Chapter 39 is a direct continuation of the previous chapter, in which the Holy One, blessed be He, demonstrates to Iyov His complete individual providence over creation. Iyov's claim was that providence had been handed over to the celestial order and the stars; and since the celestial order does not judge justly, but brings good and evil indiscriminately without distinguishing between the righteous and the wicked, he was consequently suffering and being punished for things he had not done. To this, Hashem answers him at every turn: Come and see how deeply My providence descends into the finest, most meticulous details. And if I watch over the smallest details of creation, how can you claim that I do not oversee what happens here?
הֲיָדַעְתָּ עֵת לֶדֶת יַעֲלֵי־סָלַע חֹלֵל אַיָּלוֹת תִּשְׁמֹר׃ - Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Can you mark the calving of the hinds?
Here Hashem shows him His providence regarding birth. Mountain goats dwell upon high cliffs, as it is written, "The high mountains are for the wild goats," and the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over the birth of the rock-dwelling goat so that the newborn does not plummet from the rock or come to harm. Cholel is an expression of giving birth, as in "The voice of Hashem makes the hinds to calve," and the question is: Do you guard the hind's time of birth in order to send rescue to its newborn?
And so we learned in Midrash Iyov: "'Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth, can you mark the calving of the hinds?' - this wild goat has a narrow womb and is cruel toward its offspring. When it gives birth, it does so with immense difficulty, for its labor is far more agonizing than that of other beasts; and at the moment it crouches to give birth, it climbs to the mountaintop and gives birth there so that the young will fall and die" - for the labor causes it such desperate agony. "And the Holy One, blessed be He, summons an eagle for it, which catches the newborn upon its wings and sets it down" - it casts the newborn from the cliff, poised to be dashed to pieces, and the Holy One, blessed be He, prepares an eagle to catch the youngling. The eagle does not arrive a moment too early nor a moment too late, for had it arrived early or late, the newborn would fall and die. This is the question: That precise second in which the mountain goat gives birth, and the providence to dispatch an eagle to the rescue at that exact moment - did you know that?
And should someone object that the deer we observe today give birth differently, the verse does not necessarily refer to the same species of deer found in our times, as there may well be different varieties. Just as it is stated that a serpent gives birth after a gestation of seven years, and even if other snakes are observed today - that statement refers to a specific serpent of a particular species whose gestation is seven years. In this manner must all the teachings of Chazal be understood: they described things according to their actual reality, matters that they examined and observed.
תִּסְפֹּר יְרָחִים תְּמַלֶּאנָה וְיָדַעְתָּ עֵת לִדְתָּנָה׃ - Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bring forth?
"Can you number the months" - how many months their gestation lasts; "that they fulfill" - until they reach full term. And even if you knew how to count the months and pinpoint the correct day, could you know "the time when they bring forth" - the exact hour, whether in the morning, the evening, or the afternoon?
תִּכְרַעְנָה יַלְדֵיהֶן תְּפַלַּחְנָה חֶבְלֵיהֶם תְּשַׁלַּחְנָה׃ - They crouch down, they bring forth their young, they cast off their birth pangs.
Mountain goats give birth by crouching. According to the Malbim, crouching ensures that the newborn does not tumble from the cliff, whereas according to the Midrash we cited, on the contrary, its intention is that the newborn should fall. Tefalachnah is an expression of cleaving, as in "like one who cleaves and breaks open the earth," meaning that the womb cleaves open and brings forth the young. Chevlehem teshalachnah - the chavalim are the severe pains and agony of labor, and the moment she finishes giving birth, she casts off the pangs of travail and her suffering ceases.
יַחְלְמוּ בְנֵיהֶם יִרְבּוּ בַבָּר יָצְאוּ וְלֹא־שָׁבוּ לָמוֹ׃ - Their young become healthy, they grow up in the open field; they go forth and do not return to them.
The hinds seem to dream, seeing in their imagination their offspring growing up in the open field among the grain ("bar" means grain, as in "the storehouses shall be filled with grain"), and through this imagination she forgets the pain of childbirth and no longer worries about the fawn. From this comes "they go forth and do not return to them" - the offspring do not return to their parents, nor do the parents return to their young; instead, they sustain themselves in the field by their own strength.
מִי־שִׁלַּח פֶּרֶא חׇפְשִׁי וּמֹסְרוֹת עָרוֹד מִי פִתֵּחַ׃ - Who sent out the wild donkey free, and who loosed the bonds of the wild ass?
Until now, He showed him His providence in the matter of birth; from here onward, He shows him His providence in the dwelling and habitat of animals. There are species of animals that dwell in the wilderness and submit to no authority; it is impossible to train or domesticate them. Even among species that are found close to human settlement, some remain perpetually wild: the ox is a domesticated animal, yet the wild ox and the wild donkey cannot be domesticated and remain forever wild. "Moserot" (bonds) are the ropes used to bind an animal to the yoke, and "who loosed" means who created him in such a way that his bonds are loose, that he is free, that it is impossible to bind him and he submits to no authority.
אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ וּמִשְׁכְּנוֹתָיו מְלֵחָה׃ - Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place.
Although the nature of donkeys is to dwell in inhabited areas close to human beings, this wild ass makes his home in the desert wasteland. "And the salt land his dwelling place" - salt land is harsher than ordinary wasteland; it is a dry, arid desert, as in "a fruitful land into a salty waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it," a saline place where no vegetation can grow.
יִשְׂחַק לַהֲמוֹן קִרְיָה תְּשֻׁאוֹת נֹגֵשׂ לֹא יִשְׁמָע׃ - He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.
He has no desire to live in human settlement; he is content in the wilderness where he is free. He scoffs at all the tumult of the city, and "he hears not the shouts of the driver" - there is no taskmaster whipping him and urging him to plow and move forward. "Shouts" (teshu'ot) refers to the clamor and cries of a driver pressing him to do his work. He prefers to be free with meager food rather than have a full trough in confinement, under human domination.
יְתוּר הָרִים מִרְעֵהוּ וְאַחַר כׇּל־יָרוֹק יִדְרוֹשׁ׃ - The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.
The price of freedom is that his food is scarce, so when he looks for pasture, he must search and forage for it in the mountains. He seeks out any green thing, and anything green is good enough for him, even if it is not the ideal food suited for him. In our day as well, there are people who "search after every green thing" - chasing green dollar bills! But there the verse speaks of the wild donkey and the wild ox; because he does not dwell where food is plentiful, any bit of green is fit for him to eat.
הֲיֹאבֶה רֵּים עׇבְדֶךָ אִם־יָלִין עַל־אֲבוּסֶךָ׃ - Will the re'em be willing to serve you, or will he spend the night by your trough?
Until now, He spoke of species that can still somehow be subdued, such as the wild donkey and the wild ox, which live near human habitation and, though wild, are not completely untamable. Now He turns to the re'em, which cannot be subdued at all. Not only will it refuse to work for you, but even if you offer it plentiful food with no labor required whatsoever - merely to come, sleep by your side, and eat from your manger - it will not agree even to that.
הֲתִקְשׇׁר־רֵים בְּתֶלֶם עֲבֹתוֹ אִם־יְשַׂדֵּד עֲמָקִים אַחֲרֶיךָ׃ - Can you bind the re'em to the furrow with its rope, or will it harrow the valleys after you?
The Malbim explains that there are trenches and ridges: the trench (gidud) is the sunken channel dug by the plow, and the ridge (telem) is the elevated mound alongside it. When a person plows, he creates raised areas and low areas - the low depressions are the trench, and the protruding earth is the ridge. God says to him: Even if you do not ask it to break the ground - since you have already plowed it and laid out the ridges - but merely to tie it with rope along the ridge to harrow the valleys after you, even to this it will not consent. For after the initial plowing, they would harrow the field: taking the raised earth of the ridges and smoothing it back down over the ground. The sequence of agricultural labor is that ridges and trenches are made, the seeds are placed in the trench, and then a second harrowing is performed to level the surface of the soil and cover the seeded trenches, restoring the field to a flat plane. The first stage is exceedingly difficult - plowing the ground for the very first time while it is still unbroken field; but once plowed, the soil is loose, and all that remains is to level the ridges back over the trenches, which is the light work of covering what was exposed. Even this easy task, in which it merely assists you after you have already performed the main labor, the re'em will refuse to do - even if you provide it a crib full of grain.
הֲתִבְטַח־בּוֹ כִּי־רַב כֹּחוֹ וְתַעֲזֹב אֵלָיו יְגִיעֶךָ׃ - Will you rely on it because its strength is great, and leave your labor to it?
It cannot be trusted, precisely because of its vast strength. Even if it will not plow the field for you, after the harvest one must transport the produce home, and in those days there were no trucks; they relied on a donkey or an ox harnessed to a wagon to transport the grain. Will you trust in its immense strength to bring your produce home, and leave into its hands the entire fruit of your toil?
הֲתַאֲמִין בּוֹ כִּי־יָשִׁיב זַרְעֶךָ וְגׇרְנְךָ יֶאֱסֹף׃ - Will you trust it to bring home your harvest, and gather it to your threshing floor?
Can you trust it to return your seed - that is, to bring back everything that grew and has already been loaded onto the wagon - and to gather all that you have placed upon its back and carry it home? It would simply flee with whatever grain you loaded onto it, escaping into the wilderness, for that is where it belongs.
כְּנַף־רְנָנִים נֶעֱלָסָה אִם־אֶבְרָה חֲסִידָה וְנֹצָה׃ - The wing of the ostrich flaps joyously, but does it have the pinion and plumage of the stork?
Here He turns to discuss the ostrich. The ostrich cannot soar into the heights; it remains low, and its wings are almost illusory rather than an instrument for flight. Perhaps they assist it slightly while running, but it is utterly incapable of flying with them. The ostrich is called renanim, which is seemingly perplexing, as renanim denotes singing and rejoicing, whereas the ostrich does not sing but wails. The Malbim explains that the term rinah also applies to lamentation, as in: "Arise, cry out (roni) in the night at the beginning of the watches," which means to arise and lament. The verse is framed as a question: Is the ostrich's wing truly magnificent (ne'elasa), capable of ascending to celestial heights? Can you compare it to the pinion and plumage of the stork? The Malbim explains: kanaf refers to the long feathers at the tip; ever is the wing limb itself, as in "Who will give me a wing (ever) like a dove"; and notzah refers to the small down feathers on the wing. Does the ostrich's wing have the power to fly in the manner that the stork flies with its wings?
כִּי־תַעֲזֹב לָאָרֶץ בֵּצֶיהָ וְעַל־עָפָר תְּחַמֵּם׃ - For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and warms them in the dust.
Hashem instilled in the nature of the ostrich to abandon its eggs in the sand, on the earth, unlike the way of the stork, of which it is said, "As for the stork, the cypresses are her home" - she lays her eggs high in the cypress trees, where no one can reach them. The ostrich, by contrast, deposits hers in the dust of the wilderness, exposed to constant peril.
וַתִּשְׁכַּח כִּי־רֶגֶל תְּזוּרֶהָ וְחַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה תְדוּשֶׁהָ׃ - And she forgets that a foot may crush them, and a beast of the field may trample them.
The Malbim explains that Hashem did not plant within her love for her offspring, and she forgets that in the place where she abandoned her eggs, "a foot may crush them" - the feet of passersby will squash the eggs. "Tezureha" comes from the language of squeezing or crushing, as in "and he wrung the fleece (va-yazar et ha-gizah)" and extracted a full bowl of water from it, meaning he squeezed the fleece. Alternatively, "a beast of the field may trample them (tedusheha)" - animals that habitually eat eggs, such as snakes and others, will "thresh" them, cracking open the shell to extract what is inside, just like the agricultural labor of threshing where the grain is extracted from the chaff. Hashem did not plant maternal love in her heart, and therefore she lays her eggs in an unprotected place.
הִקְשִׁיחַ בָּנֶיהָ לְּלֹא־לָהּ לְרִיק יְגִיעָהּ בְּלִי־פָחַד׃ - She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; her labor is in vain, without fear.
Even after the chicks are hatched, her heart remains hardened toward them as though they were not hers. If so, how do they sustain themselves? The Malbim notes that naturalists and researchers have written that the ostrich places a single unfertilized, spoiled egg on top of her clutch, an egg that will not produce an embryo, from which worms develop. The chicks that hatch from the viable eggs find these worms in that spoiled egg, and through them they obtain their sustenance and survive; she herself takes no trouble in raising her young. Therefore, "her labor is in vain, without fear" - she does not worry or fret that her labor will be in vain, and thus she does not guard her eggs after laying them as other birds do, because she has no fear of all her effort being wasted.
כִּי־הִשָּׁהּ אֱלוֹהַּ חׇכְמָה וְלֹא־חָלַק לָהּ בַּבִּינָה׃ - For God has deprived her of wisdom, and has not imparted understanding to her.
"Hishah" is an expression of forgetfulness and deprivation, as in "Of the Rock that begot you, you were unmindful (teshi), and you forgot God who formed you," and "God has made me forget (nashani) all my hardship." Hashem did not grant her wisdom like other birds, which possess a natural instinct to protect their eggs and offspring; rather, He completely caused her to lack this wisdom, which is the foundational trait for preserving one's young.
כָּעֵת בַּמָּרוֹם תַּמְרִיא תִּשְׂחַק לַסּוּס וּלְרֹכְבוֹ׃ - When she soars on high, she mocks the horse and its rider.
Nor did He impart understanding to her - what kind of understanding? The understanding by which she would be capable of soaring on high. Therefore, the ostrich lacks the ability to fly, for Hashem did not grant her the understanding of how to fly. The Malbim explains that to the birds capable of flying high above, Hashem gave the wisdom to protect their young. Why? Because they can protect them high in the mountains and in tall trees, in places where land animals cannot reach. "She mocks the horse and its rider" - a dove or a stork flying high up as if mocks the horse and its rider, like someone driving a car at 120 km/h seeing someone tottering along on a bicycle beside him; before the horse and its rider can move, she has already covered vast distances. But with the ostrich, this is not the case.
And what is the reason for this? The Malbim explains that Hashem intentionally saw to it not to grant her the instinct to protect her young, nor the instinct to lay eggs in a protected place, so that her offspring would not multiply excessively. Hashem implanted in her nature the capacity to lay around thirty eggs, and imagine what would happen if she also guarded them - a population explosion of ostriches! Therefore, He did not give her the nature to fly and protect her eggs in secure places in the mountains and trees, nor did He implant in her nature compassion for her young; rather, "she treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers" - He hardened her heart toward her young as though they were not hers. But the stork, Hashem wanted to multiply, for she does not lay many eggs, and if she did not reproduce successfully, she might face extinction. Therefore, on the one hand He gave her a small clutch of eggs, and on the other hand He gave her the ability to protect them properly in high places and upon mountains. In this way, the Holy One, blessed be He, preserved the natural balance so that the original divine plan would be maintained without disruption.
Here we find an expression that appears only once in Tanach: "tamria." As we have explained several times, any hapax legomenon in Tanach is very difficult to interpret, because our standard method for determining the meaning of words in Tanach is through a concordance. What is a concordance? A reference work that does not define words, but merely lists occurrences: if the word "marom" appears, it lists forty other places in Tanach where "marom" is found. When you read all of those contexts, you understand the meaning from the surrounding context and arrive at an accurate definition. For example, if it says "he will ascend on high (marom), reaching the skies," we begin to understand that "marom" means a high place, something near the skies. This is our approach to interpreting Scripture, and it is also Rashi's approach: sometimes he says of a word, "it has no parallel in Scripture" or "I have found no parallel for it," and then he might say "as the Targum translates," relying on Onkelos, or "its meaning is according to its context" - reading the verse, grasping what the text seeks to convey, and interpreting the word accordingly. At other times, while the word itself is rare, commentators explain that it derives from the root of another word.
Here there are three interpretations: Some say it has no parallel, as held by Ibn Ezra and Ralbag, that "tamria" is an expression of lifting oneself up or taking flight, and we find no other instance of taking flight expressed in this way in Scripture. Metzudat Tzion explains that it comes from the root of rebellion and defiance (meri and mered), a root that is indeed common: "a stubborn and rebellious son (moreh)," "one who rebels (mamreh) against his parents." Here, it means that the bird rebels against and defies the physical boundaries that restrict all other animals, ascending above them. A third interpretation suggests it derives from the root denoting fattening and grandeur (mariah), like a fattened ox (shor patum / meri), meaning "on high she exalts herself" - she fattens and takes pride in herself for being capable of reaching the heights, viewing it as a praise and distinction. But the ostrich is not like this: Hashem did not apportion wisdom to her so that she could exult and take pride in being able to soar on high.
הֲתִתֵּן לַסּוּס גְּבוּרָה הֲתַלְבִּישׁ צַוָּארוֹ רַעְמָה׃ - "Did you give the horse might? Did you clothe his neck with a mane?"
Now Hashem shows him another aspect of Divine Providence: how He created animals from which man derives benefit. Having spoken of wild species, He turns to animals that serve human needs. In those times, the horse was the most essential animal for man's use: for riding, carrying loads, plowing, and other labors, and above all for war, where the horse was an active partner in battle - "the snorting of his horses, the galloping of his steeds" - horses were instruments of war. The poets of the ancient nations, Malbim notes, lavished praise and glory upon the horse, and indeed anyone who looks at a horse sees a noble creature. By contrast, a donkey - its head hangs down, its ears are long, and it appears pitiful. The horse, on the other hand, embodies nobility; whoever gazes upon it perceives a quality of grandeur. Two virtues are therefore stated regarding it: might - "Did you give the horse might?" - did you grant him the strength that allows man to utilize him? And beauty - "Did you clothe his neck with a mane?" - for the mane of hair along his neck enhances his splendor, and the horse is known as an animal that carries itself with pride.
הֲתַרְעִישֶׁנּוּ כָּאַרְבֶּה הוֹד נַחְרוֹ אֵימָה׃ - "Can you make him quake like a locust? The majesty of his snorting strikes terror."
When the horse charges swiftly, he rushes with a roar like swarming locusts, and in the Book of Yoel the prophet likewise compares locusts to horses. And when he snorts, the blast of his nostrils strikes terror into onlookers, an act filled with majestic awe.
יַחְפְּרוּ בָעֵמֶק וְיָשִׂישׂ בְּכֹחַ יֵצֵא לִקְרַאת־נָשֶׁק׃ - "He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he goes out toward the clash of weapons."
It is the nature of horses to stamp and paw the ground until they hollow out a trench in the earth, and he seemingly rejoices and delights while striking the ground. Interestingly, the sound a horse makes is called tzahalah (neighing, which also means jubilation) - the horse is constantly glad and jubilant. Even the word sus (horse) is related to yasis (he rejoices), as the letters samech and sin are interchangeable. Anyone who watches a donkey walk observes a gait of wretchedness, as if it carries all the troubles of the world and evokes pity. The horse, by contrast, possesses a noble gait that radiates joy, lively and buoyant - this is "and he rejoices in his strength," for out of his exuberance he neighs with joy. "He goes out toward the clash of weapons" - when war erupts, the horse boldly charges forward toward the weapons and the battle.
יִשְׂחַק לְפַחַד וְלֹא יֵחָת וְלֹא־יָשׁוּב מִפְּנֵי־חָרֶב׃ - "He laughs at fear and is not dismayed, nor does he turn back before the sword."
Where everyone else is terrified, he laughs at fear and remains unfazed, charging into battle undeterred. "And is not dismayed" (ve-lo yechat) - he is not broken, as in "those who contend with Him shall be shattered (yechatu)," and the expression "made without fear (lelo chat)" denotes something unbreakable. Furthermore, "nor does he turn back before the sword": other animals become terrified at the sight of a knife or a sword, but the horse looks upon a sword without panic; instead, he charges straight ahead.
עָלָיו תִּרְנֶה אַשְׁפָּה לַהַב חֲנִית וְכִידוֹן׃ - "Upon him rattles the quiver, the flash of spear and lance."
The Malbim explains: "Upon him rattles (tirneh)" - when they pile upon him, tall as a ship's mast (toren), a massive load of arrows, spears, and lances, all the implements of war, they are not heavy upon him nor is he perturbed by them. Even a heap as towering as a mast, composed of the glittering blade of spear and lance, is regarded by him as though you merely placed a small quiver upon him; it does not bother him in the least.
בְּרַעַש וְרֹגֶז יְגַמֶּא־אָרֶץ וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין כִּי־קוֹל שׁוֹפָר׃ - "With quaking and rage he swallows the ground, nor does he stand still at the sound of the shofar."
When the battle begins, you see him galloping in noise and fury, 'swallowing the ground' - swallowing vast distances. The sound of the shofar was intended to terrify: they would blow horns to strike terror into the opposing army, and such was their practice. The Torah warns, 'Do not fear and do not be dismayed before them,' and Rashi explains that one must not fear the blare of all the horns. Yet the horse hears the horn, which signifies that the battle has begun, that there is combat and bloodshed, and he is not afraid at all - as if he cannot believe that a shofar has sounded, and he rushes toward the battle line with great speed, without any apprehension and without any fear.
בְּדֵי שֹׁפָר יֹאמַר הֶאָח וּמֵרָחוֹק יָרִיחַ מִלְחָמָה רַעַם שָׂרִים וּתְרוּעָה׃ - At the sound of the shofar he says, 'Aha!' and from afar he smells the battle, the thunder of captains and the shouting.
'At the sound of the shofar' - when he hears a great volume of shofar blasts without end, 'he says, Aha!' - he rejoices: great, shofars, forward! And Hashem instilled within him the instinct to smell battle from afar - not the smell of gunpowder, for in their days they fought with spears and swords. 'The thunder of captains and the shouting' - he recognizes the thunder of the commanders and the sounding of the trumpets, which were the signals given by the officers of war and the heads of the battalions as they went out to battle, specific signals and calls. He identifies them from afar and rushes into battle, not merely unafraid. And Hashem says to Iyov: Who made all this? Do you understand all this? Did you implant these extraordinary strengths in these animals?
הֲמִבִּינָתְךָ יַאֲבֶר־נֵץ יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָו לְתֵימָן׃ - Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, spreading its wings toward the south?
There are migratory birds, and during the winter they migrate to warmer climates. They understand when winter is approaching, and accordingly spread their wings and move to a warm place. How is this accomplished? To this day scientists are astonished, and there are various theories seeking to explain where the birds derive this power, how they know, and how they navigate, with many studies conducted to grasp the foundation of this ability. Hashem asks Iyov: Was it from your understanding that these migratory birds received discernment? 'The hawk soars' - the hawk lifts its pinions (ever, meaning wing) and journeys before winter arrives toward Teiman, which is the south, to the warmer lands, to remain there throughout the winter days. Surely this is part of the special Divine Providence by which Hashem instilled this wondrous wisdom within them.
אִם־עַל־פִּיךָ יַגְבִּיהַּ נָשֶׁר וְכִי יָרִים קִנּוֹ׃ - Is it at your command that the eagle soars high and builds its nest on high?
Is it by your word that the eagle flies higher than all other birds? And that it raises its nest, which holds the eggs it seeks to guard, to an exceedingly high place in order to preserve them - is that by your bidding? Did you arrange to preserve this?
סֶלַע יִשְׁכֹּן וְיִתְלֹנָן עַל שֶׁן־סֶלַע וּמְצוּדָה׃ - On a rock it dwells and lodges, upon the crag of a rock and a stronghold.
And there it dwells upon the rock, in a place that no human hand and no beast can reach. Yitlonan is related to lodging (linah), like a shelter or as in 'He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide (yitlonan) in the shadow of the Almighty,' meaning he will lodge in the shadow of the Holy One, blessed be He. Here too, it lodges and rests upon the crag of the rock or the fortress, which are high and distant places beyond human reach.
מִשָּׁם חָפַר־אֹכֶל לְמֵרָחוֹק עֵינָיו יַבִּיטוּ׃ - From there it spies out food; its eyes gaze from afar.
The Malbim explains that chafar here is an expression of scouting and searching, as in 'and they will scout (veyachperu) the land for us.' For if it guards its fledglings up there, how will it provide them with food? Hashem endowed it with tremendous visual power, so that across a distance of many miles it is capable of discerning food, zeroing in on it, and flying all the way there - 'its eyes gaze from afar.'
וְאֶפְרֹחָו יְעַלְעוּ־דָם וּבַאֲשֶׁר חֲלָלִים שָׁם הוּא׃ - "His fledglings gulp down blood; and wherever the slain are, there is he."
There is always prey before him, and prey is always readily available to him, because he is capable of seeing across great distances. It is well known that when a carcass lies exposed, birds of prey arrive from vast distances, for Hashem implanted such wisdom within them. So too with the shark: when it senses blood, it is able to arrive from miles away, detecting scent across vast expanses of water. "Ye'al'u" comes from the word loa (throat or gullet) - the throat and cheeks of the fledglings are constantly filled with blood from the meat that the eagle brings them from afar. "And wherever the slain are, there is he" - wherever there are slain corpses, he searches and sees from afar, capable of reaching those casualties and taking sustenance from them.
Here the Holy One, blessed be He, shows Iyov the extent to which He exercises Divine Providence over every single species: in matters of food; in matters of pregnancy and birth - "can you mark the calving of the hinds?"; in matters of their dwelling and the sanctuary He granted them for their protection; in the bird laying its eggs; in its migration during the winter months; and in its soaring to the heights of heaven. And He said to him: For whose sake do I watch over all of this? Over the birds, the domesticated beasts, and the wild animals, all of which were created to serve you, the choicest of mankind. And if I watch over them to such an extent, will I not watch over you?
To what may this be compared? To a king who built a palace for his son, staffed with servants, aides, assistants, gardeners, and attendants. We see that the king cares for all of them: he pays their wages on time, inquires into their affairs, cares for them down to the finest details, and even knows the birthdays of his servants' children. Along comes someone filled with doubt who asks: "Does he care for his son?" The answer is obvious: For whose sake did he build this palace? Whom did the servants come to serve? All of this was created for his son! Could you possibly doubt whether he cares for his own son? So says Hashem to him: See how I care even for the servants meant to assist you, how closely I watch over them - and will you, who are the ultimate purpose of everything, come and say that Father has forgotten about me? For whom do I do all this work if not for man, who is the crown of creation, and for whose sake everything in creation was brought into being?
Chapter 39 continues the journey of Divine Providence through which the Holy One, blessed be He, leads Iyov: the exact birthing time of the mountain goats of the rock and the rescue of the newborn by the eagle; the dwelling of the wild ass and the onager in the desert and the salt plains and their joy in freedom; the wild ox that refuses to submit to labor even for a full manger; the ostrich, deprived of the wisdom to guard its eggs and the power of flight in order to temper its proliferation, contrasted with the stork that was granted the ability to preserve its eggs on high; the horse endowed with strength, beauty, and courage that does not flinch before the sword; the birds migrating toward the south; and the eagle nesting on the crag of the rock, gazing into the far distance to sustain its fledglings. From all of these, one single conclusion emerges: He Who watches so intimately over the servants - over the birds, the domesticated animals, and the wild beasts that were all created to serve man - will surely not forget the son, man himself, who is the crown of creation and the ultimate purpose of all existence.