Job 39:16

She is hardened against her young ones, as though [they were] not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;

She is hardened {H7188} against her young ones {H1121}, as though they were not {H3808} hers: her labour {H3018} is in vain {H7385} without fear {H6343};

It treats its chicks heartlessly, as if they were not its own; even if her labor is in vain, it really doesn't care;

She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.

She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers: Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;

Commentary

Job 39:16 (KJV) describes a fascinating and somewhat perplexing aspect of God's creation: the ostrich. This verse highlights what appears to be an unusual lack of maternal instinct in the ostrich, portraying her as indifferent to her offspring and her efforts seemingly wasted due to this neglect.

Context

This verse is part of a profound discourse delivered by God Himself to Job from the whirlwind, spanning chapters 38-41. God is challenging Job's understanding and wisdom by parading before him various wonders of creation and asking rhetorical questions about their origin and control. After describing majestic creatures like the wild goat, deer, and wild ass, God turns His attention to the ostrich in Job 39:13-18. The description of the ostrichโ€™s seemingly careless parenting serves to emphasize Godโ€™s ultimate sovereignty and the mysterious nature of His design, which often defies human logic. It underscores that God, not Job, is the ultimate authority and source of wisdom, as Job later acknowledges in Job 40:4.

Key Themes

  • Divine Wisdom and Sovereignty: The primary theme is God's infinite wisdom and absolute control over all creation. Even behaviors that appear illogical or "unwise" from a human perspective, like the ostrich's apparent neglect, are part of God's design. This challenges human presumption and elevates God's incomprehensible understanding, as hinted at in Proverbs 3:19.
  • Paradoxical Nature of Creation: The ostrich is presented as a paradoxโ€”a creature of great speed and power (Job 39:18) yet seemingly lacking the most basic parental instinct. This highlights the diverse and sometimes perplexing ways God orchestrates life.
  • Human Limited Understanding: God's description of the ostrich, whose ways are "without fear" (lacking natural protective instinct) and whose "labour is in vain," serves to humble Job and remind him of the limits of human knowledge compared to divine omniscience.

Linguistic Insights

The phrase "hardened against her young ones" comes from the Hebrew root qashah (ืงึธืฉึธืื”), which means to be hard, severe, or stubborn. In this context, it conveys an unnatural lack of tenderness or empathy. The "fear" mentioned in "her labour is in vain without fear" (Hebrew pachad, ืคึทึผื—ึทื“) doesn't necessarily mean terror, but rather a lack of natural protective instinct or concern for the safety and well-being of her offspring. This absence of innate caution or care makes her efforts unproductive in terms of ensuring the survival of her young.

Practical Application and Reflection

Job 39:16 invites us to reflect on the vastness of God's wisdom and the humility required to understand His creation. While the ostrich's behavior might seem counter-intuitive, the passage reminds us that God's ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). For believers, this verse encourages trust in God's perfect plan, even when circumstances or natural phenomena seem inexplicable. It also serves as a subtle reminder of the importance of parental responsibility and diligent care for one's own, contrasting the ideal with the described behavior of the ostrich.

Note: Commentary was generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit.

Please remember that only the commentary section is AI-generated. The main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are sourced from trusted and verified materials.

Cross-References

  • Lamentations 4:3

    Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people [is become] cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.

  • Romans 1:31

    Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

  • Ecclesiastes 10:15

    The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.

  • Deuteronomy 28:56

    The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

  • Deuteronomy 28:57

    And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all [things] secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.

  • Habakkuk 2:13

    Behold, [is it] not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

  • 1 Kings 3:26

    Then spake the woman whose the living child [was] unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, [but] divide [it].
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