(24) The gold of Ophir.--And, moreover, that the wealth for which he was so famous among the children of the East was the accumulation of iniquity and wrong-doing. The sense probably is, "Put thy treasure on a level with the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks": that is, reckon it of no more value than such stones; do not set thine heart upon it. The situation of Ophir has always been a matter of dispute. Josephus placed it in India (Antt. viii. 6, ? 4), as do some moderns; others suppose it to have been an Indian colony in Southern Arabia, and others have placed it on the east coast of Africa.
Verse 24. - Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust; rather, thenshalt thou lay thy treasure in the dust; i.e. hold it in slight esteem, because of its abundance. And the gold of Ophir (literally, and Ophir) shall be to thee as the stones of the brooks, (comp. 2 Chronicles 9:27, "And the king [i.e. Solomon] made silver in Jerusalem as stones"). "Ophir" stands, no doubt, for untold wealth, being the great gold- producing country (see 1 Kings 9:28; 1 Kings 10:11; 1 Kings 22:48; 1 Chronicles 29:41; Psalm 45:9; Isaiah 13:12). (On its location, see the article on "Ophir," in Smith's 'Dict. of the Bible,' vol 2. pp. 637-652, and compare the comment on Job 28:16.)
22:21-30 The answer of Eliphaz wrongly implied that Job had hitherto not known God, and that prosperity in this life would follow his sincere conversion. The counsel Eliphaz here gives is good, though, as to Job, it was built upon a false supposition that he was a stranger and enemy to God. Let us beware of slandering our brethren; and if it be our lot to suffer in this manner, let us remember how Job was treated; yea, how Jesus was reviled, that we may be patient. Let us examine whether there may not be some colour for the slander, and walk watchfully, so as to be clear of all appearances of evil.
Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,.... Have such plenty of it, as not to be counted:
and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks; which was reckoned the best, probably in Arabia; not in the East and West Indies, which were not known to Job; though some take this to be an exhortation to despise riches, and as a dissuasion from covetousness, rendering the words, "put gold upon the dust", or earth (i), and trample upon it, as a thing not esteemed by thee, as Sephorno interprets it; make no more account of it than of the dust of the earth; let it be like dirt unto thee, "and among the stones of the brooks", Ophir (k); that is, the gold of Ophir, reckon no more of it, though the choicest gold, than the stones of the brook; or thus, "put gold for dust, and the gold of Ophir for the flint of the brooks" (l); esteem it no more than the dust of the earth, or as flint stones; the latter clause I should choose rather to render, "and for a flint the rivers of Ophir", or the golden rivers, from whence the gold of Ophir was; and it is notorious from historians, as Strabo (m) and others, that gold is taken out of rivers; and especially from the writers of the history of the West Indies (n).
(i) "pone aurum super pulverem", Codurcus; "in pulvere aurum", Cocceius; "abjice humi aurum", Beza; so Grotius. (k) "et inter saxa torrentium Ophir", Codurcus. (l) "Pro rupe aurum Ophirinum", Junius & Tremellius; so Schultens. (m) Geograph. l. 11. p. 344. (n) Pet. Martyr. Decad. 3. l. 4.
and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks; which was reckoned the best, probably in Arabia; not in the East and West Indies, which were not known to Job; though some take this to be an exhortation to despise riches, and as a dissuasion from covetousness, rendering the words, "put gold upon the dust", or earth (i), and trample upon it, as a thing not esteemed by thee, as Sephorno interprets it; make no more account of it than of the dust of the earth; let it be like dirt unto thee, "and among the stones of the brooks", Ophir (k); that is, the gold of Ophir, reckon no more of it, though the choicest gold, than the stones of the brook; or thus, "put gold for dust, and the gold of Ophir for the flint of the brooks" (l); esteem it no more than the dust of the earth, or as flint stones; the latter clause I should choose rather to render, "and for a flint the rivers of Ophir", or the golden rivers, from whence the gold of Ophir was; and it is notorious from historians, as Strabo (m) and others, that gold is taken out of rivers; and especially from the writers of the history of the West Indies (n).
(i) "pone aurum super pulverem", Codurcus; "in pulvere aurum", Cocceius; "abjice humi aurum", Beza; so Grotius. (k) "et inter saxa torrentium Ophir", Codurcus. (l) "Pro rupe aurum Ophirinum", Junius & Tremellius; so Schultens. (m) Geograph. l. 11. p. 344. (n) Pet. Martyr. Decad. 3. l. 4.