Job
Chapter 28
POEM ON WISDOM
Wisdom Cannot Be Bought or Extracted from the Earth
There is a silver mine and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the earth and copper is smelted from ore.
Attempting to conquer darkness, piercing to the very depths in search of the gloomy stone,
strange people carve a shaft in remote, long-forgotten places, working there, dangling and swaying.
The earth, which yields food, is tilled as if by fire.
Sapphires are found in its rocks, and gold nuggets in its dust.
No bird of prey knows the hidden path, and no falcon’s eye has seen it yet.
No proud beast has trodden it, no prowling lion has passed over it.
Man attacks the flinty rocks, upturns mountains by their roots.
Tunneling through Earth’s layers, he uncovers all its treasures.
He searches for the source of rivers and reveals hidden things to light.
But where does wisdom originate? Where does understanding reside?
Nothing and No One in Creation Knows the Way to Wisdom
Man has found no way to wisdom; it is not found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its value be measured in silver.
It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, nor with precious onyx or sapphire.
It is beyond comparison with gold or crystal; its worth surpasses any golden vessel.
Coral and jasper are not worth mentioning; the cost of wisdom surpasses the largest pearl.
The topaz of Cush cannot compared to it; it cannot be valued in pure gold.
Then where does wisdom originate? Where does understanding reside?
It is hidden from the eyes of all the living, concealed from the birds in the sky.
Destruction and Death can only say, “We have heard of it.”
God alone knows the way to wisdom, his eye enters its dwelling place.
God Knows the Way
When he looked to the ends of the earth, and watched everything under the heavens,
when he gave the wind its force and measured out the waters,
when he set a boundary for the rain and a path for the thunder and lightning,
then he looked at wisdom and evaluated it; he established it, understanding it deeply.
And told humans: The fear of the Lord is wisdom; avoiding evil is understanding.
Commentaries
Poem On Wisdom.
This chapter does not fit well into the book. Most experts agree that it is an independent piece. Its role in the text likely serves as a transitional break or an editorial comment by the narrator. The theme is derived from the saying in 12:20: “Where can wisdom be found?”
Wisdom Cannot Be Bought or Extracted from the Earth.
Human beings use their imagination and skill to extract valuable minerals from the earth, including gold, silver, copper, iron, and precious stones. However, in all this search for precious things, where is wisdom? Neither the sharp-eyed birds nor the beasts that roam the earth have ever seen it.
Nothing and No One in Creation Knows the Way to Wisdom.
All human effort is futile, and nothing in creation can assist. Wisdom is more valuable than gold and silver (cf. Prov 3:14f) and anything that can be found in a jewelry store (15-19). The search for wisdom may seem impossible, but is it really?
God Knows the Way.
Only God, in the fullness of His knowledge and creative power, knows the way of wisdom. God’s creative activity is described first (28:3; 9:11). The connection between creation and wisdom runs throughout the entire wisdom tradition of the Old Testament (cf. Prov 3:18-20; 8:22-31). It is through creation that God establishes, opens, and reveals the path of wisdom. Just as human wisdom is shown in behavior, so God’s wisdom is made evident in His divine actions. Chapter 28 reflects on the earlier debate and implies that the quest there was an overly ambitious claim. It then points to the words of the Lord and the conclusion of the book, where it says that wisdom is with God, revealed in creation, but beyond human reach.