Job 28:12 - Exposition

But where shall wisdom be found? "Wisdom is the principal thing," says Solomon ( Proverbs 4:7 ); and again, "It is better to get wisdom than gold" ( Proverbs 16:16 ). But where is it to be found? Job's three friends thought that it dwelt with them ( Job 12:2 ); but this was a mistake, since God reproaches them with their "folly" ( Job 42:8 ). Job does not claim to possess it ( Job 26:3 ); he only desires it. It is his deep conviction that it is only possessed, in the true sense of the word, by God. And where is the place of understanding? It is not quite clear whether Job intends to make any distinction between "wisdom" ( חכמה ) and "understanding" ( בינה ). Canon Cook suggests that "wisdom" is "the reason which deals with principles," and "understanding" "the faculty which discerns and appreciates their application." But refined distinctions of this kind are scarcely suitable to the age of Job. Dean Plumptre, in his comment on Proverbs, accepts the distinction implied in the Septuagint translation of that book, which renders חכמה by σοφία ' and בינה by φρόνησις . This is a much simpler and more easily understood distinction, being that which separates between scientific know. ledge and the practical intelligence which directs conduct. But it may be doubted whether Job does not use the two words as synonyms.