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Job 39:2

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 39:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
Job 39:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 39

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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,
← Job 39:1Job 39:3 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Canst thou number the months [that] they fulfil? etc.] Which some understand both of wild goats and hinds. Common goats fulfil five months, they conceive in November, and bring forth in March, as Pliny f1347 observes; but how many the wild goats of the rock fulfil is not said by him or any other I know of: the same writer says f1348 of hinds, that they go eight months; or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? naturalists f1349 tell us, that the hinds conceive after the rise of the star Arcturus, which rises eleven days before the autumnal equinox; so that they conceive in September; and as they go eight months, they bring forth in April; but then the exact time to a day and hour is…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“They bring forth with ease and do not need to reckon the months of pregnancy, as the shepherd does in the case of his flocks.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Canst thou number the months ... - That is, as they wander in the wilderness, as they live in inaccessible crags and cliffs of the rocks, it is impossible for man to be acquainted with their habits as he can with those of the domestic animals. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Jer 2:24 Job 39:5”
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Related study paths

Read Job 39 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification