The Meaning of Job 39:10 Explained

Job 39:10

KJV: Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

YLT: Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow with his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?

Darby: Canst thou bind the buffalo with his cord in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

ASV: Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Canst thou bind  the unicorn  with his band  in the furrow?  or will he harrow  the valleys  after  thee? 

What does Job 39:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 39:1-30 - "knowest Thou?" "canst Thou?"
The series of questions is continued, and God asks more especially with respect to animated and organic nature. The wild goats, Job 39:1-4; the wild ass, Job 39:5-8; the wild ox, Job 39:9-12; the peacocks and ostriches, Job 39:13-18; the war horse, Job 39:19-25; the hawk, Job 39:26-30. In each case some special point is asked, hidden from the observation of ordinary men. If Job were unable to know more than they on such matters as these, how could he expect to know more than they of the reasons that dictate God's dealings with His people?
There is mystery in every part of the universe of God. He hides Himself, so that we cannot discover Him. His thoughts are deeper, His ways profounder, than our mind can fathom. There is not a single pathway leading out of the garden of life along which a man, traversing it, will not come to a point when the track dies away in the grass and there is no further progress. In nature and in Scripture alike we have to deal with the inscrutability of God's ways. Nor can we wonder, if the God of the Bible and of nature be the God of providence, to find mystery also there. This is the argument of The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, by Bishop Butler. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 39

1  Of the wild goats and hinds
5  Of the wild donkey
9  The unicorn
13  The peacock, stork, and ostrich
19  The horse
26  The hawk
27  The eagle

What do the individual words in Job 39:10 mean?

can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes Or will he plow the valleys behind you
הֲ‍ֽתִקְשָׁר־ רֵ֭ים ؟ בְּתֶ֣לֶם עֲבֹת֑וֹ אִם־ יְשַׂדֵּ֖ד עֲמָקִ֣ים אַחֲרֶֽיךָ

הֲ‍ֽתִקְשָׁר־  can  you  bind 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָשַׁר  
Sense: to bind, tie, bind together, league together, conspire.
רֵ֭ים  the  wild  ox 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רְאֵם  
Sense: probably the great aurochs or wild bulls which are now extinct.
؟ בְּתֶ֣לֶם  in  the  furrow 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תֶּלֶם  
Sense: furrow.
עֲבֹת֑וֹ  with  ropes 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עָבֹות 
Sense: cord, rope, cordage, foliage, interwoven foliage.
יְשַׂדֵּ֖ד  will  he  plow 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂדַד  
Sense: (Piel) to harrow.
עֲמָקִ֣ים  the  valleys 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
אַחֲרֶֽיךָ  behind  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).