Albert Barnes Commentary Job 38:39

Albert Barnes Commentary

Job 38:39

1798–1870
Presbyterian
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes Commentary

Job 38:39

1798–1870
Presbyterian
SCRIPTURE

"Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions," — Job 38:39 (ASV)

Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? - The appeal here is to the instincts with which God has endowed animals, and to the fact that he had so made them that they would secure their own food. He asks Job whether he would undertake to do what the lion did by instinct in finding his food, and by his power and skill in seizing his prey. There was a wise adaptation of the lion for this purpose which man could neither originate nor explain.

Or fill the appetite of the young lions - Margin, as in Hebrew, “life.” The word “life” is used here for hunger, as the appetite is necessarily connected with the preservation of life. The meaning here is, “Would you undertake to supply his needs? It is done by laws, and in a manner which you cannot explain. There are in the arrangement by which it is accomplished marks of wisdom which far surpass the skill of man to originate, and the instinct and power by which it is done are proof of the supremacy of the Most High.” No one can study the subject of the instincts of animals, or become in the least acquainted with Natural History, without finding everywhere traces of the wisdom and goodness of God.