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Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 39:14

Which leaveth her eggs in the earth - That is, she does not build a nest, as most birds do, but deposits her eggs in the sand. The ostrich, Dr. Shaw remarks, lays usually from thirty to fifty eggs. The eggs are very large, some of them being above five inches in diameter, and weighing fifteen pounds - Goldsmith. “We are not to consider,” says Dr. Shaw, “this large collection of eggs as if they were all intended for a brood. They are the greatest part of them reserved for food, which the dam... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 39:15

And forgetteth that the foot may crush them - She lays her eggs in the sand, and not, as most birds do, in nests made on branches of trees, or on the crags of rocks, where they would be inaccessible, as if she was forgetful of the fact that the wild beast might pass along and crush them. She often wanders away from them, also, and does not stay near them to guard them, as most parent birds do, as if she were unmindful of the danger to which they might be exposed when she was absent. The object... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 39:16

She is hardened against her young ones - The obvious meaning of this passage, which is a fair translation of the Hebrew, is, that the ostrich is destitute of natural affection for her young; or that she treats them as if she had not the usual natural affection manifested in the animal creation. This sentiment also occurs in Lamentations 4:3, “The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.” This opinion is controverted by Buffon, but seems fully sustained by... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 39:17

Because God hath deprived her of wisdom ... - That is, he has not imparted to her the wisdom which has been conferred on other animals. The meaning is, that all this remarkable arrangement, which distinguished the ostrich so much from other animals was to be traced to God. It was not the result of chance; it could not be pretended that it was by a human arrangement, but it was the result of divine appointment. Even in this apparent destitution of wisdom, there were reasons which had led to this... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 39:13

Job 39:13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? The subject now changes from beasts to birds. There is no Hebrew in the text for gavest thou, and Bochart, who says of this verse, Vix ullus sit Scripturæ locus qui minus intelligatur, There is, perhaps, scarce any passage of Scripture which is less understood, “seems to have proved beyond dispute,” says Dr. Dodd, “that the word rendered peacocks,” רננים , renanim, “signifies ostriches, and the following description entirely... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 39:14-15

Job 39:14-15. Which leaveth her eggs in the earth “The ostrich lays from thirty to fifty eggs. Ælian mentions more than eighty; but I never heard of so large a number. The first egg is deposited in the centre; the rest are placed as conveniently as possible round it. In this manner she is said to lay, deposite, or trust, her eggs in the earth, and to warm them in the sand; and forget (as they are not placed, like those of some other birds, upon trees, or in the clefts of rocks,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 39:16

Job 39:16. She is hardened against her young ones “A very little share of that στοργη , or natural affection, which so strongly exerts itself in most other creatures, is observable in the ostrich: for upon the least distant noise, or trivial occasion, she forsakes her eggs, or her young ones, to which, perhaps, she never returns; or if she does, it may be too late either to restore life to the one, or preserve the lives of the other. Agreeably to this account, the Arabs meet sometimes with... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 39:17

Job 39:17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom The want of natural affection to her young is not the only reproach due to the ostrich. “She is likewise inconsiderate and foolish in her private capacity, particularly in her choice of food, which is frequently highly detrimental and pernicious to her, for she swallows every thing greedily and indiscriminately, whether it be pieces of rags, leather, wood, stone, or even iron.” “When I was at Oran,” proceeds Dr. Shaw, “I saw one of these... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 39:1-30

Control of the animal world (38:39-39:30)The pressure on Job increases as God continues with his unanswerable questions. From the natural world in general, God moves to the animal world. He draws Job’s attention to animals that sometimes appear to have no purpose so far as human life is concerned, but are still part of God’s ordering of the world.God asks Job if he is able to order nature by providing wild animals with food (39-41), while protecting timid animals when they give birth and care... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Job 39:13

Gavest thou. The Ellipsis ( App-6 ) is correctly supplied. read more

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