Job 28:8

Job 28:8 The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.

Ver. 8. The lion’s whelps have not trodden it] Heb. The children of pride, {see Job 41:34} that is, saith Vatablus, belluae truces et immanes, fierce and cruel creatures, which yet pass through mountains and valleys and vast forests, but come not under ground, where these metals are; that is no part of their walk. Where the Vulgate had, his filii institorum here, Sons of the hucksters, Mercer cannot imagine, and his best patrons are hard put to it to defend him.

Nor the fierce lion passed by it] Heb. The huge lion. There are seven names of lions observed in Scripture, whereof here are two in this verse, of like sound the one to the other. The Tigurines render it here, the leopard; the Vulgate Latin, the lioness; and his paraphrast hath the whole verse thus, Those wild beasts, whose savage humour searcheth out the most solitary places, could never yet find them; and the lionesses, which run everywhere when they have lost their little ones, have never approached them.

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.

lion's whelps--literally, "the sons of pride," that is, the fiercest beasts.

passed--The Hebrew implies the proud gait of the lion. The miner ventures where not even the fierce lion dares to go in pursuit of his prey.

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

8. Neither have the proud wild beasts, which fearlessly penetrate into the darkest places, ever trodden that path.

the lion’s whelps] Rather, the proud beasts, lit. sons of pride, ch. Job_41:34.

passed by it] i. e. passed over it, walked it.

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 lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. Or "upon it" (e); such creatures that are exceeding fierce and cruel, hungry and voracious, eager after their prey, range here and there in pursuit of it, search every hole and corner, and rove in dens and caves of the earth; yet these never traversed such ways and paths the miners make to get out the wealth and riches of the earth. Wicked men are sometimes compared to lions, for their cruelty and oppression exercised on the saints, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against them, Psa 57:4; and particularly tyrannical princes and persecutors, as the kings of Assyria and Babylon, and Nero the Roman emperor, Jer 1:17; these never trod the way of holiness, nor walked in the path of truth, nor knew the wisdom of God in a mystery, nor the Lord of life and glory, and the way of life and salvation by him; which is a way the unclean walk not in, or persons of such a temper and disposition; see Isa 35:8. The former clause may be rendered, as it is by some, "the children of pride" (f), and as it is in Job 41:34, which is the only place besides this where it is used; and so the Septuagint version, "the children of proud men": and may be accommodated to self-righteous persons, who are proud boasters of themselves and of their works, and go about to establish their own righteousness, and despise and will not submit unto the righteousness of Christ; these tread not in nor walk upon the good old way, and the only way of life, righteousness, and salvation, by Christ.

(e) "super eam", Schultens. (f) "filii superbiae", Montanus, Beza, Bolducius, Vatablus.

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

The lion’s whelps - The lion that ventures into the most dangerous places in pursuit of prey, has not dared to go where man has gone in pursuit of precious stones and gold. On the words used here to designate the lion, see Bochart Hieroz P. 1. Lib. iii. c. 1.

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

Merchants, who go the shortest road. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "of lions," which find their deans without asking for the path. (Calmet)

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 lion’s whelps, Heb. the sons of pride; a fit name for lions, which are lofty and stately creatures, despising both men and all other beasts that oppose them.

The fierce lion; which rangeth all places for prey, and findeth out the deepest dens and caves of the earth. The birds and beasts have ofttimes led men to such places as otherwise they should never have found out; but they could not lead men to these mines; but the finding out of them is a special gift of God, and an act of that wisdom which he hath put into man.

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

8. Lion’s whelps — Literally, sons of pride. Same as in Job_41:34. In enlarging thus upon the hidden path of the mine, that leads to the precious treasures of the earth, there is a covert allusion to the treasures of wisdom, which, in like manner, lie concealed.

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

The lion"s whelps have not trodden it; literally, the sons of the fierce the whelps of lions, tigers, or leopards may be intended. These beasts would haunt the mountains and penetrate into natural caverns, bat would never adventure themselves in the shafts and adits of miners. Nor the fierce lion passed by it; rather, passed thereby (see the Revised Version).

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

Lion - Which rangeth all places for prey. The birds and beasts have often led men to such places as otherwise they should never have found out; but they could not lead them to these mines, the finding out of them is a special gift of God.

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

neither did... pass by it Heb. עדה, passed, as we translate (Gen. 15 17), “which passed between these parts,” דִּעֲדָה.

Proud beasts Heb. (שַחַץ) and lion (שַחַל) are some of the seven names of the lion (Sanh. 95a: The lion has seven names.) Now what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do?...

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.