Job 39:2

KJV

Canst thou number the months [that] they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

KJV (with Strong's)

Canst thou number {H5608} the months {H3391} that they fulfil {H4390}? or knowest {H3045} thou the time {H6256} when they bring forth {H3205}?

Complete Jewish Bible

Can you tell how many months they carry their young? Do you know when they give birth,

Berean Standard Bible

Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?

American Standard Version

Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Job 39:2 is a profound rhetorical question posed by God to Job from the whirlwind, challenging Job's limited human understanding and asserting divine omnipotence and omniscience over creation. In this verse, God specifically inquires whether Job possesses the knowledge to comprehend the precise biological cycles of wild animals, particularly their gestation periods and the exact time of their delivery, thereby highlighting God's meticulous providence and sovereign control over all natural phenomena.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** This verse is deeply embedded within God's climactic discourse from the whirlwind, spanning [Job 38](/job/38 "Job 38 - God's First Speech to Job") through [Job 41](/job/41 "Job 41 - God's Description of Leviathan"). Following Job's profound laments and the prolonged, often unhelpful, debates with his friends, God finally intervenes, not to explain Job's suffering directly, but to assert His unparalleled wisdom, power, and sovereignty over all creation. The preceding verse, [Job 39:1](/job/39-1 "Job 39:1 - God's Care for Wild Animals"), directly references "the wild goats of the rock" and "the hinds to calve," setting the immediate stage for the question about their precise gestation and birthing times. This segment of God's speech systematically parades various aspects of the natural world—from celestial bodies to wild animals—that are entirely beyond human control or comprehension, compelling Job to confront the vast chasm between his finite perspective and the infinite wisdom of the Creator.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The ancient Near East, including the world of Job, held a deep respect for the natural world, often attributing its order and phenomena to divine activity. People lived in close proximity to nature, observing animal behaviors, weather patterns, and the cycles of life and death. However, their understanding was empirical and limited compared to a divine, omniscient perspective. The questions God poses would resonate with Job's lived experience in a pastoral and agricultural society, where the cycles of animals were vital but their precise, internal mechanisms remained a mystery. The wild animals mentioned, like mountain goats and deer, were known for their elusive nature and the challenges associated with their reproduction, making them potent symbols of nature's untamed, yet divinely ordered, aspects.
* **Key Themes:** The overarching themes in this section of Job are **Divine Omniscience and Sovereignty**, **Human Limitation and Humility**, and **God's Meticulous Providence in Nature**. God's rhetorical questions about the precise timing of animal births underscore His absolute knowledge and control over every intricate detail of His creation, demonstrating a meticulous providence that extends even to the wild and untamed. By posing questions Job cannot answer, God highlights the vast chasm between human understanding and divine wisdom, serving to humble Job and, by extension, all humanity, reminding us of our finite knowledge and the necessity of trusting in God's greater plan. This echoes sentiments found in [Isaiah 55:8-9](/isaiah/55-8 "Isaiah 55:8-9 - God's Thoughts are Higher"), where God declares His thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. The regular, predictable cycles of nature, such as gestation and birth, are presented not as random occurrences but as sustained and orchestrated by God's wisdom and power, emphasizing His consistent care and ordering of the natural world from the grandest cosmic phenomena to the most minute details of animal life.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **Number (Hebrew, _sāphar'_):** This verb means "to count," "to recount," "to tell," or "to declare." In this context, it refers to the ability to precisely quantify or track the months of gestation. The rhetorical question implies that such meticulous accounting of nature's internal biological clocks is beyond human capacity, belonging solely to the Creator who established and sustains these cycles.
* **Knowest (Hebrew, _yādaʿ'_):** This verb signifies "to know," "to perceive," "to understand," or "to be intimately acquainted with." It implies a deep, experiential, and comprehensive understanding. God asks if Job possesses this intimate knowledge of the exact "time" of delivery for wild animals, emphasizing that such profound insight into the mysteries of life and its timing rests exclusively with the divine.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"Canst thou number the months [that] they fulfil?":** This opening clause challenges Job's ability to precisely count or track the full gestation period of wild animals. The implied answer is a resounding "no." It highlights the hidden, intricate biological processes that unfold within creatures, orchestrated by divine wisdom beyond human observation or calculation.
* **"or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?":** This second clause extends the challenge, asking if Job possesses intimate knowledge of the exact moment of birth. This is not merely about counting months but knowing the precise, critical timing of delivery, which is often unpredictable and dangerous in the wild. It underscores God's meticulous oversight of even the most vulnerable and critical moments in the life cycles of His creatures.

#### Literary Devices
The verse primarily employs a **Rhetorical Question**, a powerful literary device where a question is posed not to elicit an answer, but to make a point or create a dramatic effect. God asks Job questions that are unanswerable by human wisdom, thereby highlighting Job's (and humanity's) inherent limitations and God's boundless omniscience and sovereignty. This technique serves to humble Job, forcing him to acknowledge the vast disparity between his finite understanding and the Creator's infinite wisdom. The questions also utilize **Parallelism**, with the two clauses ("Canst thou number..." and "or knowest thou...") reinforcing the same core idea through slightly different phrasing, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of God's knowledge versus human ignorance regarding the intricate timing of natural processes. This creates a rhythmic and emphatic challenge to Job's perspective.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 39:2 powerfully illustrates God's absolute sovereignty and meticulous providence over His creation, even in its most untamed and seemingly unpredictable aspects. It serves as a profound testament to divine wisdom, demonstrating that the intricate biological clocks and life cycles of wild animals are not random occurrences but are precisely orchestrated and sustained by God. This challenges humanity's tendency to rely on its own limited understanding and calls for a posture of humility and trust in the Creator's all-encompassing knowledge and control. The verse implicitly teaches that if God so meticulously cares for the wild creatures, His care for humanity, made in His image, is infinitely greater and more profound.

* [Psalm 104:24](/psalm/104-24 "Psalm 104:24 - God's Wisdom in Creation")
* [Matthew 10:29-31](/matthew/10-29 "Matthew 10:29-31 - God's Care for Sparrows and Humanity")
* [Romans 11:33](/romans/11-33 "Romans 11:33 - The Unsearchable Riches of God's Wisdom")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 39:2 invites us to pause and reflect on the immense wisdom and meticulous care of God, evident even in the unseen biological processes of wild animals. In a world that often feels chaotic or beyond our control, this verse reminds us that there is a divine Hand orchestrating even the most intricate details of life. It calls us to cultivate a posture of humility, recognizing the vast limitations of our own knowledge and understanding compared to the Creator. This humility should lead to profound trust: if God knows the precise timing of a wild goat's birth, He certainly knows and orchestrates the details of our lives, our challenges, and our future. This perspective can liberate us from anxiety and the need to control every outcome, encouraging us to rest in His sovereign plan and marvel at His consistent care for all creation, including us.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **How does reflecting on God's precise knowledge of animal gestation cycles impact your understanding of His care for your own life?**
* **In what areas of your life are you tempted to rely on your own understanding rather than trusting in God's sovereign timing and wisdom?**
* **How can acknowledging God's meticulous providence in nature deepen your worship and appreciation for Him?**

### FAQ
**Why does God ask Job questions He knows Job cannot answer?**

Answer: God asks rhetorical questions throughout [Job 38-41](/job/38 "Job 38 - God's First Speech to Job") not because He expects Job to provide answers, but to reveal His own unparalleled wisdom, power, and sovereignty, and to humble Job. These questions expose the vast chasm between human finite understanding and divine infinite knowledge. By pointing to intricate details of creation—like the precise timing of animal births in [Job 39:2](/job/39-2 "Job 39:2 - God's Knowledge of Animal Births")—God demonstrates that His ways are unsearchable and His judgments unfathomable, far beyond human comprehension. The purpose is not to shame Job but to reorient his perspective, leading him to a deeper trust and reverence for God, acknowledging that the Creator's plan is always perfect, even when it is beyond human understanding.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Job 39:2 is rooted in God's Old Testament revelation of His sovereignty over creation, it finds profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the Person of Jesus, who is the very embodiment of divine wisdom and the active agent of creation and its sustenance. The God who meticulously knows the "months" and "time" of every creature's birth is the same God revealed in Christ, through whom "all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible" ([Colossians 1:16](/colossians/1-16 "Colossians 1:16 - Christ as Creator")). Jesus, as the Word of God, is not only the Creator but also the sustainer, upholding "the universe by the word of his power" ([Hebrews 1:3](/hebrews/1-3 "Hebrews 1:3 - Christ Upholds All Things")). The meticulous care and knowledge God exhibits over wild animals in Job foreshadows the even greater, intimate knowledge and care Jesus demonstrates for humanity, exemplified in His assurance that not even a sparrow falls without the Father's knowledge, and that we are of more value than many sparrows ([Matthew 10:29-31](/matthew/10-29 "Matthew 10:29-31 - God's Care for Sparrows and Humanity")). Ultimately, the unsearchable wisdom of God displayed in creation's intricate timing culminates in the perfect timing of Christ's redemptive work, for "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son" ([Galatians 4:4](/galatians/4-4 "Galatians 4:4 - The Fullness of Time")). Thus, the sovereign control over creation's cycles, highlighted in Job, points to the sovereign Lordship of Christ over all things, including the precise unfolding of salvation history.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Jeremiah 2:24

A wild ass used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.