Job 39:9

“Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, etc.] Whether there is or ever was such a creature, as described under the name of an unicorn, is a question: it is thought the accounts of it are for the most part fabulous; though Vartomannus f1364 says he saw two at Mecca, which came from Ethiopia, the largest of which had a horn in his forehead three cubits long. There are indeed several creatures which may be called “monocerots”, who have but one horn; as the “rhinoceros”, and the Indian horses and asses f1365 . The Arabic geographer f1366 speaks of a beast in the Indies, called “carcaddan”, which is lesser than an elephant and bigger than a buffalo; having in the middle of the forehead an horn…”

“unicorn--PLINY [Natural History, 8.21], mentions such an animal; its figure is found depicted in the ruins of Persepolis. The Hebrew reem conveys the idea of loftiness and power (compare Ramah; Indian, Ram; Latin, Roma). The rhinoceros was perhaps the original type of the unicorn. The Arab rim is a two-horned animal. Sometimes "unicorn" or reem is a mere poetical symbol or abstraction; but the buffalo is the animal referred to here, from the contrast to the tame ox, used in ploughing (Job 39:10, Job 39:12). abide--literally, "pass the night." crib-- (Isa 1:3).”

“Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee? - In the previous part of the argument, God had appealed to the lion, the raven, the goats of the rock, the hind, and the wild ass; and the idea was, that in the instincts of each of these classes of animals, there was some special proof of wisdom. He now turns to another class of the animal creation in proof of his own supremacy and power, and lays the argument in the great strength and in the independence of the animal, and in the fact that man had not been able to subject his great strength to the purposes of husbandry. In regard to the animal here referred to, there has been great diversity of opinion among interpreters, nor is there as yet any…”

“Unicorn - It is disputed whether this be the Rhinoceros; or a kind of wild bull. Job 39:16”

“39:9-12 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; 24:8; Deut 33:17; Pss 29:6; 92:10) was never tamed (cp. Gen 1:28; 9:2; Ps 8:5-6).”

“the: Num 23:22; Deu 33:17; Psa 22:21, Psa 92:10 or: Isa 1:3 Job 39:10”

“9 Will the oryx be willing to serve thee, Or will he lodge in thy crib? 10 Canst thou bind the oryx in the furrow with a leading rein, Or will he harrow the valleys, following thee? 11 Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great, And leave thy labour to him? 12 Wilt thou confide in him to bring in thy sowing, And to garner thy threshing-floor? In correct texts רים has a Dagesh in the Resh, and היאבה the accent on the penult., as Pro 11:21 ינּקה רע, and Jer 39:12 רּע מאוּמה. The tone retreats according to the rule, Ges. 29, 3, b; and the Dagesh is, as also when the second word begins with an aspirate, (Note: The National Grammarians call this exception to the rule, that the muta is…”