Job 28:19

Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

Ver. 19. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it] Of the Topaz, see Plin. lib. 86, cap. 8. It seemeth to have the lustre of gold and purity of crystal, and those agreeable mixtures of colours which make the purple of kings. The operations of this stone are many and rare, as Rueus sets them forth, lib. 2, cap. 3.

Neither shall it be valued with pure gold] Plato saith as much of moral wisdom, Oυτε χρυσυς, ουτε αδαμας, ουτως αστραπτει, No gold or gem so glistereth. And elsewhere he saith, that if moral virtue could be beheld with mortal eyes, mirificos sui amores excitaret, it would wonderfully enamour men. Aurelius the emperor would say, that he would not leave the knowledge he might learn in one hour for all the gold that he possessed. Alphonsus, king of Arragon, professed that he would rather choose to lose his jewels than his books, his kingdoms (whereof he had many), quam litteras, quas permodicas scire dicebat, than that little learning he had attained unto (Val. Max. Christian. 118,237). Many have been so taken with the study of the mathematics, that they could have lived and died in it. Vae igitur stupori nostro, woe then to the world because of wisdom! this incomparable wisdom of God in a mystery, as the apostle calleth it.

Haec quia pro vili, sub pedibusque iacet (Ovid).

Money is most men’s study, not without a horrible neglect of piety, which yet is the principal thing, Pro 4:7, and profitable to all things, 1Ti 4:8, as that which hath the promise of both lives, Ibid. Now the promises are exceeding great and precious things, 2Pe 1:4, even the unsearchable riches of Christ, Eph 3:8. Such gold as cannot be too dearly bought, Mat 13:44; Mat 13:46, nor too far set, no, though so far as the queen of Sheba came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and could have been content to have changed her throne for his footstool. Sure it is she was no niggard, but parted with abundance of precious things and sweet odours for that wisdom which she held, and worthily, far more sweet and precious than all her annual revenue. Sure it is, that if the mountains were pearl, the huge rock rubies, and the whole globe a shining chrysolyte, yet all this were nothing to the worth of the wisdom here commended. How greatly bound then are God’s people to bless his name for communicating unto us this invaluable treasure by his word and Spirit, 1Co 2:13 Hath he not written for us excellent things in counsels and knowledge? Pro 22:20; hath he not made his Son, that essential wisdom of his, to become unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption? 1Co 1:30. Should some earthly prince give us a rich ring off his finger, wherein there were a chrysolyte, a sapphire, a topaz, or some other precious stone, how highly would we honour him, and what would we not be ready to do or suffer for him? And shall we not much more do so for God, rich in mercy, plenteous in goodness, abundant in kindness and in truth, who giveth us all things richly to enjoy? O pray for that blessed sight, Eph 1:18; Eph 3:18, and reckon one grain of grace more worth than all the gold of Ophir, one remnant of faith beyond all the gorgeous and gay attire in the world.

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.

Ethiopia--Cush in the Hebrew. Either Ethiopia, or the south of Arabia, near the Tigris.

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

Verse 19. The topaz of Ethiopia] The country called Cush, which we call Ethiopia, is supposed to be that which extends from the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and stretches towards Lower Egypt. Diodorus Siculus says that the topaz was found in great abundance, as his description intimates, in an island in the Red Sea called Ophiodes, or the isle of serpents, Hist. lib. iii., p. 121. His account is curious, but I greatly doubt its correctness; it seems too much in the form of a legend: yet the reader may consult the place.

See also Clarke on "Job 28:16".

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

19. equal it] See on Job_28:17.

be valued] See on Job_28:16.

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 topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,.... Not Ethiopia Abyssinia, or that which lies beyond Egypt in Africa; for, as Ludolphus (x) says, there are no gems found there, or very rarely; but Cush, as the word is, or Arabia Chusaea, the same with the country of Midian, and the parts adjacent; see Hab 3:7; hence Zipporah, the wife of Moses, who was of that country, is called an Ethiopian woman, Num 12:1; and this was near Job's country, who knew the produce of it; and here the topaz is found, as many writers observe. Diodorus Siculus says (y), in Ophiodes, an island in the Arabian gulf, belonging to the Troglodytes, the topaz is found, which is a very clear stone, pleasant to the sight, like to glass, and affording a wonderful golden colour; and with him Strabo (z) agrees, who relates there is an island called Ophiodes, from its being freed from serpents by the king's orders, which killed men that came there for topazes; which, he says, is a clear stone of a golden colour, and so refulgent, that it is not easy to see it in the daytime, being so surrounded with light; but at night it is seen by those that gather it, who set a vessel for a sign, and then dig for it in the daytime; and, he adds, a multitude of men are hired by the kings of Egypt, to gather and keep these stones, and men from stealing them; and, according to Archelaus (a), the topaz is found in Chitis, an island in Arabia, where the Troglodytes digging for herbs and roots find it; and, as Juba relates (b), there is an island called Topazion, in the Red sea, three hundred furlongs (about 73 miles) from the continent, which is cloudy, and is therefore often sought for by navigators; whence he says it had its name Topazion, which in the language of the Troglodytes signifies to seek, and the topaz itself in their language so signifies; in the Samaritan version of Exo 39:10; it is called Dachetah, from the Arabic word (c) "Dachatz", the language of the Troglodytes, which signifies to seek and search by removing the earth with the foot. This island seems to be the same with Topazos, which Pliny (d) says is an island of the Arabians, and gave name to a gem, meaning the topaz; but the truth rather is, that the gem gave name to the island: upon the whole, it is no wonder, as Braunius (e) observes, that this gem should be called by Job the Arabian topaz. The Targum here calls it a green pearl; and some have thought the emerald is meant, which is of that colour; and the emeralds of Ethiopia are praised by some, according to Juba (f); and in Egypt were emerald mines the Ethiopians laid a claim to (g); and there were emeralds also in Arabia, as the above Juba relates; however, be this what it may, as it is most likely to be the topaz, it is not equal in value to wisdom, no, not the largest topaz ever known; not even that of the great Mogul, which weighs more than an hundred fifty seven carats, valued at 271,500 French pounds (h); and according to Tavernier (i) it weighs almost an hundred fifty eight carats, and was bought at Goa for almost 272,000 florins:

neither shall it be valued with pure gold; that is most refined and freed from dross; they are not to be laid together as of equal value; See Gill on Job 28:16, where the same word is used.

(x) Hist. Ethiop. l. 1. c. 7. (y) Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 172. (z) Geograph. l. 16. p. 529. (a) Apud Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 37. c. 8. (b) Apud ib. (c) Vid. Castel. Lex. Heptaglott. col. 686, 693. (d) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 29. (e) De Vest. Sacerdot. Heb. p. 649. (f) Apud Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 37. c. 5. (g) Heliodor. Ethiop. l. 8. 1. & 9. 6. (h) Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr p. 747. (i) Apud Braunium de Vest. Sacerdot. Heb. p. 649, 650.

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

The topaz - The topaz is a precious stone, whose colors are yellow, green, blue, and red. Its natural place is in various primitive rocks, such as the topaz-rock, gneiss, and clay-slate. It is found in the granite and gneiss districts of Mar and Cairnaorta, in Cornwall, in Brazil, and in various other places. The most valuable stones of this kind now known are those which are found in Brazil. This gem is much prized by jewelers, and is considered as one of the more beautiful ornamental stones. The Hebrew word פטדה pı̂ṭdâh, occurs in Exo 28:17; Exo 39:10; Eze 28:13. and in this place only. It is uniformly rendered topaz. It is not improbable that the English word “topaz,” and the Greek τοπάζιον topazion, are derived from this, by a slight transposition of the letters - טפדה. The Vulgate and the Septuagint render this “topaz.”

Of Ethiopia - Hebrew כוּשׁ kûsh - “Cush.” Coverdale here renders it, “India.” On the meaning of this word, and the region denoted by it, see the notes at Isa 11:11. It may mean either the part of Africa now known as Ethiopia, or Abyssinia and Nubia; the southern part of Arabia, or the Oriental Cush in the vicinity of the Tigris. It is better, since the word has such ambiguity, to retain the original, and to translate it “Cush.” For anything that appears, this may have denoted, in the time of Job, the southern part of Arabia. It is known that the topaz was found there. Thus, Pliny says, Lib. xxxvii. 32, Reperta est - in Arabiae insula, quae Citis vocatur; in qua Troglodytae praedones, diutius fame - prossi cum herbas radicesque effoderant, eruerunt topazion.

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

Ethiopia, on the east of the Red Sea. Pliny ([Natural History?] vi. 29.) mentions the isle of Chuthis, which was also famous for the topaz. --- Dying. Hebrew cethem, (Haydock) which we have observed relates to gold, ver. 16.

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).

The topaz; of which see Exo 28:17; 39:10.

Of Ethiopia, or, of Arabia; for Cush signifies both Ethiopia and Arabia; and the topaz was found in the Red Sea, which lay between both, and so might be ascribed to either.

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

19. Topaz — A most precious gem, whose prevailing colour was wine-yellow, passing over into carnation red, lilac, or a pale green. Professor Eadie states that a single topaz has sold for more than a million dollars. See Pliny, xxxvii, sec. 32. All Semitic nations displayed an absorbing passion for jewels and precious stones. Jdg_8:24; Eze_28:13, etc. As with the King of Tyre, their aspiration was to be covered with precious stones. Before the imagination, kindled with the contemplation of earth’s treasures, celestial wisdom urges her own incomparable worth.

Ethiopia — Hebrew, Cush. “Where the south declines,” says Herodotus, (iii, 114,) “toward the setting sun, lies the country called Ethiopia, the last inhabited land in that direction.”

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

The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it. It is generally allowed that the pithdath (tdfpi) is either the "topaz" or the "chrysolite." In favour of its being the chrysolite is the passage of Pliny which mentions its being esteemed for its green tints ("Hist. Nat.," 37:8). Otherwise "topaz" might have appeared to be the best rendering. By "Cush," here translated "Ethiopia," is probably meant Cushite Arabia, or the southern and south-eastern regions (see the author"s "Origin of Nations," pp. 206-209). Neither shall it be valued with pare gold. Of the four words used for "gold" in this passage (vers. 15-17), one (bhz) seems to be the common name, and to designate the metal by its coleus, "yellow," since bhx means "to be yellow" Another (rWgs) means properly "what is treasured," or "shut up," from rgs, "to shut." The third (zp) seems to be the name for "native gold," or that found in river-washings and nuggets, which was regarded as the purest. The fourth ( is a poetical name only, and designates gold of extreme purity, (Son_5:11) whether highly refined or native. Job uses them all, to show that there was no gold of any kind wherewith it was possible to purchase wisdom.

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

The topaz of Kush It is a precious stone, as in (Exod. 28:17), “ruby, topaz (פטדה).” with...jewelry Heb. בכתם. That is a collection of jewelry for women’s adornments, and this collection is called כֶּתֶם in Hebrew, and “al halls” in Arabic. That is (Prov. 25:12) “Like a golden earring and jewelry of the finest gold (וחלי כתם),” and similarly (Hosea 2:15), “and adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry (וחליתה).” Others interpret כֶּתֶם like כֶּתֶר, a crown, but it is incorrect because we do not find a verb with this root, as we find with כֶּתֶר. מַכְתִּיר, to crown or surround, כותרות capitals.

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.