“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?
They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains.
Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.
“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, He searches after every green thing.
“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?
Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?
Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?
“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the feathers and plumage of love?
For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,
and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.
She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.
When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.
He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.
He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.
The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.
He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.
His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 29 After he had declared God’s works in the heavens,…
After he had declared God’s works in the heavens, he showeth his marvelous providence in earth, even toward the brute beasts.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–30 Job 39:1 Knowest thou the time when the wild…
Job 39:1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? [or] canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
Ver. 1. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?] The history of the living creatures is of singular use we see to set forth the goodness, power, wisdom, and other of God’s attributes clearly shining in them. And therefore they have very well deserved all sorts who have put forth such histories and discourses; as Aristotle, Aelian, Pliny, Gesner, Aldobrandinus, &c., of whom I may say, as once Eneas Sylvius (afterwards Pope Plus II.) did of learning in general, that popular men should esteem them as silver, noblemen as gold, princes as pearls; and not so slenderly reward them as Pope Sixtus did Theodorus Gaza (who translated and dedicated unto him Aristotle, De Natura Animalium), paying him only for the rich binding and bossing forty crowns; but bountifully encourage them, as Great Alexander did his master Aristotle for that same work; he gave him, saith the history, eight hundred talents, which is four hundred and fourscore thousand crowns (Job. Manl. loc. com. 572). The pleasure of reading such authors is not so great as the profit; for thereby we may attain to the knowledge of God, and of ourselves; of his will, and our duties. Hence we are sent to school to the unreasonable creatures, even the most contemptible, as the pismire, Pro 6:6. And Basil, writing to one that was proud of his knowledge, propoundeth unto him divers questions concerning this same pismire, as, namely, how many feet he hath? whether he hath entrails, such as kidneys, liver, heart, veins, nerves, as other living creatures do? &c. Similarly, God here, to humble Job, and to convince him of his meanness, asketh him whether he knoweth the wild goats and hinds, with the time of their bringing forth young, the means and the manner? &c. And whether these things were done by his ordination and vigilance? Many admirable things are written of these wild goats; as what cold places they live in, what inaccessible rocks, how strangely there they hang, what huge leaps they fetch; but especially about their bringing forth, how by a natural sagacity they help themselves, both before and after, by biting upon certain herbs that are helpful to them in that case,
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Pendentem summa capream de rupe videbis
Casuram speres, decipit illa canes (Mart.).
These things and many more such may be read about in Pliny’s Natural History; of which book Erasmus well saith, that it is a store house, or rather a world full of things most worthy to be read. So are not the Jewish expositors, who tell us many strange things here concerning these creatures, quae commentitia esse puto, which I take to be mere fictions, saith learned Mercer; and I to be trifles and old wives’ fables, saith Lavater, to the belief whereof they are justly given up by God for their rejection of Christ, the light of the world. We grant that the whole world is full of miracles, though for the commonness of them they are little noted, or noticed. But should these men think to help the truth by their lies? Should they speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him?
Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?] Which they do not without a great deal of pain (as the Hebrew word importeth), no creature the like, unless it be woman. God sometimes frighteth them by his thunder, and so furthereth their delivery, Psa 29:9, while they struggle with many griefs, and to give life to their calves, are in danger of losing their own. Now, if God help the hinds in this case, will he be wanting to his labouring daughters? Let them send for Lady Faith to be their midwife; and all shall go well. She hath delivered graves of their dead, Heb 11:35. How much more then will she them of their quick births, yea, though they carry death in their bowels!
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–30 Knowest thou the time, that thou mayst then go…
Knowest thou the time, that thou mayst then go to them, and afford them thy help in their hard work?
The wild goats of the rock; which dwell in high and steep rocks, where no man can come. See 1Sa 24:2; Psa 104:18.
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Bring forth; which they do with great difficulty, as is implied, Psa 29:9, and noted by philosophers, wherein they have no assistance from men, but only from God.
When the hinds do calve; when God by his secret instinct directs them to a certain herb called seseli, which, as naturalists report, doth hasten and help forward their birth.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 13, 19, 26 God here shows Job what little acquaintance he had…
God here shows Job what little acquaintance he had with the untamed creatures that run wild in the deserts and live at large, but are the care of the divine Providence. As,
I. The wild goats and the hinds. That which is taken notice of concerning them is the bringing forth and bringing up of their young ones. For, as every individual is fed, so every species of animals is preserved, by the care of the divine Providence, and, for aught we know, none extinct to this day. Observe here, 1. Concerning the production of their young, (1.) Man is wholly ignorant of the time when they bring forth, Job 39:1, Job 39:2. Shall we pretend to tell what is in the womb of Providence, or what a day will bring forth, who know not the time of the pregnancy of a hind or a wild goat? (2.) Though they bring forth their young with a great deal of difficulty and sorrow, and have no assistance from man, yet, by the good providence of God, their young ones are safely produced, and their sorrows cast out and forgotten, Job 39:3. Some think it is intimated (Psa 29:9) that God by thunder helps the hinds in calving. Let it be observed, for the comfort of women in labour, that God helps even the hinds to bring forth their young; and shall he not much more succour them, and save them in child-bearing, who are his children in covenant with him? 2. Concerning the growth of their young, (Job 39:4): They are in good liking; though they are brought forth in sorrow, after their dams have suckled them awhile they shift for themselves in the corn-fields, and are no more burdensome to them, which is an example to children, when they have grown up, not to be always hanging upon their parents and craving from them, but to put forth themselves to get their own livelihood and to requite their parents.
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II. The wild ass, a creature we frequently read of in Scripture, some say untameable. Man is said to be born as the wild ass's colt, so hard to be governed. Two things Providence has allotted to the wild ass: - 1. An unbounded liberty (Job 39:5): Who but God has sent out the wild ass free? He has given a disposition to it, and therefore a dispensation for it. The tame ass is bound to labour; the wild ass has no bonds on him. Note, Freedom from service, and liberty to range at pleasure, are but the privileges of a wild ass. It is a pity that any of the children of men should covet such a liberty, or value themselves on it. It is better to labour and be good for something than ramble and be good for nothing. But if, among men, Providence sets some at liberty and suffers them to live at ease, while others are doomed to servitude, we must not marvel at the matter: it is so among the brute-creatures. 2. An unenclosed lodging (Job 39:6): Whose house I have made the wilderness, where he has room enough to traverse his ways, and snuff up the wind at his pleasure, as the wild ass is said to do (Jer 2:24), as if he had to live upon the air, for it is the barren land that is his dwelling. Observe, The tame ass, that labours, and is serviceable to man, has his master's crib to go to both for shelter and food, and lives in a fruitful land: but the wild ass, that will have his liberty, must have it in a barren land. He that will not labour, let him not eat. He that will shall eat the labour of his hands, and have also to give to him that needs. Jacob, the shepherd, has good red pottage to spare, when Esau, a sportsman, is ready to perish for hunger. A further description of the liberty and livelihood of the wild ass we have, Job 39:7, Job 39:8. (1.) He has no owner, nor will he be in subjection: He scorns the multitude of the city. If they attempt to take him, and in order to that surround him with a multitude, he will soon get clear of them, and the crying of the driver is nothing to him. He laughs at those that live in the tumult and bustle of cities (so bishop Patrick), thinking himself happier in the wilderness; and opinion is the rate of things. (2.) Having no owner, he has no feeder, nor is any provision made for him, but he must shift for himself: The range of the mountains is his pasture, and a bare pasture it is; there he searches after here and there a green thing, as he can find it and pick it up; whereas the labouring asses have green things in plenty, without their searching for them. From the untameableness of this and other creatures we may infer how unfit we are to give law to Providence, who cannot give law even to a wild ass's colt.
III. The unicorn - rhem, a strong creature (Num 23:22), a stately proud creature, Psa 112:10. He is able to serve, but not willing; and God here challenges Job to force him to it. Job expected every thing should be just as he would have it. "Since thou dost pretend" (says God) "to bring every thing beneath thy sway, begin with the unicorn, and try thy skill upon him. Now that thy oxen and asses are all gone, try whether he will be willing to serve thee in their stead (Job 39:9) and whether he will be content with the provision thou usedst to make for them: Will he abide by thy crib? No;" 1. "Thou canst not tame him, nor bind him with his band, nor set him to draw the harrow," Job 39:10. There are creatures that are willing to serve man, that seem to take a pleasure in serving him, and to have a love for their masters; but there are such as will never be brought to serve him, which is the effect of sin. Man has revolted from his subjection to his Maker, and is therefore justly punished with the revolt of the inferior creatures from their subjection to him; and yet, as an instance of God's good-will to man, there are some that are still serviceable to him. Though the wild bull (which some think is meant here by the unicorn) will not serve him, nor submit to his hand in the furrows, yet there are tame bullocks that will, and other animals that are not ferae naturae - of a wild nature, in whom man may have a property, for whom he provides, and to whose service he is entitled. Lord, what is man, that thou art thus mindful of him? 2. "Thou darest not trust him; though his strength is great, yet thou wilt not leave thy labour to him, as thou dost with thy asses or oxen, which a little child may lead or drive, leaving to them all the pains. Thou wilt never depend upon the wild bull, as likely to come to thy harvest-work, much less to go through it, to bring home thy seed and gather it into thy barn," Job 39:11, Job 39:12. And, because he will not serve about the corn, he is not so well fed as the tame ox, whose mouth was not to be muzzled in treading out the corn; but therefore he will not draw the plough, because he that made him never designed him for it. A disposition to labour is as much the gift of God as an ability for it; and it is a great mercy if, where God gives strength for service, he gives a heart; it is what we should pray for, and reason ourselves into, which the brutes cannot do; for, as among beasts, so among men, those may justly be reckoned wild and abandoned to the deserts who have no mind either to take pains or to do good.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–30 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of…
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?.... Which creatures are so called, because they dwell among the rocks (d) and run upon them; and though their heads are loaded with a vast burden of horns upon them, yet can so poise themselves, as with the greatest swiftness, to leap from mountain to mountain, as Pliny says (e): and if they bring forth their young in the rocks, as Olympiodorus asserts, and which is not improbable, it is not to be wondered, that the time of their bringing forth should not be known by men, to whom the rocks they run upon are inaccessible;
or canst thou mark the time when the hinds do calve? that is, precisely and exactly, and so as to direct, order, and manage, and bring it about, as the Lord does: and it is wonderful that they should calve, and not cast their young before their time, when they are continually in flight and fright, through men or wild beasts, and are almost always running and leaping about; and often scared with thunder, which hastens birth, Psa 29:9; otherwise the time of their bringing forth in general is known by men, as will be observed in Job 39:2.
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(d) "----Amantis saxa capellae". Ovid. Epist. 15. v. 55. (e) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53. Aelian. de Animal. l. 14. c. 16.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29 The more fully to convince Job of his ignorance,…
The more fully to convince Job of his ignorance, God here discourses, Of the wild goats and hinds, ver. 1-4. Of the wild ass, ver. 5-8. Of the unicorn, ver. 9-12. Of the peacock and ostrich, ver. 13-18. Of the horse, ver. 19-25. Of the hawk and eagle, ver, 26-30.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Several animals described: the wild goats and hinds, 1-4.
CHAPTER XXXIX
Several animals described: the wild goats and hinds, 1-4.
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The wild ass, 5-8.
The unicorn, 9-12.
The peacock and ostrich, 13-18.
The war-horse, 19-25.
The hawk, 26.
And the eagle and her brood, 27-30.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIX
Verse 1. Knowest thou the time] To know time, c., only, was easy, and has nothing extraordinary in it but the meaning of these questions is, to know the circumstances, which have something peculiarly expressive of God's providence, and make the questions proper in this place. Pliny observes, that the hind with young is by instinct directed to a certain herb, named seselis, which facilitates the birth. Thunder, also, which looks like the more immediate hand of Providence, has the same effect. Ps 29:9: "The VOICE of the Lord maketh the HINDS to CALVE." See Dr. YOUNG. What is called the wild goat, יעל yael, from עלה alah, to ascend, go or mount up, is generally understood to be the ibex or mountain goat, called yael, from the wonderful manner in which it mounts to the tops of the highest rocks. It is certain, says Johnston, there is no crag of the mountains so high, prominent or steep, but this animal will mount it in a number of leaps, provided only it be rough, and have protuberances large enough to receive its hoofs in leaping. This animal is indigenous to Arabia, is of amazing strength and agility, and considerably larger than the common goat. Its horns are very long, and often bend back over the whole body of the animal; and it is said to throw itself from the tops of rocks or towers, and light upon its horns, without receiving any damage. It goes five months with young.
When the hinds do calve?] The hind is the female of the stag, or cervus elaphus, and goes eight months with young. They live to thirty-five or forty years. Incredible longevity has been attributed to some stags. One was taken by Charles VI., in the forest of Senlis, about whose neck was a collar with this inscription, Caesar hoc mihi donavit, which led some to believe that this animal had lived from the days of some one of the twelve Caesars, emperors of Rome.
I have seen the following form of this inscription: -
Tempore quo Caesar Roma dominatus in alta
Aureolo jussit collum signare monili;
Ne depascentem quisquis me gramina laedat.
Caesaris heu! caussa periturae parcere vitae!
Which has been long public in the old English ballad strain, thus: -
"When Julius Caesar reigned king,
About my neck he put this ring;
That whosoever should me take
Would save my life for Caesar's sake."
Aristotle mentions the longevity of the stag, but thinks it fabulous.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 26, 27, 29 Job 39:1-2. Knowest thou the time when the wild…
Job 39:1-2. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock —
Which dwell in high and steep rocks, where no man can come; bring forth? — Which they do with great difficulty, as is implied, Psa 29:9, and observed by naturalists, and in which they have no help save from God only. “Vain man, who wouldest so fain pry into my secrets! Didst thou ever climb the rocks to see the wild goats bring forth? Or hast thou assisted at the hard labour of the hinds, and helped to ease them of their burdens?” Canst thou number the months that they fulfil, &c. — “Dost thou know the moment of their conception? Or keepest an account when they will be delivered?” — Patrick. The questions here, as Bochart argues, do not relate to a mere idle and speculative knowledge of the particular time when the wild goats bring forth, or the hinds calve, and the months they fulfil, (which by common observation might easily be found out,) but to the various circumstances thereof, and that divine and providential oversight and care by which God not only knows all things, but directs and governs them. For this reason, he supposes that the LXX interpreters render the clause, εφυλαξας δε ωδινας ελαφων, Hast thou observed, or guarded the bringing forth of the hinds? Without the custody of God, (as he argues,) who preserves with the utmost care whatever he has once created, this kind of wild goats must quickly fail, amidst the numberless dangers to which they are exposed, both from hunters and from savage beasts; not to mention how often the dams themselves bring their young into the utmost peril. To this he subjoins St. Chrysostom’s observation, namely, how properly the word εφυλαξας is here applied, because the wild goat being always on the flight, in fear and agony, continually leaping and prancing about; why does it not produce mere abortions, instead of bringing any of its young to maturity? No other reason can be assigned than the wonderful providence of God, in the preservation of the dams and their young. We have also an account, in Bochart, from Aristotle, Pliny, &c., of the pregnant hinds’ receiving great assistance in parturition from the herb seselis, to which they are directed by instinct, and the eating of which greatly forwards their delivery. To all which may be added what we read in Psa 29:9, concerning thunder, or the voice of the Lord, which יחולל אילות, jecholel, aijaloth, (the very words in our text,) maketh the hinds to calve: that is, (as the same learned writer observes,) among the many wonderful effects of thunder this is one, that those wild beasts, which with difficulty bring forth their young at other times, upon the hearing of it are immediately delivered; the terror they are thereby thrown into being so great as to have a strong effect on those parts which have need to be relaxed. See Chappelow.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–30 Knowest thou, the time when the wild goats of…
Knowest thou, the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? - That is, the particular season when the mountain goats bring forth their young. Of domestic animals - the sheep, the tame goat, etc., the habits would be fuIly understood. But the question here relates to the animals that roamed at large on inaccessible cliffs; that were buried in deep forests; that were far from the dwellings and observation of people; and the meaning is, that there were many facts in regard to such points of Natural History which Job could not explain. God knew all their instincts and habits, and on the inaccessible cliffs, in the deep dell, in the dark forest, he was with them, and they were the objects of his care. He not only regarded the condition of the domestic animals that had been brought into the service of man, and where man perhaps might be disposed to claim that they owed much of their comfort to his care, but he regarded also the wild, wandering beast of the mountain, where no such pretence could be advanced.
The providence of God is over them; and in the periods of their lives when they seem most to need attention, when every shepherd and herdsmen is most solicitous about his flocks and herds, then God is present, and his care is seen in their preservation. The particular point in the inquiry here is, not in regard to the time when these animals produced their young or the period of their gestation, which might probably be known, but in regard to the attention and care which was needful for them when they were so far removed from the observance of man, and had no human aid. The “wild goat of the rock” here referred to, is, doubtless, the Ibex, or mountain goat, that has its dwellings among the rocks, or in stony places. The Hebrew term is יעל yâ‛êl, from יעל ya‛al, “to ascend, to go up.” They had their residence in the lofty rocks of mountains; Psa 104:18. “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats.”
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Hebrew “For the goats of the rocks” - סלעים יעלים yâ‛êliym sela‛iym. So in 1Sa 24:2 (3), “Saul went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats;” that is, where were the wild goats - היעלים hayâ‛êliym. For a description of the wild goat, see Bochart, Hieroz. P. i. Lib. iii. c. xxiii. The animal here referred to is, doubtless, the same which Burckhardt saw on the summit of Mount Catharine, adjacent to Mount Sinai, and which he thus describes in his Travels in Syria, p. 571: “As we approached the summit of the mountain (Catharine, adjacent to Mount Sinai), we saw at a distance a small flock of mountain goats feeding among the rocks. One of our Arabs left us, and by a widely circuitous route endeavored to get to the leeward of them, and near enough to fire at them. He enjoined us to remain in sight of them, and to sit down in order not to alarm them. He had nearly reached a favorable spot behind a rock, when the goats suddenly took to flight. They could not have seen the Arab, but the wind changed, and thus they smelt him. The chase of the beden, as the wild goat is called, resembles that of the chamois of the Alps, and requires as much enterprise and patience. The Arabs make long circuits to surprise them, and endeavor to come upon them early in the morning, when they feed.
The goats have a leader who keeps watch, and on any suspicious smell, sound, or object, makes a noise, which is a signal to the flock to make their escape. They have much decreased of late, if we may believe the Arabs; who say that fifty years ago, if a stranger came to a tent, and the owner of it had no sheep to kill, he took his gun and went in search of a beden. They are, however, even now more common here than in the Alps, or in the mountains to the east of the Red Sea. I had three or four of them brought to me at the convent, which I bought at three-fourths of a dollar each. The flesh is excellent, and has nearly the same flavor as that of the deer. The Bedouins make water bags of their skins, and rings of their horns, which they wear on their thumbs. When the beden is met with in the plains, the dogs of the hunters easily catch him; but they cannot come up with him among the rocks, where he can make leaps of 20 feet.”
Or Canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? - The reference here is to the special care and protection of God manifested for them. The meaning is, that this animal seems to be always timid and apprehensive of danger, and that there is special care bestowed upon an animal so defenseless in enabling it to rear its young. The word hinds denotes the deer, the fawn, the most timid and defenseless, perhaps, of all animals.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 Goats (Ibex. Hebrew Yahale.; Haydock) frequent rocks, and places…
Goats (Ibex. Hebrew Yahale.; Haydock) frequent rocks, and places which are almost inaccessible to man. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 They bring forth with ease and do not need…
They bring forth with ease and do not need to reckon the months of pregnancy, as the shepherd does in the case of his flocks.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 β. The questions thus far propounded must have profoundly…
β. The questions thus far propounded must have profoundly impressed Job with a sense of his insignificance; another, and more important view of himself, he is now to take in the mirror of nature — a no less view than that of his consummate ignorance. His attention is again directed to the brute creation, and he is asked a few plain questions, perhaps in irony, concerning the laws that govern the gestation and birth of animals with which he must have been more or less familiar. These laws, he is made to feel, revolve in a sphere entirely independent of himself — the domain of divine forethought and arrangement; man can mark results, but knows not the secret principles which render the gestation of one animal longer, or its parturition less difficult, than that of another, Job_39:1-4.
1. Wild goats — The ibex, or rock-goat, (Hebrews, yaal, that is, climber,) was well known to the Jews, both in the Wilderness and in the Land of Promise. But, though familiar with the animal, they knew but little of its habits, owing to its extreme wariness and wildness.… In Arabia Petraea the ibex is very common. It is generally found in small herds of eight or ten. (Tristram, Natural History.) Canst thou mark when, etc. — Rather, observest thou the travail of the hinds? “The question here,” as Bochartus well observes, “is not of idle and merely speculative knowledge, but of that knowledge which belongs to God only, by which he not only knows all things, but directs and governs them.” Or, its object may be, in a most humiliating manner, to remind Job that the parturition of the mountain hind takes place without his foresight, intervention, or control. Thus, most moderns.
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Hinds — The female of the common stag. The reader is referred to Pliny’s Natural History, 8:32, for the views of the ancients on this whole subject.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 1. canst thou mark] Rather, dost thou. The goats…
1. canst thou mark] Rather, dost thou. The goats of the rock are the mountain goats, a species of chamois.
Ch. Job_39:1-4. The goats of the rock and the hinds.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 30 (4) They grow up with corn.—Or more probably, perhaps,…
XXXIX.
(4) They grow up with corn.—Or more probably, perhaps, in the open field, as the word means according to some.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–30 Vers. 1-30. This chapter completes the survey of animate…
Vers. 1-30. This chapter completes the survey of animate nature begun at Job_38:39. The habits and instincts of the wild goat, the wild ass, and wild cattle are first noticed (vers. 1-12); then a transition is made to the most remarkable of birds, the ostrich (vers. 13-18). Next, the horse is described, and, as it were, depicted, in a passage of extraordinary fire and brilliancy (vers. 19-25). Finally, a return is made to remarkable birds, and the habits of the hawk and eagle obtain mention (vers. 26-30). Throughout, the object is to show the infinite wisdom of God, and the utter incompetence of man to explain the mysteries of nature. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? The wild goats of Western Asia are of two kinds, the Capra segagrus, and the Asiatic ibex, or Capra Sinaitica. The latter is probably the animal hero intended, which is called yael sela, "the wild goat of the rocks," and was known to the Assyrians as ya-e-li. It is an animal with large rough horns curving backwards, closely allied to the steinbock, or bouquetin, of the Swiss and Tyrolian Alps. It is very shy and wild, difficult of approach, and inhabiting only the most rocky and desolate tracts of Syria and Arabia. Representations of the animal, which was hunted by the Assyrian kings, are common upon the Ninevite monuments (see "Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. p. 140). Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? "The hinds" here are probably the females of the species of ibex intended. The clause is therefore a mere repetition, in other words, of the preceding one.
Vers. 1-30. Jehovah to Job: the first answer the examination: 6. Concerning certain wild animals.
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I THE MOUNTAIN GOAT AND THE HIND. (Vers. 1-4)
1. The creatures intended. It is generally agreed that these are the steinbock, or ibex, and the stag. The former, inhabiting exclusively the more rocky and desolate parts of the country, possesses fore legs considerably shorter than its hinder, which enable it to ascend with more facility than to descend, and lead it, when pursued, to attempt to gain the summits of the mountains. In accordance with this peculiarity, it is interesting to note that Jehovah describes the animals as "rock-climbers.
2. The circumstance alluded to. This is not so much the secrecy of their gestation as the ease and facility with which they bring forth. "They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows," i.e. those things which cause their labour-pains, viz. their offspring; and these young animals thus easily born, though not without pain, "are in good liking," i.e. grow up lusty and strong, not by feeding upon corn, as the Authorized Version seems to imply, but in the open country, away from their dams, whom they early forsake, going forth and not returning unto them.
3. The question there anent. Jehovah asks Job if he knows the time when these mountain goats, or rock-climbers, bear, or can number the months that the hinds fulfil Clearly not designed to test the amount or accuracy of Job"s information concerning natural history, this interrogation seems as little meant to affirm that everything connected with the pregnancy of these creatures was a mystery. Its intention rather is to emphasize the fact that the whole process of conception and parturition is carded on with such admirable regularity, ease, and success, as to suggest the thought that it must be owing to the wise guidance and watchful care of some presiding mind. "Well" asks Jehovah, "whose is it? Is it thine, O Job? or is it not rather mine?
II THE WILD ASS (Vers. 5-8)
1. Its swiftness of foot. This characteristic is alluded to in the name pere. Consul Wetstein (quoted by Delitzsch) describes the wild ass as a dirty yellow creature with a white belly, single-hoofed and long-eared, its hornless head somewhat resembling that of a gazelle, though much larger, and its hair having the dryness of the hair of the deer. Like the wild ox, a large soft-eyed creature, horned and double-hoofed, it is remarkable for its swift running, which enables it to out-distance the fleetest rider.
2. Its love of freedom. This feature is referred to in the second name, "arod" which denotes its shyness and untamableness, and is further represented by depicting it and scorning the tumult of the city, i.e. as fleeing from the haunts of men, and regarding not the crying of the driver, i.e. refusing to be subjected to the yoke, as scouring the desert in its boundless independence, and finding for itself a home in the barren land or salt places, i.e. uncultivated and uncultivable regions.
3. Its means of support. The wild ass licks the natron of the desert, as "all wild animals that feed on plants have a partiality for licking salt" (Delitzsch); and in quest of herbage it roams to the uttermost limit of the mountains, "sniffing after every green thing
4. Its possession of a Master. This thought is suggested by Jehovah"s interrogations. "The wild ass loves liberty; but who made him free? Who loosed his bands? Who sent him forth to scour the plain and range the hills? Was it thou, O Job? or was it I? The wild ass scorns the yoke of the driver; but who inspired him with this indomitable instinct? Who taught him to lick the salt and crop the herb? Are not these my doings, O my censurer? Canst thou bind this ass that I have loosed? Canst thou set a yoke upon him as I do? Art thou able to give him food as I am, or to build for him a stall as I have done in the vast steppe? It is clear, then, that thou art not the master of a wild ass, much less of a world,
III THE UNICORN. (Vers. 9-12)
1. The name of the animal explained. The rem, which our translators have erroneously supposed to be a one-horned beast, was undoubtedly two-horned a wild, fierce, untamable brute, "resembling an ox as a wild ass resembles an ass" (Gesenius). Regarded by some commentators as the buffalo (Schultens, De Wette, Umbreit, Gesenius), though this animal "only came from India to Western Asia and Europe at a more recent date," and is besides "tamable" (Delitzsch), it is more probably to be identified with the Bos primigenius Tristram affirms that the rem was the urns of Caesar, the aueroch, of which "the nearest extant representative is the bison, which still lingers in the forests of Lithuania and the Caucasus" (Cox).
2. The strength of the animal described. This, with inimitable irony, Jehovah depicts by asking Job if he thought he could master this prodigious brute first drive him home like a peaceful ox to be shut up and fed within the narrow precincts of a stall, then take him out, as a farmer now does his horses, or then did his oxen, and yoke him to his wains or carts, setting him to plough his fields or draw home his harvest-sheaves.
IV THE OSTRICH. (Vers. 13-18)
1. The description of the bird. In this are noted three points:
(1) Its want of parental affection. "The wing of the ostrich female exulteth," i.e. vibrates briskly; "is she pious, wing and feather? the allusion being to the pious bird, the stork, which the ostrich resembles in its stilt-like structure, the beauty of its plumage, the quivering of its wings, and the gregarious habit of its life, but from which it differs in its lack of maternal affection. Depositing her eggs in the sand, where the foot of any passer-by may crush them, or they may fall a prey to jackals, wild cats, and other animals, although she does not entirely abandon the work of hatching them to the sun or her male companion, but also really incubates herself, at least during the night, yet, so easily is she startled from her nest, and so readily induced to forsake it, that she may be truthfully described as "hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers," and as being quite indifferent to the fact that her labour is without result. In consequence of this peculiarity, the hen ostrich is called by the Arabs "the wicked bird.
(2) Its remarkably defective intelligence. This is emphasized as the cause of the above-described unnatural behaviour of the bird. "God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding;" and yet that the above-described are not the only stupidities of which the creature is guilty may be reasonably inferred from the circumstance that the foolishness of the ostrich is quite proverbial throughout the East, as the Arab proverb indicates, "More stupid than an ostrich
(3) Its power of speedy flight. This also is certified by an Arab proverb, "Swifter than an ostrich," and is here poetically set forth with much beauty. Starting from her nest in alarm, and lifting up herself on high, i.e. as the language probably imports, flapping the air with her wings, "she scorneth the horse and his rider," leaving them behind her with perfect ease.
2. The reason of its introduction. Job"s attention appears to be directed to the ostrich to suggest the thought that here, too, in the world of birds, there are mysteries and seeming anomalies which he cannot understand. Why should the ostrich be so differently constituted from the stork? Why should it be devoid of intelligence and parental affection, while excelling most birds in speed of foot and beauty of wing? When Job can answer that, he will have a title to challenge God for making enigmas in human life, and dark problems in the moral history of earth.
V THE WAR-HORSE. (Vers. 19-25)
1. The poetical representation. The oldest description of the war-horse, it is also the most beautiful, the most brilliant, the most impressive that has in any language been penned. As Carlyle says, "Such a living likeness has never since been drawn," "It deserves the praise of majestic simplicity, which is the first feature of classic superiority" (Delitzsch). Ancient authors supply occasional touches which remind one of the language here employed (vide Exposition). In respect of fulness and accuracy of details, the present sketch stands unrivalled. So intensely vivid is the picturing, that the splendid beast appears to the imagination as a living, breathing reality, a richly caparisoned steed, a perfect model of physical strength and beauty, curveting and caracoling in the very exuberance of its animal spirits, pawing the ground in its impatience, snorting through its dilated nostrils, sniffing the battle from afar, bounding as with conscious exultation when the trumpet soundeth, at every blast thereof making known by a joyous neigh, as if it cried, "Ha, ha!" the fierceness of its lust for battle, advancing without a fear to meet an armed host, dashing in among the glancing spears, and shaking from its sides the rattling quiver.
2. The Divine meaning. It is easy enough to find sermonic uses for this piece of brilliant word-painting about the war-horse, as e.g. to derive from it lessons of courage in confronting difficulties, and enthusiasm in defying opposition; but the first question needing answer is For what specific object is it here introduced? and this was obviously to impress the mind of Job with a sense of his (and also man"s) weakness in comparison with God. Whence had such a noble creature as this war-horse sprung. Job had not produced its resistless strength, its heroic beauty, its visible terror, its indomitable courage, its fierce enthusiasm? Nay, what could Job or any other man do as against such a powerful animal? Well, if Job cannot contend with the war-horse, how unreasonable it must be to suppose that he can strive with him whose handiwork the war-horse is!
VI THE HAWK. (Ver. 26)
1. Its power of flight. The name netz denotes "the soaring one," the high-flyer, and "includes, besides the hawk proper, all raptorial birds" (Cox), "which, even including the shortest-winged, have great powers of flight, are remarkably enterprising, live to a great age, are migratory, or followers upon birds of passage" (Kitto"s "Cyclopaedia," art. "Netz"). "The rapidity with which the hawk and many other birds fly is probably not less than at the rate of a hundred and fifty miles an hour" (Robinson). The adaptation of a bird"s wing for flying is a singular instance of the Creator"s skill.
2. Its instinct of migration. Moved by a secret impulse, not received from or understood by man, the hawk stretches her wing, and seeks a sunny clime at every approach of winter. This also a striking evidence of creative intelligence.
VII THE EAGLE. (Vers. 27-30)
1. Its lofty flight. The king of birds, which closes the Divine picture-gallery of animals, as the king of quadrupeds opened it, "soareth aloft," its great strength of body and breadth of wing giving it power to sustain itself at a high elevation in the air.
2. Its inaccessible cyrie. Mounting upwards, "she buildeth her nest in the height, upon the crag or tooth of the rock" and fastness, and there, by reason of its remoteness, "she dwelleth and abideth" securely.
3. Its keen vision. From the cliff"s edge she can scan the depths below, looking far across the plain in search of food for herself and young ones. (cf. Job_28:7, Job_28:21)
4. Its sanguinary appetite. "Her young ones also suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she." In the East eagles follow armies in order to feed upon the corpses of the slain. (cf. Mat_24:28)
Learn:
1. That he can best describe the creatures who knows all about them, because he made them.
2. That every creature on the face of the earth has its peculiar nature, instincts, habitat, by Divine appointment.
3. That wherever God assigns dwelling to a creature, there also he provides means of subsistence.
4. That a large portion of the world"s beauty consists in the variety of animal-life which it supports.
5. That the study of zoology is fitted to convey important lessons concerning the power, wisdom, goodness, and sovereignty of God.
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 1-30. The creatures not dependent upon man.
We truly know that of man it is written, "Thou hast put all things under his feet;" and "We see not yet all things put under him." The creatures over whom dominion was given to man are not wholly submissive. And man must learn his littleness in presence of the great creatures of God whom he fails to subdue. "The wild goats" and "the hinds" and "the wild ass," "the unicorn," even "the ostrich," "the horse" and the birds of the air, "the hawk" and "the eagle," are all alike independent of man. They have neither their beauty nor their strength, their flight nor their instinct, from him. With all his knowledge, his skill, his inventiveness, his cunning, still the creatures are independent of him, though he is not independent of them. They can do without him, but not he without them. It is another step in the course of the humiliation through which the Lord is leading Job. Man may sling with the stone, or shoot with the arrow, or entrap with his skill, or train and conquer by his superior wisdom, yet is he miserably impotent in their presence. And most certainly they derive neither their life nor any of their powers from him. Shall vain man, then, contend with the Creator of all? Shall he whose are all things find him to whom none belong entering the lists with him? Shall he contend? shall he instruct? shall he reprove? and answer? Nay, verily. His place is tire dust, and to the dust God will humble him; and in doing so, he brings man into the presence of his many and beautiful and powerful creatures, and shows him how independent they are of him. This is the teaching of the entire chapter. Humility, therefore, is due
I BECAUSE MAN CANNOT CREATE ANY ONE OF THEM.
II BECAUSE THEY ARE INDEPENDENT OF MAN FOR THEIR CONTINUANCE AND SUSTENANCE.
III BECAUSE IN MANY OF THEIR POWERS THEY EXCEED THE MIGHT OF MAN, who cannot give them their speed, their strength, or their great beauty. How little is man amidst the wonders of the Divine hands! and how truly wise is be who, in presence of the divinely wrought creatures, bows down confessing, "How wonderful are all thy works, O Lord! R.G.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 19, 27 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of…
Job_39:1-4
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
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The study of zoology a religious duty
God is here represented as calling the attention of Job to various orders of animal life. Reasons for such study.
I. Because it gives to man a high revelation of God. Next to mental and moral philosophy, there is no subject in nature that gives us so high a view of God. There is more of Him seen in the humblest sentient creature than in the orbs of heaven, the billows of ocean, the flowers of the field, or the trees of the forest. In these creatures we discover sensation, self-motion, choice; and these are not merely Divine productions, but rather Divine emanations. Whilst I would not underrate the study of physics, chemistry, botany, astronomy, I hold that zoology is a grander, more quickening, and a more religious study than either. It brings the soul into contact with much that is akin to itself, the seeing eye, the hearing ear, the quivering sensation, and the guiding instinct.
II. Because it tends to promote our spiritual culture.
1. It tends to encourage our faith in the goodness of God. The creatures specified in this chapter are all objects of His kindly regard. Surely the God who takes care of these creatures will not neglect His human children.
2. It tends to destroy our egotism. What are we in the presence of some of these creatures? What is our strength to that of the unicorn or the buffalo, our courage to that of the war horse, our vision to that of the eagle or the hawk, our speed to that of the ostrich and the wild ass? Where is boasting then?
3. It tends to promote a kindly feeling towards all sentient life.
III. They supply illustrations of human life. Let us look for this purpose at the three creatures mentioned here--the wild ass, the ostrich, and the war horse. The wild ass may be taken to illustrate--
1. The genius of freedom.
2. The ostrich may be taken to illustrate an intensely Selfish character; and she does so in three respects--heartlessness, cowardice, and pride. How heartless she is! She leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, or treateth her young ones harshly. No creature in creation seems so indifferent to its young. To an intensely selfish man, self is everything; neighbours, and even children, are sacrificed to self-gratification. In her cowardice she illustrates a selfish character. Naturalists tell us that when danger appears, she puts her head into the sand, so as not to hear or see the approaching perils. She will not look danger in the face and grapple with it. A selfish man is always cowardly, and that in proportion to his selfishness. In fact, there can be no bravery and intrepidity where there is not a generous love; it is love alone that makes the hero. How proud is the ostrich! She lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. This creature seems to be remarkably proud of its wings, although it cannot fly, and of its power of speed. When the fleetest horse with its rider approaches, she flaps her wings as if in proud scorn, conscious that she can leave the swiftest horseman behind. So in truth she can; it is said, with the help of her wings, she can run at the rate of sixty miles an hour. In this she seems to glory. The more selfish a man is, the more he prides himself in a something that he has which others do not possess. The war horse here presented in such majestic poetry as bounding and quivering with the spirit of the campaign, may be taken to illustrate--
3. Those noble workers in the cause of human progress who are found fixed and filled with the spirit of their mission. Difficulties to them are nothing. They laugh at impossibilities; for dangers they care not; opposition they defy. Such were Paul, Luther, Garibaldi. No man can fulfil his mission whose whole nature does not glow with his spirit. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 Job_39:13. “Gatest thou the goodly wings unto the peacock,…
Notes
Job_39:13. “Gatest thou the goodly wings unto the peacock, or wings and feathers into the ostrich?” (MARGIN: “The feathers of the stork and ostrich.”) The whole verse very variously rendered. In the first member, instead of “the peacock,” the term רְנָנִים (renanim) is more correctly translated “ostriches,” being derived from רָנַן (ranan) to “sing, or utter a shrill sound,” and applied to the ostrich from its shrill nocturnal cry. SO BOCHART, SCHULTENS, GESENIUS, and others. Other reasons given for this translation:
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(1) The authority of Jerome;
(2) The resemblance in the meaning of רְנָנִים and יַעֲנִים (ya’anim),—the latter being the ordinary name of the ostrich;
(3) The alacrity of the ostrich depending all on its wings;
(4) The ostrich otherwise not named. The ostrich is literally the “crying bird;” the Arabs being accustomed to name things rather from their character. So REISKE and FAUSSET. The word in the text first rendered “peacock,” by POMARIUS, and then hesitatingly adopted by PAGNINUS, MONTANUS, VATABLUS, MERCER, &C, and all modern versions: BOOTHROYD. נֶעֱלָסָה (ne’elasah) here rendered “goodly,” is rather the Niphal of the verb עָלַס (’alas) to “rejoice, exult,” as in chap Job_20:18; or, according to others, to make a vibrating noise. GESENIUS renders the word: “Moveth joyfully.” SCHULTENS: “Is full of exultation; is always moving.” According to MERCER, the word is rarely found in Scripture, but is cognate with עָלַץ (’alatz) or עָלַז (’alaz) to “exult, or triumph.” DRUSIUS, COCCETUS, and SCULTETUS render the clause: “The wing of the peacocks is joyful, or moves joyfully. VATABLUS: “Is full of joy and pleasure.” MERCER: “Does the wing of the peacock exult joyfully from thee?” PAGNINUS: “The peacock exults in its wings.” GROTIUS: “Canst thou give the exulting wings of the peacocks?” MUNSTER: “A wing to exult, or to be exulted in.” MONTANUS: “The wing of the exulting ones is joyful.” DODERLKIN: “She is one that exults with sounding wing”—supply, “does she fly by thy wisdom?” STICKEL: “The ostrich rejoices with fluttering wings.” HUFNAGEL: “Joyfully move the sounding feathers and wing.” MICHAELIS: “To the morning dawn the ostrich lifts its wings.” UMBREIT: “The wing of the ostrich [which] lifts itself joyfully.” HERDER: “A wing with joyous cry is uplifted yonder.” SCOTT and BOOTHROYD: “The wing of the ostrich is triumphantly expanded.” STOCK: “Is set to flutter.” GOOD and WEMYSS: “The wing of the ostrich tribe is for flapping.” PARKHURST: “Quivers, or flutters up and down.” ROSENMULLER: “Exults.” COLEMAN: “Flaps exultingly.” NOYES and FAUSSET: “Moveth joyfully.” LEE: “In the exulting wing of the ostrich [wilt thou put thy trust?]” BARNES: “The wing of the exulting fowls moves joyfully;” not their beauty, but their exulting, joyful, triumphant appearance being the object of attraction. FRY: “Is the flapped wing of the ostrich from thee.” CAREY: “The wing of the ostrich thrilleth joyously.” CONANT: “Waves exulting.” DE WETTE: “Swings joyfully.” ZOCKLER: “Flaps joyfully.” Of the ancient and earlier versions, the SEPTUAGINT has: “The wing of the rejoicing ones;” leaving נֶעֱלָסָח untranslated. The VULGATE: “The wing of the ostrich is extolled.” SYRIAC: “The wing of those that praise is lifted up.” ARABIC: “The wing of praise.” TARGUM: “The wing of the wild cock, which sings and exults.” SYMMACHUS: “The wing of exultation grows around.” AQUILA: “The wing of the praising ones folds up.” COVERDALE: “The ostrich, whose feathers are fairer,” &c. LUTHER; “The feathers of the peacock are finer,” &c. MARTIN (French): “Has thou given to the peacock that plumage which is so brilliant.” DIODATI (Italian): “The wings of the peacock, are they beautiful by thy doing?”
The rendering of the second member of the verse (אִם אֶבְרָה הֲסִידָה וְנֹצָה im ebhrah hasidhah ve-nolsah) equally various. According to GESENIUS, אֶבְרָה (ebhrah) from the unused Root אָבַר (abhar), probably “to be strong, able to mount aloft;” a pinion or strong feather: distinguished from כָּנָף (canaph) a wing, and נָצָה (natsah) a common feather. PISCATOR, and some earlier interpreters, make the word, which is elsewhere a “feather,” to be here an “ostrich.” The SEPTUAGINT leaves the words נצה and הסידה untranslated. The VULGATE has: “[the wing of the ostrich is extolled] like the wing of the heron and the hawk;” reading נצה as if נֵץ or נֵצָה SYRIAC and ARABIC: “It flies, and comes, and builds its nest.” COPTIC: “If the stork and ostrich could comprehend it;” which seems to be as destitute of meaning as the Septuagint itself. COVERDALE: “[Fairer] than the wings of the sparrow-hawk.” LUTHER: “Than the wings and feathers of the stork.” MARTIN (French): “Or to the ostrich [gavest thou] the wings and the feathers? “DIODATI (Italian): “Has the ostrich its feathers and plumage from thee?” MERCER, VATABLUS, and PAGNINUS: “Is the wing of the stork and its feathers so?” i.e., is it joyful or a cause of pleasure? or, has the stork such a wing and plumage? or, is it from thee? MUNSTER: “Or hast thou given wings and plumage to the stork? “SCULTETUS: “Or the wing of the stork and ostrich?” GROTLUS, PISCATOR, JUNIUS, and TREMELLIUS: “Or feathers to the stork and ostrich?” COCCEIUS: “Or if you wish a larger wing, that of the stork and ostrich.” CASTALIO, including the preceding member: “Which are more noble, the wing of the ostrich, or the feathers and plumage of the stork?” So OSIANDER: “Are the wings of the ostrich more elegant than the wing and feather of the stork?” TIGURINE version: “The wing of the ostrich bears the palm, if you compare with it the wing or feather of the stork.” BOCHART: “[The wing of the ostrich exults]; verily the wing of the stork and the feathers;” i.e., which are verily a wing and plumage as is in the stork; or, the wings, I say, of the stork? כ being understood as in Gen_19:9; the ostrich being not so much a bird as a beast; whence the Arab proverb: “The ostrich is neither bird nor camel;” and its name among the Persians, the camel-bird, as resembling a camel in its neck, height and walk, and a bird in its bill and feathers. SIMON: “Does it resemble the tail and feathers of the stork?” SCHULTENS: “Is its wing and plumage an affectionate one?” with allusion to the stork. HUFNAGEL and MICHAELIS: “The ostrich flies like the stork and the hawk.” DODERLEIN: “With the feathers of the stork and the hawk.” STOCK: “Hath her affection taken wings and flown away?” PARKHURSIS “But is it the wing of the stork and it: plumage?” STICKEL: “Is it the stork-like, affectionate, pinions and feathers?” EWALD: “Is it a pious pinion and plumage?” אִם being interrogative. DE WETTE: “Is his wing also affectionate, and his plumage?” SCOTT: “Is it the pinion and feathers of the stork?”—not like the stork, providing for the security of its young. UMBREIT: “Is it not like the quill and feathers of the pious bird the stork?”—is it like the pious bird? surely not. NOYES: “But is it with loving pinion and feathers?” CAREY: “Is the feather and plumage that of the stork?” BARNES: “Has it the wing and plumage of the stork?”—flying without being endowed with the wings of the stork, and contrasted in its habits with those of that bird. BOOTHROYD: “Her pinions and feathers as those of the stork.” COLEMAN: “Truly they have goodly pinions and plumage.” FRY: “Or is the swollen pinion and plumage from thee?” LEE: “Or are her choice feathers and head-plumage from thee?” GOOD and WEMYSS: “But the wings of the stork and the falcon are for flight.” ROSENMULLER: “Truly its wing and plumage is like that of the stork.” ZOCKLER: “Though, is it a pious pinion and plumage?”
JEHOVAH’S ADDRESS CONTINUED
Continuation of the questioning. Job now pointed to the animal creation; the passage from inanimate to animated nature having been made at the 39th verse of the previous chapter, instead of the beginning of this. Specimens or representatives of the various great classes of animals adduced—first beasts, then birds, then the inhabitants of the water, or of both land and water. The animals referred to mostly those of the wild class, or in a wild state, rather than domestic or domesticated ones. Exhibited for the most part in their native character as coming from the hand of their Creator. The animals selected distinguished for some special property, habit, or instinct, as indicative of the Creator’s power in making, and His Providence in caring for them. The object of the references to reprove and humble Job, by reminding him of the greatness, majesty, sovereignty, power, wisdom, and goodness of Him whose providential dealings he had been tempted to arraign. Many things in connection with the lower animals mysterious and incomprehensible to man; why not in connection with man himself? The manifestation of Divine power in the animal creation, as well as of Divine wisdom and goodness in providing for, sustaining, preserving, and governing the various tribes of living creatures, a sufficient argument to silence all objections and murmurs as to the justice of His providential dealings.
The appeal here made by Jehovah to animated nature an indication of man’s duty, as far as he has opportunity, to observe and make himself acquainted with the structure and habits of the lower animals. The visible, and especially the animal creation, moreover, to be observed and studied as works of God, and as expressive of His attributes and perfections, both as its Creator and Governor. Man always and everywhere surrounded with memorials and lessons of God’s character and providence. The works of nature, both animate and inanimate, intended by their Creator to be so observed and studied by men, that He may derive praise, and they both pleasure and profit. The language of an eminent philosopher (Sedgwick) as true of natural history as of the Newtonian philosophy: “A study affecting our moral powers and capabilities; teaches us to see the finger of God in all things, animate and inanimate, and gives us an exalted conception of His attributes, placing before us the clearest proofs of their reality; and so prepares, or ought to prepare, the mind for the reception of that higher illumination which brings the rebellious faculties into obedience to the Divine will.” Constant reference in Scripture to the animal creation as illustrative of God’s character and man’s duty. Nature, or creation—God’s own Book—ever open to our view. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard;” “Consider the ravens;” “Behold the lilies of the field,”—recorded specimens of Divine teaching.
The reference here made to the various animals, such as to indicate the pleasure and satisfaction with which the Almighty contemplates the visible works of His hand. In accordance with the Mosaic narrative, “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen_1:31). “The Lord shall rejoice in His works” (Psa_104:31). A sufficient reason why man should rejoice in them. The better a man is acquainted with God’s works in general, and with the animal creation in particular, the greater the pleasure he will derive from them. After the lion and the raven, Job is pointed to—
1. The Wild Goat or Ibex. Job_39:1.—“Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?” The wild goat, probably the animal known among naturalists as the Ibex—the Bedin of the Arabs—a bold and powerful animal, armed with two huge sweeping horns, curving over its back and often three feet long. Inhabits the most elevated summits of the highest mountain ranges in the whole eastern continent. Stands two feet six or eight inches in height, and is extremely active and vigorous. Vigilant and wary, it only descends during the night to pasture in the woods, repairing again at sunrise to the bleak mountain summits. “Its chase very arduous; the animal leading its pursuer, unless he can steal upon it unawares with his rifle, a dangerous track over steep and rugged mountain pinnacles, along the brink of precipices, and over fearful chasms; and when at last, hard pressed, often turning upon its foe with impetuous rapidity, and hurling him down the steep rocks.” Its favourite haunts in Europe the Alps, the Apennines, the Pyrenees, and the Tyrolese mountains. Doubtful whether it or the Paseng of the Caucasus and of Persia (the Capra Ægagra of Cuvier), is the original stock of our domestic goat. The wild goat referred to as being so far beyond man’s power to manage it, or even become familiarly acquainted with its habits. The “knowledge” intended probably not simply that of mere acquaintance, but of care. “Knowest thou,” &c., so as to attend to, watch over, &c. Certain animals so constituted that man may both become easily and thoroughly acquainted with them and their habits, and be able to attend to their wants and aid them in their emergencies. The case with others the reverse. The shepherd knows the time when his ewes are to lamb: but who knows “the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?” Hence, observe—
(1) A proof of the Creator’s care over the animal creation. With no human eye to observe the wild goats, and no shepherd’s hand to aid them, God’s eye marks and His hand helps them in their greatest difficulties.
(2) A lesson of humility and modesty. Man ignorant of the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth; how then shall he be able to fathom the designs and understand the reasons of God in His providential dealings? What presumption for a creature of so limited knowledge, even of the humbler works of God, to question the wisdom and justice of His moral government!
(3.) A comfort for God’s tried people. Even the wild goats of the rock have their time of parturition assigned them by their Creator. That time known, marked, and attended to by Him. How much more everything connected with His intelligent offspring, and most of all with those who love and fear Him! If God so watches over and cares for the wild goat, will He not much more watch over and care for you?
2. The Hind, or Female Slag or Antelope. Job_39:1-4.—“Canst thou mark (or watch) when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they fulfil (knowing the period of their gestation, and waiting like the shepherd in regard to his ewes, till they bring forth their fawns)? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They how themselves (or go down on their knees in their labour), they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows (put forth their young which occasion their pains). Their young ones are in good liking (sleek and in good condition); they grow up with corn (or, in the desert or open country); they go forth (to obtain food for themselves), and return not again unto them (viz., to the hinds, their mothers).” The animal more especially alluded to doubtless the gazelle, or Arabian antelope. Formerly numerous in Syria and Arabia. Seen in large herds, bounding over the plain with amazing fleetness. Resemble the stags in the lightness of their figure and the swiftness of their course. In Africa, the usual prey of the lion and the panther. Remarkable for their timidity, as well as for their elegance and beauty; especially for the soft expression of their large, dark, lustrous eyes. The hind or female referred to is, like the ibex, an animal beyond human care and attention, but observed and provided for by its Creator. The providence of God noted in not only delivering the mother in her pangs, but in caring for her offspring. Without either man or mother to attend to its wants, the young fawn, under the care of its Creator, grows up sleek and well-conditioned. Observe—
(1.) The tenderness of the Creator’s care. Indicated by the special reference to the animal’s labour—the time of its maternal “sorrows.” Its labour said to be naturally with difficulty and pain. The animal, however, said to be taught by the instinct given to it, to employ an herb called Siselis in order to facilitate the birth.
(2.) Comfort to suffering believers. The Creator not indifferent to the pangs of the hind. Will He be indifferent to the sorrows and pains of His intelligent creatures, made after His own image, and especially of His own redeemed and adopted children? If He attends to the labour of the irrational creatures, and marks the time when it takes place, is anything connected with His own children beyond his observation and regard?
(3.) Humbling, that while the Creator makes the sufferings of such creatures the object of his care, man should occasion them in the prosecution of his sport. Touching picture, drawn by the greatest of uninspired poets, of a dying stag shot by the hunter:—
“The wretched animal heav’d forth such groans
That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat
Almost to bursting; and the big round tears
Coursed one another down his innocent nose
In piteous chase.”
3. The Wild Ass. Job_39:5-8.—“Who hath sent out the wild ass free (unrestrained to roam at large)? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass (a different name in the original text from the former; that employed more in Palestine, this in Chaldea; both indicative of a rapid flight; the latter, perhaps, also of the animal’s noise in braying)? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land (Marg., ‘salt places’) his dwellings (or haunts). He scorneth the multitude (or din) of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver (or officer compelling to public service—the animal enjoying his liberty in the desert, and defying all attempts to subdue and domesticate him). The range of the mountains is his pasture (or ‘he searches or roams the mountains as his pasture’), and he searcheth out every green thing (as rare in the desert, his proper habitation).” The wild ass, an animal met with in great numbers in Arabia Petræa. According to the Arabs, perfectly untamable. In fleetness equal to the gazelle; to overtake it a feat which only one or two of the most celebrated mares have been known to accomplish. Its food the saltest plants of the desert. In the East, the symbol of uncontrolled freedom. Its name assumed by Persian kings. The wild independence of Ishmael and his descendants (the Bedouin Arabs) indicated by the same figure: “He will be a wild (Heb., wild ass) man” (Gen_16:12). A picture also of the wayward and self-willed (ch Job_11:12; Jer_2:24; Hos_8:9). The wild ass here selected by the Almighty on account of its natural freedom from restraint and its wild enjoyment of its desert haunts. Referred to in order to show—
(1) The Creator’s sovereignly, in not only making some species of animals naturally wild and others tame, but making a similar difference in the same species.
(2) The Almighty’s power over animated nature.
(3) His universally extended providence. The wild ass, though beyond man’s power to overtake or capture, yet only one of the innumerable objects of Jehovah’s care. Its freedom and wildness given by Him. Its abode in the wilderness appointed by Him. The salt plants of the desert given by Him for its support. Hence observe—
(1) Man himself entirely in the Almighty’s hands.
(2) Jehovah’s right to dispose of His creatures as He sees good. The potter has power over the clay to make out of the same mass vessels of various kinds and for various purposes (Jer_18:6; Rom_9:21)
(3) Man, unable to give law to the wild ass, how much less to His Maker?—(Henry).
(4) God, who has the wild ass entirely under His control, can easily subdue the wildest and most wayward human spirit.
(5) Variety a characteristic in the Creator’s works. Wildness and independence given by Him to the wild ass. The Almighty tied to no uniform type.
(6) Man’s true liberty, not that of the wild ass,—an unrestrained independence; but to be under willing, intelligent and loving subjection to his Maker’s laws. The liberty of a child of God not to be “without law to God, but under the law to Christ” (1Co_9:21). The true liberty that with which Christ makes his people free (Gal_5:1). His yoke easy, and his burden light (Mat_11:30).
4. The Unicorn. Job_39:9-12.—“Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib (or, spend the night at thy stall, like an ox or other domesticanimal)? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow (guide him with a rope or rein in ploughing thy field)? or will he harrow the valleys (or low grounds, especially suited for tillage) after thee (after thy direction and following thy steps like the quiet ox,—the husbandman going before the harrow, though behind the plough)? Wilt thou trust him (have confidence in him as an animal helpful in the labour of the fields) because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him (thy grain, the fruit of thy labour,—to watch it by night while remaining on the threshing floor)? Wilt thou believe him that he will bring home thy seed (or grain, from the field after being reaped or threshed, like an ox yoked in the waggon), and gather it into thy barn (or granary)?”
The animal here intended apparently one of the ox kind, probably the wild ox or oryx (aurochs),—the urus of the ancients, “generally but erroneously considered as the wild stock of our horned cattle.” A savage animal that has now taken refuge in the great marshy forests of Lithunia, the Krapacs, and the Caucasus; but which formerly inhabited all the temperate parts of Europe. The largest quadruped proper to Europe—(Cuvier). The animal subdued with difficulty. Extremely powerful: hence the reference in the text. Probably the “strong bulls of Bashan” (Psa_22:12). Once roamed freely in the forests of Palestine. Large herds of them still in the region beyond Jordan. Often mentioned by Arabian poets. Its two horns include a space of ten feet from tip to tip. The animal thought, however, by some to be a species of antelope with two horns, formerly abundant in Egypt and the south-west of Asia; described by Aristotle as one-horned, and appearing on the Egyptian monuments sometimes with one and sometimes with two horns. By others, the unicorn, or reem, thought to be the rhinocerus, one species of which—the rhinoceros of India—has only one horn. This well-known animal also one of enormous strength, being scarcely less in size than the elephant. That of India, sluggish in his movements, and wandering through his native plains with a heavy step. At certain times very dangerous, impetuously attacking every animal that attracts his notice. The African rhinocerus has a double horn, the principal one rising about nine or ten inches above the nose, and inclining backwards; the other immediately behind it, a short thick one. The Hebrew name (reem) generally translated in our English Bible the “unicorn,” or one-horned. The animal, however, apparently spoken of as having two horns (Num_23:8; Deu_33:17; Psa_22:21.) Frequently mentioned in Scripture as distinguished for its strength. The reem of the Arabs an animal with two horns. The name apparently significant of its loftiness and power. The unicorn of heraldry long thought a merely fabulous animal. Its existence, however, now contended for by some, who allege ancient and modern eye-witnesses of it. Its figure—a head like a horse, cloven feet, the tail of a boar, and one horn in the forehead. The representation of such an animal found among the ruins of Perscpolis.
The animal referred to in the text as one of huge strength, but beyond the power of man to render it serviceable to him in the works of the field. Fitted by its physical structure and great strength, to be employed like the ox or ass in agricultural pursuits; but, from its intractable disposition, not to be subjugated by man for that purpose. The reference intended by the Almighty to remind Job of his own littleness and the power of his Creator. Observe—
(1) A lesson of humility and modesty for man. If unable to bind and bring into his service an animal like the reem, how should he be able to contend with his Maker? If unable to rule a mere creature, how unfit to question the dealings of his Creator!
(2) The effect of sin. The animals originally designed to serve man. Dominion over them given him by the Creator (Gen_1:26; Gen_1:28; Psa_8:6). That dominion forfeited by the Fall.
(3) The Divine sovereignty. Some animals apparently such as by nature to be more useful and serviceable to man than others. God’s reasons for endowing the animals with their various properties unknown to us. Mysteries in creation; no wonder if we find similar mysteries in providence.
5. The Ostrich. Job_39:13-18.—“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? (Marg., ‘the feathers of the stork and ostrich?’ Or the whole verse may read thus: ‘The wing of the ostriches moveth gaily: but is it the wing and feathers of the stork?”—a bird remarkable for maternal affection, of which the ostrich appears to be so deficient). Which (or because, since) she leaveth (or, deposits) her eggs in the ground, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them (in the exposed place where she lays them). She is hardened (or acts hardly) against her young ones, as though they were not hers (or, ‘for those which are not her own’): her labour (in preparing her nest, and sitting on her eggs) is in vain, without fear (she being without solicitude for the preservation of her young). Because God hath deprived her (or, ‘made her forgetful’) of wisdom (the prudence necessary for preserving her young), neither hath he imparted unto her understanding (such, or so much as he has implanted in the animals in general, usually called instinct). What time she lifteth up (or rouseth) herself on high (erecting her head and body as well as her wings, the latter being used to aid her in running rather than flying), she scorneth the horse and his rider (when pursuing her in the chase).”
The ostrich referred to as an animal generally regarded as deficient in natural forethought, especially in reference to the perservation of her young (Lam_4:3), while endowed with extraordinary speed, so as to be able to secure her own safety by flight. One of the two known species (the struthio camelus) abounds in the sandy deserts of Arabia and Africa. This the ostrich mentioned here and elsewhere in the Bible. Attains the height of eight feet. So swift that no animal is able to overtake it. The wings white and black, not unlike those of the stork; furnished with the well-known loose and flexible, elegant and slender-stemmed feathers; and sufficiently long to increase the animal’s speed in running, serving both for sail and oar. Being found in hot countries, the ostrich is content to lay its eggs, from thirty to fifty at a time, each weighing nearly three pounds, about a foot below the surface in the sand. Outside the tropics, however, she is said to brood over her eggs with great care, and courageously to defend her young. From the animal’s known neglect of her young in Arabia, it is designated by the Arabs the “impious bird,” as in contrast with the stork, which is called the “pious” one. Said to hatch her eggs only for a time, and to leave them frequently during the day at the least noise, going to a great distance and sometimes never returning to them. Plays and frisks about on all occasions, “moving her wings gaily,” and would be always fanning and hiding herself with them. Her eggs left exposed to the view of the traveller and the foot of the wild beasts that frequent the desert. Often addled before she returns from her long absence in search for food. Sometimes, during her absence, found sitting on the eggs of another bird. Its sense of taste so obtuse that it swallows rags, leather, &c., and even pebbles and pieces of metal. The bird proverbially stupid. “More foolish than an ostrich,” an Arab proverb. Its speed calculated by Dr. Livingstone to be about twenty-six miles an hour. The stride of one in the Sahara found to be from twenty-two to twenty-eight feet.
The “peacock” probably not intended in the verse. The word so rendered, quite different from that in 1Ki_10:22. Literally, denotes “singing ones,” and probably given to characterize the ostrich, distinguished for its cries. The peacock distinguished not so much for the beauty of its wings as of its tail. Originally brought from India. First known in Palestine and Arabia in the time of Solomon, who imported it into his kingdom. Introduced into Europe by Alexander the Great. Its magnificent plumage, most splendid in a wild state, like the flowers of the field,—indicative of the Creator’s pleasure in the beautiful, and of the beauty residing in Himself. In the peacock, the beauty apparently not accompanied with other excellencies.
From the whole section, observe—
(1) God’s providential care of His creatures. Provides for the young of the ostrich even when the care and affection of the parent fail.
(2) His sovereignty in the endowments of His creatures. Instinctive care for the preservation of offspring strong in the animals in general; weak in the ostrich. “Wisdom and understanding”—whether in the lower form as in the brute creation, or in the higher, as in man—the gift of God. Its degrees in both cases according to His own pleasure. The ostrich endowed with remarkable speed, but with little sense. The stork, with much humbler plumage, yet gifted with much greater natural affection. An example related of two which had built their nest on the roof of a house in Delft, a town of Holland, and which, when the house was on fire, first endeavoured to carry off all their young, and when unable to do this, kept flapping their wings over them as if to cool the air; and at last, as the flames drew nearer, sat down over the nest to die with them.
(3) The various endowments of animals designed for man’s instruction. Intended to teach man both concerning God and himself. Some of those endowments designed for man’s imitation; others the reverse. The stork an example to parents in regard to their children; the ostrich a warning. Indifference and neglect in regard to those committed to our care monstrous even in irrational creatures: much more so in man. Like the “labour” of the ostrich, that of parents and teachers often “in vain,” from the want of “fear” and solicitude for the preservation of those for whom they have laboured. “Those most likely to lose their labour who have least fear of losing it.” While men sleep, the enemy sows his tares. Such solicitude especially needful in the case of children leaving the parental roof. Watchful care always necessary to guard the young against the influence of evil company, and the dangers incident from an ungodly world. Prayerful solicitude constantly required on behalf of those for whose spiritual benefit we have laboured, and in whom have appeared the beginnings of grace. Early grace watched over by God, but not therefore the less to be watched over by man.
6. The Horse. Job_39:19-25.—“Hast thou given the horse strength (or courage, or rather both combined)? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder (with the terror of his neighings; or, ‘with lofty quivering mane’—the indistinctness of the figure heightening its sublimity)? Canst, thou make him afraid as a grasshopper (or, ‘bound like a locust’)? The glory of his nostrils (or neighings) is terrible (or, ‘a terror’—more especially to the Hebrews, little acquainted with war-horses, Jer_8:16). He paweth in the valley (or ‘plain’—usually selected for the battle-field where cavalry were to be employed); and rejoiceth in his strength. He goeth on to meet the armed men (or, ‘boldly he advanced against the weapons’). He mocketh at fear (what would cause fear in others), and is not affrighted (by all the terrors of the battle-field); neither turneth he back from the [face or presence of] of the sword. The quiver (or its contents, the arrows) rattleth against (or upon) him: the glittering spear and the shield (or, ‘the flash of the spear and the lance’). He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage (in his impetuous eagerness for the fight): neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet (or, ‘standeth still when there is the sound of the trumpet’). He saith among (or at the blast of) the trumpets, Ha, ha: and he smelleth the battle afar off—the thunder of the captains (animating the hosts to the fight), and the shouting” (of the warriors).
The reference to the horse apparently suggested by the mention made at the close of the preceding paragraph, of “the horse and his rider.” The war-horse here especially referred to. The description acknowledged to be unequalled anywhere for sublimity. Sufficient in itself to place the writer among the first of poets. The war-horse referred to as an example of courage and noble bearing. The reference intended to impress Job with the majesty of Him whose creature this noble and courageous animal is.
The horse exhibited in the text as the noblest specimen among inferior animals. Those of Arabia and Egypt especially famous. The horse believed to exist in Arabia, the home of the patriarch, in a finer condition than in any other country. Still the chief treasure of the Bedawin Arab. Formerly many of them in a wild state in the Arabian deserts; only caught in pits, and then subjugated through hunger and fatigue. Believed by the Arabs to be endowed with a nature superior to that of other animals, and to be next to man himself. At first employed by fallen man chiefly in war, yoked to a chariot in which the warrior stood. The carliest mention of them in connection with the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (Exo_14:6-9). Probably employed in Egypt and elsewhere on state occasions (Gen_41:43). Used also early in the chase, apparently intended in Job_39:18. Among Egyptian monuments, only one of a horse and its rider, and that comparatively recent. Horses mentioned among the valuable possessions of Solomon brought up by him from Egypt. Among the ancient Assyrians used indiscriminately for war and hunting. Israel spoken of by Jehovah as His “goodly horse in the battle;” as endowed by Him with strength and courage, and employed for the conquest of heathen adversaries (Zec_10:3). The horse, as distinguished for its beauty as well as its strength and courage, employed as a simile for the Church of Christ under the figure of a beautiful woman (Son_1:9). Elsewhere noticed in Scripture for his strength and eagerness for the battle (Psa_147:10; Jer_8:6), Yet a vain thing for safety (Psa_33:17).
From the description of the war-horse observe—
(1) The example of the Almighty in contemplating and admiring the works of His hand. God represented as rejoicing in His works, whether the feathers of the ostrich or the spirit of the war-horse, the intelligence of a seraph or the piety of a man. A refined pleasure in contemplating and admiring the works of God; a Divine pleasure in contemplating them as such. God’s example to be imitated by His intelligent children.
(2) An example exhibited in the war-horse, of courage and fearlessness in the discharge of duty and in the service of our Divine Master (See again Zec_10:3; Son_1:9). The courage and impetuosity of the war-horse too often imitated in a contrary direction (Jer_8:6). Man capable of being employed as Satan’s war-horse as well as Jesus Christ’s. The latter his glory and felicity; the former his disgrace and ruin.
(3) The war-horse, in some respects, a faint reflection of his Maker’s excellence. “Who would set the briars and thorns against Me in battle?” (Isa_27:4). All creature excellence only a shadow of the infinite and uncreated excellence of the Creator. All endowments and excellencies found in the creature intended to lead the thoughts to the Creator as the source and sum of all excellence.
(4) Mystery connected with all God’s works. The horse, the noblest of God’s irrational creatures, yet here admired by his Maker as displaying his excellence in what cannot but be regarded as, in many respects, Satan’s work. The battle-field, usually the theatre of evil passions, and the delight of the enemy of God and man. Sin, the origin of all strife and warfare; yet war and battle not always sinful. Sometimes man’s duty, and commanded by God. In some respects, the battle is the Lord’s. The Lord of hosts mustereth the hosts for the battle. Nebuchadnezzar God’s servant in his war against Tyre (Eze_29:17-20. War employed by God as His own terrible instrument in His government of the world. God’s glory in overruling man’s sin and Satan’s malice to his own praise and the welfare of the universe. Napoleon and his battles, God’s scourge for the benefit of Europe and the world. Yet on the field of Waterloo, “those terrible grey horses” a terror to him who had been the terror of the nations. “I have created the waster to destroy.” A prospective use in many of God’s creatures. The creature “made subject to vanity” through Adam’s fall. The time to come when the creature, groaning and travailing in pain until now through man’s sin, “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom_8:20-22). The day hastening on, when the noble horse shall find other employment than rushing with its rider into the din of the battle, and careering among garments rolled in blood. The promise in connection with Christ’s kingdom to be fulfilled: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” (Isa_2:4; Psa_46:9). The last inspired mention of the war-horse, and perhaps the last use of him as such, made in connection with “the battle of the great day of God Almighty,” in the place “called in the Hebrew tongue Amageddon;” and with the symbolical appearance of the Faithful and True witness upon a white horse, clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, in righteousness judging and making war as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and followed by the armies of heaven; these also “upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Rev_16:14-16; Rev_19:11-14; Rev_19:18-21.
7. The Hawk. Job_39:26.—“Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings towards the south?” The reference to birds of prey and those feeding on carrion probably suggested by the battle-field mentioned in the previous section. The hawk, or falcon, selected as a specimen and representative of the feathered tribe, from the rapidity of its flight, and perhaps also from its being migratory in its habits. Birds of the hawk order (accipitres), placed by naturalists highest in the list, including not only hawks and falcons, but eagles and vultures. Are among birds what the lion and other carnivorous animals are among quadrupeds. Known by their talons and hooked beaks, by which they seize and devour other birds and even the weaker quadrupeds and reptiles. Plumage dense and quills strong, giving them great power on the wing, and enabling them to pursue or pounce at once upon their prey. Perhaps the name in the text one of a generic kind, including all such birds of prey. Falcons, with naturalists, the second and by far the most numerous division of those predaceous birds that pursue their prey in the daytime. The greater number prey on living animals. The falcon proper, the most courageous bird in proportion to its size.—Two things in the text referred to as indicative of the wisdom of God in relation to the hawk:—
First: Its Flight—“Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom?” The hawk mentioned by Homer as the swiftest of birds. The rapidity with which the hawk and many other birds occasionally fly, probably not less than at the rate of 150 miles an hour. A falcon escaping from Fontainbleau, in France, found to have reached Malta, 1350 miles distant, after twenty-four hours. The common falcon formerly employed in hunting, chiefly from its rapid flight. Builds her nest in the most elevated and inaccessible cliffs, whence she darts down with rapid wing upon her prey, descried at a distance. An inhabitant of northern latitudes, whence her flight towards the South.
Second: Its Migration.—“Stretcheth her wings towards the south,”—as if for a warmer climate. Many animals, unfit to provide against the vicissitude of the seasons by varying the quantity or colour of their dress, enabled by the providence of God to protect themselves by shifting their quarters, so as to live throughout the whole year in a temperature suited to their constitution, and at the same time to obtain an abundant supply of food. The migration of birds an object of observation from an early period. “The stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow observe the time of their coming” (Jer_8:7). Birds of passage not confined to any particular order or tribe; nor distinguished by similarity in habits or kind of food. Some birds stationary in one district, migratory in another.
Observe—
(1) The wisdom of God in adapting birds for flight. The general form of the body of birds, one best calculated for gliding with the last resistance through the air. Everything in its structure contrived to give it lightness. The horny materials of the feathers formed into hollow cylinders, exceedingly strong when compared with their weight. A similar shape given to the cylindrical bones, which are fashioned into tubes, with dense but thin sides; most of the other bones likewise made hollow, but containing only air. The neck exceedingly long and flexible, to enable the bird in flying exactly to balance itself, by bringing the centre of gravity precisely to the proper point. The feathers of the bird a marvellous contrivance. Made to consist of three parts—the quill, the shaft, and the vane. A mould made for every feather, “in what may be called a feather manufactory.” This manufactory not merely in action once during the life of the bird, but at every time of moulting—generally once a year. The feather remarkable for its strength as well as its lightness. The vane of the feather so disposed that the impulse of the air occurs first where the feather does not yield. The wing adapted for flight by its striking the air below it with a certain force, and so causing a reaction of the air upwards exactly equal to it, the bird rising or sinking as the force of the stroke is greater or less than its weight. The wings also employed by the bird in steering its course, as the rower turns his boat by using only his right or left oar. The tail made to act as a supplementary organ for the same purpose. The tail, however—in addition to its serving as the rudder of a ship,—by expanding and offering a considerable surface to the air, fulfils some of the offices of a third wing, and serves also to poise the body of the bird.
(2) The wisdom and goodness of God in the migration of birds. An admirable instance of the Creator’s care, that birds are endowed with an instinct which enables them to know where and when to direct their flight, so as to find a more genial climate during the colder season in their native home.
(3) The hawk, as well as other migratory birds, an example to men in relation to God their Saviour. “The stork, &c., know the time of their coming: but my people know not the judgment of the Lord” (Jer_8:7). Christ provided by the love of God, as the sinner’s shelter from the certain storm of Divine wrath against sin. Men invited to dwell in Him as “in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest” (Isa_32:2; Isa_32:18). The Saviour’s complaint that sinners “know not the time of their merciful visitation.” “O, Jerusalem! how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not” (Luk_19:41-44; Mat_23:37).
8. The Eagle. Job_39:27-30.—“Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place (or mountain-castle). From thence she seeketh her prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is she.” The eagle a species of the same order of birds as the hawk (accipitres), and belonging to the falcon genus. The largest of the genus, and the most powerful of all the birds of prey. Probably intended, however, to include vultures as well, especially the bearded or eagle-vulture (Gypaetus), which, rather than the eagle, feed on carrion. The bearded or eagle-vulture, though differing both in head and body from the eagle, yet resembling it in its robust form and general habits, except that it feeds on dead flesh, which the eagle rarely does. Equals, or exceeds, the largest eagle in size, and is found throughout the great mountain chains of the Old World. Apparently referred to in Mic_1:16; as its head and neck are entirely destitute of feathers, which those of the proper eagle are not. The eagle referred to in the text on account of—
(1) Its lofty flight. “Doth the eagle mount up,” &c. Its great bodily power and ample wing fit the bird for a lofty and majestic flight. The eagle-vulture about four feet from the beak to the tip of the tail, and from nine to ten feet in the extent of its wings. The peculiarity of the eagle, to fly directly upward till out of sight. Its flight referred to by the prophet: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles” (Isa_40:31). Hence also said to have an eye fitted to gaze upon the sun.
(2) Its inaccessible abode. “She maketh her nest on high,” &c. The eagle, and the eagle-vulture, both select the most inaccessible pinnacles as the site of their eyrie.
(3) Its acute vision. “Her eyes behold afar off.” The sight of the eagle, as of birds of prey in general, remarkably acute. Such birds endowed with the power of pushing out and drawing in the lenses of the eye, as the object is more or less distant, so as to discern from its lofty abode the prey far beneath it, and to see it no less distinctly as it descends.
(4) Their appetite for flesh and blood. “Her young ones also suck up blood,” &c. The greater number of the falcon class of birds, to which the eagle belongs, feed on living prey, while the eagle-vulture, like birds of the vulture genus, also feeds on carrion. Hence the battle-field the great attraction for the latter. Eagles said only to drink blood. The young ones trained to this in the nest, to which the parent-bird brings the prey.
Observe from the section—
(1) The wisdom of the Creator in respect to birds and beasts of prey. Exhibited—(i.) in providing that one class of animals prey upon another. According to the present constitution of nature, no other system could long exist except that which operated as a check on animal production, and preserved a balance of power between all creatures. (ii.) In providing by means of such animals for the removal of dead bodies left on the surface of the earth. Vultures, and even eagles, among birds and wolves, jackals, and hyænas, among quadrupeds, employed by the Creator as the earth’s scavengers—in removing its offal, and especially the carcases of animals, which would otherwise tend to corrupt the air with pestilential exhalations, and unfit parts of the earth for the abode of the living.
(2) The eagle viewed as an emblem. May be regarded as an emblem—(i.) Of God Himself, in His tender care of and attention to the wants of His creatures. “Her young ones suck up blood.” “As the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them in her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him’ (Deu_32:11-12). (ii.) Of believers. (a) In their upward ascent. “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.” Believers’ journey a heavenward one. Believers not to have their affection set on things on the earth, but to “seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth” (Col_3:1-2). The unregenerate burrow in the earth, as moles and worms; believers mount upwards, as with eagles’ wings. The disposition to do so, from their new spiritual and Divine nature; their ability, imparted by the Holy Spirit in connection with their waiting upon God (Isa_40:31). (b) In their lofty and safe abode. “They shall dwell on high; their place of defence is the munitions of rocks” (Isa_33:16). Their dwelling in God Himself, the Rock of Ages. Their abode, the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty. Jehovah Himself their refuge and fortress. Their safe shelter, the Rock that is higher than they (Psa_91:1-2; Psa_61:2-3). (c) In their spiritual vision. Believers enabled to “see afar off” (2Pe_1:9). Once blind, but now see. Their eyes anointed with Christ’s eye-salve (Rev_3:17). Believers behold, as in a glass. the glory of the Lord. Behold the glory of Jesus, as that of the Only Begotten of the Father (2Co_3:18; Joh_1:14). Endure, as seeing Him who is invisible. See promised glory afar off. Look at the things that are unseen and eternal (Heb_11:13; Heb_11:27; 2Co_4:18). Behold, by the eye of faith, the King in His beauty, and the land that is very far off (Isa_33:17). (d) In their feeding, by faith, on the flesh and blood of the Lamb that was slain for them. “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; he that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Joh_6:51; Joh_6:54; Joh_6:56).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The First Speech of the Almighty (concluded)
The First Speech of the Almighty (concluded)
Chs. Job_38:39-41 and Job_38:39 depict the wonders of animate creation, and the instincts with which animals are gifted by the providence of God. In view of His works Job must learn to trust Him and to believe in His goodness.
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1-4. The wild goat or ibex.
1. Knowest thou?] i.e. do you control?
3. Their sorrows] their young, whose birth causes pain.
4. With corn] rather, 'in the desert.'
5-8. The wild ass, which is still found in the deserts of N. Arabia and Syria.
6. Barren land] RV 'salt land,' districts coated with this mineral, which is much sought after by cattle.
7. Note the contrast between the life of the wild and the domestic ass.
Regardeth he the crying] RV 'heareth he the shoutings.'
9-12. The wild ox.
9. Unicorn] RV 'wild-ox.' The word 'unicorn' is based on the LXX translation, and is incorrect. The nearest extant representative of the wild ox is the bison, which still lingers in the forests of Lithuania, the Caucasus and N. America. Its bones are found in Lebanon bone-caves.
10-12. The untameable nature of the wild ox.
12. Believe] i.e. confide in, trust. Gather it into thy barn] RV 'gather the corn of thy threshing floor.'
13-18. The ostrich.
13. There is nothing about peacocks in the Hebrew. Perhaps the sense is, 'The wing of ostriches is goodly. Is it a stork's wing for flight?' The ostrich cannot fly like a stork, which comes to Palestine in the spring on its way from Africa to Europe.
14. In the earth] RV 'on the earth.' Dr. Tristram says: 'The ostrich is polygamous, and several hens deposit their eggs in one place, a hole in the sand. The eggs are then covered over and left during the heat of the day; but in the cold regions at any rate, as in the Sahara, the birds sit regularly during the night, and until the sun has full power.'
16. She is hardened against] RM 'She deals hardly with.' If her nest is discovered the ostrich often destroys her young: cp. Lam_4:3.
16b. RV 'Though her labour '(of laying the eggs) 'be in vain, she is without fear,' i.e. acts still without due caution.
17. 'More stupid than an ostrich' is an Arab proverb.
18. Lifteth up herself on high] RM 'rouseth herself up to flight.' Scorneth the horse] by outrunning him. Tristram puts the stride of an ostrich at full speed at from 22 to 28 ft.
19-25. The war-horse.
19b. RV 'Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?' (lit. 'with shaking').
20. Afraid as a grasshopper] RV 'to leap as a locust.' Nostrils] RV 'snorting.'
23. Against] rather, 'over.' Shield] RV 'javelin.' The horse probably is not being ridden here, but driven in a chariot, on which quiver, spear, and shield (or dart) are hung. He is not afraid of the noise they make, or, perhaps, of the enemy.
24. He swalloweth] render, 'he digs' or 'paws.' Neither believeth, etc.] RM 'Neither standeth he still at.'
25a. Render, 'at each trumpet he saith, Ha!'
25b. The sense of smell in horses is very acute, and they are much discomposed by the odour of carrion.
26-30. The hawk and the eagle.
26. The migratory hawk is intended, which leaves Palestine for the S. in winter.
27. 'Eagle'is masculine throughout.
30. Cp. Mat_24:28.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v6 barren land
barren land
Heb. "salt places."
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 v. 1. Knowest thou the time when the wild…
v. 1. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth, their homes being on the rocks near the summits of the mountains? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve, noting the travail of the many countless animals scattered in the wilderness?
v. 2. Canst thou number the months that they fulfil, namely, in bearing their young? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? The external knowledge concerning these facts Job may have possessed, but he had no idea of the providential care which was needed in bringing these animals safely through the dangerous period until the young were born.
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v. 3. They bow themselves, Cf 1Sa 4:19, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows, shaking off the pains of birth with its fruit, all under the influence of God’s providential care.
v. 4. Their young ones are in good liking, in fine condition from the start, they grow up with corn, out in the desert; they go forth, reaching maturity and independence in just a short while, and return not unto them, they are soon able to dispense with the care of their parents, all this under the direction of God.
v. 5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? whose wildness is proverbial. Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass, literally, "of the fleeing one," of the fugitive? The very fact that the wild ass scorns all human control and nurture makes him a good example in this connection, where the power and wisdom of God is emphasized.
v. 6. Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land, the desert, the salt-steppe, his dwellings; for it was there that he preferred to live, satisfied with the food offered by the saline plants of the alkali wastes.
v. 7. He scorneth the multitude of the city, mocking at the clamor of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver, paying no attention to the shouts which the domesticated ass and the mule must obey.
v. 8. The range of the mountains is his pasture, whatever food his search brings to his attention, and he searcheth after every green thing, all his wants being provided for in this manner by the Creator.
v. 9. Will the unicorn; probably the oryx, a wild and powerful species of antelope found in the desert at that time, be willing to serve thee or abide by thy crib, readily domesticated?
v. 10. Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow, compelling him to draw a furrow with the plow while being led or guided with a cord? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee, in the regular labor of preparing the soil for sowing?
v. 11. Wilt thou trust him, readily depending upon him, because his strength is great? That very fact would cause men to mistrust the untamed animal. Or wilt thou leave thy labor to him, trusting him to bring home the product of the soil, as a tame ox would?
v. 12. Wilt thou believe him, again depending upon him, that he will bring home thy seed, the harvested grain, and gather it into thy barn? All this, again, is beyond the control of man, but a small matter in the hand of God.
v. 13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? literally, "The wing of the female ostrich claps joyously," in time with her piercing cries, or wings and feathers unto the ostrich, literally, "Is it the pinion and feather of the stork," a quiet and tame bird? The ostrich is as a representative of all that is wild and untamable among the birds.
v. 14. Which, or, No, on the contrary, far from being good and quiet, she leaveth her eggs in the earth, the reference being to the habit of the wild ostrich of abandoning her nest at the approach of danger and remaining away for a long time; and warmeth them in dust, trusting to the warm sand to keep the eggs from chilling;
v. 15. and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them, stamping them to pieces by walking over the nest.
v. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, apparently dealing harshly with them, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain without fear, it does not seem to bother the ostrich that her labor in laying the eggs is vain when they are crushed in this manner,
v. 17. because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath He imparted to her understanding, the stupidity of the ostrich being proverbial in Arabia.
v. 18. What time she lifteth up herself on high, lifting herself to her full height with a lashing movement, she scorneth the horse and his rider, mocking them by the swiftness of her flight. The Lord now turns to the description of the war-horse, highly prized and praised in Arabia since ancient times.
v. 19. Hast thou given the horse strength, namely, his warlike strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder, literally, with fluttering hair," with a waving mane?
v. 20. Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper, rather, make him leap or gallop like the locust? The glory of his nostrils is terrible; when he snorts, it strikes terror to the heart.
v. 21. He paweth in the valley, while the soldiers are scouting and making preparations for a battle, he is impatient for the fray, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men, ready to meet even a host in armor.
v. 22. He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted, the excitement of the battle rather taking hold of him, neither turneth he back from the sword.
v. 23. The quiver, namely, that of the horseman seated upon him, rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield, all sounds which would terrorize a timid animal.
v. 24. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage, as he rushes over it in full gallop; neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet, he does not stand still, he cannot contain himself when the trumpet sounds, he must get into the fray.
v. 25. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha! neighing with joyful eagerness for the battle; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting, the battle-cries of the soldiers engaged in battle. Of all the poetic descriptions of the war-horse in the entire ancient literature, this, aside from the fact of its divine inspiration, is the oldest and most beautiful.
v. 26. Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, flying up to great heights as a result of Job’s understanding, and stretch her wings toward the south, in the annual migration, to this day one of the secrets of bird-life?
v. 27. Doth the eagle mount up, soaring in stately flight, at thy command and make her nest on high? Was all this a result of Job’s power and authority?
v. 28. She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, that being the place where she locates her aerie, from which she has a wide outlook over the country, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place, a mighty castle and watchtower.
v. 29. From thence she seeketh her prey, piercing the atmosphere far and wide with her sharp vision, and her eyes behold afar off.
v. 30. Her young ones also, as true birds of prey, suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she, the vulture being here included in the genus eagle. All these considerations, the mere recital of which had the effect of rendering Job speechless with awe, showed that God’s majesty is infinitely exalted above man’s criticism, that man simply cannot undertake to measure God according to the rules and ideas of mortal men.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 19, 21, 24, 26, 27, 29 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues to challenge Job.
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General Information:
Yahweh uses four questions to emphasize that he is greater than Job because Yahweh takes care of the wild mountain goats and deer and Job does not. (See: Rhetorical Question)
Do you know at what time ... bear their young?
This can be translated as a statement. AT: "Surely you do not know when ... bear their young!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Can you watch when the deer are having their fawns?
This can be translated as a statement. AT: "You are not able to watch to make sure everything goes well when the deer give birth to their fawns!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
are having their fawns
"give birth to their fawns"
Can you count the months that they gestate?
This can be translated as a statement. AT: "You cannot count the months that they are pregnant." (See: Rhetorical Question)
that they gestate
"to complete their pregnancy"
they
The word "they" refers to the goats and the deer.
gestate
"are pregnant"
Do you know the time when they bear their young?
This can be translated as a statement. AT: "Of course you do not know when they give birth to their young." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
goat
deer
month
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5, 9, 13, 14, 18, 24, 30 39:5-7 wild donkey . . . hates (literally scorns)…
39:5-7 wild donkey . . . hates (literally scorns) the noise of the city: This is the first in a series of animals that scorn others who are their inferiors in some way (cp. 39:18, 22; 41:29). These images illustrate how God scorns the opposition of a man like Job (see Ps 2:4).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.