Bible Strands
Job 39:19
Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Job in a rhetorical discourse examining natural creation to demonstrate divine sovereignty. The question follows a description of the ostrich and immediately precedes an account of the horse’s power.
The words — גְּבוּרָה (ge.vu.Rah) translates literally as strength, and תַלְבִּישׁ (tal.Bish) means do you clothe or adorn. The text poses these terms as direct questions about the horse’s physical attributes.
The thread — The motif of divine clothing and strength runs through Psalms 93:1 and 104:1, where God robes Himself in majesty and strength. Psalm 147:10 contrasts this by noting God does not delight in the strength of the horse.
Why it lands — The text asks whether humans can manufacture or bestow the horse’s physical capabilities. It demands acknowledgment that sovereign provision, not human effort, governs creation.
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
Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
Cross-references
- Psalms 93:1 The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
- Psalms 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
- Psalms 147:10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
- Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.
- Job 39:25 At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
- Mark 3:17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (whom He named Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),