Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 28:3
He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
3 11. Description of mining operations.
he setteth ] To prevent ambiguity it is better to translate, man setteth, or, men set. The phrase “setteth an end to darkness” hardly refers to the light shed by the miner’s lamp; the expression is more general, meaning that men penetrate into what is dark and deep in the earth as if it were light and above ground as the next clause explains.
searcheth out all perfection ] Rather, searcheth out to the very end, or, utmost limit, the stones of darkness and the shadow of death, that is, the darkest recesses in the bowels of the earth. The word, very end or utmost limit is that occurring, ch. Job 26:10 (see notes) and ch. Job 11:7. On “shadow of death” see on ch. Job 24:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He setteth an end to darkness – That is, man does. The reference here is undoubtedly to the operations of mining, and the idea is, that man delves into the darkest regions; he goes even to the outer limits of darkness; he penetrates everywhere. Probably the allusion is derived from the custom of carrying torches into mines.
And searcheth out all perfection – Makes a complete search; examines everything; carries the matter to the utmost. The idea is not that he searches out all perfection – as our translation would seem to convey; but that he makes a complete and thorough search – and yet after all he does not come to the true and highest wisdom.
The stones of darkness – The last stone, says Herder, in the mining investigations in the time of Job; the corner or boundary stone, as it were, of the kingdom of darkness and night. Prof. Lee supposes that there is allusion here to the fact that stones were used as weights, and that the idea is, that man had ascertained the exact weight of the gross darkness, that is, had taken an accurate admeasurement of it, or had wholly investigated it. But this solution seems far-fetched. Schultens supposes the center of the earth to be denoted by this expression. But it seems to me that the words stone and darkness are to be separated, and that the one is not used to qualify the other. The sense is, that man searches out everything; he perfectly and accurately penetrates everywhere, and examines all objects; the stone ( ‘eben), that is, the rocks, the mines; the darkness ( ‘ophel), that is, the darkness of the cavern, the interior of the earth; and the shadow of death ( tsalmaveth), that is, the most dark and impenetrable regions of the earth. So it is rendered by Coverdale: The stones, the dark, and the horrible shadow.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. He setteth an end to darkness] As it is likely Job still refers to mining, the words above may be understood as pointing out the persevering industry of man in penetrating into the bowels of the earth, in order to seek for metals and precious stones. Even the stones that lay hidden in the bowels of the earth he has digged for and brought to light, and has penetrated in directions in which the solar light could not be transmitted; so that he appears to have gone to the regions of the shadow of death. Mr. Good translates: “Man delveth into the region of darkness; and examineth, to the uttermost limit, the stones of darkness and death-shade.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He; either,
1. Man, the miner; or,
2. God, of whose works of nature he here speaks; or,
3. God as the chief author and director, and man as Gods instrument in the work.
An end; or, a bound, how far the darkness shall reach, and how far the dark and hidden parts and treasures of the earth shall be searched, and discovered, and brought to light.
All perfection, i.e. metals and minerals, which are nothing else but earth concocted, and hardened, and brought to maturity and perfection. Or, unto all perfection, i.e. he perfectly and exactly searcheth them out; although the Hebrew lamed may be here only a note of the accusative case, as our translation takes it.
The stones; either gems and precious stones, which are called by this word, Pro 26:8; or those stones out of which the metals forementioned are taken.
Of darkness, and the shadow of death; which lie hid in the dark and deadly shades and bowels of the earth.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. “Man makes an end ofdarkness,” by exploring the darkest depths (with torches).
all perfectionrather,carries out his search to the utmost perfection; most thoroughlysearches the stones of darkness and of the shadow of death (thickestgloom); that is, the stones, whatever they be, embedded in thedarkest bowels of the earth [UMBREIT](Job 26:10).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He setteth an end to darkness,…. Some understand this and what follows of God, who, by making the luminaries, has fixed the periods and revolutions of light and darkness, of day and night; or who has determined the times before appointed, for the discoveries of things in nature, as mines of gold, silver, and precious stones, how long they should lie in darkness, and then be brought to light, and who searches out the perfection of all things in nature; and makes them known to men, when he himself and his ways are not to be found out unto perfection by men; but rather this is to be understood of the miner that digs for the above metals, who, when he opens a mine, lets in natural light, or carries artificial light along with him, and so puts an end to the darkness which had reigned there before, even from the creation:
and searcheth out all perfection; searches thoroughly the mines he opens, and gets all he can out of them, and searches perfectly into the nature of the ore; he finds, and tries, and proves it, what it is, its worth and value:
the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death; searches and digs through them, to get at what he is seeking; or brings stones, precious stones, to light, which lay in darkness from the beginning, and in such places which were the shadow of death, and looked dismal and horrible, and even threatened with death, to get into and fetch them out: so spiritual miners, that search into the mines of the Scriptures, should not be discouraged with darkness and difficulties that may attend their search; but should continue it, in order to find out truths that have lain in darkness, more precious than gold and silver, and the richest gems; and such who search for them in like manner as miners do shall find them, Pr 2:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) He setteth an end to darkness.May be read thus, Man setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out to the furthest bound the stones of darkness and the shadow of death.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. He The miner.
An end to darkness The torch of the miner dispels the darkness of the mine, and thus “he setteth an end to darkness.” and searcheth out perfectly, (literally, to every extremity, to the utmost,) the stones of darkness (metals) and the shadow of death. Ancient commentators thought that Job meant by this phrase to designate the centre of the earth. Schultens gives sixteen theories on this subject. Pliny, whose description of mining (about A.D. 77) remarkably illustrates that of Job says: “We penetrate the bowels of the earth and seek riches in the abode of the dead ( manes.”) Nat. Hist., Job 33:21.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 28:3. He setteth an end to darkness He hath set, or, an end is set to darkness, and an extremity to all, or, to the universe. He (meaning man, that audacious creature) searcheth out the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. He digs into another world, as it were, for gold and precious stones. taklith, as well as ketz, signifies the end, the border, and extremity of any thing; and the extremity of all, or the universe, I apprehend to mean the same-horizontal circle which divides the light and darkness from each other; for what is above the horizon is, in effect, the universe to us; at least, it was so to the ancients, who considered all below it, as, to them, a region of perpetual darkness. It was this upper visible hemisphere which they called the world; see chap. Job 18:18 and 1Sa 2:8. That this must be the meaning here, seems further confirmed by a parallel place in this speech of Job, chap. Job 26:10 where he points out the same horizontal circle in almost the same words: He hath set a circle as a boundary upon the face of the waters, even to the extremity of light and darkness; i.e. to the very edge where light and darkness meet. This is evidently the sense of that passage, and we see that the expressions in both are much the same; only what is called the extremity of light in one, is in the other passage, called the extremity of all, or the universe, meaning the whole enlightened hemisphere. See Pro 26:10. Isa 44:24. If this then be the true sense of this difficult passage, I believe the reader will agree with me, that the thought is very noble and sublime: it is as if we should say, in the language of Horace, Nequicquam Deus abscidit, &c. “In vain is it that God hath divided the light from the darkness, if men will dig into the land of darkness itself for gold and treasures.” As the author of the Book of Job was, perhaps, the most brief writer that ever appeared in the world, and his language the most concise; he just gives you a glimpse of things, and leaves the rest to be supplied by the imagination of the reader. His thoughts are like the gold and jewels that he speaks of; precious in themselves, we must sometimes labour hard, and go deep for them. Peters. Heath understands the passage somewhat differently; and, supposing it to contain a description of the dreadful life of the miner, who descends into the bowels of the earth in search of ore, he renders it, Maketh a league with darkness, and all destruction; who searcheth out the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 28:3 He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
Ver. 3. He setteth an end to darkness ] i.e. He (viz. the miner) brings light down into the dark entrails of the earth, and fetches out those metals that had long lain hid there, and that else would never have been beheld. Though Nature hath taken pleasure, as one speaketh, to hide all these metals, yet industry provideth man of certain marks for to discover them, and infallible conjectures to know the time when they must be drawn out of their darkness. Habent metallici suas virgas metallicas, Metal workers have their metal rods, whereby they search into and distinguish between metals and minerals.
Quasque recondiderat, Stygiisque admoverat undis,
Effodiuntur opes irritamenta malorum (Ovid. Metam.).
And searcheth out all perfection
The stones of darkness, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
he = man: i.e. the miner.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
searcheth: Pro 2:4, Ecc 1:13, Hab 2:13, Mat 6:33, Luk 16:8
the stones: Job 10:21, Job 10:22, Job 12:22, Job 38:16, Job 38:17
Reciprocal: Job 3:5 – the shadow
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28:3 He setteth an end to darkness, {b} and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
(b) There is nothing but it is compassed within certain limits, and has an end, but God’s wisdom.