What is the meaning of Job 28:7? No bird of prey knows that path “ No bird of prey knows that path” (Job 28:7a) • Job pictures a secluded way that even the keenest hunter of the skies can’t discover. The image emphasizes how utterly hidden true wisdom is from mere creatures. • Birds of prey—eagles, vultures, hawks—soar high, scan vast stretches of land, and locate the smallest movement below. Yet God says there is a path they simply “do not know.” • This echoes verses like Psalm 147:5, “His understanding has no limit,” and Isaiah 40:13–14, where no created being can chart the Lord’s counsel. • The verse underscores Proverbs 2:6, “For the LORD gives wisdom.” No matter how gifted, clever, or observant, creation cannot reach God’s wisdom unaided. • The wording reminds us that the path exists; it isn’t imaginary. It belongs to God and is therefore inaccessible to creatures unless He chooses to reveal it (James 1:5; 1 Corinthians 2:10). no falcon’s eye has seen it “ no falcon’s eye has seen it” (Job 28:7b) • If the first clause stresses ignorance, this one stresses invisibility. Even the falcon—famed for the sharpest eyesight in the animal kingdom—has never caught a glimpse of this route. • The falcon’s eyesight is proverbially superior to human sight, yet it still cannot perceive what lies within God’s secret counsel (Deuteronomy 29:29). • Together the two clauses slam shut any confidence that observation or empirical study alone can reach divine wisdom. Compare Proverbs 25:2: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.” • The imagery anticipates 1 Corinthians 1:25, where God’s wisdom outstrips the “wisdom of the world.” • Practically, Job nudges us toward humility and dependence: we need revelation, not simply perception (Psalm 119:18). summary Job 28:7 paints wisdom’s path as entirely beyond the reach of the sharpest creatures. The most skilled observer (the bird of prey) and the keenest vision (the falcon) fall short. Only God both knows and reveals this hidden way. Our response is to seek Him, trust His Word, and receive the wisdom He freely offers through revelation rather than mere human ability. |
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