Job 38:41
in Job 38Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?
KJV
Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
hunt the prey for a lioness
on Job 38:39-41
“Who provides food for the raven” names the least likely creature for divine care, and Delitzsch notes that “its young cry out to God”. Henry reads the lion and raven as opposite ends, the fiercest hunter and the most despised scavenger, both fed by the hand Job has questioned.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Who prepareth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry to God, wandering because they have not meat? 28. For what is designated by the name of the raven, and its young ones, but the Gentile world blackened with sin? Of which it is said by the Prophet; Who giveth to beasts their food, and to the young ravens which call on Him. [Ps. 147, 9] For the beasts receive food, when minds before brutal, are satiated with the food of Holy Scripture.
There is also another wonderful thing observed in the birds as we see in the crow. For one expert says that, "the crow does not feed the chicks when they leave their eggs until she sees their feathers turn dark knowing from their feathers that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Elihu had said, God speaks to men and they do not perceive it ( ch. xxxiii. 14 ); but this they could not but perceive, and yet we have a more sure word of prophecy, 2 Pet. i. When they had all had their saying, and yet had not gained their point, then it was time for God to interpose, whose judgment is according to truth.
(2.) What they are supposed to do in that distress: They cry, for they are noisy clamorous creatures, and this is interpreted as crying to God. It being the cry of nature, it is looked upon as directed to the God of nature. The putting of so favourable a construction as this upon the cries of the young ravens may encourage us in our prayers, though we can but cry, Abba, Father.
Raven - Having mentioned the noblest of brute creatures, he now mentions one of the most contemptible; to shew the care of God's 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.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Who provideth for the raven his food?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 κορασσω, α κοραξ, 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! […]
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִ֤י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יָכִ֥ין | yakhin | does he prepare | H3559 → | 217 times |
| לָעֹרֵ֗ב | laorev | for the raven | H6158 → | |
| צֵ֫יד֥וֹ | tzeido | food-supply its | H6718 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְ֭לָדָיו | yeladov | young ones its | H3206 → | 89 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֣ל | ʾel | God | H410 → | 241 times |
| יְשַׁוֵּ֑עוּ | yeshaveu | they will cry for help | H7768 → | 21 times |
| יִ֝תְע֗וּ | yitu | they will wander about | H8582 → | 50 times |
| לִבְלִי־ | livli- | for not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| אֹֽכֶל׃ | ʾokhel | food | H400 → | 43 times |
מִ֤יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יָכִ֥יןdoes he prepare
yakhinH3559 →217 times
לָעֹרֵ֗בfor the raven
laorevH6158 →
צֵ֫יד֥וֹfood-supply its
tzeidoH6718 →
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יְ֭לָדָיוyoung ones its
yeladovH3206 →89 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֵ֣לGod
ʾelH410 →241 times
יְשַׁוֵּ֑עוּthey will cry for help
yeshaveuH7768 →21 times
יִ֝תְע֗וּthey will wander about
yituH8582 →50 times
לִבְלִי־for not
livli-H1097 →58 times
אֹֽכֶל׃food
ʾokhelH400 →43 times
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
Matthew 6:26Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
it leads to
- Psalms 145:15–16
The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 147:9
He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 104:27–28
All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:29–31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
- Luke 12:24–32
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
- Psalms 145:15–16
Through
Psalms 147:9He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
it leads to
- Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
- Psalms 136:25
He gives food to every creature. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Matthew 6:26
Through
Luke 12:24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
it leads to
- Luke 12:7
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
- Luke 12:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
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 XXX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.