Job 28

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:14

Job 28:14 The depth saith, It [is] not in me: and the sea saith, [It is] not with me. Ver. 14. The depth saith, It is not in me ] It is not to be had above ground, may some say; but what, underground? Not there either, saith Job; for the abyss saith, that is, if it could speak, it would surely say, "It is not in me"; and the sea gives us the same verdict: dig to the centre of the earth, dive to the bottom of the sea, you shall hear no tale or tidings of her; she neither groweth with gold and... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:15

Job 28:15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed [for] the price thereof. Ver. 15. It cannot be gotten for gold ] Non emitur, nec aestimatur, it is not purchased or procured with money, as other learning may ( en precium et praestantiam sapientiae ). "With a great sum obtained I this freedom," said that colonel, Acts 22:28 . So may many say of their learning, they have sufficiently paid for it. Cleanthes parted with all he had for learning; Plato gave thirty thousand... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:16

Job 28:16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Ver. 16. It cannot be valued ] Heb. Thrown on the ground, as wares were wont to be, and are yet, when they are set to sale, and to be prized or valued. With the gold of Ophir ] The word here rendered gold is not the same as that in the former or those in the following verses. Five different times gold is here mentioned (because so highly prized among men), and in four different words. Jerome on Jer... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:17

Job 28:17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it [shall not be for] jewels of fine gold. Ver. 17. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it ] For crystal some read diamond, others adamant. It hath its name from its purity and transparency. Junius rendereth it therefore nitidissima gemma. It seems to be, saith one, the last attempt of nature, and makes us find heaven on earth. And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels (or vessels) of fine gold] Of phez gold, so... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:18

Job 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom [is] above rubies. Ver. 18. No mention shall be made of coral ] No talk of coral or carbuncle, of pearl, or any other the rarest and richest jewels in all the world. We read of Cleopatra, that vying with Antony in luxury, she drunk up a pearl of incredible price dissolved in vinegar; and of Charles, duke of Burgundy, that in the fight at Nansey, he lost a diamond of that worth, ut eo tota aliqua regio emi... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:19

Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Ver. 19. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it ] Of the Topaz, see Plin. lib. 86, cap. 8. It seemeth to have the lustre of gold and purity of crystal, and those agreeable mixtures of colours which make the purple of kings. The operations of this stone are many and rare, as Rueus sets them forth, lib. 2, cap. 3. Neither shall it be valued with pure gold ] Plato saith as much of moral wisdom, Oυτε... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:20

Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where [is] the place of understanding? Ver. 20. Whence then cometh wisdom? &c. ] See Trapp on " Job 28:12 " q.d. Nowhere surely is she to be found but with God, the fountain of wisdom, Job 28:23 . To seek her elsewhere is but laborious loss of time; witness the philosophers’ anxious, but bootless, disquisitions after the summum bonum, the true blessedness or chief good; about which there were eight various opinions, and yet all out. read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:21

Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Ver. 21. Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living ] As hath been before set forth, Job 28:13 . They that see most into it see but in part, and must needs say, that the greatest part of their knowledge is the least part of their ignorance, Maxima pars eorum quae scimus est minima pars eorum quae nescimus. Something they know of his revealed will, but nothing at all of his secret. Whereunto we... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:22

Job 28:22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. Ver. 22. Destruction and death say, &c. ] That is, the dead in the grave, and damned in hell, as some gloss it. Others, man in his corrupt estate, though a child of death, yet capable of salvation; and the wisdom of God hath found out a way to save him by his Son, letting in life by the ear, according to that, "Hear, and your souls shall live," Isaiah 55:3 . The dead in sins and trespasses shall hear the... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:23

Job 28:23 God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. Ver. 23. God understandeth the way thereof ] The only wise God, who alone knows her price, knows her retreat. Haec sunt inferni et morris verba, saith Brentius; those are the words of hell and of death. But we may better take them, as spoken by Job himself; which yet are to be understood, not as if Job thought that there was any place, apart from God, where his wisdom might be sought; or any way, out of himself, to... read more

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:14

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:15

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:16

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:17

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:18

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:19

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:20

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:21

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:22

John Trapp Complete Commentary - Job 28:23

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