28:17 Neither gold nor crystal 1 can be compared with it,
nor can a vase 2 of gold match its worth.
28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;
the price 3 of wisdom is more than pearls. 4
28:19 The topaz of Cush 5 cannot be compared with it;
it cannot be purchased with pure gold.
1 tn The word is from זָכַךְ (zakhakh, “clear”). It describes a transparent substance, and so “glass” is an appropriate translation. In the ancient world it was precious and so expensive.
2 tc The MT has “vase”; but the versions have a plural here, suggesting jewels of gold.
3 tn The word מֶשֶׁךְ (meshekh) comes from a root meaning “to grasp; to seize; to hold,” and so the derived noun means “grasping; acquiring; taking possession,” and therefore, “price” (see the discussion in R. Gordis, Job, 309). Gray renders it “acquisition” (so A. Cohen, AJSL 40 [1923/24]: 175).
4 tn In Lam 4:7 these are described as red, and so have been identified as rubies (so NIV) or corals.
5 tn Or “Ethiopia.” In ancient times this referred to the region of the upper Nile, rather than modern Ethiopia (formerly known as Abyssinia).