Ayub 39:1

39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way ¹ 

the mountain goats ²  give birth?

Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

Ayub 39:4-5

39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open; ³ 

they go off, and do not return to them.

39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who released the bonds of the donkey,

Ayub 39:10

39:10 Can you bind the wild ox ⁴  to a furrow with its rope,

will it till the valleys, following after you?

Ayub 39:16

39:16 She is harsh ⁵  with her young,

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

Ayub 39:25

39:25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’

And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,

the thunderous shouting of commanders,

and the battle cries.

Ayub 39:28

39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,

on a rocky crag ⁶  and a fortress. ⁷ 

Ayub 40:2

40:2 “Will the one who contends ⁸  with the Almighty correct him? ⁹ 

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

Ayub 40:5

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ¹⁰ 

Ayub 40:7-8

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task ¹¹  like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

40:8 Would you indeed annul ¹²  my justice?

Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?

Ayub 40:12

40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;

crush the wicked on the spot! ¹³ 

Ayub 40:15

The Description of Behemoth ¹⁴ 

40:15 “Look now at Behemoth, ¹⁵  which I made as ¹⁶  I made you;

it eats grass like the ox.

Ayub 40:19

40:19 It ranks first among the works of God, ¹⁷ 

the One who made it

has furnished it with a sword. ¹⁸ 

Ayub 40:23

40:23 If the river rages, ¹⁹  it is not disturbed,

it is secure, ²⁰  though the Jordan

should surge up to its mouth.

[39:1]  ¹ tn The text uses the infinitive as the object: “do you know the giving birth of?”

[39:1]  ² tn Or “ibex.”

[39:4]  ³ tn The idea is that of the open countryside. The Aramaism is found only here.

[39:10]  ⁴ tn Some commentators think that the addition of the “wild ox” here is a copyist’s error, making the stich too long. They therefore delete it. Also, binding an animal to the furrow with ropes is unusual. So with a slight emendation Kissane came up with “Will you bind him with a halter of cord?” While the MT is unusual, the sense is understandable, and no changes, even slight ones, are absolutely necessary.

[39:16]  ⁵ sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).

[39:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “upon the tooth of a rock.”

[39:28]  ⁷ tn The word could be taken as the predicate, but because of the conjunction it seems to be adding another description of the place of its nest.

[40:2]  ⁸ tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”

[40:2]  ⁹ tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”

[40:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will not add.”

[40:7]  ¹¹ tn See note on “task” in 38:3.

[40:8]  ¹² tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to annul; to break; to frustrate.” It was one thing for Job to claim his own integrity, but it was another matter altogether to nullify God’s righteousness in the process.

[40:12]  ¹³ tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).

[40:15]  ¹⁴ sn The next ten verses are devoted to a portrayal of Behemoth (the name means “beast” in Hebrew). It does not fit any of the present material very well, and so many think the section is a later addition. Its style is more like that of a textbook. Moreover, if the animal is a real animal (the usual suggestion is the hippopotamus), then the location of such an animal is Egypt and not Palestine. Some have identified these creatures Behemoth and Leviathan as mythological creatures (Gunkel, Pope). Others point out that these creatures could have been dinosaurs (P. J. Maarten, NIDOTTE, 2:780; H. M. Morris, The Remarkable Record of Job, 115-22). Most would say they are real animals, but probably mythologized by the pagans. So the pagan reader would receive an additional impact from this point about God’s sovereignty over all nature.

[40:15]  ¹⁵ sn By form the word is the feminine plural of the Hebrew word for “beast.” Here it is an abstract word – a title.

[40:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with you.” The meaning could be temporal (“when I made you”) – perhaps a reference to the sixth day of creation (Gen 1:24).

[40:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the ways of God.”

[40:19]  sn This may be a reference to Gen 1:24, where the first of the animal creation was the cattle – bÿhemah (בְּהֵמָה).

[40:19]  ¹⁸ tc The literal reading of the MT is “let the one who made him draw near [with] his sword.” The sword is apparently a reference to the teeth or tusks of the animal, which cut vegetation like a sword. But the idea of a weapon is easier to see, and so the people who favor the mythological background see here a reference to God’s slaying the Beast. There are again many suggestions on how to read the line. The RV probably has the safest: “He that made him has furnished him with his sword” (the sword being a reference to the sharp tusks with which he can attack).

[40:23]  ¹⁹ tn The word ordinarily means “to oppress.” So many commentators have proposed suitable changes: “overflows” (Beer), “gushes” (Duhm), “swells violently” (Dhorme, from a word that means “be strong”).

[40:23]  ²⁰ tn Or “he remains calm.”