The Meaning of Job 28:1 Explained

Job 28:1

KJV: Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

YLT: Surely there is for silver a source, And a place for the gold they refine;

Darby: Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they refine;

ASV: Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Surely  there is a vein  for the silver,  and a place  for gold  [where] they fine  [it]. 

What does Job 28:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 28:1-28 - The Pearl Of Great Price
A search for this pearl of great price has occupied men in every age. Job compares it with the search of the miner for the hidden treasures of the earth, Job 28:1-12. This paragraph should be read in the r.v. The shaft into the earth, the miner's exile from the cheerful haunts of human life, his exposure to dangers from foul air, water, and the falling-in of the mine, the binding up of the streams, are vividly portrayed. But the miner perseveres through all till he obtains his golden spoil. Would that we were as persistent in our quest for the knowledge of God! Paul was a great miner; he went down into caverns of pain and sorrow, that he might bring to light the treasures of God's wisdom and love.
Only God knows God, Job 28:23. In the depths of His nature, dark with excess of light but hidden from the falcon's eye of human genius, are both knowledge and understanding. He waits to reveal these things to babes, saying, "Fear God, and you will be wise. Depart from evil, and you will understand," Job 28:28. Christ is the Word and the Wisdom of God, 1 Corinthians 1:24. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 28

1  There is a knowledge of natural things
12  But wisdom is an excellent gift of God

What do the individual words in Job 28:1 mean?

Surely there is for silver a mine and a place gold [where] is refined
כִּ֤י יֵ֣שׁ לַכֶּ֣סֶף מוֹצָ֑א וּ֝מָק֗וֹם לַזָּהָ֥ב יָזֹֽקּוּ

כִּ֤י  Surely 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
יֵ֣שׁ  there  is 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
לַכֶּ֣סֶף  for  silver 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֶּסֶף  
Sense: silver, money.
מוֹצָ֑א  a  mine 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹוצָא  
Sense: act or place of going out or forth, issue, export, source, spring.
וּ֝מָק֗וֹם  and  a  place 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָקֹום  
Sense: standing place, place.
לַזָּהָ֥ב  gold 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.
יָזֹֽקּוּ  [where]  is  refined 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָקַק  
Sense: to purify, distil, strain, refine.