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 505
hunters related to Delitzsch by Wetsthein (45). But these references are
all later than Job. The only ancient Near Eastern evidence that I am
aware of that scholars give for an ancient “folk†idea about the cruelty
of the ostrich is Lamentations 4,3. This verse, however, may not refer
to ostriches. The Qere is µyn[y but the Kethib is µyn[ and two Qumran
manuscripts have µynt. Moreover, some think µyn[y in Lamentations 4,3
could be translated “Bedouin†or “owls†(46). Moreover, the Hebrew
word used in Lamentations 4,3 for “cruel†is not the same word as in
Job 39,16. The cruelty and stupidity of ostriches apparently was not a
universal idea in the ANE. In The Birds of Ancient Egypt, Houlihan
seems unaware of such a tradition, and Bodenheimer notes that the
ostrich feather was the hieroglyph for truth and justice (47). Even if
Lamentations 4,3 refers to ostriches, and there was a folk tradition
about the cruelty of ostriches, more than one type of bird might be
considered cruel for laying its eggs on the ground in the wilderness, so
that the passage could be referring to another bird.
The danger here is that impressive, modern folk stories are being
read back into an ancient Near Eastern text. The story, originating with
Pliny, that the ostrich sticks its head in the sand to avoid discovery (48)
is widely known. The bird that is proverbial in Western culture for its
stupidity, may seem to be the common sense choice for a passage that
says “God has made her forget wisdom; // He has not given her a share
of understanding†(49). And contemporary commentators often wax
poetic about how enigmatic and humorous the ostrich is. Modern folk
ideas may have been one of the reasons interpreters seldom questioned
the identification of the hapax µynnr with an ostrich. Interpreters often
(45) LAUFER, “Ostrich Egg-shell Cupsâ€, 14-15; F. DELITZSCH, Biblical
Commentary on the Book of Job (Edinburgh 1866) II, 262 who also cites F.
ROSENTHAL, A History of Muslim Historiography (1952) 254.
(46) Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (ed. D.J.A. CLINES) (Sheffield 1993-)
gives “bedouin†as a possible meaning (IV, 243). The Hebrew and Aramaic
Lexicon of the Old Testament lists several authors who think the hn[y is a type of
owl (L. KOEHLER – W. BAUMGARTNER – J.J. STAMM, Hebrew and Aramaic
Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden 1994-1999) II, 421; CANSDALE, All the
Animals, 190).
(47) P. HOULIHAN, The Birds of Ancient Egypt (Warminster 1986) 1-5; F.S.
BODENHEIMER, Animal and Man in Bible Lands (Leiden 1960) I, 59.
(48) Pliny referred to the ostrich sticking its head in a bush.
(49) Some think this verse is an addition because a parenthetical reference by
God to “Eloah†in the third person is out of place in a speech by God (E.J.
KISSANE, The Book of Job Translated from a Critically Revised Hebrew Text with
Commentary [New York 1946] 277, n. 17; HARTLEY, Job, 509. n. 9).