The Meaning of Job 28:13 Explained

Job 28:13

KJV: Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

YLT: Man hath not known its arrangement, Nor is it found in the land of the living.

Darby: Man knoweth not the value thereof; and it is not found in the land of the living.

ASV: Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Man  knoweth  not the price  thereof; neither is it found  in the land  of the living. 

What does Job 28:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 28:1-28 - The Pearl Of Great Price
A search for this pearl of great price has occupied men in every age. Job compares it with the search of the miner for the hidden treasures of the earth, Job 28:1-12. This paragraph should be read in the r.v. The shaft into the earth, the miner's exile from the cheerful haunts of human life, his exposure to dangers from foul air, water, and the falling-in of the mine, the binding up of the streams, are vividly portrayed. But the miner perseveres through all till he obtains his golden spoil. Would that we were as persistent in our quest for the knowledge of God! Paul was a great miner; he went down into caverns of pain and sorrow, that he might bring to light the treasures of God's wisdom and love.
Only God knows God, Job 28:23. In the depths of His nature, dark with excess of light but hidden from the falcon's eye of human genius, are both knowledge and understanding. He waits to reveal these things to babes, saying, "Fear God, and you will be wise. Depart from evil, and you will understand," Job 28:28. Christ is the Word and the Wisdom of God, 1 Corinthians 1:24. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 28

1  There is a knowledge of natural things
12  But wisdom is an excellent gift of God

What do the individual words in Job 28:13 mean?

not does know Man its value nor is it found in the land of the living
לֹא־ יָדַ֣ע אֱנ֣וֹשׁ עֶרְכָּ֑הּ וְלֹ֥א תִ֝מָּצֵ֗א בְּאֶ֣רֶץ הַֽחַיִּֽים

יָדַ֣ע  does  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
אֱנ֣וֹשׁ  Man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
עֶרְכָּ֑הּ  its  value 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עֵרֶךְ  
Sense: order, row, estimate, things that are set in order, layer, pile.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִ֝מָּצֵ֗א  is  it  found 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַֽחַיִּֽים  of  the  living 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.