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.
The So-called Ostrich in the God Speeches 499
usage is unnecessary if µynnr is not an ostrich but a smaller, ground-
nesting bird.
Some other expressions in the passage apply to the ostrich only
with great difficulty. Verse 18 literally says, “on the high placeâ€
(µwrmb). Commentators and translators usually interpret the word as
referring to the ostrich standing up to run (KJV) or raising its wings
when it runs (NRSV). The Hebrew word usually refers to heaven as
the dwelling place of God and occasionally to a high mountain or hill,
or metaphorically to the arrogant who lift their eyes “on highâ€. How
could an ostrich be in the sky, or dwelling on a high hill? Many other
birds, however, fly in the heavens or make their nests in high places.
Later in the animal discourse, verse 26 speaks of the hawk soaring and
verse 27 uses a verb from the same root to describe the eagle making
its nest “on highâ€. Significantly, the NJPS understands the phrase as
referring to flight and translates “soar on highâ€. It translates verses 17
and 18 as “God deprived her of wisdom … Else she would soar on
highâ€. Although the bird in question is most likely not an ostrich, the
NJPS translators have rightly seen that “on high†(µwrmb) probably
refers to a bird flying.
Therefore, the µynnr is probably not an ostrich. As Müller has shown,
µynnr is not a name for the ostrich in Hebrew or the Semitic languages,
is not translated as ostrich by the early Greek versions, the Peshitta,
and Targums, and probably came from a mistaken identification in
Physiologus. In addition, translators have found expressions like “a
foot might crush her†(v. 15) and “on the high place†(v. 18) difficult to
understand and had to engage in special pleading to make them fit an
ostrich. The following sections will discuss other cases where the
passage has been forced to fit the ostrich, but I hope that the reader now
has enough reason to consider another bird.
II.
If the µynnr is not an ostrich, then some detective work is necessary
to identify new suspects. While one might not expect ornithological
precision from a poet, this observation should not be used to legitimate
a mistaken identification produced by ancient Christian piety. The
passage provides several clues to the identity of the bird.
First, the passage indicates that the bird lays her eggs on the
ground: “For she lays on the earth her eggs, on dust she does her
brooding†(v. 14). If this can be taken literally, it describes an unlined
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