Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

Ver. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust] Which is as much as to say, saith one, Thou shalt make pavements of gold. See 2Ch 1:15 Psalms 68:30. Then shalt thou have thy desire; for thou shalt be rich with content, which is worth a million, as another paraphraseth it. Beza rendereth it thus: Cast thy gold on the ground (even that worldly wealth, whereto thou hast been wholly addicted), and let the gold of Ophir be unto thee as the pebble stones of the brooks (make no more account of it than of those small stones), and let the Almighty be thy tower, let him be unto thee as plenty of silver. The Spaniards are said to have found in the mines of America more gold than earth. Perhaps Eliphaz here promiseth Job, that upon his return to God his land should have many rich veins of gold. And so Senault paraphraseth this text thus, Then shall you acquit yourself of all your losses, and you shall recover with usury what was taken from you; for, for barren lands, which could bring forth nothing, you shall have such as in their entrails shall produce porphyry; and instead of those unprofitable rocks which made a part of your estate, you shall have fertile mines, from whence shall issue rivers of gold. Agreeable whereunto is that exposition of Brentius, Reponetur pro pulvere aurum, pro vili preciosure, pro fluviis arenam trahentibus torrentes aureis lapillis impleti, Thou shalt have for dust gold, for vile things those that are precious, for sandy rivers golden torrents. A hyperbolic expression.

And the gold of Ophir] Where the best gold grew. Possibly the same with Peru, the letters only transposed. Ophir, Genesis 10:29, was one of the sons of Joktan, who came from Shem, from whom, saith Josephus, a country in India, abounding with gold, had its name. Hine aurum obrizum dictum, quasi Ophirizum. Ophir is here put for the gold of Ophir; for the word gold is not in the original.

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