The Meaning of Job 28:6 Explained

Job 28:6

KJV: The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold.

YLT: A place of the sapphire are its stones, And it hath dust of gold.

Darby: The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath dust of gold.

ASV: The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The stones  of it [are] the place  of sapphires:  and it hath dust  of gold. 

What does Job 28:6 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 28:6 mean?

The source of sapphires Its stones [are] and [contains] dust gold it
מְקוֹם־ סַפִּ֥יר אֲבָנֶ֑יהָ וְעַפְרֹ֖ת זָהָ֣ב לֽוֹ

מְקוֹם־  The  source 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָקֹום  
Sense: standing place, place.
סַפִּ֥יר  of  sapphires 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: סַפִּיר  
Sense: sapphire, lapis lazuli.
אֲבָנֶ֑יהָ  Its  stones  [are] 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
וְעַפְרֹ֖ת  and  [contains]  dust 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
זָהָ֣ב  gold 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זָהָב  
Sense: gold.