place in the “fear of the Lord” and the “departing from evil.” The one the root, the other the stem and the branches. The former the spring, the latter the streams issuing from it.
1. The “fear of the Lord” (Heb. ‘Adonai,’ denoting ‘lord’ or ‘governor,’—usually applied to the Messiah, and by the Jews substituted for Jehovah) the first part of true wisdom. That fear not a slavish, but a filial one. A reverential feeling and conduct as much allied to love as fear. The fear rather of a child in regard to a beloved parent, than of a slave in regard to a dreaded master. When genuine, always combined, if not identical, with love. Love as directed to a superior, especially to the Supreme Being. A feeling and deportment due from an intelligent creature to his Creator—a being at once of unbounded goodness, infinite excellence, supreme majesty, and almighty power. A fear that shudders at offending, not so much from the dread of punishment as from an inward consciousness of, and love to, what is right. A principle originally implanted in man as the law of his being. Obedience to it his wisdom and interest. The violation of it his ruin. Actually violated and cast off at the Fall. Now universally violated by fallen humanity. Its violation the cause of all the misery in the world. Its observance the harmony of the soul, the harmony of man with man, and the harmony of man with his Maker. May be re-implanted in man’s breast. Its re-implanting the object of the Saviour’s mission, and the effect of the Holy Spirit’s grace in the soul (Jer_32:40).
2. To “depart from evil” the second part of true wisdom. Moral evil, or sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates (Jer_44:4). To be departed from—
(1) As contrary to the nature and will of our Creator.
(2) As opposed to our own interest and happiness. All sin the opposite of God’s character which is goodness, purity, and holiness. Moral evil the necessary source of all physical and social evil. The fear of the Lord necessarily evinced by, and conducting to, a departure from evil. The two combined constitute the perfect man. Job’s own character (ch. Job_1:1.], 8). Evil to be departed from—
(1) Earnestly.
(2) Entirely.
(3) Perseveringly.
(4) At all hazards. Moral evil both internal and external—both in heart and life. Both to be equally departed from. Departure from evil necessarily connected with the practice of good. The only way for a fallen man to depart from evil is by the implantation of a new nature through the operation of God’s Spirit in the heart. Hence the promise (Jer_24:7; Jer_32:39; Eze_11:19; Eze_36:26-27).
3. The fear of God or true religion the wisdom of man. Wisdom the choice of the best end, and employment of the best means for attaining it. True religion both aims at and secures glory to God and our own best interests. Seeks and secures the chief end for which man was made—to glorify God and enjoy Him for ever. The only means of man’s happiness, either here or hereafter. Godliness favourable both to his physical and spiritual, temporal and eternal, welfare. Has the promise both of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. The way to make the best of both worlds. Gives much in the hand, more in the hope. Is in harmony with man’s moral nature given him by his Creator. The foundation of personal and domestic, social and civil, peace. Fits for the enjoyment of the Divine fellowship—man’s highest happiness. Smooths the pillow of death. Prepares for a happy eternity beyond the grave. Preserves him from many troubles, and enables him calmly to meet and patiently to endure those that are unavoidable. Allies him with the noblest and choicest of God’s intelligent creatures. Opens to him an ever-brightening path of excellence and delight. Renders him a blessing to others and a fellow-worker with God.
4. Lay testimonies from Statesmen, Philosophers, and Poets, to the value of true religion in promoting men’s best interests.
“That summum bonum which is only able to make thee happy, as well as in thy death as in thy life; I mean the true knowledge and worship of thy Creator and Redeemer, without which all other things are vain and miserable.”—Lord Burleigh to his Son.
“I have lived to see five sovereigns, and have been privy councillor to four of them; I have seen the most remarkable things in foreign parts, and have been present at most state transactions for the last thirty years; and I have learned, after so many years’ experience, that seriousness is the greatest wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a good conscience the best estate.”—Sir John Mason: died 1566.
“Love my memory, cherish my friends, but, above all, govern your will and affections by the will and Word of your Creator; in me beholding the end of this world with all her vanities.”—Sir Philip Sidney to his Brother, 1586.
“Love God, and begin betimes. In Him you shall find everlasting and endless comfort; when you have travelled and wearied yourself with all sorts of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down by sorrow in the end.”—Sir Walter Raleigh to his Wife, before his execution, 1618.
“Living in an age of extraordinary events and revolutions, I have learned from thence this truth, which I desire might thus be communicated to posterity: that all is vanity which is not honest, and that there is no solid wisdom but in real piety.”—John Ecelyn—Epitaph by Himself, 1706.
“Depend upon this truth, that every man is the worse looked upon, and the less trusted, for being thought to have no religion, in spite of all the pompous, specious epithets he may assume, of esprits forts, free-thinker, or moral philosopher; and a wise atheist, if such thing there is, would, for his own interest and character in this world, pretend to some religion.”—Lord Chesterfield—Letters to his Son.
“Philosophy may infuse stubbornness, but religion only can give patience.”—Dr. S. Johnson.
“Hold fast, therefore, by this sheet anchor of happiness, religion. You will often want it in the times of most danger—the storms and tempests of life. Cherish true religion as preciously as you would fly with abhorrence and contempt from superstition and enthusiasm. The first is the perfection and glory of human nature; the two last the depravation and disgrace of it. Remember, the essence of religion is a heart void of offence towards God and man; not subtle, speculative opinions, but an active vital, principle of faith.”—Lord Chatham—Letters to his Nephew.
“To religion, then, we must hold in every circumstance of life for our truest comforts; for, if we are already happy, it is a pleasure to think that we can make that happiness unending; and if we are miserable, it is very consoling to think there is a place of rest. Thus, to the fortunate, religion holds out a continuance of bliss; to the wretched, a change from pain.”—Oliver Goldsmith.
“We know, and, what is better, we feel inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort.”—Edmund Burke, on the French Revolution.
“With all my follies of youth, and, I fear, a few vices of manhood, still I congratulate myself as having had, in early days, religion strongly impressed on my mind.… I look on the man who is firmly persuaded of infinite wisdom and goodness, superintending and directing every circumstance that can happen in his lot, I felicitate such a man as having a solid foundation for his mutual enjoyment, a firm prop and sure stay in the hour of difficulty, trouble, and distress; and a never-failing anchor of hope when he looks beyond the grave.”—Robert Burns.
“Where there is most love of God, there will be the truest and most enlarged philanthropy. No other foundation is secure. There is no other means whereby nations can be reformed, than that by which alone individuals can be regenerated.… While men are subject to disease, infirmity, affliction, and death, the good never will exist without the hopes of religion; the wicked never without its fears.”—Southey.
“I envy no quality of the mind or intellect in others; not genius, wit, or fancy. But if I could choose what would be most delightful, and I believe most useful to me, I should prefer a firm religious belief to every other blessing. For it makes life a discipline of goodness, creates new hopes when all earthly hopes vanish, and throws over the decay and the destruction of existence, the most gorgeous of all rights; awakens life even in death; and from corruption and decay calls up beauty and divinity; makes an instrument of torture and of shame the ladder of ascent to paradise.”—Sir Humphrey Davy.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Job 28:1, Job 28:12-13, Job 28:20-28
Job 28:1, Job 28:12-13, Job 28:20-28
This chapter falls naturally into three sections, the first two sections being terminated by this question, with a slight variety of statement: "Whence then cometh wisdom?" and the last by the result of the investigation.
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I. The first of these sections is occupied with the abstruseness and marvellousness of human discoveries. Job speaks of the discovery of natural objects—gems for the monarch’s brow, metals for the husbandman, minerals for the physician—but we can speak of the far more curious discovery of natural powers. Have we, with all our toilings, brought to light that wisdom in the possession of which we may acquiesce throughout eternity?
Alas! no. There is no rest, no peace, no satisfaction, in wisdom of this kind.
II. The second section of this Divine poem sets forth to us the truth that, though human discoveries be exceeding abstruse and wonderful, yet there is an impassable limit which they cannot go beyond. There is a field of knowledge which baffles us at the outset, and that is the field of Providence. Nature affords us no light whatever in solving the secret of the Divine dispensations. Of this wisdom the depth saith, "It is not in me;" and the sea saith, "It is not with me."
III. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." It must be so, if you will consider the matter. Evil, moral evil or sin, is the parent and root of folly. It follows, then, that to depart from it must be the highest, the only true, wisdom. The path is so plain that the simplest may enter upon it, and that without delay. In whatever employment we be engaged, there is room for the cultivation of this simple, grand, majestic wisdom, room for us to fear the Lord, room for us to depart from evil.
E. M. Goulburn, Occasional Sermons, p. 211.
References: Job 28:7, Job 28:8.—A. P. Stanley, Addresses and Sermons at St. Andrews, p. 127. Job 28:10.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 985; J. Martineau, Hours of Thought, vol. ii., p. 176.
Job 28:12
Every man has, down in the depths of his own being, a wisdom much greater than the wisdom of the life which he is living, or of the thoughts which he is already thinking.
I. There is a conscience, there is a light, there is a view of truth, there is a spirit, in every one, however he may speak and however he may act, which had he cultivated and obeyed, he would have been a better and a happier man than he is. The great power of our Saviour’s teaching often lay in drawing out the latent good which was in every man that came in contact with Him; and he is wise who believes it in himself and recognises it in every man with whom he has to do.
II. Wisdom is in all the experience of life. It is in every mind with whom you converse. It is in every providence. It is in every language of nature. All life is a lesson-book of wisdom.
III. Wisdom is a revelation. No mind, though it be of the highest order, ever was, or ever can be, independent of revelation. The storehouse of wisdom is the word of God. But God has given us more than a book; He has given us an embodiment, a visible reality. A Person, and a living Person, is much more than all the words. The words are the framework of the Man, and that Man is the Lord Jesus Christ.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 10th series, p. 133.
Reference: Job 28:12.—A. P. Stanley, Sermons on Special Occasions, p. 212.
Job 28:12, Job 28:28
Man’s interests and activities find their highest inspiration in culture and religion. The relations which these sides of human action may bear to each other can never be of slight importance. Some maintain that they are antagonistic. It is said, the ages of faith are not the times of intelligence; learning causes religion to dwindle. If this be so, it is indeed strange that history should furnish us with repeated illustrations of what we may almost term a law of the development of the human race, namely, that the epochs of man’s progress, when there is a larger force and a more vigorous vitality, are marked by stimulus, not only to the intelligence and learning of the human mind, but also to the faith and corresponding character of the human heart. When man has awakened from the sleep which often overtakes him in the midst of a thick night of gloom, he has not only exhibited a fresh interest in objects of mental research, but he has also raised his eyes once more to the stars that shine in heaven, and stretched his hands with a more vigorous grasp towards the Power and the Person who are only revealed to his spiritual nature.
I. Observe, first, that religion is itself a means of mental discipline. The objects of study which religion furnishes are (1) the nature of the human soul; (2) the progress of Christian doctrine and the development of the Church; (3) the nature of God and His relationship to man. Where will you find a discipline so high, so severe, so perfect, as in the objects of thought which religion can supply?
II. The other side of the relation which religion bears to mental cultivation is that protective and meditative influence which it can exert so as to guard against or remedy the evils in peril of which an exclusively mental exercise always lies. (1) Religion corrects the tendency of culture to ignore the limits of man’s power. (2) Religion teaches us the lesson of humility. Faith, and worship, and adoring love for ever keep the human heart in the ready and loyal acknowledgment of its God. (3) A learning that is nothing but intellectual tends to make us forget our brotherhood. There is nothing more selfish than culture. It withdraws us to a narrow circle. It makes us members of a set. For this fault the only corrective is religion. In- her courts we stand upon a common ground. Here we find an altar whereon the choicest mental endowments shall be too poor an offering, and here we may gain the inspiration of that example which forms the highest pinnacle of human attainment.
L. D. Bevan, Christ and the Age, p. 333.
Job 28:28
I. Wisdom is not learning. A great part of what his contemporaries admired in Solomon consisted of the accumulated mass of facts with which his memory was stored. Yet it is an observation we are constantly forced to make how much a man may know and yet what a fool he may be. That Solomon, for instance, with all his wisdom, was a wise ruler, we have not the slightest reason to suppose. The hasty reader is so impressed with all that is told of his magnificence that he often fails to take notice of what is also told of the cost at which it was kept up—the corvées of forced labour, the grinding taxation of the subjects. We find that on the king’s death the people insisted on an absolute change of system, and failing to obtain it, hurled his dynasty from the throne.
II. Wisdom is not cleverness. I refer to that kind of ability which finds it easy to invent arguments in favour of any line of action it wishes to commend, which is not easily taken by surprise, is ready with plausible answers to objections, and can throw into the most attractive form the reasons for coming to the desired conclusion. All this is but the cleverness of the advocate. What we really want for our practical guidance is the wisdom of the judge.
III. "The fear of the Lord is wisdom," is the declaration of the Old Testament. Wisdom teaches us to provide for our happiness in the most enlightened way. But in the New Testament we have what seems quite a different rule: Seek not your own happiness at all; live and work for the happiness of others; give up all thought of self, all calculation how you may make yourself greater, or more honoured, or more prosperous. That may be noble conduct, but can it be said to be wisdom?
IV. The key to the paradox is found in that golden saying of our Lord, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And there is no difficulty in understanding that this really is the case. Those to whom God has given powers find happiness in their exercise quite independently of the fruits these powers may gain. And in the case of work done for others, it is not only that there is pleasure in the exercise of our powers, it is not only that it is more flattering to our pride to give than to receive, but the heart must be cold which does not find delight when through our gift happiness springs up for others, and their sorrow is turned into joy.
V. If, then, the New Testament has taught us to understand by "the fear of the Lord" something more than had been distinctly revealed in the Old Testament, still we can truly say that the fear of the Lord is wisdom. It is eminently true of love, "Give, and it shall be given to you." If one were found by experience to be perfectly free from selfish aim, one by whom no unkind word was ever spoken, one who was always planning some act of kindness to others, it is impossible but that such a one would inspire such perfect trust, and would be surrounded by such love and gratitude, as would brighten his own life as he strove to brighten those of others.
G. Salmon, Non-miraculous Christianity, p. 171.
References: Job 28:28.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p. 57; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. vi., p. 21.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Mystery of Divine Wisdom
The Mystery of Divine Wisdom
In this famous chapter Job declares that Wisdom—that is, the principle of the divine government of the world—is a mystery not to be solved by man. Man's wisdom lies in fearing God, and in departing from evil. But this conclusion is quite at variance with the position taken by Job in the chapters before and after it. 'It might no doubt be supposed that Job has reached a calmer mood; and abandoning the attempt to discover a speculative solution of the difficulties which distress him, finds man's wisdom to consist in the practical fulfilment of life (Job_28:28). But if Job has risen to this tranquil temper, how comes it that he falls back into complainings (Job_30:20-23) and dissatisfaction at not having been justified by God (Job_31:35)? And, further, if he has reached by the unaided force of his own meditations this devout and submissive frame of mind, how is the ironical tone of the Divine speeches (Job 38 f.) to be accounted for? If he is already resigned to the inscrutability of the divine ways, how does it need to be again pointed out to him?' (Driver). These considerations have induced many scholars to regard the chapter as a later insertion. Some have regarded it as a part of Zophar's third speech, but its quiet beauty and detachment in temper forbid this view. The chapter constitutes an independent poem, which a reader may have inserted here to indicate that the discussion which has just closed deals with subjects too lofty for human understanding.
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1-11. Man can discover precious metals by mining processes, but where can Wisdom be found?
1. Surely] RM 'For.' Perhaps the question in Job_28:12 and Job_28:20, 'Where shall Wisdom be found?', 'Whence then cometh Wisdom?' may be understood at the beginning of this verse. It has even been suggested that it once stood at the beginning and has been omitted by accident.
1. Vein] RV 'mine.' Remains of.mines have been found in Edom a little N. of Petra, and it is well known that copper and turquoise mines were worked by the Egyptians in the Sinaitic Peninsula at least as early as the reign of Sa-nekht, the founder of the third Egyptian dynasty, i.e. according to Prof. Flinders Petrie about 4950 b.c. (see his 'Researches in Sinai'). Where they fine it] RV 'which they refine.'
2. Brass] rather, 'copper.'
3. Render, 'Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones,' etc., a reference to mining operations.
4. RV 'He (the miner) breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They (miners) are forgotten of the foot that passeth by (overhead); They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro (i.e. by ropes).' The word rendered 'shaft' should be' channel.' Ancient mines were often not vertical shafts, but sloping tunnels. A slight change would give 'He breaketh open a shaft away from light.'
5. As it were fire] RV 'as it were by fire,' a reference to mining operations. 7. A path] the miner's tunnel.
9. The miner's excavations.
10. Rivers] RM 'passages.' IIa. RV 'He bindeth (with clay) the streams that they trickle not,' i.e. he prevents water from entering the mine.
12-28. Man can discover some things by his cleverness, but Wisdom, the mystery of the universe and its ordering, is beyond his ken. It is the secret of God who ordained its existence.
13. The price thereof] LXX reads, 'the way thereof.'
14. The depth] the primeval abyss supposed to lie under the earth: cp. Gen_1:2.
15f Cp. Pro_3:14-15; Pro_8:10-11;
17. Crystal] RV 'glass': known to the ancients, but extremely costly.
18. No mention] because there is no comparison. Rubies] RM 'pearls.'
22. Destruction] Heb. Abaddon, the realm of the dead. The fame of Wisdom, but not the knowledge of it, has reached these gloomy regions.
23. See on 12-28. Since God is the creator of the universe, and knows even its most secret recesses, He must know where Wisdom is to be found. Not only so, but the very work of creation and the adjustment of natural phenomena are indications of Wisdom, and prove not merely God's knowledge of Wisdom's abode, but his possession of Wisdom itself.
25. RM 'When he maketh a weight for the wind: yea, he meteth out the waters by measure,' i.e. the regulation by God of the forces of nature.
26. A decree for the rain] i.e. for its regulation.
27. 'When God ordered creation, Wisdom was present to Him; He declared it, gave it existence, and contemplated it in all its fulness with divine approval' (Gibson).
28. Man's wisdom is a distinct thing from the Divine Wisdom. It is that right conduct which accompanies reverence for a holy God.
The description of Wisdom in this chapter closely connects the book of Job in this respect with the other Wisdom literature of the OT., viz. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The personification is, however, less distinct in Job. Wisdom here is only God's attribute. Pro_8:22-31 should be carefully compared with this c.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. The treasures of the earth (Job 28:1-6)
CHAPTER 28
1. The treasures of the earth (Job 28:1-6)
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2. The better treasures (Job 28:7-22)
3. God knoweth the way and the true wisdom (Job 28:23-28)
Job 28:1-6. This part of the monologue of Job does not seem to have much relation, if any, to the controversial matter of the previous chapters. He speaks first of the treasures of the earth, the riches which man seeks after, but which do not last, and are so often man’s undoing. Job shows that he had a good knowledge of mining operations. He knows of veins of silver and how gold is refined. Iron is taken out of the earth and copper molten out of stone. Then he describes how the miner with his mining lamp makes an end to the darkness when he digs into the mountains and then he sinks a shaft. They are so far down that the foot which passeth above knows nothing where they are. The dangers of mining he also mentions--”they hang (suspended by ropes) afar from men, they swing to and fro.” All this man does, risking life and comfort, to get gold and the treasures of the earth.
Job 28:7-22. But there are better treasures, truer riches than these. Job evidently aims at a contrast with what man seeks in earthly things and the better things which are for him. There is a better way than digging into the earth for gold and precious stones.
There is a path no bird of prey has ever known,
Nor has the eagle’s eye discovered it.
A path which no proud beast hath ever trod;
Not e’en the lion ever passed that way.
But these paths are not for finding treasures of the earth; and so there is another way to get other riches, far better than silver and gold. Then he speaks again of what man does to bring hidden things to light, how he lays his hand on the flinty rock and overturns the mountains in his mining operations, stemming the subterranean waters, and all to bring the hidden treasures to light. Then he asks: “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” Alas! man does not know the price of wisdom; it is not found in the deep, nor in the sea. Gold cannot buy it, nor silver. The price of wisdom is above rubies, the gold of Ophir, the precious onyx (beryl) or the sapphire. “Whence then cometh wisdom?”
Job 28:23-28. Here is the answer: “God understandeth the way thereof. Yea, in all His creation, He knows the way and much more so in redemption He is in the person of His blessed son, the way to Himself, and in Him all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge are hid.” Then comes the revelation of true wisdom: “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” God has spoken to his heart and answered the question concerning wisdom and understanding. And ere long Job himself will demonstrate in his experience the meaning of this verse. In reverence and fear he then turns to Him, bowing in the dust; from evil, yea, from himself he turns, departs and finds the true wisdom and understanding.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Man’s Foolish Search for Riches
Man’s Foolish Search for Riches
v. 1. Surely there is a vein for the silver, a place prepared by the Creator where it is found, and a place for gold where they fine it, where men refine gold, after the ore has been taken out of the ground. The connection of thought between the statements in this paragraph and that of the previous chapter is this, that true wisdom cannot be dug out of the earth or acquired by the wicked rich like minerals.
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v. 2. Iron is taken out of the earth, brought out by means of deep shafts, and brass is molten out of the stone, that is, the stone of the ore is smelted into copper, this metal being comparatively easily gained.
v. 3. He setteth an end to darkness, men have found ways of lighting up even the dark shafts of the mines beneath the earth, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness and the shadow of death, that is, the enterprise of men has enabled them to penetrate into the earth in every direction, building their shafts in the subterranean darkness and following the lead of the veins of ore to their very end.
v. 4. The flood, the place of cutting through, breaketh out from the inhabitant, that is, man opens or cuts through a shaft, away from those sojourning above, straight down into the earth; even the waters forgotten of the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men, literally, "where forgotten by every one’s foot they dangle, far from mortals, they swing," that is, men dig their shafts down so deeply that they are entirely out of sight and ken of men walking above; they are suspended by ropes far from the surface where other men are living and going about their business. All this is done in order to bring metals up to the surface. But true wisdom cannot be so acquired.
v. 5. As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, on its surface the cultivated fields yield grain for man’s food; and under it, by contrast, it is turned up as it were fire, cut up into shafts and galleries, as though fire had eaten through. Man is not satisfied with the products which grow out of the earth, but digs for treasures in its deepest recesses.
v. 6. The stones of it are the place of sapphires, for this precious stone is found in the earth; and it hath dust of gold, the nuggets and grains of gold which settle in pockets of mountain streams become the property of the miner.
v. 7. There is a path which no fowl knoweth, no eagle knows the path to the hidden treasures, and which the vulture’s eye, as sharp as it is, hath not seen, not even he has gazed upon them:
v. 8. the lion’s whelps have not trodden it, the proud beasts of prey, nor the fierce lion passed by it. None of them knew the places where all these riches were hidden.
v. 9. He, that is, man in his restless search for wealth, putteth forth his hand upon the rock, laying his hand even upon flint, the hardest of rocks; he overturneth the mountains by the roots, by digging and blasting for the treasures contained in the ground.
v. 10. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks, cutting passages through solid granite; and his eye seeth every precious thing, for by such digging and blasting the hidden treasures are revealed to the eyes of men.
v. 11. He bindeth the floods from overflowing, stopping the dripping or the seams of water which threaten to fill up the pits and galleries of the mines; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light, by such strenuous mining operations men succeed in bringing up the precious metals and stones hidden in the bosom of the earth. They spare themselves no trouble to gain the vain treasures of this world.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5 This is a place where people dig rocks out…
mine
This is a place where people dig rocks out of the earth. These rocks have metal in them.
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refine
This is the process of heating a metal to remove all of the impurities that are in it.
Iron is taken out of the earth
This can be stated in active form. AT: "People take iron out of the earth" (See: Active or Passive)
copper is smelted out of the stone
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people smelt copper out of the stone" or "people heat stone to melt copper out of it" (See: Active or Passive)
copper
an important red-brown colored metal
smelted
This is a process of heating rocks to melt the metal in them in order to get the metal out of the rocks.
translationWords
silver
gold
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 5 28:1-28 This section is a self-contained speech. No speaker…
28:1-28 This section is a self-contained speech. No speaker is listed, so it could be a continuation of the preceding words. However, some consider this a poetic interlude by the author of Job that sums up the argument to this point, emphasizes the failure of human wisdom, and lays the foundation for the Lord’s speeches.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.