Job 39:14

_WHICH LEAVETH HER EGGS IN THE EARTH, AND WARMETH THEM IN DUST,_ Nay (unlike the stork) she leaveth etc. Hence, called by the Arabs the impious bird. However, the fact is, she lays her eggs with great care about a foot beneath the surface, and hatches them as other birds do; but in hot countries the eggs do not need so constant incubation; she therefore often leaves them during the day: moreover, the outer eggs intended for food, she feeds her young with (Cuvier, 'Animal Kingdom,' 8: 432); these eggs, lying separate in the sand exposed to the sun, gave rise to the idea of her altogether leaving them. God describes her as she seems to man: implying, though she may seem foolishly to neglect her young, yet really she is guided by a sure instinct from God, as much as animals of instincts widely different....

Verse Job 39:14. _WHICH LEAVETH HER EGGS IN THE EARTH_] This want of parental affection in the _ostrich_ is almost universally acknowledged. Mr. _Jackson_, in his _Account of Morocco_, observes: "The ostrich, having laid her eggs, goes away, _forgetting_ or _forsaking_ them: and if some other ostrich discover them, she hatches them as if they were her own, _forgetting_ probably whether they are or are not; so deficient is the recollection of this bird." This illustrates Job 39:15: "And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them." The poet seems well acquainted with every part of the subject on which he writes; and facts incontestable confirm all he says. For farther illustration, see the account from Dr. _Shaw_ at the end of the chapter....

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 breaks, and disposeth of according to the number and cravings of her young ones.” The idea which seems to be conveyed in our common version is, that the ostrich deposits her eggs in the sand, and then leaves them, without further care, to be hatched by the heat of the sun. This idea is not, however, necessarily implied in the original, and is contrary to fact. The truth is, that the eggs are deposited...

EXPOSITION JOB 39:1 This chapter completes the survey of animate nature begun at Job 38:39. The habits and instincts of the wild goat, the wild ass, and wild cattle are first noticed (Job 38:1); then a transition is made to the most remarkable of birds, the ostrich (Job 38:13). Next, the horse is described, and, as it were, depicted, in a passage of extraordinary fire and brilliancy (Job 38:19-18). Finally, a return is made to remarkable birds, and the habits of the hawk and eagle obtain mention ...

WHICH LEAVETH HER EGGS IN THE EARTH,.... Lays them and leaves them there. Aelianus, agreeably to this, says w, that it builds a low nest in the ground, making a hollow in the sand with its feet; though he seems to be mistaken as to the number of its eggs, which he makes to be more than eighty; more truly Leo Africanus x, who reckons them ten or twelve; which, he says, it lays in the sand, and each of them are of the size of a cannon ball, and weigh fifteen pounds, more or less. Hence, with the Arabs, it is called "the mother of eggs,'' because of the large eggs it lays; and with them it is a proverb, "meaner, or of a lesser account, than the eggs of an ostrich,'' because its eggs are neglected by it y; AND WARMETH THEM IN THE DUST; not that she leaves them to be warmed by the hot sand, or by the heat of the sun upon them, by which they are hatched, as has been commonly said, for the...

CHAPTER S 38:39--39:30 _ 1. The beasts of prey (Job 38:39)_ 2. The wild goats, the ass, the unicorn and the ostrich (Job 39:1) 3. The horse, the hawk and the eagle (Job 39:19) Job 38:39. God's own wisdom and power in nature, as witnessed to by Himself, is followed by His witness as to the sustenance of His creatures, how mercifully He provides for their need. This section begins with the query, “Knowest thou?” Could he hunt the prey of the lion, or fill the ravenous appetite of their young? God considers the young, even so unclean a bird as the raven has its food provided by God. Wonderful it is to read that the young rave

Job 38:39 Ch. Job 39:30. The manifoldness of the Divine Mind as displayed in the world of animal life The instances chosen are the lion and the raven (Job 38:39); the wild goats and the hinds (ch. Job 39:1-4); the wild ass (Job 38:5; the wild ox (Job 38:9); the ostrich (Job 38:13); the war horse (Job 38:19); the hawk and the eagle ...

GOODLY WINGS UNTO THE PEACOCKS— Bochart seems to have proved, beyond all dispute, that the word rendered _peacocks_ signifies _ostriches;_ and the following description entirely agrees with that opinion. Mr. Heath renders the verse, _The wing of the ostrich is triumphantly expanded, though the strong pinion be the portion of the stork and the falcon;_ Job 39:14 _though she leaves her eggs,_ &c. Dr. Shaw renders the verse _The wing of the ostrich is quivering_ or _expanded, the very feathers and plumage of the stork;_ and he observes, that the _warming_ of the eggs in the _dust_ or _sand,_ is by incubation; and that the beginning of the 14th verse might be more properly rendered, _When she raiseth herself up to run away,_ namely, from her pursuers. In commenting on these verses, it may be observed, says the Doctor, that when the _ostrich_ i

2. And of the animal world (Job 39:1, Job 40:2) TEXT 39:1-30 to Job 40:2 39 KNOWEST THOU THE TIME WHEN THE WILD GOATS OF THE ROCK BRING FORTH? _Or_ canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? 2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? 3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their pains. 4 Then- young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; They go forth and return not again. 5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass, 6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling place? 7 He scorneth the tumult of the

THE FIRST SPEECH OF THE ALMIGHTY (CONCLUDED) Chs. Job 38:39 and Job 38:39 depict the wonders of animate creation, and the instincts with which animals are gifted by the providence of God. In view of His works Job must learn to trust Him and to believe in His goodness. 1-4. The wild goat or ibex....