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open bookCommentary on
The Book of Job

Chapter Twenty-eight: Where is Wisdom

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A Place for Gold

Job: chapter 28
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.
6 The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.
7 There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen:
8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
11 He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
27 Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Having fully vented his anger, Job now returns to the wonderful allegory of chapter twenty-three. How is the refiner's gold found? Because this chapter breaks away from the debate, many commentators treat it as a later insertion. As with other such assertions, I will agree that this is entirely possible, however, I am going to treat it as what it is, an interruption to the debate as we have it. Wisdom is a recurring theme in the book. Several prominent commentators think the point of Job's trials is to bring him to greater wisdom, so why shouldn't Job stop to reflect.

Far From Men He Dangles and Sways

Verses one through eleven describe the incredible ingenuity of men searching for precious metals and jewels. “He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots” (28:9). Some of this is difficult understand, but Job appears to have a good understanding of the mining practices of his day. He mentions draining away water (28:4), damming up water (28:11), and even changing the course of rivers (28:10), all common practices today. Clarke adds several interesting technical details showing how thoroughly the mining practices are being described here (Clarke, note on 28:1-11).

“Far from men he dangles and sways” (28:4, NIV). Miners toil beyond the reach of the lions (28:8), where even the birds cannot see (28:7). “The thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light” (28:11). Mining today can seem pretty fantastic, but this is from three or four thousand years ago. Bringing these stones and metals to the light must have been almost mystical to the imaginations of the men of his day. We can do all this, Job says, but what about the gold of wisdom and understanding. How can it be mined?

The “lion's whelps” in verse 8, translated “proud beasts” in many modern translations such as the NASB, is actually “sons of pride” in the Hebrew (Vicchio 2020, loc. 6485). The same word is used in the last verse of chapter 41, describing Leviathan: “He is king over all the children of pride.” Leviathan rules over those who are blind to the true gold.

Another interesting side note showing the importance of gold to the men of the time: four different words for ‘gold’ are used in verses 15 through 16. ‘Segôr’ (28:15) means shut up or secured gold (Strong, H5458). ‘Kethem’ (28:16) means carved out or raw gold (Strong, H3800). ‘Zâhâb’ (28:17) means something which shimmers, or gold colored (Strong, H2091). And ‘pâz’ (28:17) means pure gold, or fine wrought gold (Strong, H6337; Clarke, note on 28:16).

Where is Wisdom Found

“Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof” (28:12-13). Look everywhere, even under the sea, you will not find it (28:13-14). The most fabulous fortunes of precious things cannot buy wisdom and understanding (28:15-19). “Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears” (28:22); Satan does not know wisdom, but he has heard of it. “God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof” (28:23), for ‘He is made all things’ (28:24-27). In another telegraphing of chapter 41, the deep, home of the Leviathan, knows nothing of the riches of wisdom.

The true riches do not come from under the ground by the hand of man, Job concludes, the true riches of God are the wisdom and understanding that come from the fear of God and righteousness. “And unto man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding’” (28:28). Job must get beyond fear: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever” (Ps. 111:10, see also: Prov. 1:7).

“Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Prov. 2:3-6). Job is still in fear of the Lord, but God will soon bring him to a place where he understands the fear of the Lord, where he will truly find the knowledge of God. In a sense, I liken the fear of God to the sign over the broad gate, ignored by so many who enter there, but those who see and recognize its meaning turn and enter the narrow gate.


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*All Bible quotes are from the King James Version unless otherwise indicated.



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