Bible Strands
Job 39:18
Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Job directly while cataloging the distinct designs of wild creatures. This remark occurs mid-discourse as He contrasts the ostrich’s nature with the horse’s power.
The words — The Hebrew תִּֽשְחַ֥ק (tis.Chak) means “it laughs,” describing the ostrich’s reaction. It pairs with בַּ/מָּר֣וֹם (ba./ma.Rom), literally “on the height,” indicating the elevated position where this display occurs.
The thread — This motif of mocking or laughing at danger appears in Job 5:22 and 2 Kings 19:21, while Job 39:7 parallels the attitude of scorn toward human threats. The shared vocabulary links the ostrich’s confidence to broader biblical themes of divine reversal and human vulnerability.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that God allocates traits without human approval or logical symmetry. It requires the reader to accept that apparent foolishness in creation may serve a sovereign design beyond human measurement.
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
What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 19:21 This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Job 5:22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
- Job 39:7 He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
- Job 39:22 He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
- Job 41:29 A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance.