Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
With the ancient is wisdom - With the aged. The word ׁׁ yâshı̂ysh used here, means an old man, one gray-headed. It is used chiefly in poetry, and is commonly employed in the sense of one who is decrepit by age. It is rendered "very aged" in Job 15:10; "him that stooped for age." II Chronicles 36:17; "very old," Job 32:6; and "the aged," Job 29:8 The Septuagint renders it, ̓ ͂ͅ ́ͅ En pollō chronō "in much time." The sense is, that wisdom might be expected to be found with the man who had had a long opportunity to observe the course of events; who had conversed with a former generation, and who had had time for personal reflection. This was in accordance with the ancient Oriental views, where knowledge was imparted mainly by tradition, and where wisdom depended much on the opportunity of personal observation; compare Job 32:7.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Job 12:12:
Job 12:4
Job 15:10
Psalms 119:100
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