Job 28:20

Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Job 28:20-21. Whence then cometh wisdom, &c. — By what means, then, shall we get this precious treasure of wisdom, of which we are so desirous? Who can show us where it lies, that we may go and search for it? By a diligent prosecution of this inquiry he brings us at length to this issue: That there is a two-fold wisdom; one hid in God, which is secret, and belongs not to us; the other made known by him, and revealed to man, which belongs to us and to our children. It is hid from the eyes of all living — Of all men that live upon the earth. And kept close from the fowls of the air — Though they fly high, and can see far and clearly, they cannot discern this: men of the most exalted and comprehensive minds, of the most enlarged and elevated understanding, cannot discover it: however acute their discernment may be, and however high their thoughts may soar, yet they cannot rise to this height, they cannot comprehend this. The line and plummet of human reason can never fathom the abyss of the divine counsels. Who can account for the maxims, measures, and methods of God’s government? Let us then be content, not to know the future events of Providence, till time discovers them; and not to know the secret reasons of Providence, till eternity brings them to light.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

28:20-28 There is a two-fold wisdom; one hid in God, which is secret, and belongs not to us; the other made known by him, and revealed to man. One day's events, and one man's affairs, have such reference to, and so hang one upon another, that He only, to whom all is open, and who sees the whole at one view, can rightly judge of every part. But the knowledge of God's revealed will is within our reach, and will do us good. Let man look upon this as his wisdom, To fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. Let him learn that, and he is learned enough. Where is this wisdom to be found? The treasures of it are hid in Christ, revealed by the word, received by faith, through the Holy Ghost. It will not feed pride or vanity, or amuse our vain curiosity. It teaches and encourages sinners to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil, in the exercise of repentance and faith, without desiring to solve all difficulties about the events of this life.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Whence then cometh wisdom? - This question is now repeated from Job 28:12, in order to give it greater emphasis. It is designed to fix the attention on the inquiry as one which found no solution in the discoveries of science, and whose solution was hidden from the most penetrating human intellect.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

20. Job 28:12 repeated with great force.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Where this precious treasure lies, and whence a man may fetch it.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? The same questions as in Job 28:12; repeated to set forth the superior excellency of wisdom, and to carry on the discourse, and lead on to other things concerning it. See Gill on Job 28:12.

Geneva Study Bible

Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20–22. The preceding verses indicated that Wisdom cannot be acquired by man though he should bid for it the most precious things that he possesses, in other words that it is unattainable; these verses state that idea again explicitly. The question Job 28:20 implies a negative answer—nowhere by man.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 20. - Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? This is a repetition of ver. 12, with a mere variant of the verb in the first line. Job's elaborate inquiry of vers. 14-19 having thresh no light on the subject, the original question recurs - Where does wisdom come from? Job 28:20

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

17 Gold and glass are not equal to it,

Nor is it exchanged for jewels of gold.

18 Pearls and crystal are not to be mentioned,

And the acquisition of wisdom is beyond corals.

19 The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it,

It is not outweighed by pure fine gold.

20 Whence, then, cometh wisdom,

And which is the place of understanding?

Among the separate חפצים, Proverbs 3:15, which are here detailed, apart from זהב, glass has the transparent name זכוּכית, or, as it is pointed in Codd., in old editions, and by Kimchi, זכוכית, with Cholem (in the dialects with ג instead of )כ. Symm. indeed translates crystal, and in fact the ancient languages have common names for glass and crystal; but the crystal is here called זכוּבישׁ, which signifies prop., like the Arab. 'gibs, ice; κρύσταλλος also signifies prop. ice, and this only in Homer, then crystal, exactly as the cognate קרח unites both significations in itself. The reason of this homonymy lies deeper than in the outward similarity, - the ancients really thought the crystal was a product of the cold; Pliny, xxxvii. 2, 9, says: non alibi certe reperitur quam ubi maxume hibernae nives rigent, glaciemque esse certum est, unde nomen Graeci dedere. The Targ. translates גבישׁ by פּנינים, certainly in the sense of the Arabico-Persic bullûr (bulûr), which signifies crystal, or even glass, and moreover is the primary word for βήρυλλος, although the identical Sanskrit word, according to the laws of sound, vaidurja (Pali, velurija), is, according to the lexicons, a name of the lapis lazuli (Persic, lagurd). Of the two words ראמות and פּננים, the one appears to mean pearls and the other corals; the ancient appellations of these precious things which belong to the sea are also blended; the Persic mergân (Sanskr. mangara) unites the signification pearl and coral in itself. The root פן, Arab. fn, which has the primary notion of pushing, especially of vegetation (whence Arab. fann, a branch, shoot, prop. motion; French, jet), and Lamentations 4:7, where snow and milk, as figures of whiteness (purity), are placed in contrast with פנינים as a figure of redness, favour the signification corals for פנינים. The Coptic be nôni, which signifies gemma, favours (so far as it may be compared) corals rather than pearls. And the fact that ראמות, Ezekiel 27:16, appears as an Aramaean article of commerce in the market of Tyre, is more favourable to the signification pearls than corals; for the Babylonians sailed far into the Indian Ocean, and brought pearls from the fisheries of Bahrein, perhaps even from Ceylon, into the home markets (vid., Layard, New Discoveries, 536). The name is perhaps, from the Western Asiatic name of the pearl,

(Note: Vid., Zeitschr. fr d. Kunde des Morgenlandes, iv. 40f. The recently attempted explanation of κοράλλιον from גּורל (to which κλῆρος the rather belongs), in the primary signification lappillus (Arab. ‛garal), is without support.)

mutilated and Hebraized.

(Note: Two reasons for פנינים equals pearls (in favour of which Bochart compares the name of the pearl-oyster, πίννα) and ראמות equals corals, which are maintained by Carey, are worthy of remark. (1.) That פנינים does not signify corals, he infers from Lamentations 4:7, for the redness of corals cannot be a mark of bodily beauty; "but when I find that there are some pearls of a slightly reddish tinge, then I can understand and appreciate the comparison." (2.) That ראמות signifies corals, is shown by the origin of the word, which properly signifies reêm-(wild oxen) horns, which is favoured by a mention of Pliny, h. n. xiii. 51: (Tradidere) juncos quoque lapideos perquam similes veris per litora, et in alto quasdam arbusculas colore bubuli cornus ramosas et cacuminibus rubentes. Although Pliny there speaks of marine petrified plants of the Indian Ocean (not, at least in his sense, of corals), this hint of a possible derivation of ראמות is certainly surprising. But as to Lamentations 4:7, this passage is to be understood according to Sol 5:10 (my friend is צח ואדום). The white and red are intended to be conceived of as mixed and overlapping one another, as our Germ. popular poetry speaks of cheeks which "shine with milk and purple;" and as in Homer, Il. iv. 141-146, the colour of the beautifully formed limbs of Menelaus is represented by the figure (which appears hideous to us): ὡς δ ̓ ὅτε τίς τ ̓ ἐλέφαντα γυνὴ φοίνικι μιήνͅ (ebony stained with purple).)

The name of the פּטדּה of Ethiopia appears to be derived from to'paz by transposition; Pliny says of the topaz, xxxvii. 8, 32, among other passages; Juba Topazum insulam in rubro mari a continenti stadiis CCC abesse dicit, nebulosam et ideo quaesitam saepius navigantibus; ex ea causa nomen accepisse: topazin enim Troglodytarum lingua significationem habere quaerendi. This topaz, however, which is said to be named after an island of the same name, the Isle of Serpents in Agatharchides and Diodorus, is, according to Pliny, yellowish green, and therefore distinct from the otherwise so-called topaz. To make a candid confession, we grope about everywhere in the dark here, and the ancient versions are not able to help us out of our difficulty.

(Note: The Targ. translates שׁהם by פּנינים, βήρυλλος; ספיר by שׁבזיזא (Arab. sbz, vid., Pott in the Zeitschr.f. K. d. M. iv. 275); פז by אובריזין, ὄβρυζον; ראמות by סנדלכין, σανδαράχη, red gold-pigment (vid., Rdiger-Pott, as just quoted, S. 267); גבישׁ again by בּירוּלין in the sense of the Arabico-Persic bullûr, Kurd. bellûr, crystal; פנינים by מרגלין, μαργαρῖται; פטדה by מרגּלא ירקא (the green pearl); כתם by פטלון (perhaps פּטלון, πέταλον, in the sense of lamina auri).)

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