Job 28:18,19 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls They are of no value, if compared with wisdom, nor fit to be mentioned as a price wherewith to purchase it. For the price, &c. Hebrew, משׁךְ, meshech, the attraction, or extraction, of wisdom is above rubies מפנינים, mippeninim, pearls. But the expression is rendered by the LXX., υπερ τα εσωτατα, above the innermost, or most concealed and guarded things; and by the Vulgate de occultis, of secret things. Chappelow proposes to render the words, “The attraction of wisdom is above any thing we behold:” a translation which, as he observes, Aquila's version justifies γλυκυ δε σοφια παρα τα περιβλεπτα, wisdom is sweet, or desirable, above the things that are anywhere seen. Poole, who would render meshech, extraction, or acquisition, thinks there is an allusion to the manner in which pearls are obtained, namely, by diving to the bottom of the sea; which, he observes, is aptly applied to this wisdom, because, lying very deep, and remote from the reach of mankind, it is not to be obtained without diligent search and consideration. The clause would then be read, The drawing forth of wisdom is above that of pearls: that is, men may dive into the sea, and fetch up pearls, but this wisdom lies a great deal deeper. The topaz of Ethiopia Or of Arabia, for Cush signifies both countries; and the topaz, which Pliny calls amplissima gemmarum, the most noble of gems, was found in the Red sea, which lay between both, and so might be ascribed to either; shall not equal it, &c. The Ethiopian topaz, which is so much esteemed for its wonderful lustre, doth not come near it in value; nor are the golden ornaments which they wear in those parts proportionable to it.