Bible Dictionary
Mine
Mining is the extraction of metals and minerals from the earth. Job gives a poetic description of ancient mining shafts and the search for precious materials.
Definition
Mining is the process of opening shafts and extracting mineral wealth from the earth. The biblical description includes breaking open a shaft away from inhabited places and working at a distance from ordinary human traffic.
Biblical Usage
Job 28:1–11 provides a poetic description of ancient mining operations. Moses also speaks of the mineral wealth of Palestine.
Historical Background
The description suggests shafts and difficult underground work in search of precious materials. The Revised Version preserves the sense of miners working apart from places where people lived.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The process of mining is described in Job 28:1-11. Moses speaks of the mineral wealth of Palestine (Deut. 8:9). Job 28:4 is rightly thus rendered in the Revised Version, “He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot [that passeth by]; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” These words illustrate ancient mining operations.