“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?”
But where can wisdom be found, and where is the place of understanding, transitioning abruptly from the celebration of human technical knowledge to the question of wisdom, establishing that wisdom is categorically different from the knowledge so far described. The parallel questions establish wisdom and understanding as distinct from the mining knowledge previously catalogued, suggesting that these represent different orders of knowing. The location question implies that wisdom is not found in the earth like precious metals, that it does not yield to mining or extraction. This verse marks the crucial turn in the poem.
Church Fathers on Job 28:12
-15. But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof: neither is it found in the land of them that live pleasantly. The depth saith, It is not with me, and the sea saith, It is not with me. Fine gold shall not be given for it: neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof: It is first to be noted, that two points be proposed to himself, and two he adds making answer. For to this that he said above, Where…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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