Job 15:18

Job 15:18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid [it]:

Ver. 18. Which wise men have told from their fathers] Who have carefully and faithfully transmitted it as a doctrinal truth to us, their posterity, from hand to hand. For in Job’s time it is likely that the Scriptures were not yet written. Which, or, which things wise men Who did, in their generations, Deum recte cognoscere et colere, rightly know and worship God, which is the highest wisdom, saith Lactantius.

Have told] Have spoken it so plainly and plentifully, as if they had showed us the things acted before our eyes.

From their fathers] Who were careful to instil good instructions and heavenly truths into the minds of their children, their familiars, and families, as did Abraham, Gen 18:17-19, and others according to God’s own appointment, Deu 6:1-2

And have not hid it] But communicated it for the good of many. Light is diffusive of itself. Knowledge is perfected while it is communicated. The more you teach and impart to others, eo ditior ac doctior fias, saith one, the richer and more skilfull you become (Bodin. Theat. Nat. p. 9). It is not the pouring out which drieth up the streams of grace, like that oil, 2Ki 4:6. See Pro 11:24-25 Psa 78:2-4.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rather, "and which as handed down from their fathers, they have not concealed."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(18) Which wise men have told from their fathers.—Here he adopts the language of Bildad (Job_8:8), appealing both to his own experience and that of universal tradition in an age prior to civil commotion and foreign disturbance.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. The doctrine of Eliphaz is no novelty,—it is his (Job_15:17), but it is the consistent moral tradition of the wise from generation to generation. The phrase “have told … and have not hid” means, have told openly, it is matter of public consent and teaching among them; cf. Isa_3:9, where the same words occur.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which wise men have told from their fathers,.... Men wise in the best sense, not to do evil, but to do good; not worldly wise men, but such who have wisdom, sound wisdom in the inward parts; who are wise to salvation, and who are partakers of divine and spiritual wisdom; and such men, as they would never tell an untruth, so they would never report a false or a foolish thing they had heard, nor any thing but upon a good testimony, what they have received from their fathers, who were also wise and good men; and therefore such a testimony, though not ocular, but by tradition, deserves regard:

and have not hid it; their fathers did not hide it from them, and what they have received from their fathers they did not hide it from their children; and so it came to be handed down from one to another with great truth, exactness, and certainty, and to be depended upon, see Psa 44:1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which wise men have told from their fathers - Which they have received from their ancestors and communicated to others. Knowledge among the ancients was communicated chiefly by tradition from father to son. They had few or no written records, and hence, they embodied the results of their observation in brief, sententious maxims, and transmitted them from one generation to another.

And have not hid it - They have freely communicated the result of their observations to others.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Wise. Protestants, "which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it," chap. viii. 8. The authority of tradition was then very great; and why should it now be despised? (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Wise men; who are most able to be witnesses and judges in these matters.

From their fathers, or ancestors; who diligently observed this, and carefully transmitted their own judgment and experience successively to their posterity.

Have not hid it; they judged it to be so certain and important a truth, that they would not conceal it in their own breasts, but made conscience of publishing it for the instruction and comfort of succeeding ages.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it. (comp. Job_8:8-10) Whether the words are his own or not, the sentiments, at any rate, Eliphaz declares to have come down to him from remote times. The "wise men" to whom he refers may have been men of the Beni Kedem. (Job_1:3) who were noted for their wisdom, (1Ki_4:30) or possibly Egyptians or Babylonians. Books containing moral aphorisms and instructions were certainly composed both in Egypt and in Babylonia at a very ancient date (see "Records of the Past," vol. 2. pp. 1116; vol. 3. p. 135; vol. 7. pp. 119-122).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hid - They judged it to be so certain and important a truth, that they would not conceal it in their own breasts.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

That the wise men tell and confess their transgression. and do not hide their iniquity from their fathers. This is what I saw, and behold, I will tell you. Now where did I see it? Judah confessed and was not ashamed in the incident of Tamar. Reuben confessed and was not ashamed in the incident of Bilhah. And what was their reward?

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.