Job 39:7 · Bible study
Job 39:7 Commentary: The Wild Ass and Divine Freedom
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Job 39:7: God’s portrait of the wild ass scornful of city and driver. Study the grammar, context, and meaning of God’s speech.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The wild ass laughs at the city’s noise and ignores the driver, symbolizing freedom beyond human control.
- Key words: שָׂחַק (laughs/scorns), הֲמוֹן (tumult/multitude), נוֹגֵשׂ (driver/taskmaster).
- Main debate: Whether the driver signifies a literal animal handler or a broader metaphor for oppressive systems; both readings co-exist in the commentaries.
- Theological theme: God’s wisdom in creating and sustaining a world that does not revolve around human systems of control.
- Best use: Sermons on rest, trust, or God’s sovereignty; small-group discussion on suffering and the limits of human understanding.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
WEB World English Bible 2000
He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
KJV King James Version 1769
He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
He scorneth the tumult of the city, Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
He doth laugh at the multitude of a city, The cries of an exactor he heareth not.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
He laugheth at the tumult of the city, and heareth not the shouts of the driver;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
He scorneth the multitude of the city, he heareth not the cry of the driver.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Sus hijos están sanos, crecen con el pasto: salen y no vuelven á ellas.
Ele zomba do tumulto da cidade; não ouve os gritos do condutor.
Leurs petits prennent de la vigueur et grandissent en plein air,
Er verlacht das Getümmel der Stadt; das Pochen des Treibers hört er nicht.
Hij belacht het gewoel der stad; het menigerlei getier des drijvers hoort hij niet.
Egli si beffa del frastuono della città, e non ode grida di padrone.
Jako moc biorą dzieci ich, i odchowywują się po zbożach, a odszedłszy nie wracają się do nich.
Он посмевается городскому многолюдству и не слышит криков погонщика,
牠嗤笑 城 內的喧嚷，不 聽 趕牲口 的喝聲。
He makes sport of the noise of the town; the voice of the driver does not come to his ears;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 39:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse presents the wild ass as an emblem of untamed freedom, deliberately set beyond human reach. Barnes, Gill and the Cambridge Bible note that the Hebrew verb שָׂחַק (to laugh or scorn) conveys open defiance: the animal is neither intimidated by a city’s noise nor subject to a driver’s commands. The word נׁוֹגֵשׂ (driver) can mean ‘exactor’ or ‘taskmaster’ (Barnes, Gill), linking the verse to the oppressive labour of Exodus 5. In context, God is not merely describing an animal but showing Job a creature whose mode of life Job neither grants nor controls. The wild ass’s freedom underscores the wisdom of the Creator who sets boundaries and freedoms beyond human planning.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The wild ass is portrayed as living apart from human society, free from the threats and demands of civilisation, showing a dimension of creation that God sustains outside human control.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the animal | All major commentators identify the creature as the wild ass (onager), a distinct species from the domesticated donkey. | None; the Hebrew פֶּרֶא and Arabic parallels securely establish the animal. |
| Meaning of 'driver' (נוֹגֵשׂ) | The term refers to someone who presses or urges animals or people to work, often with force. | Barnes and Gill emphasise the connotation of an 'exactor' or tax collector, linking to social oppression; others (e.g., Cambridge) see a literal animal driver. Both are plausible from the semantic field. |
| Purpose in God’s speech | The verse contributes to God’s demonstration that Job cannot comprehend the full scope of divine wisdom in creation. | Some stress the element of human limitation (Job cannot control this animal); others highlight God’s provision for creatures outside human society. These overlap but have different pastoral applications. |
| Tone of the verb 'laughs/scorns' (שָׂחַק) | The verb conveys defiance and absence of fear. | Whether the tone is playful (as in sport) or contemptuous (scorning the city) is a matter of emphasis; the KJV reads 'scorneth,' while YLT has 'doth laugh.' |
Historical & Cultural Context
The wild ass (Hebrew פֶּרֶא, pere) was well known in the ancient Near East as a swift, untamable animal that roamed desert and salt-steppes (Job 39:6). The Cambridge Bible cites Arabian poetry where the creature is celebrated for its speed, no rider could overtake it, and its habit of living in small herds led by a single male. Its habitat was far from settled agriculture, which is why the verse contrasts it with the city and the driver’s shouting.
The term ‘driver’ carries a specific social weight. In Exodus 5:13, 16 the same Hebrew root (nagash) describes the Egyptian taskmasters who pressured Israelite slaves. Barnes draws this connection, and Gill adds that the wild ass “hears not the blows” of such an overseer. The city represents the centre of human economic and political control, the place where beasts of burden are harnessed. God’s speech follows a pattern of pointing to elements of creation that operate independently of human management: the wild goats (v.1, 4), the wild ass, the wild ox (v.9, 12), the ostrich (v.13, 18). Each animal’s behaviour reminds Job that the world is not arranged primarily for human convenience.
In the broader literary structure (Job 38, 41), God is answering Job’s demand for an explanation of his suffering. By highlighting a creature that “scorns the tumult of the city,” God presses Job to see that even the orderly structures of human life (cities, labour) are not ultimate; the wild places and their inhabitants belong to God’s household under different rules.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Job 39:7 in the Masoretic tradition. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Targum) agree on the substance of the verse.
Reception History
This verse has consistently been read as a part of God’s challenge to human pride in the wisdom literature. Reformation commentators such as Matthew Henry and John Wesley drew attention to the wild ass’s freedom as a rebuke to those who think they can manage God’s world. In pastoral tradition, the verse has comforted believers weighed down by oppressive labour, pointing to a God who sustains a realm outside human demands. More recent reflection has connected the wild ass to ecological themes of creation’s independent value.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The wild ass laughs at the noise of the city. It is not drawn by human commerce or threat. God alone provides for it.
- It does not hear the driver. The shouts of taskmasters that controlled the tame donkey have no power here. The wild ass belongs to a different order.
- God’s wisdom sustains what humans cannot harness. This freedom is not chaos; it is part of a creation that thrives outside our systems.
Five-point outline
- Freedom from human demands. The wild ass lives where no one can command it. (Job 39:6, 8)
- Contrast with the domesticated. The tame ass hears the driver; the wild ass does not. God made both, and both matter to Him.
- The driver as oppressor. The word nogesh echoes the taskmasters of Egypt. God’s creation includes creatures that escape oppression.
- Trust beyond visible provision. The wild ass searches for every green thing (v.8), depending on God’s hidden care: a word for those worn down by labour.
- Job’s suffering in this light. Job feels pressed by a “driver” (cf. Job 3:18), but God shows there is a freedom He alone gives, not by removing struggle but by grounding it in a larger story.
Illustration hooks
- A weekend hiker who leaves behind the noises of traffic, work email, and schedules, discovering a silence that restores.
- A farmer who tries to handle a wild stallion, realising no amount of shouting will make the animal obey.
- Someone caught in the rhythm of overwork, who identifies with the cry of the driver and wonders if there is a way to stop hearing it.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God values freedom for a wild ass, does He also care about my exhaustion from the “drivers” in my life?
- Does this verse suggest I should withdraw from society, or just learn to trust God in the middle of it?
- How do I know when a situation is God’s ‘wilderness’ for me and not just hard circumstances?
Leading a Discussion
In God’s speech from the whirlwind, Job is confronted with a gallery of wild creatures. This verse presents the wild ass as an example of freedom that humans do not grant and cannot control. For a small group, the verse becomes a mirror: where do we assume God’s world must fit our expectations?
Discussion questions
- What does the wild ass’s laughter (Hebrew sachaq) tell you about its attitude toward the city and the driver? Why might God choose this strong word?
- Look at Job 39:5, 6. Why is the wild ass’s home described as ‘wilderness’ and ‘salt land’? How does that setting reinforce the point of verse 7?
- The word for ‘driver’ (nogesh) is used for oppressive taskmasters in Exodus 5:13, 16. Does that connection change how you hear the verse? What kinds of “drivers” exist in our world today?
- How does this animal contrast with the tame donkey? Which image better reflects your own life at the moment, and why?
- In Job 3:18, Job yearns for a place where prisoners are free and do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. How does God’s description of the wild ass speak to that longing?
- If God keeps and provides for a creature that will not be humanly managed, what does that tell you about His priorities and wisdom?
- How might this passage change the way you pray or trust God regarding the parts of your life that feel out of control?
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)
| Exodus 5:13 | The taskmasters were urgent saying, “Fulfill your work quota daily, as when there was straw!” |
| Exodus 5:16 | No straw is given to your servants, and they tell us, ‘Make brick!’ and behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” |
| Exodus 5:18 | Go therefore now, and work; for no straw shall be given to you; yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks!” |
| Job 3:18 | There the prisoners are at ease together. They don’t hear the voice of the taskmaster. |
| Job 39:18 | When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider. |
| Isaiah 31:4 | For Yahweh says to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for their noise, so Yahweh of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its heights. |
| Isaiah 58:3 | ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers. |
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
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the creature in question despises crowds because it moves too fast to be caught. It is so quick that no one can chase or catch it.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes interprets the defiance as the creature's total rejection of human control. It is neither frightened by city crowds nor forced by a driver, choosing instead the untamed freedom of the wilderness where no restraint can reach it.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Christians who hold the view held by Historic Christian teaching hold that the wild ass is described as living in deserts and keeping watch from high places. This animal is also said to live for a very long time.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes notes that these creatures have young which become strong and full of hair. Their young leave their parents and never return.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the wild ass's fierce love of freedom. It scorns the crowded city and the driver's shouts, choosing solitude over the tame ass's servitude. Its speed makes it nearly impossible to capture, and it simply will not submit to being ridden, driven, or worked.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
The wild ass represents unrestrained freedom in the East. Kings sometimes included its name in their titles because of this symbol.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch identifies the wild ass by its Hebrew name פּרא as a swift, shy animal that cannot be tamed by human hands. They emphasize that God made the salt steppe its fitting home precisely because it thrives in barren, uninhabitable land. Their distinctive point comes in verse eight, where they read יתוּר as "what can be searched out" rather than "abundance," highlighting the animal's instinctive searching for every green thing.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that God's discourse does not directly answer Job's complaints but overwhelms him with unanswerable questions about creation. The purpose is to show that God's ways, including ordaining suffering, are beyond human comprehension and that mortal man should not dispute with the Almighty.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that humans do not know when wild animals give birth. He says God provides for each species so none go extinct.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that scorn denotes fearlessness: the animal is so swift it easily outruns any pursuer and has no reason to fear them. The term driver points to its refusal to be yoked or forced into labor. The animal remains unsubdued and independent.