Bible Strands
Job 28:22
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Personified Abaddon and Death speak in Job 28, immediately after the statement that wisdom is hidden from every living creature and immediately before the declaration that God alone understands its way and knows its place.
The words — אֲבַדּוֹן ('a.va.Don) translates literally to Abaddon or destruction, and מָוֶת (ma.vet) means death; both function as the subjects who claim they have only heard a rumor about it.
The thread — This motif of personified realms acknowledging divine knowledge appears in Job 26:6, where Abaddon lies naked before God, and Job 28:14, where ocean depths similarly declare they do not possess wisdom.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that all created realms lack access to true wisdom, establishing God as the sole possessor and knower of its way.
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
Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
Cross-references
- Job 26:6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Psalms 83:10 who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
- Job 28:14 The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’