Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 12:7
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
7 10. Such knowledge as the friends possessed of God’s wisdom and power and their action in the world could be learned by any one who had eyes to observe the life and fate of the lower creatures. In all may be seen God’s absolute might and sway prevailing ( Job 12:10).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But ask now the beasts – Rosenmuller supposes that this appeal to the inferior creation should be regarded as connected with Job 12:3, and that the intermediate verses are parenthetical. Zophar had spoken with considerable parade of the wisdom of God. He had said (Job 11:7 ff) that the knowledge of God was higher than the heavens, and had professed Job 12:6 to have himself exalted views of the Most High. In reply to this, Job says that the views which Zophar had expressed, were the most commonplace imaginable. He need not pretend to be acquainted with the more exalted works of God, or appeal to them as if his knowledge corresponded with them. Even the lower creation – the brutes – the earth – the fishes – could teach him knowledge which he had not now. Even from their nature, properties, and modes of life, higher views might he obtained than Zophar had. Others suppose, that the meaning is, that in the distribution of happiness, God is so far from observing moral relations, that even among the lower animals, the rapacious and the violent are prospered, and the gentle and the innocent are the victims.
Lions, wolves, and panthers are prospered – the lamb, the kid, the gazelle, are the victims. Either of these views may suit the connection, though the latter seems to me to be the more probable interpretation. The object of Job is to show that rewards and punishments are not distributed according to character. This was so plain in his view as scarcely to admit of argument. It was seen all over the world not only among people, but even in the brute creation. Every where the strong prey upon the weak; the fierce upon the tame; the violent upon the timid. Yet God does not come forth to destroy the lion and the hyaena, or to deliver the lamb and the gazelle from their grasp. Like robbers Job 12:6, – lions, panthers, and wolves prowl upon the earth; and the eagle and the vulture from the air pounce upon the defenseless, and the great robbers of the deep prey upon the feeble, and still are prospered. What a striking illustration of the course of events among people, and of the relative condition of the righteous and the wicked. Nothing could be more pertinent to the design of Job than this appeal, and nothing was more in accordance with the whole structure of the argument in the poem, where wisdom is seen mainly to consist in the result of careful observation.
And they shall teach thee – Shall teach thee that God does not treat all according to their character. He does not give security to the gentle, the tame, and the innocent, and punish the ferocious, the blood-thirsty, and the cruel.
And the fowls – They shall give thee information of the point under discussion. Those that prey upon others – as the eagle and the vulture – are not exposed at once to the divine displeasure, and the tender and harmless are not protected. The general principle is illustrated in them, that the dealings of God are not always in exact accordance with character.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 12:7
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee.
An appeal to the living creatures
Rosenmuller supposes that this appeal to the inferior creation should be regarded as connected with Job 12:3, and that the intermediate verses are parenthetic. Zophar had spoken with considerable parade of the wisdom of God. He professed to have exalted views of the Most High. In reply to this, Job says that the views which Zophar had expressed were the most commonplace imaginable. He need not pretend to be acquainted with the more exalted works of God, or appeal to them as if his knowledge corresponded with them. Even the lower creation–the brutes, the earth, the fishes–could teach him knowledge which he had not now. Even from their nature, properties and modes of life, higher views might be obtained than Zophar had. Others suppose the meaning is that in the distribution of happiness, God is so far from observing moral relations that even among the lower animals, the rapacious and the violent are prospered, and the gentle and innocent are the victims. Lions, wolves, and panthers are prospered–the lamb, the kid, the gazelle are the victims. The object of Job is that rewards and punishments are not distributed according to character. This is seen all over the world, and not only among men, but even in the brute creation. Everywhere the strong prey upon the weak; the fierce upon the tame; the violent upon the timid. Yet God does not come forth to destroy the lion and the hyena, or to deliver the lamb and the gazelle from their grasp. Like robbers, lions, panthers, and wolves prowl upon the earth; and the eagle and the vulture from the air pounce upon the defenceless; and the great robbers of the deep prey upon the feeble, and still are prospered. What a striking illustration of the course of events among men, and of the relative condition of the righteous and the wicked. (Albert Barnes.)
Religious lessons taught to man
1. The great lesson which the animal creation, regarded simply as the creature and subject of God, is fitted to teach us, is a lesson of the wisdom and power and constant beneficence of God. Job reminds the friends that what they had been laying down to him in so pompous a manner constituted only the mere elements of natural religion, and that a man had only to look around him and observe and ponder the phenomena of the visible universe, to be abundantly convinced that God, the maker of all things, was also the upholder of all things, and the supreme disposer of all events. Job sends us to the animal creation that we may gather from it instances of the greatness of the Creators hand, and the constancy of the Creators providence. Himself invisible, God is revealed in all the work of His hands, and it needs but the observing eye and the candid judgment to satisfy every one of His being and His perfections. God reveals Himself no less in the lapse of events than in the arrangements of creation. There is no nation, there is no household, but has in the record of its own experience abundant manifestations of His constant, and wise, and gracious superintendence of the affairs of earth. In the lesson which is thus taught to us concerning God, the animal creation bears its part. Not one of the creatures but is fearfully and wonderfully made; not one of them but is wisely and mercifully provided for. For every one of them there is a place, and to this each is adapted with transcendent skill and beneficence. Even the lower animals may be our teachers and speak to us of God.
2. The way in which the creatures spend their life, and use the powers which God has given them. In many respects they are examples to us, and by the propriety of their conduct rebuke the folly and wickedness of ours. The beasts, etc., will teach us the following things as characteristic of their manner of life.
(1) They constantly and unceasingly fulfil the end of their being.
(2) They are seen always to live according to their nature.
(3) They teach us to seek happiness according to our nature and capacity, and with a prudent foresight to avoid occasions of disaster and sorrow. Man stands rebuked by the brutes that perish. (W. Lindsay Alexander, D. D.)
Does God treat men here according to character
I. The experience of human life. The fact that Job here refers to–the prosperity of wicked men, may be regarded–
1. As one of the most common facts of human experience. All men in all lands and ages have observed it, and still observe it. It is capable of easy explanation: the conditions of worldly prosperity are such that sometimes the wicked man can attend to them in a more efficient way than the righteous. As a rule, the more greed, cunning, tact, activity, and the less conscience and modesty a man has, the more likely he is to succeed in the scramble for wealth.
2. One of the most perplexing facts in human experience. What thoughtful man in passing through life has not asked a hundred times, Wherefore do the wicked prosper? and has not felt, with Asaph, stumbling into infidelity as he saw the prosperity of the wicked?
3. One of the most predictive facts in human experience. This fact points to retribution.
II. The history of inferior life. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, etc. Solomon sends us to the ant; Agur to the coney, the locust, the spider; Isaiah to the ox and the ass; Jeremiah to the stork, the turtledove, the crane, the swallow; and the Heavenly Teacher Himself to the fowls of the air. Jobs argument is that the same lack of interference on Gods part in the free operations of men in this life, in punishing the wicked and rewarding the good, you see around you in all the lower stages of life. Look to the beasts of the field. Does the Governor of the world interfere to crush the lion, the tiger, the panther, or the wolf from devouring the feebler creation of His hands? Does He come to the rescue of the shrieking, suffering victims? Behold the fowls of the air. See the eagle, the vulture, the hawk pouncing down on the dove, the thrush, the blackbird, or the robin. Does He interfere to arrest their flight, or curb their savage instincts? Speak to the earth. See the noxious weeds choking the flowers, stealing away life from the fruit trees, does He send a blast to wither the pernicious herb? Not He. Turn to the fishes of the sea. Does He prevent the whale, the shark, and other monsters from devouring the smaller tenants of the deep? No; He allows all these creatures to develop their instincts and their propensities. It is even so with man. He allows man full scope here to work out what is in him, to get what he can.
III. The maxims of philosophic life. Doth not the ear try His words? and the mouth taste His meat? With the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days is understanding. There is something like a syllogism in this verse.
1. That the more the mind exercises itself upon moral questions, the more capable it is to pronounce a correct judgment. Just as the gourmand gets a nicer appreciation of the qualities of wines and viands as he exercises his palate, so the mind gets a clearer conception of things the more it makes them the subject of reflection.
2. That the ancients did greatly exercise their minds on these subjects, and therefore their judgment is to be taken, and it confirms Jobs conclusions. (Homilist.)
Our duty to the creatures
In order to enforce the moral and religious duty which we all owe to the inferior creatures, consider–
I. The nature of our authority over them.
1. It arises out of that capacity of reason which places us above them. And as reason is our great distinction and prerogative, it is that alone which is to influence us in the exercise of the power which it has entrusted to our hands. As these creatures are endowed with a capacity to enjoy pleasure, and as abundant provision is made for the gratification of their several senses, reason teaches us to conclude that the Creator wills their happiness, and that our nobler faculties are to be employed, not in counteracting, but in furthering His benevolent purpose. Whatever unnecessarily deprives them of any portion of their enjoyment, violates the authority of reason, and deposes the sovereign of the lower world from that throne which he converts into an engine of tyranny and oppression.
2. This, likewise, is constituted authority. Man has received the creatures by an original grant from the hands of their Maker. In virtue of this all-comprehensive endowment, the investiture of property is added to the natural authority of reason, so that we have an unquestionable right to make all the tribes of being subservient to our interest. But our authority is limited–it is the authority of men over dependents, not of demons over their victims. We are not at liberty to use the creatures as we please. Where necessity ends, inhumanity begins. The meanest reptile on earth has its inalienable rights, and it is at our peril that we immolate them on the altar of our hard-hearted selfishness. The persecuted, injured, suffering children in natures universal family are not forgotten by their beneficent Parent, nor will their wrongs remain unredressed.
II. Their claims upon our humanity and kindness. The creatures who are beneath us ought not only to be protected from ill-treatment, but they are entitled to humane and benevolent consideration, as parts of the great family specially committed to our guardianship. Many, who would shrink from the imputation of cruelty, by a constitutional indifference to the wants and sufferings of the beings around them, are really chargeable with all the wretchedness which it is in their power to prevent and alleviate. A wise and considerate humanity in its direct operation is most beneficial to universal happiness; and in its indirect influence as an example, fails not to deter many an incipient offender from the premeditated act of cruelty, while it gently diffuses its own benignant spirit through the circle in which it unostentatiously moves, protecting, saving, blessing all. And nothing tends to our felicity so much as cherished feeling of enlightened benevolence. Many reasons may be assigned why the inferior creatures ought to excite in us such a spirit.
1. They are the creatures of God.
2. They have the same origin with ourselves.
3. They are the care of Divine providence.
4. Their claims arise out of the lessons they teach.
5. They confer on us innumerable benefits of another kind. Of the general usefulness of the creatures we have the most palpable evidence every day.
6. Remember their susceptibility to pain. And we may add–
7. That these creatures owe all their natural sufferings to the fall of man; and to him therefore they have a right to look for sympathy. (J. Styles, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee] Mr. Good’s paraphrase here is very just: “Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all nature; but to apply it as ye would apply it to me, and to assert that I am suffering from being guilty of hypocrisy, is equally impertinent. He ordains every thing in wisdom as well as in power; but why events happen as they happen, why good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature or human life, ye are as ignorant of as myself.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They shall teach thee, to wit, objectively, i.e. if thou observest the beasts, and their properties, and actions, and events, from them thou mayst learn this lesson. What lesson? I answer, either,
1. That which was last mentioned, Job 12:5. Gods providence doth order things in the like manner among the very beasts, and fowls, and fishes; of which the most ravenous and mischievous fare the best, whilst those which are more harmless, and serviceable, and beneficial to men meet with the hardest usage. Or,
2. That which Zophar had uttered with so much pomp and gravity, Job 11:7-9, concerning Gods infinite wisdom; which, saith Job, thou needest not go into heaven or hell to know, but thou mayst learn it even from the beasts, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7, 8. Beasts, birds, fishes, andplants, reasons Job, teach that the violent live the most securely(Job 12:6). The vulture livesmore securely than the dove, the lion than the ox, the shark than thedolphin, the rose than the thorn which tears it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee,…. And so the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, in this and Job 12:8; from those instructions may be learned, of instances taken, and examples given, which may illustrate and confirm the same things that had been treated of: either what had been just now confuted, that it is always well with good men, and ill with bad men; the reverse of which had been affirmed and proved, that good men are afflicted, and wicked men prosper; something like to which may be seen in the creatures, and learned of them; thus those creatures that are the most harmless and innocent, and most useful and beneficial, are a prey to others, as sheep and lambs to lions, wolves, and bears, while they range about forests, fields, and plains, fearless and unmolested; and doves and turtles to hawks and vultures; and the lesser fish to the greater, by whom they are devoured, see Hab 1:13; and moreover, these creatures which are most useful and profitable, or are for pleasure and delight, fall more to the share of wicked men than good men; when droves of cattle and flocks of sheep are observed, and the question is put, to whom do they belong? the answer for the most part must be given, to such and such wicked men; and if the gold and silver, and other valuable things the earth produces, should be inquired about whose they are, it must be said, that they are, generally speaking, the property of the men of the world, the profane part of it; or if the fowls of the air, and fishes of the sea, could speak, when asked the question, whose food they commonly were? the answer would be, of the carnal, sensual, and voluptuous men: or rather this may refer to what Job first takes notice of in this answer of his, that his friends represented what they said as uncommon things, deep mysteries, and out of the reach of the vulgar, and which did not fall under common observation; whereas Job suggests he was as well acquainted with them as they were, yea, they were such that almost everybody knew; nay, they might be learnt from the creatures, to which Job here sends them for instruction; the beasts, birds, and fishes, all proclaim that they did not make themselves, nor did their fellow creatures, but some first cause, who is God: that they are sustained, supported, and provided for by him, and are governed, directed, and disposed of as he pleases, and so furnishes out documents of his sovereignty, wisdom, power, and providence:
and the fowls of the air, and they will tell thee: the same things; that God made them, and that they are dependent on him, and are fed and cared for by him, see Mt 6:26.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 But ask now even the beasts – they shall teach it thee;
And the birds of heaven – they shall declare it to thee:
8 Or look thoughtfully to the ground – it shall teach it thee;
And the fish of the sea shall tell it thee.
9 Who would not recognise in all this
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?!
The meaning of the whole strophe is perverted if (Job 12:9), is, with Ewald, referred to “the destiny of severe suffering and pain,” and if that which precedes is accordingly referred to the testimony of creation to God as its author. Since, as a glance at what follows shows, Job further on praises God as the governor of the universe, it may be expected that the reference is here to God as the creator and preserver of the world, which seems to be the meaning of the words. Job himself expresses the purpose of this hymn of confession, Job 12:2., Job 13:1.: he will show the friends that the majesty of God, before which he ought, according to their demands, to humble himself in penitence, is not less known to him than to them; and with , verum enim vero , he passes over to this subject when he begins his third answer with the following thought: The perception in which you pride yourselves I also possess; true, I am an object of scornful contempt to you, who are as little able to understand the suffering of the godly as the prosperity of the godless, nevertheless what you know I also know: ask now, etc. Bildad had appealed to the sayings of the ancients, which have the long experience of the past in their favour, to support the justice of the divine government; Job here appeals to the absoluteness of the divine rule over creation. In form, this strophe is the counterpart of Job 8:8-10 in the speech of Bildad, and somewhat also of Job 11:7-9 in that of Zophar. The working of God, which infinitely transcends human power and knowledge, is the sermon which is continuously preached by all created things; they all proclaim the omnipotence and wisdom of the Creator.
The plural is followed by the verb that refers to it, in the singular, in favour of which Gen 49:22 is the favourite example among old expositors (Ges. 146, 3). On the other hand, the verb might follow the collective in the plural, according to Ges. 146, 1. The plural, however, is used only in Job 12:8, because there the verb precedes instead of following its subject. According to the rule Ges. 128, 2, the jussive form of the fut. follows the imperative. In the midst of this enumeration of created things, , as a substantive, seems to signify the plants – and especially as Arab. sh even now, in the neighbourhood of Job’s ancient habitation, is the name of a well-known mountain-plant – under whose shade a meagre vegetation is preserved even in the hot season (vid., on Job 30:4.). But (1) as subst. is gen. masc. Gen 2:5); (2) instead of , in order to describe a plant that is found on the ground, or one rooted in the ground, it must be or ; (3) the mention of plants between the birds and fishes would be strange. It may therefore be taken as the imperative: speak to the earth (lxx, Targ., Vulg., and most others); or, which I prefer, since the Aramaic construction , narravit ei , does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew (although perhaps implicite , Pro 6:22, = , favulabitur , or confabulabitur tibi ), as a pregnant expression: think, i.e., look meditatively to the earth (Ewald), since ( ), like , combines the significations of quiet or articulate meditation on a subject. The exhortation directs attention not to the earth in itself, but to the small living things which move about on the ground, comprehended in the collective name , syn. (creeping things), in the record of creation. All these creatures, though without reason and speech, still utter a language which is heard by every intelligent man. Renan, after Ewald, translates erroneously: qui ne sait parmi tous ces tres. They do not even possess knowledge, but they offer instruction, and are a means of knowledge; with , like Gen 15:8; Gen 42:33, and freq. All the creatures named declare that the hand of Jehovah has made “this,” whatever we see around us, , Heb 11:3. In the same manner in Isa 66:2; Jer 14:22, is used of the world around us. In the hand of God, i.e., in His power, because His workmanship, are the souls of all living things, and the spirit (that which came direct from God) of all men; every order of life, high and low, owes its origin and continuance to Him. is the individual, and in this connection, in which and (= ) are certainly not unintentionally thus separated, the individual man. Creation is the school of knowledge, and man is the learner. And this knowledge forces itself upon one’s attention: quis non cognoverit? The perf. has this subjunctive force also elsewhere in interrogative clauses, e.g., Psa 11:3 (vid., on Gen 21:7). That the name of God, JEHOVAH, for once escapes the poet here, is to be explained from the phrase “the hand of Jehovah hath made this,” being a somewhat proverbial expression (comp. Isa 41:20; Isa 66:2).
Job now refers to the sayings of the fathers, the authority of which, as being handed down from past generations, Bildad had maintained in his opposition to Job.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
2. God is responsible for all that is. (Job. 12:7-12)
TEXT 12:712
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;
And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
9 Who knoweth not in all these,
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
11 Doth not the ear try words,
Even as the palate tasteth its food?
12 With aged men is wisdom,
And in length of days understanding.
COMMENT 12:712
Job. 12:7Job begins by addressing all three Mends. Here the pronoun is in the singular, so he is focusing on one, presumably the last speaker, Zophar.[152] The wisdom which is being exemplified by Jobs friends is common wisdom even to the lowest animals in Gods creation (Job. 9:22-24). Jobs irony is resumed and concurs with the judgment of Oscar Wilde, that there is enough misery in one narrow London lane to disprove the notion that God is love.
[152] See the discussion by S. Terrien, Interpreters Bible, Job, Volume 3, pp. 9991000.
Job. 12:8Why should Jobs friends emphasize Gods sovereignty over the universe, even the birds of the air and beasts of the field know it. Nature is red in tooth and claw, and only by brute predatory power do they prevail within nature.
Job. 12:9This is the only verse in the discourse which contains the sacred tetragrammaton (Yahweh). This is strange in that Jobs friends are Arabs, and not children of the covenant. But the root significance of Yahweh is probably at the heart of the discussion; i.e., the cause of everything is God. The phrase is a direct quotation of Isa. 41:20 (or vice versa). See the quotation in Job. 1:21 also. The pronoun this is obscure. To what does it refer? Perhaps to all that Zophar has said, or rather, all that Job has asserted in Job. 12:4 ff concerning the amoral nature of the universe.
Job. 12:10God is Lord of every human individualJer. 32:27; Num. 16:22; and Num. 17:16. The words translated life and breath are the same ones rendered soul and spirit in Job. 7:11.
Job. 12:11As the palate tastes food, so the intelligence of man evaluates available ideas. Job suggests that the ideas of his friends are not palatableJon. 3:7; Dan. 3:10; Ezekiel 4:21; Pro. 26:16; 1Sa. 21:14.
Job. 12:12Taken as an assertion the content does not seem to accord with Jobs other words. But taken as a question with a negative implication, it accords with his previous evaluation. The discourse clearly reveals the futility of dialogue between persons whose ultimate presuppositions are mutually exclusive. Fruitful discussion requires a clear definition and the public awareness of the assumptions on which the discussion stands. Job and his friends have different views of God and His transcendence and immanence within nature and history.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
b. The divine wisdom on which Zophar has descanted, the entire brute creation might have taught him. And yet Zophar does not know that He who is Lord over life and death, lets the wicked live, Job 12:7-12.
7. Ask now the beasts and the fowls, etc. Among the Hindus, if any one refuses instruction or will not be convinced, he is told to ask the cattle, inquire of the birds, and that they will give him wisdom. (Roberts.) Some imagine that Job appeals to the brute creation to show that the most rapacious are most secure. But others more correctly suppose that he resumes the thought with which his discourse opens (Job 12:3) that of the power and wisdom of God. In the world’s great school (he says) anybody might learn “these.” The Scriptures frequently summon the so-called inferior creation to instruct man in things pertaining to wisdom. “Every creature hath a trumpet in his mouth to proclaim the Deity.” The world of instinct is one of mystery which man cannot fathom. It is with us, but separated from us by a great gulf which neither man nor brute can cross. As respects the interchange of thought, the brute world moves around us in an orbit of silence, but one that none the less reflects its Maker’s praise. Lord Erskine would never allow animals to be called the brute creation; he called them the mute creation. Instinct trenches upon reason at so many points, in some respects vastly surpassing it, that it does not become the monarch man to look upon his subjects with disdain. In ways we know not of, they may proclaim in the ear of the great Creator his wisdom, power, and love.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
God’s Government of the World
v. 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, v. 8. or speak to the earth, v. 9. Who knoweth not in all these, v. 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, v. 11. Doth not the ear try words, v. 12. With the ancient is wisdom; v. 13. With Him is wisdom and strength, v. 14. Behold, He breaketh down, v. 15. Behold, He withholdeth the waters, v. 16. With Him is strength and wisdom, v. 17. He leadeth counselors away spoiled, v. 18. He looseth the bond of kings, v. 19. He leadeth princes, v. 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, v. 21. He poureth contempt upon princes, v. 22. He discovereth deep things out of darkness and bringeth out to light the shadow of death; v. 23. He increaseth the nations, v. 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, v. 25. They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Job 12:7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
Ver. 7. But ask now the beasts of the earth, and they shall teach thee ] Even the wildest of them that abide in the wilderness. There is not one of these, or else of the fowls of the air, but can both teach thee, and tell thee that the world is ordered by a providence, that God is powerful, wise, just, &c., and must therefore be loved and served. That he suffereth the bad to oppress the good, as the beasts do devour the little ones; as the hurtful fowls destroy the harmless; as the great fishes eat up the smaller: man, who was once the captain of God’s school, is now, for his truantcy, turned down into the lowest form, as it were, to learn his A B C’s again; yea, to learn it from the meanest creatures. See Pro 6:6 Jer 8:7 Mat 6:26 ; where it appeareth, that in the ant, stork, swallow, &c., God hath set before us, as in a picture, the lively resemblance of many excellent virtues, which we ought to pursue and practise. These are the right laymen’s books, the images that may truly teach people the knowledge of God, and of his will, of themselves, and of their duties; which we should the rather learn, because God hath given us wisdom beyond them, Job 37:11 , and yet by sending us to them, shameth our dulness and disobedience.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
they shall, &c. Figure of speech Prosopopoeia. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 12:7-12
Job 12:7-12
JOB APPEALED TO THE LOWER CREATIONS AS SUPPORTERS OF HIS GRAND PROPOSITION IN Job 12:6
“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
And the birds of the heavens, and they shall teach thee:
Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;
And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not, in all these,
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind.
Doth not the ear try words,
Even as the palate tasteth food?
With aged men is wisdom,
And in length of days understanding.”
What Job declared here was so clearly the truth that only a fool could have denied it. “In the whole creation, the strong prey on the weak, the fierce upon the tame, and the violent upon the timid. God does not intervene to destroy the lion, the tiger, and the wolfe, and to deliver the lambs and the chickens!
“And the birds of the heavens” (Job 12:7). The hawks and the eagles are not forbidden to prey upon the small and the weak.
“And the fishes of the sea” (Job 12:8). Do the big ones ever protect the little ones? The sharks and the barracudas are always as busy as they can be eating up the smaller fishes!
“Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee” (Job 12:8). Every farmer knows that all of the good crops must suffer from the encroachments of the crab grass, the ragweeds, the cockleburs, the Johnson grass, thistles, briars and grass-spurs. And Job’s observation here is that all of these conditions reflect quite accurately the situation as it exists among men also. Is it the lambs, the doves, and the good crops, along with the righteous man, who are always blessed; and do the disasters always fall upon the wolves, the sharks, the hawks, the weeds, and the robbers? Certainly not!
“The hand of Jehovah hath wrought this” (Job 12:9). This argument should have silenced Job’s comforters; but it didn’t. There is no blindness as complete as that which exists in the adherents to some false theology. As this is written, a current example of such blindness is being acted out near Waco, Texas, where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was trying to arrest David Koresh and his Branch-Davidians!
“With aged men is wisdom” (Job 12:12). The paragraph divisions in this chapter are unfortunate. Job 12:13 states that, “With God is wisdom”; and Job here offered that as a correction to the stupid notion that aged men are necessarily wise. Wisdom is not with the `old men’ of our world, but with God.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 12:7-10. This paragraph refers to the providence of God in his creation. The beasts are blessed through the same divine creation as is man, and through that great impartial Providence the good and bad share alike in the temporal blessings of God. This great fact disproves the main position of the friends of Job.
Job 12:11. The Creator has adapted all of the creatures of his work to the things that were created for their use and enjoyment. Thus the ear was made in such a manner that it could appreciate language, and the mouth was so made that it could receive and make use of food.
Job 12:12-13. The value of experience is the substance of this paragraph. These friends were not young (Job 32:4; Job 32:6; Job 32:9), and hence their age should have brought them the wisdom of experience; however, they did not show much indication of it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
But ask: Job 21:29, Job 21:30, Pro 6:6, Isa 1:3, Jer 8:7
Reciprocal: Job 8:10 – Shall not Job 18:3 – Wherefore Pro 30:24 – little
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 12:7. Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee If thou observest the beasts, and their properties, actions, and events, from them thou mayest learn this lesson: namely, that which Zophar had uttered with so much pomp and gravity, (Job 11:7-9,) concerning Gods unsearchable wisdom, almighty power, and absolute sovereignty: thou dost not need, says Job, to go into heaven or hell to know it; but thou mayest learn it even from the brute creatures. The beasts of the earth, the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, all animals, and even plants, fruits, and flowers, are daily and hourly evidences to us, of the being and infinite perfections of God. The wonderful contrivance and admirable mechanism manifested in their formation, the preparation made for their wants, the exact adaptation of their organs to the particular mode of life for which they are intended; the wonderful regularity observed in their propagation: these things as plainly tell us, they are the work of God, as if they all had intelligible voices and declared it to us. Some commentators suppose that Job referred here to the greater and stronger brute creatures, preying on the lesser and weaker, as a fact illustrative of his argument respecting the power and prosperity of robbers, oppressors, and tyrants; and to the inferior animals in general, ministering to the pride, luxury, and indulgence of ungodly men; the earth and its richest produce being their property, and all nature drudging, as it were, to gratify their lusts. But the following verses seem rather to lead to the interpretation first mentioned, which certainly is the more instructive use of the words.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:7 But ask now the beasts, {e} and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
(e) He declares to them that disputed against him, that their wisdom is common to all, and such as the very brute beasts teach daily.