Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job acknowledges the common wisdom found in elders, yet immediately pivots to emphasize that this human understanding, gained through years, is still limited when contrasted with God's perfect, eternal wisdom. This sets up his bold claim that even the "ancient" (humanity) doesn't hold a candle to the "Ancient of Days" (God) when it comes to true knowledge.
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job has been listening to his friends, particularly Bildad, insist that suffering is always a consequence of sin, and they’ve urged him to remember what the elders and fathers have always taught. Here, Job acknowledges this common saying that wisdom and understanding come with age, but he’s about to use it to pivot towards a much greater wisdom—God’s—which far surpasses human experience. He’s conceding a point to his friends but preparing to show how their reliance on human tradition falls short of divine truth.
We often hear that older people are wiser. What does this verse say about the connection between age and understanding?
Job acknowledges a common truth: wisdom and understanding are often found in those who have lived long lives. This isn't automatic, but gained through the trials, errors, and observations that come with extensive experience.
Experience as a Teacher
This is the wisdom of the 'ancients' – those who have walked the path and can offer insights from their journey.
If wisdom comes with age, why did Job's 'wise' friends get it so wrong? This verse contains a subtle warning.
While Job concedes that wisdom is often found in the aged, he implies this isn't an absolute rule, nor is human wisdom the final word. His friends, who are older, are relying on tradition and their own accumulated knowledge, but they are failing to understand God's perspective.
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The Limits of Human Wisdom
Job is gently pushing back, suggesting that while his friends' age gives their words some weight, it doesn't make them infallible, especially when God's justice is on trial.
Understand the original words
chokmah · Hebrew Noun
Broadly, the ability to discern, perceive, and act according to God’s perspective. It involves both intellectual knowledge and practical, godly living rooted in the fear of the Lord.
binah · Hebrew Noun
The insight, discernment, or intelligence required to comprehend complex matters or spiritual realities; the ability to "see" into the nature of things.
This proverb echoes the sentiment that the elderly gain wisdom through their long lives, highlighting the value of experience and seasoned counsel.
Ecclesiastes 4:13This passage contrasts the wisdom of an elder with the folly of a young, inexperienced ruler, reinforcing the idea that age often brings valuable insight, though it's not guaranteed.
Job 15:10Here, Eliphaz directly challenges Job by referencing the wisdom of the aged, showing how this proverb was commonly used and appealed to in their discussions about wisdom and experience.
1 Kings 12:6-8This story illustrates the potential failure of age to guarantee wisdom, as the older counselors gave poor advice to Rehoboam, underscoring Job's subtle point that age doesn't automatically equate to divine truth.
bensonJob 12:12: "With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding."
Job 12:12 . With the ancient is wisdom — These words contain a concession of what Bildad had said ( Job 8:8-9 ,) and a joining with him in that appeal; but withal, an intimation that this wisdom was but imperfect, and liable to many mistakes; and indeed mere ignorance and folly, if compared with the divine wisdom, of which he speaks in the following verses. And therefore that antiquity ought not to be received against…
clarkeJob 12:12: "With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding."
With the ancient is wisdom - Men who have lived in those primitive times, when the great facts of nature were recent, such as the creation, fall, flood, confusion of tongues, migration of families, and consequent settlement of nations, had much knowledge from those facts; and their length of days - the many hundreds of years to which they lived, gave them such an opportunity of accumulating wisdom by experience, that…
Job acknowledges the common wisdom found in elders, yet immediately pivots to emphasize that this human understanding, gained through years, is still limited when contrasted with God's perfect, eternal wisdom. This sets up his bold claim that even the "ancient" (humanity) doesn't hold a candle to the "Ancient of Days" (God) when it comes to true knowledge.
Job has been listening to his friends, particularly Bildad, insist that suffering is always a consequence of sin, and they’ve urged him to remember what the elders and fathers have always taught. Here, Job acknowledges this common saying that wisdom and understanding come with age, but he’s about to use it to pivot towards a much greater wisdom—God’s—which far surpasses human experience. He’s conceding a point to his friends but preparing to show how their reliance on human tradition falls short of divine truth.
Job has been listening to his friends, particularly Bildad, insist that suffering is always a consequence of sin, and they’ve urged him to remember what the elders and fathers have always taught. Here, Job acknowledges this common saying that wisdom and understanding come with age, but he’s about to use it to pivot towards a much greater wisdom—God’s—which far surpasses human experience. He’s conceding a point to his friends but preparing to show how their reliance on human tradition falls short of divine truth.
"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days." — Job acknowledges the common wisdom found in elders, yet immediately pivots to emphasize that this human understanding, gained through years, is still limited when contrasted with God's perfect, etern…
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Last reviewed October 2026