Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 28:13
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
13. the price thereof ] For “price” the Sept. read way man knoweth not the way thereof (cf. Job 28:23), i. e. the way to it, and very many commentators adopt this reading, which gives a more direct answer to the question in Job 28:12. It price be read, the phrase “man knoweth not the price thereof” does not mean that “it is too precious to be bought with money,” but that it is no article of merchandise in the markets of mankind, in other words, it has never been found and is unknown among men. This meaning is clearly expressed in the second clause, “neither is it found in the land of the living.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Man knoweth not the price thereof – The word rendered price ( erek) means properly that which is set in a pile or row, or which is arranged in order. Here it means preparation, equipment – that is, anything put in order, or ready, Jdg 17:10. It is also used in the sense of estimation or valuation, Lev 5:15, Lev 5:18. The word price here, however, seems to form no proper answer to the question in the previous verse, as the question is, where wisdom is to be found, not what is its value. Many expositors have, therefore, introduced a different idea in their interpretation. Dr. Good renders it, Man knoweth not its source. Prof. Lee, Man knoweth not its equal. Herder, Man knoweth not the seat thereof. Coverdale, No man can tell how worthy a thing she is. The Septuagint renders it, Man knoweth not – hodon autes – her way. But the word used here is not employed to denote a place or way, and the true interpretation doubtless is, that Job does not confine himself to a strict answer of the question proposed in Job 28:12, but goes on to say that man could not buy it; he could neither find it, nor had he the means of purchasing it with all the wealth of which he was the owner.
Neither is it found in the land of the living – That is, it is not found among human beings. We must look to a higher source than man for true wisdom; compare Isa 38:11; Isa 53:8.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. Man knoweth not the price thereof] It is of infinite value; and is the only science which concerns both worlds. Without it, the wisest man is but a beast; with it, the simplest man is next to an angel.
Neither is it found in the land of the living.] The world by wisdom, its wisdom, never knew God. True religion came by Divine revelation: that alone gives the true notion of God, his attributes, ways, designs, judgments, providences, &c., whence man came, what is his duty, his nature, and his end. Literature, science, arts, &c., &c., can only avail man for the present life, nor can they contribute to his true happiness, unless tempered and directed by genuine religion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Man knoweth neither where to purchase it, nor how much it is worth, nor what to offer in exchange for it.
In the land of the living; amongst mortal men that live upon earth, but only amongst those blessed spirits that dwell above.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Man can fix no price uponit, as it is nowhere to be found in man’s abode (Isa38:11). Job implies both its valuable worth, and theimpossibility of buying it at any price.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Man knoweth not the price thereof,…. The worth and value of it, what price to set upon it, or offer and give for it; nor does he know where to find an equivalent to it, or what is a valuable consideration for it: as for the wisdom of God in his dealings with men, if a man was to give all the substance of his house to know the secret reasons of them, it would utterly be condemned; yea, if he had all the riches in the world in his possession, and would offer them on that consideration, he would not be able to attain the knowledge of them: or “the order thereof” o; the order of divine Providence, the wise disposal of thing, and the reasons thereof. In the first sense it is applicable to all the things before mentioned; to spiritual wisdom in men, supernatural grace, experimental religion, and real godliness; the worth of which is not known by carnal men, they despise it, and scoff at it; and to the Gospel, which is reckoned foolishness by them, and is of no account; and so is Christ himself rejected and disallowed of men, though chosen of God, and precious both to him and them that believe, who only know the price and value of him:
neither is it found in the land of the living; meaning not wisdom, though that in every sense is not from below, or earthly, but from above, and heavenly, but the price of it; and the sense is, that there is nothing in the whole globe that is equal to its worth, or can be proposed as a valuable consideration for it.
o “ordinem ejus”, Montanus, Bolducius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13 A mortal knoweth not its price,
And it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The abyss saith: It is not in me,
And the sea saith: It is not with me.
15 Pure gold cannot be given for it,
And silver cannot be weighed as its price;
16 And it is not outweighed with fine gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx and the sapphire.
It is self-evident that wisdom is found nowhere directly present and within a limited space, as at the bottom of the sea, and cannot be obtained by a direct exchange by means of earthly treasures. It is, moreover, not this self-evident fact that is denied here; but the meaning is, that even if a man should search in every direction through the land of the living, i.e., (as e.g., Psa 52:7) the world – if he should search through the , i.e., the subterranean waters that feed the visible waters (vid., Gen. 39:25) – if he should search through the sea, the largest bounded expanse of this water that wells up from beneath – yea, even if he would offer all riches and precious things to put himself in possession of the means and instruments for the acquirement of wisdom, – wisdom, i.e., the profoundest perception of the nature of things, would still be beyond him, and unattainable. , Job 28:13, an equivalent (from , to range beside, to place at the side of), interchanges with (from , cogn. , , mercari ). is , 1Ki 6:20 and freq., which hardly signifies gold shut up = carefully preserved, rather: closed = compressed, unmixed; Targ. , aurum colatum ( purgatum ). Ewald compares Arab. sajara , to seethe, heat; therefore: heated, gained by smelting. On the other hand, from , Arab. ktm , occulere , seems originally to denote that which is precious, then precious gold in particular, lxx , Cod. Vat. and Cod. Sinaiticus, (Egyptized by prefixing the Egyptian sa , part, district, side, whence e.g., sa – rees , the upper country, and sa – heet , the lower country, therefore = sa – ofir , land of Ophir). is translated here by the lxx (elsewhere or ), of which Pliny, h. n. xxxvii. 6, 24, appealing to Sudeines, says, in gemma esse candorem unguis humanii similitudinem ; wherefore Knobel, Rdiger, and others, compare the Arab. sahim , which, however, does not signify pale, but lean, and parched by the heat, with which, in hot countries at least, not pallor, but, on the contrary, a dark brown-black colour, is identified (Fl.). Arab. musahham , striped (Mich.), would be more appropriate, since the onyx is marked through by white veins; but this is a denom. from sahm , a dart, prop. darted, and is therefore wide of the mark. On the etymology of , vid., Jesurun, p. 61. Nevertheless both and are perhaps foreign names, as the name of the emerald (vid., ib. p. 108), which is Indian (Sanskr. marakata , or even marakta ); and, on the other hand, it is called in hieroglyph (determined by the stone) uot, the green stone (in Coptic p. auannese , the green colour) (Lauth).
The transcendent excellence of wisdom above the most precious earthly treasures, which the author of the introduction to the book of Proverbs briefly describes, Job 3:14, is now drawn out in detail.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. The price thereof The Septuagint reads, “way thereof” which Dillmann and Hitzig follow on the supposition that it agrees better with the context. As wisdom is “the highest power in God,” so for man it is the highest good. Its value is not known, for it is above all valuation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(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.
Supposing (what the Reader will plainly perceive is the humble, but firm belief of the writer) that JESUS be indeed the wisdom the sacred writer was speaking of before, how sweetly corresponding, to the other parts of the Bible, concerning the invaluable and unpurchaseable blessings of JESUS, and redemption by him, do these comparative statements appear? Gospel mercies are too costly to be sold, or indeed to come within the purchase of all creation. They are bought without money, and without price. Ye are redeemed (saith the HOLY GHOST by Peter) not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. What pearl, what topaz, what onyx, or all the golden wedges of Ophir, can bear mentioning, in the contemplation of the blood of JESUS! Oh! thou LAMB of GOD! thou precious gift of thy FATHER, and of thyself, who shall appreciate thy worth, or count thy love, or speak thy value! Reader, Is this JESUS thine? Ask then thine heart, Were he to be sold, what wouldest thou part with for him? Were he to be bought, what shouldest thou think too much for him? And hath GOD thy father given then this JESUS to thee?-to thee?-Given him too in such a way as never, never to be recalled. There is nothing else thy GOD hath given to thee, what the LORD may, whenever he thinks fit, recall again; for it is only in reality lent. Health, strength, faculties, wealth, children; all these are only held during a term. But JESUS, once given, is forever given, and never, never to be taken back. Reader! pause again. Is JESUS thine? Blessed LORD! how lost in wonder, love, and praise!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 28:13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Ver. 13. Man kaoweth not the price thereof ] Or, the order thereof, in what manner and method God proceedeth; no, though in other things he knew as much as Homer did, of whom one saith that he was , , a man that knew all human affairs; or as Aristotle did, whom some have called an eagle fallen from the clouds; or as Jerome, quem nullum scibile latuit, who knew all that was knowable; or as Bishop Andrew, whom one calleth (but how truly I inquire not) a gulf of learning. Sure it is that man, sorry man, knoweth neither the price of Divine wisdom, for it is invaluable; nor the place of it, for it is investigable; nor the order of it, for that is unattainable till we come to heaven; there being a wheel within a wheel, Eze 1:16 , and providence shall one day be unriddled.
Neither is it found in the land of the living
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
knoweth: Job 28:15-19, Psa 19:10, Psa 119:72, Pro 3:14, Pro 3:15, Pro 8:11, Pro 8:18, Pro 8:19, Pro 16:16, Pro 23:23, Ecc 8:16, Ecc 8:17
in the land: Job 28:21, Job 28:22, Psa 52:5, Isa 38:11, Isa 53:8
Reciprocal: Job 36:3 – fetch Jer 11:19 – from Eze 32:23 – the land
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 28:13-14. Man knoweth not the price thereof Its immense, its unspeakable value: nor can it be purchased with all that he hath to give for it. Neither is it found in the land of the living It is not a thing that any part of this world affords. Nor is it found in perfection among mortal men, that live on earth, but only among those blessed spirits that live in heaven. The depth saith, It is not in me, &c. Could the profound abysses of the sea speak, they would tell us they do not conceal this wisdom in their great depths. It is not to be found in any part of the land or sea, though a man should dig or dive ever so deep to find it; nor is it to be learned from any creature. For though the creatures of God discover his being, and power, and, in part, his wisdom, yet they do not instruct us in the methods and reasons of his providential dispensations toward good and evil men; nor communicate that experimental, practical knowledge of him of which cometh salvation.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:13 Man knoweth not {i} the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
(i) It is too high a thing for man to attain to in this world.