Job 39:29
in Job 39From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
From thence she spieth out the prey; Her eyes behold it afar off.
KJV
From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
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This verse in Job 39
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFrom thence she beholdeth her food. Her eyes behold afar off. 100. That is, from these choirs of Angels he directs the eyes of his mind to contemplate the glory of the Majesty on high: and, not seeing it, he is still hungry: and seeing it, at length, he is satisfied. For it is written, Because his soul, hath laboured, he shall see and be satisfied. [Is.
This site's exposition
Does the hawk take flight by your understanding
on Job 39:26-30
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown find the proverb of the last line, “where the slain are, there he is”, on the Lord's lips at Matthew 24:28. The chapter asks whether a man who cannot govern a doe's labor or a hawk's flight is fit to judge God's government of the world.
This site's exposition
his eyes see it from afar
Barnes cites a report that an eagle too high for any eye to see can spy a hare on the ground and dive on it. Wesley says its eyes can look straight at the sun. Clarke notes its sight was a proverb.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The eagle has very acute vision so that he can see necessary food from a long way off, and so he says, "from there," i.e., from the high places, "he spies food," not only near, but also far away, and so he says, "and his …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Her eyes - Her sight is exceeding sharp and strong, so that she is able to look upon the sun with open eyes, and to behold the smallest prey upon the earth or sea, when she is mounted out of our sight. Blood - There are divers eagles who do not feed upon carcases, but many eagles do feed on them.
From thence she seeketh the prey,.... From the high rock; from whence she can look down into valleys, and even into the sea; and spy what is for her purpose, and descend and seize upon them; as lambs, fawns, geese, shellfish, &c. though they may lie in the most hidden and secret places.
God here shows Job what little acquaintance he had with the untamed creatures that run wild in the deserts and live at large, but are the care of the divine Providence. The wild goats and the hinds. That which is taken notice of concerning them is the bringing forth and bringing up of their young ones.
She preys upon living animals, which she seizes and tears to pieces, and thence carries to her young ones, which are taught to suck up blood; they do it by instinct, and know no better; but for men that have reason and conscience to thirst after blood is what could scarcely be believed if there had not been in every age wretched instances of it.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
From, thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off - “When far aloft, and no longer discernible by the human eye, such is the wonderful acuteness of its sight, that from the same elevation it will mark a hare, or even a smaller animal, and dart down on it with unerring aim.” “Edin. Ency.” “Of all animals, the eagle has the quickest eye; but his sense of smelling is far inferior to that of the vulture. He never pursues, therefore, but in sight.” “Goldsmith.” This power of sight was early known, and is celebrated by the ancients.
Her eyes behold afar off - The eagle was proverbial for her strong and clear sight. So Horace, lib. i., sat. iii., ver. 25: - Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis, Cur in amicorum vitas tam cernis acutum, Quam aut aquila, aut serpens Epidaurius? “For wherefore while you carelessly pass by Your own worst vices with unheeding eye, Why so sharp-sighted in another’s fame, Strong as an eagle’s ken, or dragon’s beam?” Francis. So Aelian, lib. i., cap. 42. And Homer, Iliad xvii., calls the eagle οξυτατον ὑπουρανιων πετεηνων, “The most quick-sighted of all fowls under heaven.”
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִשָּׁ֥ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| חָֽפַר־ | chafar- | it spies out | H2658 → | 22 times |
| אֹ֑כֶל | ʾokhel | food | H400 → | 43 times |
| לְ֝מֵרָח֗וֹק | lemerachok | <to> from afar | H7350 → | 84 times |
| עֵינָ֥יו | ʾeinav | eyes its | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יַבִּֽיטוּ׃ | yabitu | they look | H5027 → | 69 times |
מִשָּׁ֥םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
חָֽפַר־it spies out
chafar-H2658 →22 times
אֹ֑כֶלfood
ʾokhelH400 →43 times
לְ֝מֵרָח֗וֹק<to> from afar
lemerachokH7350 →84 times
עֵינָ֥יוeyes its
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
יַבִּֽיטוּ׃they look
yabituH5027 →69 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Job 9:26They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:8
Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
- Isaiah 18:2
which sends couriers by sea, in papyrus vessels on the waters. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people widely feared, to a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land…
- Proverbs 23:5
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Job 39:27–30
Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?
- Habakkuk 1:8
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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXI; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.