The Meaning of Job 28:5 Explained

Job 28:5

KJV: As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

YLT: The earth! from it cometh forth bread, And its under-part is turned like fire.

Darby: As for the earth, out of it cometh bread, and underneath it is turned up as by fire;

ASV: As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[As for] the earth,  out of it cometh  bread:  and under it is turned up  as it were fire. 

What does Job 28:5 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 28:5 mean?

[As for] the earth from it comes bread but underneath it is turned up as by fire
אֶ֗רֶץ מִמֶּ֥נָּה יֵֽצֵא־ לָ֑חֶם וְ֝תַחְתֶּ֗יהָ נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ כְּמוֹ־ אֵֽשׁ

אֶ֗רֶץ  [As  for]  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִמֶּ֥נָּה  from  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
יֵֽצֵא־  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
לָ֑חֶם  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
וְ֝תַחְתֶּ֗יהָ  but  underneath  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ  is  turned  up 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָפַךְ  
Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.
כְּמוֹ־  as  by 
Parse: Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
אֵֽשׁ  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.