Job 28:4

The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant,.... Or, "so that there is no inhabitant" (z); of the mine, as the miner may be said to be, who lives there continually; and, when a flood of water arises,

The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.

This verse speaks either, 1. Of another great and remarkable work of God, whereby in some places either new rivers break forth, or old rivers break in upon the inhabitants, and drive them away; and in other places rivers or other waters are dried up, or derived into other channels or grounds, by which means these lands are rendered more useful and fruitful. Or rather, 2. Of an accident which commonly happens in mines, where, whilst men are digging, a flood of waters breaks in suddenly and violently upon them, and disturbs them in their work. From the inhabitant, Heb. from with the inhabitant, i.e. out of that part of the earth which the miners in a manner inhabit, or where they have their fixed abode, and for the most part dwell. Or, so that there is no inhabitant or abider, i.e. so that the miners dare continue there no longer, but are forced to come away. Even the waters; which word is easily and fitly understood out of the foregoing word flood. Or without this supplement, the flood may be said to be forgotten, &c., that singular word being collectively taken, and so conveniently joined with this word of the plural number. Forgotten of the foot, i.e. untrodden by the foot of man, such waters as men either never did pass over, by reason of their depth, cannot pass over; or such as though the miners at first for a while did pass over, yet now cannot, or dare not, do so any more. Forgetfulness is here ascribed to the foot, as it is to the hand, ; and it is put for ignorance or unacquaintedness; as all sinners are said to forget God, though many of them never remembered nor minded him. They are dried up, they are gone away from men; Heb. they are dried up (or drawn up, to wit, by engines made for that purpose) from men, (i.e. from the miners, that they may not be hindered in their work. Or, with or by men, the prefix mem being oft put for beth, i.e. by the labour of men,) they remove or vanish, or pass away, and so the miners return to their work.

Job 28:4 The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; [even the waters] forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men.Ver. 4. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant] Broughton rendereth it, from the spring. Others, Erumpit fluvius iuxta accolam, A river breaketh out near to the inhabitant; that is, to the miner, who is forced to leave the place, till by buckets, wheels, and other fit devices, the pits be cleared, so that they may start working again. Illae ergo utribus praegrandibus ex multis bovum coriis consutis indefesso labore exhauriuntur, adhibitis ad eam rem rotis et machinis idoneis (Merl.). Even the waters forgotten of the foot] Broughton, Unkenned of any foot. Brentius, Quas nemo pedibus vadare possit. Unfordable waters, deep and dangerous. To which purpose also the Tigurines translate the following words (They are dried up, &c.) thus, Superant etiam hominis staturam, et qui poterant vadari? They are above the height of a man, and how could they be waded through? But better, They are dried up, &c.] Heb. They are drawn up, or diminished. They are gone away from men] Mortalis opera (Trem.); by such means as men use, and are unweariable. Kερδαινοντεςουκοπιωμεν, saith a Greek father, What pains will not men take for gain and emolument? Per mare pauperiem fugiunt, per saxa, per ignes (Horat.).

(4) The flood breaketh out . . . is very uncertain. We may render, Man breaketh open a shaft where none sojourneth; they are forgotten where none passeth by: i.e., the labourers in these deserted places, they hang afar from the haunts of men, they flit to and fro. Or it may be, The flood breaketh out from the inhabitants, even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from man: that is, the very course of rivers is subject to the will and power of man. Those who walk over the place forget that it was once a river, so completely has man obliterated the marks of it.

Verse 4. The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant] This passage is very difficult. Some think it refers to mining; others to navigation. If it refer to the former, it may be intended to point out the waters that spring up when the miners have sunk down to a considerable depth, so that the mine is drowned, and they are obliged to give it up. Previously to the invention of the steam-engine this was generally the case: hence ancient mines may be reopened and worked to great advantage, because we have the means now to take off the water which the ancient workers had not. When, therefore, floods break out in those shafts, they are abandoned; and thus they are, Forgotten of the foot] No man treads there any more. The waters increase דלו dallu, they are elevated, they rise up to a level with the spring, or till they meet with some fissure by which they can escape; and thence מאנוש נעו meenosh nau, they are moved or carried away from men; the stream is lost in the bowels of the earth. Mr. Peters thinks that both this verse, and Job 9:26, refer to navigation, then in a state of infancy; for the sea is not so much as mentioned; but נחל nachal, a torrent or flood, some river or arm of the sea perhaps of a few leagues over, which, dividing the several nations, must interrupt their hospitality and commerce with each other, unless by the help of navigation. According to this opinion the verse may be translated and paraphrased thus: The flood-rivers and arms of the sea - separateth from the stranger, מעם גר meim gar, divides different nations and peoples: they are forgotten of the foot - they cannot walk over these waters, they must embark in vessels; then they dwindle away, דלו dallu, from the size of men, that is, in proportion to their departure from the land they lessen on the sight; נעו nau, they are tossed up and down, namely, by the action of the waves. This receives some countenance from the psalmist's fine description, Psalms 107:26-27, of a ship in a rough sea: They mount up to heaven; they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, ינועו yanuu, (the same word as above,) they stagger like a drunken man. Mr. Good's translation is singular: - He breaketh up the veins from the matrice, Which, though thought nothing of under the foot, Are drawn forth, are brandished among mankind. This learned man thinks that it applies solely to mining, of which I cannot doubt; and therefore I adopt the first interpretation: but as to agreement among translators, it will be sought in vain. I shall just add Coverdale: With the ryver of water parteth he a sunder the straunge people, that knoweth no good neighbourheade; such as are rude, unmannerly, and boysterous.

4. This verse reads as a whole, They break a shaft away from man’s abode; They are forgotten of the foot; Far away from men they hang, and swing. The first clause, lit. away from the dweller or inhabitant, describes how the miners sink their shaft deep down below and away from the abode of men above. There they are forgotten by the foot of those overhead, who walk oblivious of them. And the last clause describes how they “hang and swing,” i.e. swing suspended in cages or from ropes as they pursue their unnatural operations— half way down Hangs one that gathers samphire—dreadful trade.

The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant - It would be difficult to tell what idea our translators affixed to this sentence, though it seems to be a literal version of the Hebrew.

4. The flood — “Cimmerian darkness,” to use the words of Schultens, surrounds this verse.