Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 28:12-28

"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 the living. The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold. Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens. Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven; To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder; Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding." — Job 28:12-28 (ASV)

Since the author had shown that all precious things found in physical bodies are contained in specific places—which, though unknown to men, are still known to God—he now demonstrates the preeminence of wisdom. He first introduces the fact that wisdom is not contained in a specific place, asking, “But where is wisdom found?” This is as if to say: Wisdom is not confined to any physical place because it is not a physical thing. Not only are precious physical things themselves confined to physical places, but their very sources are as well. This cannot be said about wisdom, and so he adds, “and what is the place of understanding?” For understanding is the source of knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, just as wisdom is not confined to a place, neither is understanding, which is its origin.

Second, he shows the dignity of wisdom by explaining that its price cannot be calculated. He says, “No man knows its price,” for there is no thing known to man that is a sufficient price for wisdom.

He then clearly shows the consequences of these two premises. First, he had said that wisdom is not found in a specific place. Among humans, things esteemed as valuable are partly found among refined, pleasure-seeking men, who strive to collect precious stones and metals. Thus, he says, “Nor is it found among soft-living men”—that is, refined men—because they are especially hindered from perceiving wisdom, since their hearts are preoccupied with pleasures. Other valuable physical things are found in dark places, but this is not true of wisdom, and so he says, The deep says: It is not in me. What lies hidden in the depths is especially concealed from human wisdom. Still other valuables are found in the sea, either because they are created there, like pearls in seashells, or because they are lost there in sunken ships. But this is not true of wisdom. This is also the case because valuable things are usually transported by sea, and so he says, And the sea says, ‘it is not with me.’ On the contrary, things in the sea are often completely hidden from human wisdom.

Next, he explains what he had said about wisdom having no price. He enumerates those things thought most valuable among men, saying, The gold of Ophir will not be traded for it, meaning the purest gold, because the price of wisdom cannot be valued in any amount of gold. After gold, silver is esteemed the most precious among metals, and so he continues, nor can one give its weight in silver for exchange.

Besides these metals, there are some very precious stones of different colors, especially cultivated in India. He says of these, She (wisdom) cannot be compared with the sparkling colors of India, that is, the precious stones of diverse colors naturally tinted in India. He continues with precious stones found in other lands, saying, nor with the most precious sardonyx, which is composed of two stones: carnelian, which is red and is said to light up the soul with joy and sharpen the mind; and onyx, which is joined to it and is thought to have some harmful powers, like exciting sorrows and fear. This harm is restrained by the carnelian, so the combined stone is said to have the property of expelling lust and rendering a man pure and chaste. For this reason, it is called a very precious stone. He then adds, and sapphire, which is the color of heaven and is valuable for its many powers.

There are still other very precious stones, but since their values are not the same in all places and times, he does not refer to them specifically. He then speaks about things that have value because of their beauty, saying, Nor will gold equal her, which has beauty from its splendor, nor glass, which has beauty from its transparency, although it is not distinguished by a high price. He then speaks about beauty derived from craftsmanship when he says, nor will vessels of gold be exchanged for her, which are grand in size and exquisite in composition. Just as these things cannot be exchanged for wisdom, so also are they all accounted as nothing in comparison to it. He then says that none of them are worth mentioning when one considers the excellence of wisdom.

Because he had said that some physical things were precious because they were hidden from us, he consequently shows that wisdom does not lack even this value, stating, “Wisdom has its source in hidden things.” The origin of human wisdom is hidden in two ways. First, on the part of the light of the intellect, which is derived in us from the most hidden cause of all: God. Second, on the part of the things known. Wisdom seeks the hidden properties and essences of these things and, through them, ascends to the knowledge of divine matters, which is the special characteristic of wisdom. Thus, he concludes that nothing can be compared to wisdom, either by reason of value or concealment, not even precious stones. He then says, The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it, which takes its name from its place of discovery or its resemblance to the color of gold. As for costly garments, he says, nor are the most elegant dyed things—any sort of silk or wool cloth—comparable to her, to wisdom.

Therefore, since he had said that wisdom is so incomparable and has a hidden origin, he inquires where its source lies, asking, Where, then, is the origin of wisdom? Where does it come from? And where is the place of understanding, from what source do men receive the light of understanding? He shows this source excels all human cognition, saying, She is hidden from the eyes of all the living, because, as it is written, The fount of wisdom is the word of God on high . There have been some who practiced divination, believing that certain birds participated in wisdom's effects over men and that men could know the future from them. But he shows that wisdom exceeds this soothsaying, saying, and she is concealed also from the birds of the air. Therefore, the origin of wisdom exceeds even the heavenly bodies that move these birds. There are also some who seek knowledge of the future from the dead, but not even this attains the origin of wisdom, and so he says, Ruin and death said: We have heard of her fame with our ears. He rightly attributes the fame of wisdom to death and ruin, because they imply an end and a withdrawal from the goods that wisdom provides.

Nevertheless, these three things can be metaphorically referred to the three kinds of rational creatures. When he says, She is hidden from the eyes of all the living, he refers to men. When he adds, she is concealed from the birds of heaven, he refers to the angels. And when he continues, Ruin and death said: ‘We have heard of his fame with our ears,’ he refers to the demons, who are separated from God by damnation and have knowledge of divine wisdom only by its reputation from afar.

To show the root of wisdom, he then says, God understands the way to her, the whole process of wisdom, since he himself is both the origin of wisdom and the “place of understanding” (Job 28:20). Because God knows himself perfectly, he then says, and he knows where wisdom is found, that is, he knows himself, in whom wisdom is perfectly found as in its first origin. Wisdom proceeds from him into all creatures, which are made by the wisdom of God, just as art proceeds from the mind of the artist into his work. As Sirach says, God showers wisdom on all his works . Thus, the very universe of creatures is like the secondary place of wisdom. To show that God knows the place of wisdom, he continues by saying that God knows the universe of creatures. First, he shows this regarding the most elevated creatures, under which all other things are contained, saying, He sees the ends of the earth, which are the most excellent creatures, where the order of creation terminates in ascending from lower creatures; these are the heavenly bodies and spirits. Then he shows this regarding the other creatures contained under them, like the elements, saying, and he sees everything which is under the heaven.

Lest anyone believe that God receives knowledge from things as we do, he consequently shows that God knows things as their cause. He continues by speaking of hidden creations like the winds and the rains: he gave the winds their strength, for he gave them their inclination of motion so that they move sometimes in this direction and sometimes in that. Then he speaks about the rains. First, that water is raised to become clouds in vapor, and so he says, and the waters he holds suspended in measure, so that they do not overflow and flood everything, nor do they decrease unduly and cause everything to dry out. Next, he speaks of the very generation of rain when he says, when he made a law for the rains, to come down at certain times and in certain places. Third, he speaks of their effect, especially on the sea, which is disturbed by atmospheric changes, and so he continues, and he was setting the way for the storm which roars from great agitation, because even such storms arise at certain times and with a certain intensity.

Because God does not acquire wisdom from creatures as we do, but rather produces creatures according to his wisdom, he continues, Then, when he was making creatures, he saw her, wisdom, in himself, insofar as he produces things in their being through the active considerations of his wisdom. Wisdom was derived from him first to the angels, who were made participants in the divine wisdom. Expressing this, he says, he made her known, manifesting his wisdom to them. Second, it was derived to the universe of creatures by his governing it through his wisdom, and he expresses this by saying, and he prepared the order of the world in his wisdom. Third, it was derived to men, who do not perceive the truth of wisdom by simple apprehension, as the angels do, but arrive at it by the investigation of reason. And so he says, he inquired, that is, he made men investigate her.

He expresses this as he continues, and he said to man, namely, by illuminating him and communicating wisdom to him through interior inspiration: Behold the fear of the Lord, is wisdom. This fear I am giving to you by my presence, because man clings to God through the fear of the Lord, in whom is the true wisdom of men, as in the highest cause of all things. And to withdraw from evil, that is, from sin, in which man loses God, is understanding, because understanding is especially necessary so that a person may discern evil things from good ones. When he has avoided these evil things through the execution of good works, he attains the participation of divine wisdom.

Thus, because The fear of the Lord is wisdom; and to withdraw from evil, understanding, the consequence is that the just, who fear God and withdraw from evil, have wisdom and understanding. These are preferred to all the earthly goods that evil men possess. So it is clear that the reasonability of divine providence is preserved in the fact that spiritual goods are given to the just as better goods, while temporal goods are given to the wicked as transitory ones.