Gold and glass cannot be compared to it, nor vessels of fine gold be its exchange.
Job has just described how far men will dig for silver and gold. Now he weighs the finest of that treasure against wisdom, and it is refused as payment — so how does anyone ever get wisdom?
Job is answering friends who spoke as though wisdom were already in their pocket. One writer sets the chapter against their confidence:
Job's friends thought they had "the secrets of wisdom" (ch.11:6), but Job could see that their arguments were not wise at all. So he confronts them with this: wisdom is not so easily obtained. In fact, wisdom cannot be bought with gold or silver (v.15).
Where the chapter sits matters too. It follows Job's account of the doom of the rich, and turns to riches of another kind:
Job next contrasts the doom of the ungodly rich, described in the previous chapter, with the true riches, which can never be lost. The opening part of the chapter describes the toil and care with which men search for the dug-out gold, which so often brings only the "strife and curse" that fall on it. He then passes on to the true riches — wisdom. Where can it be found?
The word behind "glass" in this verse points to decorated glass, valuable enough to be listed next to gold:
zekukith, Job 28:17: probably richly decorated glass, of the kind made in Egypt. Here it is listed with gold; but wisdom, the gift of God, is worth far more than such things.
Job is running a test, and one commentator traces it item by item:
A thing of such priceless value is now tested against everything man counts as treasure. Pure gold and silver, weighed out without limit, cannot buy it. The fine gold of Ophir, the precious onyx and the sapphire — "a king's ransom" — have no place here. Gold is named again, along with transparent crystal — "pure gold, like transparent glass" — jewels as beautiful as they are rare; corals, pearls, rubies — wisdom's price is higher than all of them. The topaz of far-off Ethiopia looks dull beside this bright jewel of God's glory. Men search all of nature in vain for anything to compare with what is worth more than every earthly treasure.
No exchange rate exists, because the two are not the same kind of thing:
Job continues his subject of wisdom, saying that the finest gold (from Ophir) or onyx or sapphire stones, or crystal, or jewellery of fine gold have no value at all compared with wisdom (vv.16-17)... In other words, nothing in nature can come near the value of true wisdom, for wisdom is spiritual, not natural.
Men dig for gold and crystal and bring them up out of the ground. Wisdom travels in the opposite direction:
What a very solemn thing that is! True wisdom and true understanding are not found in the earth at all! It comes down from heaven. It is found only in Christ... "Therefore the deep says, 'It is not in me.'" There are silver and gold in the deep, and other such goods, and precious stones. "The sea says, 'It is not with me.'"
Every offer has been refused, which leaves one question:
If man does not know its price, and if it is not to be found in the land of the living... then where am I to turn? If it cannot be bought with gold or precious stones — if the wealth of the universe cannot equal it, and no cleverness of man can discover it — where shall I find it?
Scripture does invite people to "buy" — and then names the currency, which is none:
Scripture urges people elsewhere to "buy," though "without money and without price" (Isa. 55:1)... In fact, the very terms of the gospel are that "the gift of God" cannot be obtained with money, or with anything that might count as its religious equivalent. Pride that will not take a free gift as a gift must be sent away empty.
- Contrast — The chapter sets the doom of the ungodly rich beside true riches, which can never be lost.
- Priceless — Gold, decorated glass and worked jewellery are the best riches the earth yields, and Job shows they cannot buy wisdom.
- Kind — No price works because nothing in nature can come near true wisdom: it is spiritual, not natural.
- Direction — Riches come up out of the mine; wisdom comes down from heaven, and commentators point to Christ as the place it is found.
- Gift — The riches no money can buy, God gives freely; pride that refuses a free gift is sent away empty.
Corals and crystal are no more remembered; yea, the acquisition of wisdom is above rubies.
Job has just described the mines: deep shafts, rock turned over, rivers dammed, all to bring hidden treasure into the light. Now he weighs the best of that treasure against wisdom, and nothing comes close.
The verse belongs to a list that runs from silver and gold through onyx, sapphire, crystal, coral, topaz. One writer treats the list as a test that every earthly treasure fails.
A thing of such priceless value is now tested by everything man counts as treasure. Pure gold and silver, weighed out without limit, cannot buy it... corals, pearls, rubies — wisdom's price is greater than them all. The topaz of far-off Ethiopia looks dull beside this bright jewel of God's glory. Men search all of nature in vain for anything to compare with what is worth more than every earthly treasure.
Commentators differ over the exact stones. Older translations read "rubies" where the ESV reads "pearls," and no one is sure which stone the word names. Its use in Scripture is clearer than its identity.
No one knows for certain which precious stone this word means. Scripture uses it as a symbol of great worth: "the price of wisdom is above rubies"; the value of a virtuous woman is far above rubies. Job 28:18; Prov. 3:15; Prov. 8:11; Prov. 20:15; Prov. 31:10.
Older versions also put "pearls" in the middle of the verse, where the ESV reads "crystal." One writer traces that difference to the Hebrew word itself.
Job 28:18 is no exception, for gabiysh means crystal, not pearl.
Notice that Job does not say wisdom is expensive. He says nobody knows what it costs, and it is not on sale anywhere in the land of the living.
No one on earth knows its price, and in fact it is not found in the land of the living. The deep says wisdom is not in it, and the sea says so even more strongly. There is no hope of trading anything of equal value for it. Weighing out gold or silver is useless. So is the gem of Ophir, or onyx, or sapphire, or golden glass, or fine work in gold, or coral or pearl, or topaz, or the jewel of clearest shine.
The mining picture is not decoration. It sets up an accusation: men will move a mountain for gold and will not lift a finger for something worth more.
Why will men not work like this for the "hidden wisdom"? Why will they not sift it out when it lies so close by, or, if they must, remove the very mountains of difficulty by faith?... "The one who seeks finds" is still true, though the seeking and the finding are not what the toil for gold would suggest. The wisdom is hidden and the way to it unknown, because men do not know God and will not listen to Him.
No jewel comes close because the difference is one of kind, not of amount. Wisdom belongs to another order of things, and it reaches a person another way.
Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning when we weigh the value of wisdom, and neither are rubies... In other words, nothing in nature can come near the value of true wisdom, for this is spiritual, not natural... 1 Corinthians 2:7 tells us, "But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory." We receive this wisdom only through faith in the Lord Jesus, as the Spirit of God reveals it.
The end of the chapter answers Job's question. The answer is not something a man can mine or buy.
The depths of the earth will not reveal it, and its value is far above gold and rubies. God alone can declare its true nature and value: "And He said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"... So until God has His rightful place in a man's mind and heart, he cannot view anything wisely. His thoughts are off centre. His beginning is all wrong.
- Unpriced — Job does not set a high price on wisdom. He says no one knows its price, and it is not for sale in the land of the living.
- Unmatched — Scripture names coral, crystal and rubies as the top of the scale. Wisdom stands above the whole scale.
- Uncertain — the stones are hard to identify, and commentators differ over whether the verse names pearl or crystal. The point of the list never rested on which stone is which.
- Unbought — nothing in nature comes near wisdom's value, because wisdom is spiritual, not natural. It comes through faith in Christ, by the Spirit.
- Unsought — men will overturn mountains for gold and will not work for wisdom. They do not know God, and wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord.