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Job 39

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God's Providence for Wild Creatures 1–4

1
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? ​
2
Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
4
Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. ​

The Untamable Wild Ass 5–8

5
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? ​
6
Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
7
He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
8
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

The Unusable Strength of the Wild Ox 9–12

9
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? ​
10
Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12
Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

The Ostrich Lacking Wisdom 13–18

13
Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? ​
14
Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
15
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; ​
17
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. ​
18
What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

The Strength and Terror of the War Horse 19–25

19
Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? ​
20
Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
21
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
22
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23
The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25
He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. ​

The Instinctive Flight of Birds of Prey 26–30

26
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? ​
27
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? ​
28
She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29
From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30
Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Job 39

Verse 1

the wild goats of the rock — ‘Wild goats’ is ya’el, the climbing goat of the crags, as in Ps 104:18, ‘The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats’. ‘Mark’ is shamar, to watch over. The questions are about creatures no one tends, and Ps 29:9 gives the answer: ‘The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve’.

Verse 4

they grow up with corn — ‘In good liking’ is chalam, to be made strong, and ‘corn’ is bar, grain, so the young thrive in the open field. They ‘go forth, and return not unto them’. Ps 104:27 says of all creatures, ‘These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.’

Verse 5

the wild ass free — The verse uses two Hebrew words for the wild ass, pere’ and arod. Pere’ is the word of Gen 16:12, ‘he will be a wild man’, said of Ishmael. ‘Free’ is chophshi, the word for the servant who ‘shall go out free’ in the seventh year (Ex 21:2). The bands are loosed by the LORD, not by the ass.

Verse 9

the unicorn — The KJV’s ‘unicorn’ translates re’em, a wild beast known for strength and horns: ‘the strength of an unicorn’ (Num 23:22), ‘the horns of unicorns’ (Deut 33:17), ‘my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn’ (Ps 92:10). ‘Crib’ is ebus, a manger, as in Isa 1:3, ‘the ass his master’s crib’.

Verse 13

the goodly wings unto the peacocks — Four Hebrew words lie behind this verse. ‘Goodly’ is renen, an ostrich named for its wail, found only here; ‘peacocks’ is from alas, to exult; ‘ostrich’ is notsah, a wing feather; ‘feathers’ is chasidah, ‘the kind one’, printed ‘stork’ in Jer 8:7 and Ps 104:17. The bird of vv.14–18 is ‘she’ who ‘leaveth her eggs in the earth’ (v.14).

Verse 16

hardened against her young ones — ‘Hardened’ is qashach, to make unfeeling, the verb of Isa 63:17, ‘hardened our heart from thy fear’. ‘Fear’ here is pachad, dread: she is not troubled that her labour is lost. The image is used in Lam 4:3, ‘cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness’.

Verse 17

God hath deprived her of wisdom — ‘Deprived’ is nashah, to cause to forget, and ‘imparted’ is chalaq, to apportion. ‘Wisdom’ is chokmah and ‘understanding’ is binah, the word of v.26, ‘by thy wisdom’. The LORD is the one who gives either, ‘Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?’ (38:36), and who ‘maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven’ (35:11).

Verse 19

clothed his neck with thunder — ‘Strength’ is gevurah, might, and ‘thunder’ is ra’mah, a word that can also mean the horse’s quivering mane; the same root gives ‘the thunder of the captains’ in v.25. Ps 147:10 says the LORD ‘delighteth not in the strength of the horse’, and Prov 21:31, ‘the horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD’.

Verse 25

Ha, ha — He’ach, ‘aha’, is elsewhere the cry of enemies over the fallen (Ps 70:3; Ezek 26:2; 36:2), but here the horse says it ‘among the trumpets’ (shophar, the horn). ‘Smelleth’ is ruach, to scent, and ‘the shouting’ is teruah, a shout or war-cry, the word printed ‘joy’ in 33:26.

Verse 26

by thy wisdom — ‘Wisdom’ is binah, understanding, the word of v.17 where the ostrich is denied it. The hawk (nets) flies to the south on no counsel of Job’s. Jer 8:7 says the same of the migrating birds: ‘the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming’.

Verse 27

mount up at thy command — ‘Command’ is literally ‘mouth’ (peh), and ‘mount up’ is gavah, to be lofty. Obadiah turns the image on the proud: ‘Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD’ (Obad 1:4).

Verse 30

where the slain are, there is she — ‘Suck up’ is ala’, to sip, a verb found only here; ‘slain’ is chalal, pierced. Christ uses the same sight in his teaching on his coming: ‘wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together’ (Matt 24:28). The LORD’s next words, 40:1, are ‘Moreover the LORD answered Job’.