Job 39 | TNotes

Summary for Job 39:5-7: 39:5-7 ^a 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 ^b, 22 ^c; 41:29 ^d). These images illustrate how God scorns the opposition of a man like Job (see Ps 2:4 ^e).
Summary for Job 39:9-12: 39:9-12 ^f Now extinct and already rare by Moses’ time, the wild ox was the most powerful land animal in early Canaan. This Old Testament symbol of strength (Num 23:22 ^g; 24:8 ^h; Deut 33:17 ⁱ; Pss 29:6 ^j; 92:10 ^k) was never tamed (cp. Gen 1:28 ^l; 9:2 ^m; Ps 8:5-6 ⁿ).
Summary for Job 39:13-18: 39:13-18 ^o In the ancient Near East, the ostrich had a reputation as a bird that God had deprived of wisdom.
Summary for Job 39:14-16: 39:14-16 ^p The ostrich is a symbol of neglect for her young (Lam 4:3 ^q) because she (1) lays her eggs on top of the earth; (2) appears to leave her eggs to die when a predator approaches them (although she is probably attempting to lure the predator away from the nest); and (3) lays her eggs with several other hens in one nest, so most of the eggs are not her own.
39:18 ^r passes (literally scorns) the swiftest horse with its rider: See 39:7 ^s, 22 ^t; 41:29 ^u.
39:24 ^v The ram’s horn was sounded in combat to call for the charge (Josh 6:4-6 ^w).
39:30 ^x Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it—feeding on the remains (Ezek 39:17-19 ^y; Matt 24:28 ^z; Luke 17:37 ^aa).