Job 39 explained: Wild Animals Beyond Human Control

Goats and deer giving birth (vv. 1-4)

God asks whether Job knows when wild goats and deer give birth, something no herdsman keeps track of. These animals bear and raise their young with no human help, and the young grow strong and leave on their own.

The free wild donkey (vv. 5-8)

Unlike the working donkey, the wild donkey has no owner and no driver, roaming the barren salt flats and searching for scraps of green. God says he is the one who set it free, a freedom no human granted.

The untamable wild ox (vv. 9-12)

This is probably the aurochs, a huge wild bull now extinct, which some older translations called a "unicorn." However strong it is, Job could never harness it to plow or trust it to bring in his harvest.

The strange ostrich (vv. 13-18)

The poem pictures the ostrich leaving her eggs in the sand and says God did not give her good sense, describing her as she looked to ancient people (real ostriches do tend their eggs). Yet when she runs, she can outpace a horse and its rider.

The fearless war horse (vv. 19-25)

The horse is pictured charging into battle, snorting at the trumpet and laughing at swords and spears. God asks whether Job gave it that power and that eagerness.

Hawk and eagle (vv. 26-30)

The hawk's flight south, likely meaning its seasonal migration, and the eagle's nest high on the cliffs owe nothing to human wisdom or command. The chapter ends bluntly, with the eagle's young feeding on blood wherever the dead lie.

Key verse: Job 39:26

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether these questions mainly rebuke Job for overstepping, invite him into humble wonder and trust, or deliberately leave his question about suffering unanswered.

Something to think about

When you face parts of the world that are beyond your understanding or control, does that unsettle you, comfort you, or something else?