What Does Job 28:18 Mean in the King James?
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Wisdom outweighs rubies because it is a practiced way of discerning life, not a treasure you can own.
THE MEANING
Even the rarest things you can name fall short of wisdom’s worth. The Hebrew word חָכְמָה (ḥokhmāh, wisdom) also carries the sense of skillful discernment, presenting wisdom as a capacity for perceiving and acting, not a luxury that can be bought.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that possessing the rarest or most expensive things means possessing what matters most.
THE ROOT
חָכְמָה
ḥokhmāh
GROWS FROM
חכם
ḥ-k-m
To be wise or skillful.
The root appears in חָכָם (ḥākām), meaning “wise” or “skilled,” and in the description “wise-hearted” for artisans. Wisdom carries the texture of practiced discernment, something exercised, not a jewel-like possession.
ALSO GROWS
ḥākām: A wise or skillful person.
חָכָם
The same root can describe practical skill, showing that wisdom includes discernment brought into action.
ḥakhmei-lev: People described as wise-hearted and skilled in making sacred garments (Exodus 28:3).
חַכְמֵי־לֵב
This branch joins wisdom with skilled making, giving the verse’s wisdom a lived, practiced quality.
THE PATTERN
Wisdom’s worth becomes clear when it outweighs the material treasures people prize.
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.THE THREAD
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.The word חָכְמָה (ḥokhmāh, wisdom) appears in both verses, from חכם (ḥ-k-m), meaning “to be wise or skillful.” Job 28:28 locates that wisdom in awe of the LORD and turning from evil, opening the jewel comparison onto a lived discernment rather than a possession.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us