Bible Strands
Job 28:7
No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — This verse occurs within Job 28, a poetic discourse situated between descriptions of mined sapphires and gold (Job 28:6) and untrodden mountain routes (Job 28:8). It forms part of a broader argument about the limits of human exploration.
The words — The Hebrew עָ֑יִט ('A.yit) translates literally to "a bird of prey," and שְׁ֝זָפַ֗תּ/וּ (She.za.Fa.t/u) means "it catches sight of." These terms specify that even predators with acute vision cannot locate the hidden route.
The thread — The theme of an elusive path appears in Job 28:21, which notes wisdom is hidden from every living creature and the birds of the air. It also intersects with Job 38:19, where God asks Job if he knows the way to the dwelling place of light.
Why it lands — The text states that natural observation and animal instinct cannot discover the path to wisdom. It requires the reader to accept that divine knowledge remains inaccessible until God actively discloses it.
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
There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
Cross-references
- Job 11:6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.
- Job 28:21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.
- Job 38:19 Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
- Job 38:24 In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
- Romans 11:33 O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!