Job 28:8
in Job 28Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
KJV
The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.
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This verse in Job 28
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe children of the dealers have not trodden it, nor hath the lioness passed through it. In all the Latin copies we find the word 'Instructors' put down, but in the Greek we find 'traders,' whereby it may be inferred that in this passage the several copyists from being ignorant put 'instructors' instead of 'dealers.' For we call traders 'institores' on this account, that they are 'instant in plying work.'
This site's exposition
No bird of prey knows that path
on Job 28:7-9
"No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it", so the shaft runs where the sharpest-eyed hunter has never looked. "Proud beasts have never trodden it; no lion has ever prowled over it", and the boldest predator of the region becomes a second witness.
This site's exposition
no lion has ever prowled over it
The miner goes where the fiercest beasts never tread. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render the proud beasts as sons of pride and hear the lion's proud gait in the verb. Barnes notes that the lion, hunting in dangerous places, never dared go where man goes for gold.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Next he treats of men saying, "The sons of peddlers have not trodden it," (the merchants who are used to go to places that are hard to reach for profit). Then he treats of the four-footed animals saying, "nor will the lioness," who lives in …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Lion - Which rangeth all places for prey. The birds and beasts have often led men to such places as otherwise they should never have found out; but they could not lead them to these mines, the finding out of them is a special gift of God.
), unseen by the vulture's eye, which is piercing and quick-sighted, and untrodden by the lion's whelps, which traverse all the paths of the wilderness. What pains men take, and what vast charge they are at, to get this wealth.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. Or "upon it" (e); such creatures that are exceeding fierce and cruel, hungry and voracious, eager after their prey, range here and there in pursuit of it, search every hole and corner, and rove in dens and caves of the earth; yet these never traversed such ways and paths the miners make to get out the wealth and riches of the earth.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The lion’s whelps - The lion that ventures into the most dangerous places in pursuit of prey, has not dared to go where man has gone in pursuit of precious stones and gold. On the words used here to designate the lion, see Bochart Hieroz P. 1. Lib. iii. c. 1.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2862: “The Way of Wisdom” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
IN this chapter Job is speaking of the hidden treasures that are to be found deep down in the bowels of the earth. The keen eyes of the vultures, though they see their prey afar off, have never seen the gold, silver and other precious metals which lie in the dark places of the earth.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
lion's whelps--literally, "the sons of pride," that is, the fiercest beasts. passed--The Hebrew implies the proud gait of the lion. The miner ventures where not even the fierce lion dares to go in pursuit of his prey.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2862: “The Way of Wisdom” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
IN this chapter Job is speaking of the hidden treasures that are to be found deep down in the bowels of the earth. The keen eyes of the vultures, though they see their prey afar off, have never seen the gold, silver and other precious metals which lie in the dark places of the earth. And the lions, especially the young lions hungering for their prey, though they will lie in wait in their lairs in the dens and caves of the earth, have never been able to descend into places as deep as those that are opened up by men who seek after gold and silver. Yet further on in the chapter we notice that Job refers to the search after wisdom and that he seems to say that though men should explore the deep places of the earth with all the diligence of miners seeking gold and silver, though they should exert all their mental force as miners use all their muscular vigor—and though they should employ all the machinery within their reach, as men do who pierce through the rocks in search of precious treasure—yet it is not within the range of human labor and skill to attain unto wisdom. That can only be found by another and a higher method. It must come to us by Revelation from God, for we cannot find it by our own efforts. I believe, therefore, that I am justified in using the expressions which are found in my text in a spiritual sense, for I think that Job meant to teach us not only what is true of the treasures hidden in the earth, but also something concerning the path of wisdom which is altogether beyond the understanding of the most piercing eyes of reason or imagination. I shall use the language of our text, first, in reference to the way of Godwhch is, in the highest sense, the way of wisdom.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִדְרִיכֻ֥הוּ | hidrikhuhu | they tread it | H1869 → | 62 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁ֑חַץ | shachatz | pride | H7830 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָדָ֖ה | ʾadah | it passes by | H5710 → | |
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָֽׁחַל׃ | shachal | a lion | H7826 → | 7 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הִדְרִיכֻ֥הוּthey tread it
hidrikhuhuH1869 →62 times
בְנֵי־[the] sons of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
שָׁ֑חַץpride
shachatzH7830 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָדָ֖הit passes by
ʾadahH5710 →
עָלָ֣יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
שָֽׁחַל׃a lion
shachalH7826 →7 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Job
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2862: “The Way of Wisdom” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.