Job 40:20

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 40:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Surely the mountains bring him forth food, Where all the beasts of the field do play.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Surely the mountains bring him forth food, Where all the beasts of the field do play.
Job 40:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 40

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20Surely the mountains bring him forth food, Where all the beasts of the field do play.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Surely the mountains bring him forth food, etc.] Grass, which grows on mountains, and is the food of the river horse as well as of the elephant; and therefore is furnished with teeth like a scythe to mow it down; and it is not a small quantity that will suffice it, mountains only can supply it; and marvellous it is that a creature bred in a river should come out of it to seek its food on mountains. There is a creature in the northern parts, as in Russia, Greenland, etc. which is called morss and sea morss, and by the description of it is much like the river horse, of the size of an ox, and having an head like one, with two large long teeth standing out of its upper jaw, and an hairy skin…”
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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
“The mountain is not his usual haunt. BOCHART says it is sometimes found there (?). beasts . . . play--a graphic trait: though armed with such teeth, he lets the beasts play near him unhurt, for his food is grass.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Surely the mountains bring him forth food - That is, though he lies commonly among the reeds and fens, and is in the water a considerable portion of his time, yet he also wanders to the mountains, and finds his food there. But the point of the remark here does not seem to be, that the mountains brought forth food for him, but that he gathered it “while all the wild beasts played around him, or sported in his very presence.” It was remarkable that an animal so large and mighty, and armed with such a set of teeth, should not be carnivorous, and that the wild beasts on the mountains should continue their sports without danger or alarm in his very presence. This fact could be accounted for…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Mountains - Though he lives most in the water, yet he often fetches his food from the land, and from the mountains or hills, which are nigh the river Nile. Play - They not only feed securely, but sport themselves by him, being taught by experience that he is gentle and harmless. Job 40:22”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the mountains: Job 40:15; Psa 147:8, Psa 147:9 where: Psa 104:14, Psa 104:26 Job 40:21”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification