Job 28:14

Job 28:14 The depth saith, It [is] not in me: and the sea saith, [It is] not with me.

Ver. 14. The depth saith, It is not in me] It is not to be had above ground, may some say; but what, underground? Not there either, saith Job; for the abyss saith, that is, if it could speak, it would surely say, "It is not in me"; and the sea gives us the same verdict: dig to the centre of the earth, dive to the bottom of the sea, you shall hear no tale or tidings of her; she neither groweth with gold and precious stones in the earth, nor with pearls and coral in the sea; we must be taught by God, and the Holy Spirit must join himself to our chariot, as Philip did to the eunuch’s, Act 8:29; he must teach us this wisdom from above, or we can never learn it, Isa 54:13. A man may read the figure on the dial, but he cannot tell how the day goes unless the sun shine upon the dial; we may read over the book of the creature, and the book of the Scripture, but we cannot learn to purpose till the Spirit of God shine into our hearts, 2Co 4:6. The gospel is full of jewels; but they are locked up from sense and reason, 1Co 2:10. The angels in heaven are searching into these sacred depths, 1Pe 1:12, and know not as much but they would fain know more of this manifold wisdom of God, πολυποικιλος, Eph 3:10, that hath such an abundance of curious variety in it, as the word there signifieth, even such as is seen in the best pictures or textures.

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.

Verse 14. The depth saith, It is not in me] Men may dig into the bowels of the earth, and there find gold, silver, and precious stones; but these will not give them true happiness.

The sea saith, It is not with me.] Men may explore foreign countries, and by navigation connect as it were the most distant parts of the earth, and multiply the comforts and luxuries of life; but every voyage and every enjoyment proclaim, True happiness is not here.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Three great regions are mentioned, none of which is the “place” of Wisdom, the land of the living, the deep, and the sea. These three exhaust the extent of the upper world. The “land of the living” is the earth as the abode of living beings, more especially of men, Psa_52:5. The “deep” is the primeval abyss, out of which perhaps the sea is fed, lying under the earth, Gen_1:2, Psa_24:2—an almost mythological conception. Down under all these, however, lies the underworld of the dead, ch. Job_26:5.

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.

The depth saith, it is not in me,.... That is, the deep places of the earth, that are dug in it, the mines, and the like, could they speak, they would say there are no metal, nor minerals, no rich treasures of gold and silver ore, of pearls and precious stones, in the bowels of it, that are of the value of wisdom, or to be compared to it:

and the sea saith, it is not with me; had that a voice to speak, it would freely declare, that there is nothing in its vast compass, at the bottom of it, or to be got out of it, as corals that grow in it, and pearls fished from thence, after mentioned, that are a sufficient price for wisdom. Some understand these words, the former part of miners and colliers, and such sort of men, that dig and live in the depths of the earth; and the latter part of mariners, that are employed on the sea, who are generally ignorant and carnal men, and void of the knowledge of wisdom in every view of it; but the sense first given is best.

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

The depth saith - This is a beautiful personification. The object of this verse and the following is, to show that wisdom cannot be found in the deepest recesses to which man can penetrate, nor purchased by anything which man possesses. It must come from God only. The word “depth” here (תהום tehôm) means properly a wave, billow, surge; then a mass of waters, a flood, or the deep ocean, Deu 8:7; Gen 7:11; Psa 36:6; and then a gulf, or abyss. It refers here to the sea, or ocean; and the idea is, that its vast depths might be sounded, and true wisdom would not be found there.

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

The depth, to wit, of the earth, because the sea here follows as a differing place. This is a very common figure, whereby speech is ascribed to dumb and senseless creatures. The meaning is, This is not to be found in any part of the land or sea, yea, though a man should dig or dive never so deep to find it, nor to be learned from any creatures; for though these discover the being, and power, and in part the wisdom of God, yet they do not instruct us in the methods and grounds of God’s providential dispensations to good and evil men: these are secrets of wisdom reserved for God himself.

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

14. The depth — Uncreated Wisdom is subsequently represented as saying, (Pro_8:24,) “When there were no depths” — primordial elements of the world — “I was brought forth.” This vast abyss lifts up its voice, “Wisdom is not in me!”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. The deep abysses of the ocean declare that it is not with them; and the wide reaches of the far-extending sea proclaim that it is not with them either.

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

The depth - This is not to be found in any part of the sea, though a man may dig or dive ever so deep to find it, nor to be learned from any creature.

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

The deep says, “It is not in me,” If you ask those who dive into the deep, who deal with pearls, with the source of pearls and with gold and silver mines from the place of the depths of the earth, they will tell you, “It is not in me.” I am not well-versed in halachic instruction.

and the sea says And those who go down to the sea for business will say to you, “Wisdom is not with me.” Why? Because they cannot purchase it like other merchandise, to give of their wealth for its price. And in the Aggadah (see Shabbath 89a), it is stated that at the time of the giving of the Torah, Satan came before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said to Him, “Where is the Torah?” He replied, “With the son of Amram.” He came to Moses, and said to him, “Where is the Torah?” “With the sea.” He came to the sea and asked it, “Where is the Torah?” “It is not in me. Go to the son of Amram.” He came to the son of Amram and said to him, “Where is the Torah?” “With the deep.” He came to the deep and asked, “Where is the Torah?” It replied, “It is not with me. Go to the son of Amram.” He came to the son of Amram and asked, “Where is the Torah?” “With the Holy One, blessed be He.” This is what the deep says, “It is not in me,” and the sea says, “It is not with me.”

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.