Bible Strands
Job 28:1
“Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to his three friends within a structured poetic discourse on wisdom. He interrupts the surrounding debate to catalog human technical achievement before contrasting it with divine knowledge.
The words — יֵשׁ (yesh) means “there is” or “exists,” and מוֹצָא (mo.Tza') denotes a “mine” or “place of extraction.” These terms anchor the verse in concrete, observable human labor rather than abstract theology.
The thread — The motif of metal refining and testing recurs in Proverbs 17:3, Isaiah 48:10, and 1 Peter 1:7, where the process of purifying silver or gold illustrates divine assessment of human character and faith.
Why it lands — The verse states the factual existence of silver mines and gold-refining sites to establish a baseline of human capability. It requires the reader to accept this documented technical mastery before the text proceeds to demonstrate that wisdom cannot be located through the same methods.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 1:7 so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Proverbs 17:3 A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Isaiah 48:10 See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Genesis 2:11 The name of the first river is the Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
- Genesis 23:15 “Listen to me, my lord. The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
- Genesis 24:22 And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels.
- 1 Kings 7:48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
- 1 Kings 10:21 All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
- 1 Chronicles 29:2 Now with all my ability I have made provision for the house of my God—gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and slabs of marble—all in abundance.