Job Chapter 39

“Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? etc.] Which creatures are so called, because they dwell among the rocks f1345 and run upon them; and though their heads are loaded with a vast burden of horns upon them, yet can so poise themselves, as with the greatest swiftness, to leap from mountain to mountain, as Pliny says f1346: and if they bring forth their young in the rocks, as Olympiodorus asserts, and which is not improbable, it is not to be wondered, that the time of their bringing forth should not be known by men, to whom the rocks they run upon are inaccessible; [or] canst thou mark…”

“(Job 39:1-30) Even wild beasts, cut off from all care of man, are cared for by God at their seasons of greatest need. Their instinct comes direct from God and guides them to help themselves in parturition; the very time when the herdsman is most anxious for his herds. wild goats--ibex (Psa 104:18; Sa1 24:2). hinds--fawns; most timid and defenseless animals, yet cared for by God.”

“Knowest thou, the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? - That is, the particular season when the mountain goats bring forth their young. Of domestic animals - the sheep, the tame goat, etc., the habits would be fuIly understood. But the question here relates to the animals that roamed at large on inaccessible cliffs; that were buried in deep forests; that were far from the dwellings and observation of people; and the meaning is, that there were many facts in regard to such points of Natural History which Job could not explain. God knew all their instincts and habits, and on the inaccessible cliffs,…”

“Young ones - Notwithstanding their great weakness caused by their hard entrance into the world. Grow up - As with corn, that is, as if they were fed with corn. Go forth - Finding sufficient provisions abroad by the care of God's providence. Job 39:5”

“39:5-7 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, 22; 41:29). These images illustrate how God scorns the opposition of a man like Job (see Ps 2:4).”

“the wild: Sa1 24:2; Psa 104:18 when: Psa 29:9; Jer 14:5 Job 39:2”

“1 Dost thou know the bearing time of the wild goats of the rock? Observest thou the circles of the hinds? 2 Dost thou number the months which they fulfil, And knowest thou the time of their bringing forth? 3 They bow down, they let their young break through, They cast off their pains. 4 Their young ones gain strength, grow up in the desert, They run away and do not return. The strophe treats of the female chamois or steinbocks, ibices (perhaps including the certainly different kinds of chamois), and stags. The former are called יעלים, from יעל, Arab. w‛l (a secondary formation from עלה, Arab. ‛lâ), to mount,…”