Job 12:7
in Job 12But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
KJV
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
⋯
This verse in Job 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
ask the animals, and they will instruct you
on Job 12:7-9
The call to "ask the animals, and they will instruct you" looks ahead to the whirlwind's method, turning the reader toward creation as a witness. Verse 9, "the hand of the LORD has done this", is the one verse of the human debate to carry the covenant name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Why do you behave as if you had made a great and wonderful discovery? It was necessary, in fact, that such a man died, and nobody ignores it. At the same time, we all know that "in his hand is the life of every human being." Do you see how not only creation but Providence also testifies to God? They both give witness that he controls everything and supports both the life and soul of human beings, so well that he can, when he wants, punish and correct them.
The Medieval Church2 voices
He proves this as a consequence when he continues, "Ask the beasts and they will teach you, the birds of the air will be your counselors; Speak to the earth and it will answer you, the fish of the sea will make it known to …
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee. Or speak to the earth, and it shall answer thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. What are we to understand by 'the beasts,' but men of slow parts; and what by 'the fowls of the air,' but those that are skilled in high and sublime truths? For of 'the beasts,' i.e. the dull of sense, it is written; Thine animals shall dwell therein.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee,....
(2.) These creatures are serviceable to wicked men, and so they declare their prosperity. Ask the herds and the flocks to whom they belong, and they will tell you that such a robber, such an oppressor, is their owner: the fishes and fowls will tell you that they are served up to the tables, and feed the luxury, of proud sinners.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽאוּלָ֗ם | veulam | and but | H199 → | 19 times |
| שְׁאַל־ | sheal- | ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| בְהֵמ֣וֹת | vehemot | [the] animals | H929 → | 190 times |
| וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּ | vetoreka | so it may teach you | H3384 → | 80 times |
| וְע֥וֹף | veof | and [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַ֝שָּׁמַ֗יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְיַגֶּד־ | veyaged- | so it may tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | to you |
וְֽאוּלָ֗םand but
veulamH199 →19 times
שְׁאַל־ask
sheal-H7592 →171 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
בְהֵמ֣וֹת[the] animals
vehemotH929 →190 times
וְתֹרֶ֑ךָּso it may teach you
vetorekaH3384 →80 times
וְע֥וֹףand [the] bird[s] of
veofH5775 →71 times
הַ֝שָּׁמַ֗יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְיַגֶּד־so it may tell
veyaged-H5046 →370 times
לָֽךְ׃to you
lakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 1:3The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:12
At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 8:7
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 4:22
“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Isaiah 44:18
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- Isaiah 5:12
Through
Proverbs 6:6Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:4
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Proverbs 18:9
Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.
- Proverbs 6:9
How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?
- Proverbs 13:4
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
- Proverbs 20:4
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XI; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 12:7A-10B; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.