Bible Strands
Job 38:40
when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Job from the whirlwind, continuing His rhetorical interrogation about divine sovereignty over creation. The question targets Job’s inability to provide for or control wild predators like lions.
The words — The Hebrew יָשֹׁ֥חוּ (ya.sho.chu) means "they will crouch," and אָֽרֶב (a.rev) translates to "lying-in-wait" or "ambush." These terms describe the predatory posture of the lion in its natural habitat.
The thread — The imagery of wild animals entering dens appears in Job 37:8, while Genesis 49:9 and Numbers 23:24 apply the crouching lion motif to royal and military contexts.
Why it lands — The text demands Job acknowledge his limitation regarding the natural order before claiming authority over his own life. It asks the reader to accept that divine provision operates independently of human control.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Cross-references
- Job 37:8 The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
- Genesis 49:9 Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
- Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
- Numbers 24:9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”