TEXT [Commentary]

  C.   Hymn to Wisdom (28:1-28)

1 “People know where to mine silver

and how to refine gold.

2 They know where to dig iron from the earth

and how to smelt copper from rock.

3 They know how to shine light in the darkness

and explore the farthest regions of the earth

as they search in the dark for ore.

4 They sink a mine shaft into the earth

far from where anyone lives.

They descend on ropes, swinging back and forth.

5 Food is grown on the earth above,

but down below, the earth is melted as by fire.

6 Here the rocks contain precious lapis lazuli,

and the dust contains gold.

7 These are treasures no bird of prey can see,

no falcon’s eye observe.

8 No wild animal has walked upon these treasures;

no lion has ever set his paw there.

9 People know how to tear apart flinty rocks

and overturn the roots of mountains.

10 They cut tunnels in the rocks

and uncover precious stones.

11 They dam up the trickling streams

and bring to light the hidden treasures.

12 “But do people know where to find wisdom?

Where can they find understanding?

13 No one knows where to find it,[*]

for it is not found among the living.

14 ‘It is not here,’ says the ocean.

‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.

15 It cannot be bought with gold.

It cannot be purchased with silver.

16 It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,

greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

17 Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.

It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.

18 Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it.

The price of wisdom is far above rubies.

19 Precious peridot from Ethiopia[*] cannot be exchanged for it.

It’s worth more than the purest gold.

20 “But do people know where to find wisdom?

Where can they find understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all humanity.

Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it.

22 Destruction[*] and Death say,

‘We’ve heard only rumors of where wisdom can be found.’

23 “God alone understands the way to wisdom;

he knows where it can be found,

24 for he looks throughout the whole earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25 He decided how hard the winds should blow

and how much rain should fall.

26 He made the laws for the rain

and laid out a path for the lightning.

27 Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.

He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

28 And this is what he says to all humanity:

‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;

to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

NOTES

28:1ff This chapter is a poem on wisdom that is perfectly comprehensible as an independent composition. We will never know if it was written as part of the rest of the poetry or was written independently and was integrated into the poetic speech of Job. It is usually considered unoriginal to Job and is thought by many to be an awkward insertion into the larger poem—though perhaps the best possible location for a poem the author or later copyists did not wish to omit. Gordis says the poem “obviously does not belong here since it anticipates the theme of the God speeches” (1978:298); it would be “strange to make God into an afterthought” (Geller 1987:177). At the end of the book, the poem would be superfluous. It is acknowledged by all that this poem has a close affinity to the book of Job, and must have been composed by the author or a close imitator. The use of identical Heb. words or phrases (cf. 28:3b and 11:7; 26:10; cf. 28:10-11 and 12:22; cf. 28:1, 12, 23 and 38:12, 19; cf. 28:26b and 38:25b) and even the similar use of prepositions show that in some sense it is part of the work of Job.

28:1 where to mine silver. The verse seems to have primary reference to the refining of metals. The literal “place where silver emerges” is usually thought to be a mine, but as a technical term, it refers to the emergence of the metal as the ore is smelted. This technical use is found in Heb. (cf. Prov 25:4) and related languages (Van Leeuwen 1986:112-113). The opening line introduces the subject with the finished product (cf. 28:1b), and the first section of the poem describes the quest to find its source.

28:3 shine light in the darkness. The poem is describing the place where ore is found rather than the process by which it is retrieved. The general sense of this and the following verses is evident, but no precise meaning can be obtained. “Miners put an end to darkness” (NRSV) supplies a subject absent in the Heb. Tur-Sinai follows older Jewish commentators who take God to be the subject with reference to creation (1967:396-397), but humans are the most likely subject (Geller 1987:178), with reference to a mining excavation executed far from human habitation. The place is emphasized again (28:6), and the application of the mining analogy is to the place where wisdom may be found (28:12, 20).

farthest regions of the earth. The Heb. may be rendered “stone of deep darkness and shadow of death.” The last two words have earlier been used to refer to the underworld (10:22), and it is probable that they again describe the source of the stone (NLT). If so, that source would seem to be something other than a mine shaft, for it is described as a place of extreme heat (28:5). This stone of the depths and the heat seems to be a reference to lava (Gordis 1978:305; Wolfers 1994c:275), which would be described by the ancients as emerging from the nether regions.

28:4 They sink a mine shaft. The Heb. word translated “mine shaft” (nakhal [TH5158, ZH5707]) commonly means the gully of an intermittent stream. If it is correct that there is a reference to lava in the previous verse, then this verse refers to the mountainous uninhabited regions where volcanoes erupt and the lava sometimes flows down a ridge as a stream. This idea (as opposed to that of a vertical mine shaft) is further supported by the fact that mining excavations in the ancient Near East were usually horizontal, though vertical shafts are known to have existed. Alternately, if God is the subject of v. 3, this could be a reference to the valleys of creation, or to God creating the world with volcanic eruptions.

swinging back and forth. Diverse meanings are possible due to the uncertainty of what sense is present in the Heb. words. Though the meaning “dangle” is a defensible meaning of the word dallu [TH1809A, ZH1938], it is quite uncertain, particularly since it is only by inference that a mine shaft is present at all. As it stands, the word has the form meaning “they were few” (cf. Gesenius §67bb), which continues the thought of the uninhabited mountainous regions bereft of people. The lava breaks out in a stream near some wanderer, far from a traveled path, a scarcely inhabited place where few ever go.

28:5 Food is grown on the earth above. Though the words are logically construed this way, the idea is very awkward in the context, which is about a sterile uninhabited land. The place where rock below is melted as by fire is not one in which crops are grown. Rather than “bread” (lekhem [TH3899, ZH4312]) it would seem there is a reference to “heat”; Gordis (1978:306) connects it to another form of this word (lekhum [TH3894A, ZH4303]), previously used for heat or rage (cf. 20:23), but Tur-Sinai (1967:398-399) slightly emends the text to obtain the normal word meaning heat (khom [TH2527, ZH2770]). “A land where heat pours forth” is much more satisfactory in context, though the support for the meaning heat is not strong.

the earth is melted as by fire. This may refer to the ancient technique of using fire to dislodge rock in an excavation.

28:8 no lion. The terminology for “lion” interchanges with “serpent” in Semitic languages. Since the verse is speaking about places inaccessible to humans, some commentators (e.g., Pope 1965:179-180; Geller 1987:179-180) think the reference is to a snake or reptile.

28:11 dam up. The Heb. “bind” (RSV) is a metaphor for overcoming the obstacles in arriving at the distant sources. The word “bind” (khibbesh [TH2280, ZH2502]) is phonetically close to the Heb. word “search” (khippes [TH2664, ZH2924]), which is chosen by many translators (NIV, NRSV, NJB) and may have been used as a pun to bring both concepts to mind.

trickling streams. It is now known from Ugaritic that this word (mabbakh [TH4009.1, ZH4441]) is used mythologically to refer to the sources of the rivers where the gods dwell. The miner has reached the farthest regions in the search for treasure. It is possible some of the other terminology of these verses is also mythological, referring to secret, inaccessible places. “Dam up” is an expression that refers to restraining the primeval powers (Geller 1987:181).

28:27 set it in place. Some manuscripts read “he understood it” (hebinah [TH995, ZH1067]) instead of “set in place” (hekinah [TH3559, ZH3922]); since the other verbs in the context are those of cognition, it may be preferable to follow the minority reading (cf. REB).

28:28 And this is what he says to all humanity. It seems to many that this conclusion—with a traditional wisdom statement (cf. Prov 3:7; 9:10)—subverts the beauty of the poem and is “a standard affirmation and formulation of the conservative school . . . appended as an antidote to the agnostic tenor of the preceding poem” (Pope 1965:183). Such judgments are presumptuous in that they attribute to the composition what the critic deems it be required to say. The distinct form of the final line, including the book’s only occurrence of the term “Lord” (’adonay [TH136, ZH151]), obviously intends to distinguish the application of wisdom but cannot serve to show it is secondary and intrusive. This hymn distinguishes the different kinds of wisdom: that which we find and follow (Prov 3:13-18) and that which is inaccessible (28:13, 21). This distinction is not confined to the book of Job nor to this chapter in Job (Oorschot 1994:200), which makes the closing verse of the poem indispensable as a reflection on wisdom.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This poem breaks down into three very distinct sections: (1) humans successfully search for hidden treasure (28:1-11); (2) humans do not know the place of wisdom, which is the greatest treasure of all (28:12-22); (3) God knows the source of wisdom and by wisdom created the universe (28:23-28). These three sections can be observed to have a correspondence to the comprehensive structure of 3:1–42:6, as Job and his friends search for wisdom, Job and Elihu reflect on its worth, and finally, God appears in the storm (Zimmermann 1994:98). The author skillfully unites the manifold and futile efforts of the friends and Job to find wisdom with the positive anticipation of the speeches of God. This poem on wisdom must be recognized as a component the author used as a bridge to his later reflections on the role of wisdom for understanding the providence of God in creation. In his final speech, Job recognized both the potential and the limits of wisdom when dealing with the mysteries of God. As a component of the final speech of Job, it prepares the way for his repentance (42:1-6) concerning the presumptuous assertions he had made in his demands for divine justice.

As indicated in the translation notes, this poem can be read with a considerable diversity of meaning in the first section, though the significance of the whole is not in doubt. In part, this is the power of poetry and is a strength rather than a weakness. Poets create images; they stimulate the mind of the reader in various and diverse ways. As Geller points out (1987:158), a realistic meaning is submerged in a “vibrant complex of imagery.” Some variety in interpretation and impact is legitimate, though verse 4 is particularly obscure to the contemporary reader. The older Jewish commentaries may be right in setting the quest for metal ores (28:1-6) in the context of the wonder of creation (28:3-4). The Hebrew does not tell us directly who puts an end to darkness (28:3), but in an absolute sense it is only God who can do so—particularly the deep darkness found outside the natural sphere. An analogy may be inferred between the way God puts an end to darkness, searching out every stone in creating the desolate valleys, and the way a miner puts an end to darkness in excavating the rocks created by God. The poem is about the work of humans within the work of God. Verse 5 alludes to melted rock, such as that of a volcano, which erupts from the lower regions of the earth, mysterious both in creation and in the technology of mining. The “stone of the shadow of death” (see note on 28:3) evokes the image of those regions outside of human activity but where the effect of divine activity may be observed. In the natural world, humans probe these mysteries with wonderful results. Precious stones and metals are found and refined. The result is tangible and satisfying, especially because of the effort and skill required for success. The miner goes to the “sources of the rivers,” an image of the home of the gods, in his search for treasure (see note on 28:11). He confines all the powers that might stand in his way. The mysteries of the natural world may be pursued successfully to the most remote and uncharted regions.

Precious metals are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, particularly gold and silver. Gold can be found in a relatively pure state in nature and can be worked effectively. Silver was separated from the ore through a process called cupellation, in which the lead, tin, and other minerals were liquified and blown away with a blast of air, with some of the residue absorbed in a porous base, leaving the silver. This process of refining silver is a frequent metaphor for purification from evil. Though gold is mentioned the most often, it is actually the least found in archaeological excavations, though it is always the best preserved. Sapphire is not the modern transparent blue stone, which was first used in the Roman period, but what we call lapis lazuli, a semi-precious, opaque, deep-blue stone associated with the colors of royalty.

The second section of the poem is marked by an inclusio—the ending (28:20-22) recapitulates the lines at the beginning (28:12-14). It accentuates the transcendent nature of wisdom with the repetition of a question (28:12, 20) that postulates the impossibility of the quest to find wisdom. No one knows the way to wisdom because it is not within the land of the living (28:13, 21); the very best of skill or perception is insufficient to find it. Even outside the world of ordered creation, there is but a rumor of the home of wisdom (28:14, 22); the netherworld, the deep, and the sea declare that she is not there. The place of death can only report rumors about wisdom.

The more difficult an object is to obtain, the greater is its worth; because pure gold, silver, and stones such as blue sapphire, black or white onyx, opaque shiny crystal, bright coral and yellow chrysolite (topaz) are difficult to obtain, they are very expensive. Yet, as to its worth, wisdom is not to be compared with any of these precious jewels. The wisdom of creation is not accessible within creation; therefore, nothing within creation can be compared in worth with wisdom.

God alone understands wisdom, knows its source, and has evaluated and approved it. The forces of creation such as wind, rain, and storm were set in place and are governed by wisdom. Wisdom was the means by which the orders of the natural world were achieved (cf. Prov 8:22-31). This kind of wisdom is inaccessible to humans. In the final line of the poem, “wisdom” is distinguished from “the wisdom” described in the previous lines by the absence of the article. Absolute wisdom, designated by the use of the article (Gordis 1978:538-539), is denied to humans, but humans have access to a more limited form of wisdom. The wisdom of humans is to fear the Lord and to know about morality, life, and appropriate conduct. Humans should know this kind of wisdom, but the wisdom of God concerning the ultimate order of the universe is a wisdom humans often wish they could know but cannot—their attempts to find it may well leave them self-deceived.

The fear of the Lord is trust in combination with full recognition of his power and judgment. There is reason for real terror unless there is complete confidence in his integrity and character. The God speeches (chs 38–41) are a lesson on the fear of the Lord. God’s ways may appear to be violent and are sometimes incomprehensible, but he can be fully trusted. Job is first silent in response to the challenge, then repentant that he should have expressed a lack of trust in God’s justice by his demands that God justify his ways to a suffering man.