Job 28:15
in Job 28It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
KJV
It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
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This verse in Job 28
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It cannot be gotten for gold - Margin, “fine gold shall not be given for it.” The word which is here rendered “gold.” and in the margin “fine gold” (סגור segôr), is not the common word used to denote this metal. It is derived from סגר sâgar, to “shut,” to “close,” and means properly that which is “shut up” or “enclosed;” and hence, Gesenius supposes it means pure gold, or the most precious gold, as that which is shut up or enclosed with care. Dr. Good renders it “solid gold,” supposing it means that which is condensed, or beaten.
This site's exposition
It cannot be bought with gold
on Job 28:15-17
"It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver" begins the list of prices. "It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir", the most prized gold of the ancient world. Clarke reads the list as cumulative, each named treasure raising the bar.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next he explains what he had said about the fact that wisdom has no price, and he enumerates those things which are thought most valuable among men, saying, "The gold of Ophir," that is, the most pure gold, "will not be traded for it," because …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
These may give a man some advantage in seeking wisdom, as they did to Solomon, but there is no purchasing wisdom with these. It is a gift of the Holy Ghost, which cannot be bought with money, Acts viii. As it does not run in the blood, and so come to us by descent, so it cannot be got for money, nor does it come to us by purchase.
It cannot be gotten for gold,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Not the usual word for "gold"; from a Hebrew root, "to shut up" with care; that is, purest gold (1Ki 6:20, Margin). weighed--The precious metals were weighed out before coining was known (Ge 23:16).
It cannot be gotten for gold - Genuine religion and true happiness are not to be acquired by earthly property. Solomon made gold and silver as plentiful as the stones in Jerusalem, and had all the delights of the sons of men, and yet he was not happy; yea, he had wisdom, was the wisest of men, but he had not the wisdom of which Job speaks here, and therefore, to him, all was vanity and vexation of spirit. If Solomon, as some suppose, was the author of this book, the sentiments expressed here are such as we might expect from this deeply experienced and wise man.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֻתַּ֣ן | yutan | it will be given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| סְג֣וֹר | segor | fine gold | H5458 → | |
| תַּחְתֶּ֑יהָ | tachteiha | for it | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִ֝שָּׁקֵ֗ל | yishakel | it will be weighed out | H8254 → | 22 times |
| כֶּ֣סֶף | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| מְחִירָֽהּ׃ | mechirah | price its | H4242 → |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֻתַּ֣ןit will be given
yutanH5414 →2011 times
סְג֣וֹרfine gold
segorH5458 →
תַּחְתֶּ֑יהָfor it
tachteihaH8478 →505 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִ֝שָּׁקֵ֗לit will be weighed out
yishakelH8254 →22 times
כֶּ֣סֶףsilver
kesefH3701 →403 times
מְחִירָֽהּ׃price its
mechirahH4242 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 8:17I love those who love me, and those who seek me early shall find me.
it leads to
- John 14:23
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
- John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Psalms 91:14
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- Isaiah 55:6
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- 1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.
- John 14:23
Through
Proverbs 16:16How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
it leads to
- Matthew 16:26
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Proverbs 8:10–11
Receive my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
- Proverbs 8:19
My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.
- Matthew 16:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.