The Pulpit Commentary — Job — Section 615

EXPOSITION. CHA.PTER XXXIX steinboek, or bonquetin, of the Swiss and Tyrolia.n Alps. It is very shy and wild, Vers. 1-80.-Tbis chapter completes the difficult of approach, and inhabiting only &UrVey of animate nature begun at eh. the most rocky and desolate tracts of Syria. :xxx:viii 39. The habits and instincts of and Arabie.. Representations of the animal, the wild goat, the wild 8.llll, and wild cattle which was hunted by the Assyrian kinge, are first noticed(vers. 1-12); then a tran- are common upon the Ninevite monuments (see' Ancient Monarchies,' vol. ii. p. 141). sition is made to the most remarkable of Or caut thou mark when ihe hinda do bird&, the ostrich (ven. l.S-18). Next, the ealve ! "The hinds" here are probably the hone is described, a.ud, &11 it were, depicted, females of the species of ibex intended, in a passage of extruo:rdinary fire a.ad bril- Ths clause is therefore a mere repetition, liancy (vem. 19-25). Finally, a return is in other words, of the preceding one. • Ver. 2.-Ce.mt thou number the months me.de to remarkable birds, and the habits that they fulfil 1 With an animal so wild of the hawk a.ad eagle obtain mention(vere. as the ibex, these secret& of nature would 26-30). Throughout, the object is to show be difficult ID observe and note down. In the infinite wisdom of God, and the utter Job's time probably no one bad made such incompetence of man to explain the mysteries subjects an object of inquiry. Or lmowellt thou the time when they bring forth t This of natnre. wonld be leB8 difficult to observe. The Ver.1.-Xnowellt thou the time when the breeding-time of most wild animals is lmoWJ;l wild goa.m of the rock )>ring forth J _'I'he in the country which produoea them. wild goats of Westeru A.Bia are of two kinds, Ver. 3.-Theybowthe1111elyea, they bring the Capra lllflagriu, and the ~iu.tic ibex, forth their young ones, they oallt out their or Capra Binailioo;- The latte~ 1s probably eorrows. Parturition is a pain, even to the the animal here mten1led, which 1s called brute creation, though, comparatively &pee.k- yti' el •el.a', " the wild g-oat of the rocks," ing, a light one. (For the figure of speech 11Dd was known t.o the Assyria11B as 1/Ja-e-li. by which that which causes pain is called It is e.n animal with large rough horns pain, see lEschyl., • Agam.,' 1. 1427; Eurip., enrving be.ck:words, closely allied to the • Ion,' 1. 4.5; Herod., v. I!I.) att. rtxrx. 1-80.] THE BOOK OF JOB. 831