Job 28:10

28:1-11 Job maintained that the dispensations of Providence were regulated by the highest wisdom. To confirm this, he showed of what a great deal of knowledge and wealth men may make themselves masters. The caverns of the earth may be discovered, but not the counsels of Heaven. Go to the miners, thou sluggard in religion, consider their ways, and be wise. Let their courage and diligence in seeking the wealth that perishes, shame us out of slothfulness and faint-heartedness in labouring for the true riches. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! How much easier, and safer! Yet gold is sought for, but grace neglected. Will the hopes of precious things out of the earth, so men call them, though really they are paltry and perishing, be such a spur to industry, and shall not the certain prospect of truly precious things in heaven be much more so?

He cutteth out rivers among the rocks,.... By cleaving rocks asunder in order to find out things of value in the cliffs of them; or by cutting his way through them, the miner opens a course for rivers and floods of water, to drain off from his mines, and so can go on with his works more comfortably, and with success; though sometimes they sink through high rocks, till they go so far below their basis, that they can go no further for water, in some places forty or fifty fathom deep (i): and his eye seeth every precious thing; in the cliffs of the rock, or at the bottom of the rivers and floods, as they go off, or in the mines he digs, even gold or silver, or precious stones: hence came the fable of Lynceus, and from him the phrase of Lyncean eyes (k), who was said to see all things under the earth, because he was the first that searched for metals, as brass, silver, &c. and in search of them carried lamps, or links, under the earth (l).

This verse is also by some ascribed to God, who is said to cleave the fountain and the flood, and to dry up mighty rivers; and also to open rivers in high places, in hills, mountains, and rocks, as well as sometimes in the middle of the valleys, Psalm 74:15; and who, in a spiritual sense, has cut out and opened the river of his pure love and grace, which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb; and the fulness of grace in Christ, which is as rivers of water in a dry land; and the graces of the Spirit in his people, which flow out of them as rivers of living water; and his word and ordinances in his church, which are the rivers of pleasure he makes his saints to drink of in it: and his eye of omniscience, which sees all things in particular, sees all the precious things in nature; the precious things of heaven, and earth, and sea; the precious things brought forth by the sun and moon; and the precious tidings of the ancient mountains and everlasting hills, the gold, silver, and precious stones that lie hid in the bowels of them, Deuteronomy 33:13; and who also sees all precious persons, and things, in a spiritual sense; he beholds his precious Son, his precious blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, with delight and pleasure; and his eye of love, grace, and mercy, upon the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, jewels, and precious stones; and sees all the precious graces of the Spirit in them, with acceptance and good will. (i) Philos.

10 . cutteth out rivers ] The word “rivers” is that commonly used to denote the canals into which the Nile was divided, and might be translated canals or channels. Such canals might be intended for drawing off the water accumulating in the mine. The second clause suggests, however, that the word rather means passages or galleries, cut in order to pursue the vein, for it is said, “his eye seeth every precious thing.”

Verse 10. - He cutteth out rivers among the rocks . Some understand this of man's general ability to cut canals and tunnels, and change the course of rivers. But the allusion is more probably to the works undertaken in mines for the carrying off of the water from them. Diodorus says that when subterranean springs were tapped in mines, which threatened to flood them, it was usual to construct ducts, or tunnels, by which the inconvenient liquid might be carried off to a lower level (Diod. Siculus, 5:37. § 3). And his eye seeth every precious thing . Nothing escapes his notice. Even as he constructs these duets he has his eye open to note any signs of mineral wealth, of metals or of precious stones, that occur along the line of his excavation. Job 28:10

He maketh channels among the rocks to convey away that water which was breaking in upon him, and if not thus diverted, would have spoiled his work; of which See Poole "Job 28:4" . Having with great art and indefatigable industry broke through all difficulties, he at last arriveth at his end, and finds out those precious treasures which he sought for.

He cutteth out rivers among the rocks - That is, in his operations of mining, he cuts channels for the water to flow off through the rocks. This was done, as it is now, for the purpose of drawing off the water that accumulates in mines. His eye seeth every precious thing - Every valuable mineral or precious stone that lies imbedded in the rocks. It is evident from this, that mining operations were carried to a considerable extent in the time of Job. The art of thus penetrating the earth, and laying open its secret treasures, indicate an advanced stage of society - a stage much removed from barbarism.

9 He layeth his hand upon the pebbles; He turneth up the mountains from the root. 10 He cutteth canals through the rocks; And his eye seeth all kinds of precious things. 11 That they may not leak, he dammeth up rivers; And that which is hidden he bringeth to light. 12 But wisdom, whence is it obtained? And where is the place of understanding? Beneath, whither no other being of the upper world penetrates, man puts his hand upon the quartz or rock. חלּמישׁ (perhaps from חלם, to be strong, firm: Arabic, with the reduplication resolved, chalnubûs, like עכּבישׁ, Arab. ‛ancabûth, vid., Jesurun, p. 229) signifies here the quartz, and in general the hard stone; שׁלח יד בּ something like our "to take in hand" of an undertaking requiring strong determination and courage, which here consists in blasting and clearing away the rock that contains no ore, as Pliny, h. n. xxxiii. 4, 21, describes it: Occursant ... silices; hos igne et aceto rumpunt, saepius vero, quoniam id cuniculos vapore et fumo strangulat, caedunt fractariis CL libras ferri habentibus egeruntque umeris noctibus ac diebus per tenebras proxumis tradentes; lucem novissimi cernunt. Further: he (man, devoted to mining) overturns (subvertit according to the primary signification of הפך, Arab. 'fk, 'ft, to turn, twist) mountains from the roots.

The accentuation הפך with Rebia mugrasch, משׁרשׁ with Mercha, is false; it is, according to Codd. and old editions, to be accented הפך with Tarcha, משׁרשׁ with Munach, and to be translated accordingly: subvertit a radice montes (for Munach is the transformation of a Rebia mugrasch), not a radice montium. Blasting in mining which lays bare the roots (the lowest parts) of the mountains is intended, the conclusion of which - the signal for the flight of the workmen, and the effective crash - is so graphically described by Pliny in the passage cited above: Peracto opere cervices fornicum ab ultumo cadunt; dat signum ruina eamque solus intellegit in cacumine ejus montis vigil. Hic voce, nutu evocari jubet operas pariterque ipse devolat. Mons fractus cadit ab sese longe fragore qui concipi humana mente non possit eque efflatu incredibili spectant victores ruinam naturae. The meaning of Job 28:10 depends upon the signification of the יארים. It is certainly the most natural that it should signify canals. The word is Egyptian; aur in the language of the hieroglyphs signifies a river, and especially the Nile; wherefore at the close of the Laterculus of Eratosthenes the name of the king, Φρουορῶ (Φουορῶ), is explained by ἤτοι Νεῖλος. If water-canals are intended, they may be either such as go in or come away.