Keraia
Job 39

Job 39:14

The LORD Speaks of His Creation · Job 39:1–30
Read Job 39

Translations

Modern
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
Traditional
Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
Literal
For she leaves her eggs on the ground, and upon the dust she warms them,
Latin
Quando derelinquit ova sua in terra, tu forsitan in pulvere calefacies ea?

Original

Hebrew
English
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.

Notes

Job 39:14–16

The ostrich symbolizes neglect for her young because she (Lamentations 4:3):

  1. Leaves her eggs on the ground.

  2. Seems to abandon her eggs when a predator comes near. She is probably trying to distract the predator from the nest.

  3. Lays her eggs with other female ostrich in a shared nest, so many eggs are not her own.

Job 39:13–18

In the ancient Near East, people believed the ostrich was a bird that God had not given wisdom.

Job 38:1–40:5

God challenges Job. Job admits he cannot judge the moral world. God shows Job's ignorance of the natural world's elements related to the realm of heaven, weather, animals, and birds (38:4–21; 22–38; 39–39:30).

Theme notes and profiles

Complaints God’s Uniqueness

Events

Glossary

Book of Job Ostrich Power Proverbs, Book of Wisdom Literature

Topics

Birds: Habits of Eggs God: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Ostriches: General Scriptures Concerning The Ostrich: Lays Her Eggs in the Sand