Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 38:41
Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
41. The raven. The question extends to the end of the verse,
Who provideth for the raven his food,
When his young ones cry unto God,
And wander without meat?
The raven is one of the commonest birds in Palestine; by its incessant croaking it presses itself upon the attention, and is often alluded to in Scripture. The cry of its young is an appeal unto God (Joe 1:20), and the feeding of it is proof of His universal providence, which does not overlook even the least of His creatures (Psa 147:9, Luk 12:24). The lion and the raven are here associated perhaps by way of contrast, the one being the most powerful and the other one of the least of God’s creatures. Their natures too are most dissimilar, the silent, subtle, self-reliance of the one, couching patiently in his lair, and the clamorous outcry and appeal of the other, wandering over the land in search of food. The raven, of course, is a general name, covering the whole Crow tribe.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who provideth for the raven his food? – The same thought is expressed in Psa 147:9,
He giveth to the beast his food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
Compare Mat 6:26. Scbeutzer (in loc.) suggests that the reason why the raven is specified here rather than other fowls is, that it is an offensive bird, and that God means to state that no object, however regarded by man, is beneath his notice. He carefully provides for the needs of all his creatures.
When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat – Bochart observes that the raven expels the young from the nest as soon as they are able to fly. In this condition, being unable to obtain food by their own exertions, they make a croaking noise, and God is said to hear it, and to supply their needs. Noyes. There are various opinions expressed in regard to this subject by the rabbinical writers, and by the ancients generally. Eliezer (cap. 21) says that, When the old ravens see the young coming into the world which are not black, they regard them as the offspring of serpents, and flee away from them, and God takes care of them. Solomon says that in this condition they are nourished by the flies and worms that are generated in their nests, and the same opinion was held by the Arabian writers, Haritius, Alkuazin, and Damir. Among the fathers of the church, Chrysostom, Olympiodorus, Gregory, and Isidorus, supposed that they were nurtured by dew descending from heaven.
Pliny (Lib. x. c. 12) says, that the old ravens expel the strongest of their young from the nest, and compel them to fly. This is the time, according to many of the older commentators, when the young ravens are represented as calling upon God for food. See Scheutzer, Physica Sacra, in loc. and Bochart, Hieroz. P. ii. L. ii. c. ii. I do not know that there is now supposed to be sufficient evidence to substantiate this fact in regard to the manner in which the ravens treat their young, and all the circumstances of the place before us will be met by the supposition that young birds seem to call upon God, and that he supplies their needs. The last three verses in this chapter should not have been separated from the following. The appeal in this is to the animal creation, and this is continued through the whole of the next chapter. The proper place for the division would have been at the close of Job 38:38, where the argument from the great laws of the material universe was ended. Then commences an appeal to his works of a higher order – the region of instinct and appetites, where creatures are governed by other than mere physical laws.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 41. Who provideth for the raven] This bird is chosen, perhaps, for his voracious appetite, and general hunger for prey, beyond most other fowls. He makes a continual cry, and the cry is that of hunger. He dares not frequent the habitations of men, as he is considered a bird of ill omen, and hated by all.
This verse is finely paraphrased by Dr. YOUNG: –
“Fond man! the vision of a moment made!
Dream of a dream, and shadow of a shade!
What worlds hast thou produced, what creatures framed,
What insects cherish’d, that thy God is blamed?
When pain’d with hunger, the wild raven’s brood
Calls upon God, importunate for food,
Who hears their cry ? Who grants their hoarse request,
And stills the glamours of the craving nest?”
On which he has this note: – “The reason given why the raven is particularly mentioned as the care of Providence is, because by her clamorous and importunate voice she particularly seems always calling upon it; thence , , is to ask earnestly. – AElian. lib. ii., c. 48. And since there were ravens on the banks of the Nile, more clamorous than the rest of that species, those probably are meant in this place.”
THE commencement of Cicero’s oration against Catiline, to which I have referred on Job 38:3, is the following: –
Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? Quamdiu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? Quem ad finem sese effrenata jactabit audacia? Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium palatii-nihil urbis vigiliae, – nihil timor popuii, – nihii concursus bonorum omnium, – nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus-nihil horum ora, vultusque moverunt? Patere tua consilia nan sentis? Constrictam jam omnium horum conscientia teneri conjurationem tuam non vides? Quid proxima, quid superiore nocte egeris,-ubi fueris, quos convocaveris, – quid consilii ceperis, quem nostrum ignorare arbitraris? O tempora! O mores! Senatus haec intelligit, – consul videt; hic tamen vivit! Vivit? immo vero eitam in senatum venit; fit publici consilii particeps; notat et designat oculis ad caedem unumquemque nostrum! Nos autem, viri fortes, satisfacere reipublicae videmur, si istius furorem ac tela vitemus!
“How long wilt thou, O Catiline, abuse our patience? How long shall thy madness out-brave our justice? To what extremities art thou resolved to push thy unbridled insolence of guilt? Canst thou behold the nocturnal arms that watch the palatium, – the guards of the city, – the consternation of the citizens, – all the wise and worthy clustering into consultation, – the impregnable situation of the seat of the senate, – and the reproachful looks of the fathers of Rome? Canst thou behold all this, and yet remain undaunted and unabashed? Art thou insensible that thy measures are detected? Art thou insensible that this senate, now thoroughly informed, comprehend the whole extent of thy guilt? Show me the senator ignorant of thy practices during the last and preceding night, of the place where you met, the company you summoned, and the crime you concerted. The senate is conscious, – the consul is witness to all this; yet, O how mean and degenerate! the traitor lives! Lives? he mixes with the senate; he shares in our counsels; with a steady eye he surveys us; he anticipates his guilt; he enjoys the murderous thought, and coolly marks us to bleed! Yet we, boldly passive in our country’s cause, think we act like Romans, if we can escape his frantic rage!”
The reader will perceive how finely Cicero rushes into this invective, as if the danger had been too immediate to give him leisure for the formality of address and introduction. See Guthrie’s Orations of Cicero.
Here is eloquence! Here is nature! And in thus speaking her language, the true orator pierces with his lightnings the deepest recesses of the heart. The success of this species of oratory is infallible in the pulpit, when the preacher understands how to manage it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Having mentioned the noblest of brute creatures, he now mentions one of the most contemptible and loathsome, to show the care of Gods providence over all creatures, both great and small; which is more remarkable in ravens, because,
1. They devour flesh, which it is not easy for them to find.
2. They are greedy, and eat very much.
3. They are generally neglected and forsaken by mankind.
4. Their young ones are so soon forsaken by their dams, that if God did not provide for them in a more than ordinary manner, they would be starved to death.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. Lu12:24. Transition from the noble lioness to the croaking raven.Though man dislikes it, as of ill omen, God cares for it, as for allHis creatures.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Who provideth for the raven his food?…. Not man, but God; he feeds the ravens, creatures very voracious, mean, and useless,
Lu 12:24;
when his young ones cry unto God; cry for want of food; which is interpreted by the Lord as a cry unto him, and he relieves them,
Ps 147:9; when deserted by the old ones; either left in their nests through forgetfulness, as some z; or because they are not, till fledged, black like them, as others a; when God feeds them, as some say b, with a kind of dew from heaven, or with flies that fly about them, and fall into their mouths; or with worms bred out of their dung but these things are not to be depended on; it may rather respect them when cast out of the nest by the old ones, when able to fly, which is testified by naturalists c; and with this agrees what follows:
they wander for lack of meat; being obliged to shift for themselves, when God takes care of them; which is an instance of his providential goodness; and how this is to be improved, see Mt 6:26.
z Plin. apud Servium in Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. p. 189. a Pirke Eliezer, c. 21. b Hieron. in Pasl. cxlvii. 9. c Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(41) They wander for lack of meat.The second clause is not a direct statement, but is dependent on the previous one; thus: When his young ones cry unto God, when they wander for lack of meat.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
41. They wander for lack of meat Better, (and) wander without food. The question includes the whole verse. “Of the raven,” says Dr. Tristram, ( Natural History,) “ there are eight species found in Palestine. In no country are the species more numerous in individuals. Of all the birds of Jerusalem the raven tribe are the most characteristic and conspicuous, though the larger species is quite outnumbered by its smaller companion. They are present everywhere to eye and ear, and the odours that float around remind us of their use. The raven is a bird of almost world-wide distribution. It is found from Iceland to Japan.” In turning to the kingdom of birds we should have expected the mention of their king, the eagle; but instead, it is, as in Luk 12:24, the clamorous raven, with its hoarse croaking, that is singled out. Even this bird, filthy and ceremonially unclean, serves as an emblem of God’s protecting care and goodness. It was an olden belief, as appears in the works of Aristotle, AElian, and Philo, that the raven was cruel to its young, “driving them from the nest and compelling them to fly.” (Pliny.) Even such ugly, raven -ous waifs God takes care of; he hears their hateful cry and gives them food. Psa 147:9. “Do not therefore, O Job, imagine that because I afflict thee, therefore I do not love thee.” Chrysostom.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 38:41. Who provideth for the raven his food? The reason given why the raven is particularly mentioned as an object of the care of Providence, is, because by his clamorous and importunate voice he particularly seems always calling upon him; thence from corax, a raven, signifies to ask earnestly, Elian, lib. ii. c. 48. See Dr. Young’s Notes on his Paraphrase of the Book of Job.
REFLECTIONS.1st, Behold the present Deity! what mortal but must tremble before him, with deep silence bow into the dust, and hear with solemn attention what GOD is about to speak!
1. The person who appears is the Almighty Jehovah, probably the eternal Son, visible in human form. See chap. Job 42:5. Out of the whirlwind, in terrible majesty, he utters his voice, and, as Job had so earnestly requested, directs his speech to him. Note; (1.) God hath various ways of speaking to the souls of men: sometimes in the small still voice of secret consolations, sometimes in the awfully distressing thunders of heart-rending convictions; yet in both it is alike the voice of mercy. (2.) They who contend against God, must be made to know at last, how vain their struggle against him, who, when he judgeth, will overcome.
2. The charge laid against job. Who is this that darken-eth counsel, by words without knowledge? Shall a worm dare presume to judge of God’s perfections? Shall Job, the righteous Job, object to his wisdom and goodness? Shall he by speeches of folly darken and misrepresent the counsels of providence? How insolent, as well as ignorant, the attempt!
3. God challenges him to answer, since that was what he had so eagerly desired; bids him gird up his loins as a man of war, and produce his strong reasons; or answer his questions concerning things natural and obvious, before he dared pretend to fathom the secrets of Providence.
2nd, With what majesty! with what unutterable dignity, doth God describe his own glorious works! and how can Job pretend to dispute with him, when he is unable to answer one of a thousand of his enquiries.
1. Where was he, when God, alone existing from eternity, began his wonders of creation, and laid the strong foundations of the earth? Was he present, or his wisdom consulted, in proportioning the quantity of matter to be consolidated; or fitting in exact proportion the several parts, to compose the exquisite machine? Could he explain the causes of attraction and gravitation; how the parts cohere? by what basis supported; or by what cornerstone the glorious fabric was held together? How unthought of, without a being, was he, when on the rising glories of creation, the morning stars, spoke into being at God’s word, shone forth his praises; or rather bright angelic hosts beheld with enraptured admiration the teeming womb of nature, and heaven’s high arch resounded with shouts of joy, and songs of seraphic spirits, adoring the great creator. Note; (1.) God alone is the great author of all; and he who made all with such consummate wisdom, must needs best know how to govern. (2.) If angels in heaven are adoring, should man be silent, to whom the earth is given, and for whose sake it was formed? (3.) In heaven no discord is heard; there they all unite in the great congregation. When shall the sons of God on earth resemble them; divided no more by schisms, sects, and parties; but with one heart, and one mouth, unite together in universal love, and worship God in the same beauty of holiness!
2. He knew no more concerning the limiting of the sea with bounds, than about the creation of the earth. It was God alone, without his help or consultation, who from the embrio of matter first separated the swelling floods, that burst forth at his word, as waters from the travailing womb. Then by his spirit moving on the face of the deep, the separation first was made, and the dry land arose: the ocean retired to its appointed place, laid as a babe in a cradle, and wrapped with swaddling bands of darkness. There, though the billows rage, and lift their curling heads on high, his decree hath fixed their limits, more firm than bars of adamant; Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.
3rdly, God proceeds to confound Job with questions infinitely above mortal understanding; and thereby to teach him his folly in arraigning any of his works and ways.
1. Respecting the light of the morning. Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days? to break sooner, or retard the dawn beyond its appointed moment; and caused the day-spring to know its place? when or where to arise? Never: how then could he pretend to alter the dispensations of providence? Swift the morning beam darts to earth’s farthest verge, bringing unwelcome light to the deeds of darkness; then the wicked are discovered and seized, and shaken out of the world. Turning to the sun, as clay to the seal, the enlightened hemisphere, which before was darkness and confusion, now appears beautifully illuminated with the beams of day; and all its verdant beauties, trees, plants, herbs, and flowers, like garments clothe and adorn it on every side. But though the light of day returns, spiritual darkness is still spread upon the sinner’s soul, and eternal darkness awaits him; or, confined for his crimes in dungeons, he sees no cheering beam; and the arm that he lifted high in iniquity is broken by just judgment. Note; Like the morning-light did Christ, the day-star, arise, and his bright truth has been diffused to the ends of the earth; and though wicked men choose darkness rather, and hate this gospel-day, they shall be seized, convicted, condemned, and executed, doomed to that outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
2. As ignorant was he, [1.] Of the springs of the sea; what fed it in such exact proportion, that it should not be exhausted by the vapour arising from it, or swoln beyond its limits by the rivers which flow into it; as ignorant also was he of its depth, which is unfathomable; and of its treasures, which are unsearchable. [2.] Of the state of the dead, by what diseases or accidents men shall come to the grave; how the union of body and soul is dissolved; by what path we go into the unseen world; in what place the soul remains; who in that world are happy or miserable; and what is there transacted. Note; In awful curiosity the soul now steps sometimes to the verge of time, and casts an eye into the boundless ocean of eternity; but “shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it.” Yet, though sight fails, and reason is lost, faith can pierce through the thick cloud, and dare, unterrified, launch forth with confidence and comfort into the untried abyss. [3.] Of the dimensions of the earth. Who ever made the survey of all its kingdoms, provinces, hills, dales, with the several measures and extent of each? How much is yet unknown after all human researches; and of what is discovered, how small a part can any one man know by actual survey? and how much less of the breadth and length of the divine counsels? [4.] Where light dwells, and where darkness has its place; and how in succession they go and return, till day and night shall have an end? Secrets these, into which the deepest philosophic inquiries can never adequately penetrate. [5.] Of the snow, hail, and wind. Where the treasuries for each are placed; how they are sent forth in measure and duration; in what manner marshalled, when God employs them as instruments of vengeance to punish guilty mortals? In all which points, a worm of yesterday, as Job was, must confess his ignorance, and therefore ought in silence to adore, without a murmur against any thing that God doth, all of whose works far exceed his understanding.
4thly, How impotent, as well as ignorant, is man, when compared with his Maker! Who can do as God doth? Therefore how dare we contend with him?
1. From him alone cometh the rain; each drop falls from the clouds in its appointed place, and in the exact channel formed for it through the air. The lightning flashes not uncircumscribed, but in the way, extent, and order that he prescribes. The desolate wilderness partakes of the divine care, and herbs and flowers arise where no human footsteps tread, and the beasts of the forest alone maintain their empire. Great parent of all, the rain calls him Father, and the smallest drop of dew distinctly acknowledges him the Maker. The hoary frost that whitens the earth, he only can produce; and when he sends forth his ice, the waters are congealed as the rock, and the face of the deep is solid as the marble pavement. Note; Our hearts are like the desolate and parched ground, till watered with the dew of heavenly grace, but then bring forth fruit unto God.
2. God appeals to him for his weakness. He can do nothing: the clouds will not drop at his bidding, nor the lightnings execute his commands; much less can he reach the higher regions of the stars. He cannot bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, which usher in the general spring, to retard or hasten it; nor loose the bands of Orion, whose constellation reigns during the cold of winter, that the stormy winds should not blow, nor the frost harden the earth. The southern stars own not his government, nor do the constellations of the north move by his direction. So far from guiding them, he knew not by what laws they were governed; and if their dominion were left to him confusion would soon ensue, and he be at a loss to direct the vast machine. The understanding that man possesses, of whatever kind, in things natural and spiritual, is all derived from him, and therefore it were folly to pretend to be wise above him, from whom all our wisdom comes. We know little, and can do less. Who can number the clouds, or stay the bottles of heaven, when by profuse rain the dust becomes mire, and cleaves fast together in clods? Therefore, with humble acknowledgments of our weakness and ignorance, it becomes us to resign ourselves and our all to his government, who alone is the all-wise Director. Note; (1.) If some pretend to judge of men’s fortune by the knowledge of the stars, and others credit their astrological predictions, we may safely conclude the knavery or impudence of the one, and the folly of the other. (2.) Since God is the author of our rational soul, let us improve the measure of knowledge that he hath bestowed upon us, not in endless researches, or vain questions, much less in finding fault with his ways; but in meditation on his glory, and reflecting on the arguments for perfect submission under all his dispensations; and this shall be indeed our wisdom.
3. God proceeds, from the works of his glory above, to his care and providence over the brute creation, in which the next chapter is entirely occupied, and might properly begin here. The lion, as the king of beasts, is first mentioned: man neither can nor durst provide the lions’ prey, nor approach them in their hiding-places; but God feeds and fills them. The ravens likewise prove his providential care: useless as they may appear in the creation, their young ones are not suffered to perish for want; but God hears their cry of hunger, and provides for their support. Note; (1.) Doth the providence of God extend to the fierce lion, and the unclean raven? shall they share his kindness; and can his own children have cause to complain of his neglect? No, in no wise. (2.) If the cry of the young raven is heard, surely the prayers of the poor shall not be disregarded. While on our knees we beg for daily bread, we shall not want it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
RELFLECTIONS.
READER, let you and I pause over this chapter, and amidst many other sweet thoughts, which arise out of the solemn review of what is here brought before us, let this strike our minds as among the highest improvements; I mean, to note down the wonderful grace, and goodness, and condescension, and love, JEHOVAH here manifested in reasoning with Job in the manner here set forth. JEHOVAH hath indeed said, that though he is the High and Lofty One who inhabiteth Eternity, and whose name is Holy, yet that he doth humble himself to behold the things which are in heaven and earth. But that GOD should thus graciously condescend to reason and expostulate with his creature, under the dissatisfied and murmuring state of a repining mind! Oh! how great the mercy! And, yet, Reader, cannot we both find another instance of yet greater tenderness, in which the LORD hath surpassed every other testimony he hath afforded mankind, or ever can afford again, in all the stores of his omnipotency and grace? Did he not indeed perform an act of condescension, at which all Heaven stood amazed, and Angels have long been contemplating with wonder and surprise, when JESUS, the only begotten Son, which lay from all eternity in the bosom of the FATHER, came at the call of GOD, and tabernacled in substance of our flesh? Nay more-not only tabernacled in our nature, but in that nature debased himself to the lowest possible degree of humiliation, until, by the accursed death of the cross, he had fully accomplished the redemption of his people! Well might the Prophet exclaim, Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth! for the Lord hath done it.
Reader, over and above this view of divine love and condescension, let you and I learn from what the LORD hath said, what poor, shortsighted, ignorant creatures we are. Let us from henceforth rejoice, that we are under a wiser and better direction than our own. Whatever dispensation it pleaseth GOD to exercise us with, let our first and great object be, to see the hand of JESUS in it, and to rest in a clear assurance of our interest in him. The Christian’s, the true believer’s motto should be, in every state when in union with JESUS, what the Prophet hath said, The just Lord is in the midst of Zion; he will not, he cannot, do iniquity. And oh! when the voice of GOD is heard in the dispensation, how dark soever it may be, the whole face of the dispensation is changed. Let a poor believer in the LORD JESUS be drenched in the deepest adversity of bodily afflictions, or soul distresses, or both; yet when JESUS is seen directing the event, there can be no room to question or enquire, much less to fret and grow uneasy, under the providence. Let a soul, but hear his precious voice; “Be still, and know that I am GOD.” Surely a GOD in CHRIST, a GOD in covenant, a faithful GOD, a tried GOD, an approved GOD, buoys up the soul, like the anchor of a ship in a dark and tempestuous night, and the soul is made more than conqueror through his grace helping us. Reader, let us beg of GOD for this grace, that it may be to his glory, and our joy.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 38:41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
Ver. 41. Who provideth for the raven his food? ] Though the raven be a most vile creature, and hated almost of all: in some places there is a reward appointed for those that shall kill them up. Though an unclean creature, and therefore abominable, Lev 11:13 ; Lev 11:15 . Though unmerciful to her own, and pitiless to other birds, though an inauspicate creature, a sign both of man’s punishment and God’s curse, Isa 34:11 . Though he crieth with a hoarse and harsh voice (whence also he hath derived the origin of his name), and so unfit to move pity; yet God provideth food for him. What then will he do for his faithful servants? Mat 6:26 , where our Saviour fetcheth not an example from the Israelites miraculously fed in the wilderness, or Elijah in the desert, but from fowls of the air; and among them, not from eagles, hawks, nightingales, but ravens, &c. “Consider the ravens,” Luk 12:24 , Corvus incubat 20 diebus, et pullos nido expellit (Plin. Arist.).
When his young ones cry to God
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 104:27, Psa 104:28, Psa 147:9, Mat 6:26, Luk 12:24
Reciprocal: Gen 6:21 – General Gen 8:7 – a raven Gen 16:11 – hath Lev 11:13 – the eagle 1Ki 17:4 – I have commanded Psa 50:11 – know Psa 104:21 – seek Joe 1:20 – cry
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 38:41. Who provideth for the raven his food? Having mentioned the noblest of brute creatures, he now mentions one of the most contemptible; to show the care of Gods providence over all creatures, both great and small. Their young ones are so soon forsaken by their dams, that if God did not provide for them in a more than ordinary manner, they would be starved to death. And will He that provides for the young ravens fail to provide for his own children?
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
38:41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones {b} cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
(b) Read Psa 147:9.