Arthur Walker-Jones, «The So-called Ostrich in the God Speeches of the Book of Job (Job 39,13-18)», Vol. 86 (2005) 494-510
The so-called ostrich passage (39,13-18) has been much discussed by scholars
both because of the difficulties it presents and the importance of its position in the
book of Job. Discussions have focused on why an ostrich appears, rather than
whether the Mynnr is, in fact, an ostrich. Quite a number of Hebrew words and
expressions have to be emended or explained to make them fit an ostrich.
Moreover, H.-P. Müller has shown that Mynnr is not the name for ostrich in Hebrew
or any Semitic languages, is not translated "ostrich" in early Greek versions, the
Peshitta, or Targums, and the translation "ostrich" probably came from a false
identification in early Christian reflection on nature. This article uses contemporary
ornithological literature and the information the passage provides on the
nest, habitat, behaviours, and calls of the Mynnr to identify a more likely type of
bird. The identification of the Mynnr as a sand grouse helps resolve a number of
problems in the text and clarify the literary connections of the passage to the rest
of the animal discourse, God speeches, and book of Job.
508 Arthur Walker-Jones
recurring references to food, habitat, and young. These recurring
themes create complex seconding between the strophes of the animal
discourse. The passage often mentions the food the animals eat.
Carnivores surround herbivores in the passage. The lion eats “preyâ€
(38,39) as does the raven (38,41). The vulture sucks up “blood†from
the “slain†(39,30). Sandwiched between these meat eaters are
vegetarians. In some cases what they eat is explicitly mentioned. The
wild ass eats “green thingsâ€. What the wild ox eats is put negatively. It
cannot be trusted with Job’s “produce†and “seedâ€.
The sand grouse passage does not share this emphasis on food, but
does share with the other animals a concern for habitat and offspring.
Animals that have dens or nests surround animals that wander in
search of pasture. The lion has a “den†and lies in a “covert†(38,40).
The vulture makes “its nest on high†(39,27), “dwells†on the “rockâ€,
and “makes his home on the fastness of the rocky crag†(39,38). By
way of contrast, the mountain goats grow up in the “fieldâ€. The wild
ass lives in the “wasteland†and the “salt plain†and finds pasture in
the “mountainsâ€. The sand grouse that nests on the ground contrasts
with lions who have “dens†and are able to defend their young, the
hawk whose wings are symbols of protection in the ANE, and the
vulture who makes a home “on high†in a “rocky cragâ€.
This concern with home and food is, in particular, a concern for the
care and feeding of young. The content of the first strophe is God’s
hunting food for young lions and preparing game for young ravens.
The next strophe repeats and elaborates the emphasis on care for
young animals with the image of God as midwife at the birth of
mountain goats. There is an emphasis on birth and fertility. “Give
birth†is repeated three times as well as “calve†and “deliverâ€. The
sand grouse, like the mountain goat and deer, have young who are
soon able to look after themselves. The final strophe returns to the
motif of food for the young forming an inclusio with the first strophe.
The birthing and offspring motif connects the animal discourse
with the rest of the God speeches. The first God speech begins with
God portrayed as a midwife or parent at the birth of Sea (38,8-11). In
the second God speech, God is the “Maker†of Behemoth like Job
(40,15.19).
That commentators seldom notice the emphasis on the young is all
the more remarkable because it is an only slightly veiled response to
Job’s situation. I agree with Newsom that the book of Job is
polyphonic and enigmatic. The animal discourse is in this and a