Job 39:10 · Bible study
Job 39:10 Commentary: Wild Ox in the Furrow
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God use the untamable wild ox to question Job? This study explores the limits of human strength and the depths of divine sovereignty.
Research Summary
- Key words: re'em (wild ox), qashar (bind), telem (furrow), a'vot (rope), sdad (harrow), emeq (valley)
- Meaning: The untamable wild ox illustrates human inability to command creation, reinforcing God's exclusive sovereignty.
- Main debate: The precise identity of the re'em (aurochs vs. unicorn in older translations), but the interpretive point is unchanged across traditions.
- Theological theme: Divine sovereignty over untamed nature, calling humans to humility and trust.
- Best use: As a counter to pride and an invitation to trust God's control over what we cannot manage.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?
WEB World English Bible 2000
Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?
KJV King James Version 1769
Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow with his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Canst thou bind the buffalo with his cord in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Canst thou bind the rhinoceros with thy thong to plough, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Búrlase de la multitud de la ciudad: no oye las voces del arriero.
Ou amarrarás ao boi selvagem com sua corda para o arado? Ou lavrará ele aos campos atrás de ti?
Il se rit du tumulte des villes,
Kannst du ihm dein Seil anknüpfen, die Furchen zu machen, daß es hinter dir brache in Tälern?
Zult gij den eenhoorn met zijn touw aan de voren binden? Zal hij de laagten achter u eggen?
Legherai tu il bufalo con una corda perché faccia il solco? erpicherà egli le valli dietro a te?
On się naśmiewa ze zgrai miejskiej, a na głos tego, co go goni, nic niedba.
Можешь ли веревкою привязать единорога к борозде, и станет ли он боронить за тобою поле?
你豈能用套繩 將野牛 籠在 犁溝之間？牠豈 肯隨你 耙 山谷之地？
Will he be pulling your plough with cords, turning up the valleys after you?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 39:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse presents the wild ox as a creature beyond human control. Barnes notes that the 'common traces or cords' used for plough oxen cannot tame the re'em. Gill adds that this creature 'will not' draw the harrow in the valleys. Matthew Henry sees the passage as part of God's demonstration of Job's ignorance of untamed creatures. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown observes that the harness was fastened to the horns, as the ox's chief strength lies in its head and shoulders, yet even that cannot force the wild ox to serve. The consensus is clear: the wild ox stands for all that resists human domestication, and its untamability points directly to God's sovereignty over creation. This humbles proud human hearts, reminding us that our strength is limited and His is not.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The wild ox cannot be forced to plow or harrow, demonstrating that humans do not have complete mastery over creation and must acknowledge God's sovereign control.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the wild ox | It refers to a powerful, untamable bovine creature, likely the aurochs or oryx. | Older translations (KJV) use 'unicorn' based on the Septuagint; modern scholarship favors a real extinct species. |
| Nature of God's speech | God uses creation to humble Job and demonstrate human limits. | Some traditions emphasize God's absolute sovereignty and Job's utter insignificance, while others see an invitation to relational trust and wonder. |
| Purpose of the rhetorical question | The question expects a 'no' and exposes human inability. | Whether the purpose is primarily to silence Job (judicial) or to open him to praise (doxological) is emphasized differently across traditions. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The Hebrew word re'em (Strong's H7214) likely refers to the aurochs, a now-extinct species of wild cattle known for immense size and ferocity. These animals roamed the forests and marshes of the ancient Near East, impossible to domesticate. In Job's world, cattle were yoked for plowing and harrowing, common agricultural tasks using a harness fastened to the horns (so Jamieson-Fausset-Brown). The furrow (telem) and valley (emeq) represent the cultivated land where tame oxen worked. The question 'Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness?' expects a clear 'no.'
God's speech in Job 38, 41 systematically dismantles human pride by pointing to creation's wild, untamed elements, from the ostrich to the horse to the leviathan. The wild ox fits this pattern perfectly: unlike the domestic ox, it refuses the yoke, the driver's shouting, and the furrow's routine. As Poole notes, the wild ox 'will not be brought to receive his yoke, nor to do his drudgery.' This would resonate deeply with an agrarian audience. Knowing what we cannot control frees us to trust the One who governs the untamable.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Job 39:10. Keil and Delitzsch discuss the Masoretic pointing of re'em with a dagesh in the Resh, a rare feature, but this does not affect the meaning. The LXX and Vulgate render the animal as 'unicorn' (monoceros), reflecting ancient uncertainty about the species rather than a different Hebrew reading. The Hebrew text is stable.
Reception History
In the early church, the wild ox was sometimes read as a symbol of untamable forces subjected only to God. Medieval Jewish commentators like Rashi explained the re'em as a giant ox. Reformation-era expositors (Matthew Henry, Calvin) used the verse to emphasize human limitation and divine majesty, often applying it pastorally to quiet anxious or proud hearts. In modern preaching, Job 39:10 remains a powerful call to humility and trust, reminding believers that what we cannot control is still held by the Creator.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Untamable in Our Lives, The wild ox stands for anything that resists our control: a wayward child, a chronic illness, an uncertain future. Like Job, we face limits we cannot overcome by sheer effort.
- God's Questions That Unseat Pride, God does not explain the wild ox; He simply asks if Job can bind it. The question exposes our tendency to think we should be able to manage everything. Silence is the only honest answer.
- The God Who Tends the Wild, Job 39:5, 6 shows that God set the wild donkey free and made the wilderness its home. The wild ox, too, is under His care. Our lack of control does not mean chaos rules, God does.
Five-point outline
- The wild ox as a symbol of independence
- Human attempts to bind it with harness and rope
- The futility of forcing what God means to keep wild
- God alone tames, by creating, providing, and setting boundaries
- Trusting the God who holds both the tame and untameable
Illustration hooks
- A farmer trying to yoke a wild horse: the more he pulls, the more it fights. Some things in life are like that horse, the harder we grip, the worse they get.
- A parent of a teenager who won't listen: no amount of rules or shouting can control a heart that chooses its own way. We have to release them to God.
- Someone trying to manage anxiety by control: scheduling every minute, avoiding every risk. But anxiety is a wild ox that cannot be harnessed by human effort alone.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God allow situations I cannot fix or manage?
- How do I trust God when I feel powerless over my own life?
- Does my lack of control mean God has abandoned me?
Leading a Discussion
Job 39:10 is part of God's speech reminding us that we are not the masters of creation. The wild ox represents something we cannot command, and God's question is meant to humble and invite trust. As you discuss, pay attention to what feels 'untamable' in your own life.
Discussion questions
- What words stand out to you in this verse, and why?
- The wild ox refuses to plow. What does this tell us about God's view of human power?
- Why do you think God uses an animal rather than a direct command to humble Job?
- Where in your life have you tried to 'bind' something that refuses to be controlled?
- How does knowing that God provides for the wild ox (Job 39:5-8) affect how you see your own uncontrollable circumstances?
- What is one practical step you could take this week to entrust an 'untamable' area to God?
- How does this passage change the way you pray about things you cannot change?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 1:14 | that a messenger came to Job, and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them, |
| Job 39:5 | “Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, |
| Job 39:7 | He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver. |
| Job 41:5 | Will you play with him as with a bird? Or will you bind him for your girls? |
| Psalms 129:3 | The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long. |
| Hosea 10:10 | When it is my desire, I will chastise them; and the nations will be gathered against them when they are bound to their two transgressions. |
| Hosea 10:11 | Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, so I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. I will set a rider on Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break his clods. |
| Micah 1:13 | Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes the unicorn will not work under a plow or yoke and cannot be used alone to till soil. It refuses all human efforts to control it for farming. Your trust in God remains strong even when creatures resist control.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that the wild ox, or unicorn, cannot be tamed like an ordinary ox for farm work. It cannot be bound with common traces to pull a plow, nor can it be driven to harrow fields while someone walks ahead. The animal remains completely untamable.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The wild donkey scorns the noise and activity of the city and pays no attention to the driver’s shout. This shows the animal’s complete independence from human control and its refusal to be tamed or directed by people.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the wild unicorn cannot be yoked to a plow or made to harrow valleys like a tame ox. Its untameable nature is the point: no harness or furrow can bind it to human labor, underscoring the creature's fierce independence and God's power over it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes the creature’s band is attached to its head and shoulders showing its main strength there. It also says it follows the person obediently rather than being forced to go ahead.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch identifies the re'em as the oryx, a mountain-dwelling antelope that cannot be tamed for farm work. They reject the buffalo and rhinoceros interpretations, arguing the oryx's wild nature and habitat fit this passage, and they cite ancient testimony that the animal was depicted as one-horned.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that God’s appearance in the storm proves both Job’s longed-for vision and his own weakness. It shows Job’s deep desire fulfilled yet also his utter insignificance before God’s power.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that humans do not know when these animals give birth. He says God’s care keeps every species alive through their births.