Job 38:39

“Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? etc.] From meteors the Lord passes to animals, beasts, and birds, wherefore some here begin the thirty ninth chapter, which only treats of such; and he begins with the lion, the strongest among beasts, and most fierce; cruel, and voracious; and asks, who hunts his prey for him? Not man, who cannot; and if he could, durst not: but the Lord does; and, according to some writers f1339, he has provided a small creature, between a fox and a wolf, called a jackal; which goes before the lion, and hunts the prey for him. And could this be understood particularly of the old lion, as Cocceius and others, naturalists f1340 observe, that young lions hunt for the old…”

“At Job 38:39-39:30, the instincts of animals. Is it thou that givest it the instinct to hunt its prey? (Psa 104:21). appetite--literally, "life," which depends on the appetite" (Job 33:20).”

“Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? - The appeal here is to the instincts with which God has endowed animals, and to the fact that he had so made them that they would secure their own food. He asks Job whether he would undertake to do what the lion did by instinct in finding his food, and by his power and skill in seizing his prey. There was a wise adaptation of the lion for this purpose which man could neither originate nor explain. Or fill the appetite of the young lions - Margin, as in Hebrew “life.” The word life is used here for hunger, as the appetite is necessarily connected with the preservation of life. The meaning here is, “Wouldst thou undertake to supply his needs? It is done…”

“Hunt - Is it by thy care that the lions who live in desert places are furnished with necessary provisions? This is another wonderful work of God. Job 38:41”

“Wilt: Job 4:10, Job 4:11; Psa 34:10, Psa 104:21, Psa 145:15, Psa 145:16 appetite: Heb. life Job 38:40”

“39 Dost thou hunt for the prey of the lioness And still the desire of the young lions, 40 When they couch in the dens, Sit in the thicket lying in wait for prey? 41 Who provideth for the raven its food, When its young ones cry to God, They wander about without food? On the wealth of the Old Testament language in names for the lion, vid., on Job 4:10. לביא can be used of the lioness; the more exact name of the lioness is לביּה, for לביא is = לבי, whence לבאים, lions, and לבאות, lionesses. The lioness is mentioned first, because she has to provide for her young ones (גּוּרים); then the lions that are still young, but yet are left to themselves, כּפירים. The phrase מלּא חיּה (comp. חיּה of life…”