BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Job 39: God's Survey of Untamed Creation
God questions Job about the timing of wild births, the freedom of the wild ass, the strength of the wild ox, the ostrich's lack of wisdom, the war horse's courage, and the soaring of hawk and eagle.
Scripture
1Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their pains.
4Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; They go forth, and return not again.
5Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling-place?
7He scorneth the tumult of the city, Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver.
8The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing.
9Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib?
10Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?
12Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed, And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?
13The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; But are they the pinions and plumage of love?
14For she leaveth her eggs on the earth, And warmeth them in the dust,
15And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, Or that the wild beast may trample them.
16She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers: Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;
17Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18What time she lifteth up herself on high, She scorneth the horse and his rider.
19Hast thou given the horse his might? Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
20Hast thou made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is terrible.
21He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: He goeth out to meet the armed men.
22He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed; Neither turneth he back from the sword.
23The quiver rattleth against him, The flashing spear and the javelin.
24He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; Neither believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.
25As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha! And he smelleth the battle afar off, The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth, (And) stretcheth her wings toward the south?
27Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up, And maketh her nest on high?
28On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home, Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29From thence she spieth out the prey; Her eyes behold it afar off.
30Her young ones also suck up blood: And where the slain are, there is she.
What this passage means
The chapter opens with a series of rhetorical questions about the timing of births among rock-goats and hinds (vv. 1-4). The point is not zoological curiosity but a contrast: human beings cannot number the months of gestation or watch over wild young, yet these animals are cared for without human oversight. The text highlights that life unfolds according to patterns Job did not design.
The wild ass and wild ox (vv. 5-12) carry the argument further. These creatures resist domestication; no harness, no matter how strong, makes the wild ox a willing plow animal. Job is asked whether he trusts such strength with his labor or his grain. The implication is that Job's complaint assumes a control over the created order that he does not in fact possess even over a single beast.
The ostrich (vv. 13-18) is singled out as a creature that 'forgetteth that the foot may crush them' and is described as deprived of wisdom, yet runs with the horse. The horse of war (vv. 19-25) is given its might and mane, paws the valley, mocks fear, and smells battle from afar. The hawk and eagle (vv. 26-30) close the chapter by soaring and nesting on high cliffs, their eyes ranging far for prey. Each creature answers the prior questions: not Job, but God gave them these endowments.
Context
Job 39 sits within the second cycle of God's speeches (chs. 38-41). After chapters 38-39 introduce cosmic and animal realms, chs. 40-41 turn to behemoth and leviathan. The chapter does not give a full chapter-by-chapter surrounding text in the supplied material, so its flow here is read only from the verses themselves: a string of 'knowest thou…' or 'who hath…' questions directed at Job, each highlighting a creature's natural endowment.
The curated chapter note identifies Job 39 as backfilled material outside P0/P1 priority passages. No geographical, historical, or liturgical background is supplied, so the reference page does not add external context beyond what the chapter's own questions present.
Key words in the original
- H6501 פֶּרֶא (pereʾ), 'wild donkey / onager'. In Job 39:5 the verse asks 'who hath sent out the wild ass free?' The same animal appears in Job 6:5 (also in the cross references) and Job 11:12, where it is a picture of one that cannot be tamed to the human yoke.
- H2670 חׇפְשִׁי (ḥāp̄əšiy), 'free / exempt'. Occurs in Job 39:5 of the wild ass loosed from bonds. The gloss emphasizes exemption from bondage and care, fitting the creature that 'scorneth the tumult of the city' in v. 7.
- H6256 עֵת (ʿēṯ), 'time / season'. Repeated in vv. 1-2 ('the time when the wild goats… bring forth'; 'the time when they bring forth'). The repeated עֵת underlines God's point: the appointed season of birth belongs to His ordering, not Job's calendar.
Related verses
- Job 6:5 Job's earlier proverb asks, 'Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?' The same animal returns in 39:5-8 as a creature God freed to the wilderness, sharpening Job's earlier sarcasm against himself.
- Numbers 23:22 Balaam's oracle speaks of God having 'the strength of the wild-ox.' Job 39:9-12 asks whether Job can harness that strength, contrasting the power God grants with the power Job assumes he can command.
- Lamentations 4:3 Lamentations laments that 'the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.' Job 39:13-17 portrays the ostrich as a creature 'deprived of wisdom,' supplying the imagery Jeremiah later turns back on unfaithful Judah.
Common questions
Why does God spend a whole chapter on animals in Job 39?
Each creature illustrates an endowment Job did not give. Birth timing, freedom, strength, war-courage, and soaring flight all answer the question 'Knowest thou…?' with the implied answer that Job neither set these patterns nor sustains them.
What is the significance of the ostrich in Job 39:13-18?
The ostrich is portrayed as a creature 'deprived of wisdom' that nonetheless outruns the horse. It shows that God distributes gifts unevenly by human standards, and that a creature lacking one trait may excel in another.
How does Job 39 connect to the New Testament?
The closing image of eagles gathering where the slain are (v. 30) is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37, applying the scene of vultures drawn to carcasses to the urgency of judgment.