Job 39:19

Hast thou given the horse strength?.... Not only to bear burdens and draw carriages, but for war; for it is the war horse that is here spoken of, as what follows shows, and his strength denotes; not

Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? The allusion to "the horse" (Job 39:18) suggests the description of him.

Strength; either strength of body; or rather, courage and generous confidence, for which the horse is highly commended. With thunder, i.e. with snorting and neighing; in the making of which nereid the neck, in regard of the throat, which is within it, and a part of it, is a principal instrument; which noise may not unfitly be called thunder, because of the great vehemency and rage wherewith it is attended, and the great terror which it causeth, especially in war and battle, of which see ; and compare ,18, where this very term of thundering is ascribed to a far lower and less terrible noise. Nor is this, as some allege, an improper speech, because this thunder or neighing is rather clothed with the neck, as being within it, than the neck with it; for nothing is more common in Scripture than to say that men are clothed with righteousness, humility, and other graces, which yet are in strictness of speech within the man, and not he within them. But because this word in this form is not elsewhere extant, some render it otherwise, with a mane, with a thick, and full and deep mane, as the phrase of being clothed with it implies; for this is mentioned by all writers of horses as a notable mark of a generous horse; which therefore they conceive would not be omitted here, where so many several properties and excellencies are described. And the verb raam, whence this comes, in the Syriac language signifies not only to thunder, but also to be high or lofty; which fitly agrees to the mane, which is in the highest part of the horse.

Job 39:19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?Ver. 19. Hast thou given the horse strength?] Having mentioned the horse, he comes next to show his nature; and here we have a most elegant description of a generous horse, such as Dubartas maketh Cain to manage, and as the Greeks call φρυσγματιαν, fremebundum. -Quod siqua sonum procul arms dedere Stare loco nescit, micat auribus, et tremit artus; Collectumque premens volvit sub naribus ignem (Virg. Georg.). In this creature therefore we have a clear instance of the wonderful power and wisdom of God. If the horse be so strong and warlike, what is the Almighty, that man of war? Exodus 15:3, and victor in battle, as the Chaldee there calleth him? This is one way whereby we may conceive of God, sc. per viam eminentiae, for if there be such and such excellence in the creature, what is there in the Creator, since all that is in us is but a spark of his fame, a drop of his ocean? How then wilt thou, O Job, dare to contend with him, who art not able to stand before this creature of his? Wonderful things are reported concerning Bucephalus, and the horse of Julius Caesar, of Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, of the Sybarites’ war horses, Qui ad symphoniae cantum saltatione quadam movebantur (Pausan.). The Persians dedicated a horse to the sun, so did the idolatrous Israelites, 2 Kings 23:11, as the swiftest creature to the swiftest God. Very serviceable he is for drawing and carrying, but especially in battle, whereof only here, De equis militaribus et cataphractis; of war horses, the use whereof appeareth to be very ancient, even in Job’ s days. The Israelites made little or no use of them in the conquest of Canaan; but their enemies there did, and Pharaoh before them, Exodus 14:6-10 Let it be held that "a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength," Psalms 33:17. The Jews are sharply reproved and heavily threatened for trusting to the horses of Egypt, Isaiah 31:1; Yεοςουκεστιφιλιππος (Plut. in Numa). Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?] That is, with neighing and snorting, answerable to his strength, and which soundeth terribly from within his neck, till his very eyes sparkle, as if he did both thunder and lighten. The apostles and other ministers of God are called Christ’ s white horses, Revelation 6:1-2, upon which he rideth about the world, conquering and to conquer; horses, for their courage and constance, and white, for their purity of doctrine, discipline, and conversion: they thunder in their doctrine and lighten in their lives (as Nazianzen, saith Basil, did), to the subduing of souls to the obedience of faith.

(19) Thunder—i.e., with terror, such as thunder causes. Some refer it to the moving or shaking of the mane.

Verse 19. Hast thou given the horse strength?] Before I proceed to any observations, I shall give Mr. Good's version of this, perhaps inimitable, description: - Ver. 19. Hast thou bestowed on the horse mettle? Hast thou clothed his neck with the thunder flash? Ver. 20. Hast thou given him to launch forth as an arrow? Terrible is the pomp of his nostrils. Ver. 21. He paweth in the valley, and exulteth. Boldly he advanceth against the clashing host: Ver. 22. He mocketh at fear, and trembleth not: Nor turneth he back from the sword. Ver. 23. Against him rattleth the quiver, The glittering spear, and the shield: Ver. 24. With rage and fury he devoureth the ground; And is impatient when the trumpet soundeth. Ver. 25. He exclaimeth among the trumpets, Aha! And scenteth the battle afar off, The thunder of the chieftains, and the shouting. In the year 1713, a letter was sent to the GUARDIAN, which makes No. 86 of that work, containing a critique on this description, compared with similar descriptions of Homer and Virgil. I shall give the substance of it here:- The great Creator, who accommodated himself to those to whom he vouchsafed to speak, hath put into the mouths of his prophets such sublime sentiments and exalted language as must abash the pride and wisdom of man. In the book of Job, the most ancient poem in the world, we have such paintings and descriptions as I have spoken of in great variety. I shall at present make some remarks on the celebrated description of the horse, in that holy book; and compare it with those drawn by Homer and Virgil. Homer hath the following similitude of a horse twice over in the Iliad, which Virgil hath copied from him; at least he hath deviated less from Homer than Mr. Dryden hath from him: - Ὡςδ' ὁτετιςστατοςἱππος, ακοστησαςεπιφατνη, Δεσμοναπορῥηξαςθειειπεδιοιοκροαινων, Ειωθωςλουεσθαιεΰρῥειοςποταμοιο, Κυδιοων·ὑψουδεκαρηεχει, αμοιδεχαιται Ωμοιςαΐσσονται·ὁδ' αγλαΐῃφιπεποιθως Ῥιμφαἑγουναφερειμετατ' ηθεακαινομονἱππων. HOM. Il. lib. vi., ver. 506; and lib. xv., ver. 263. Freed from his keepers, thus with broken reins The wanton courser prances o'er the plains, Or in the pride of youth o'erleaps the mound, And snuffs the female in forbidden ground; Or seeks his watering in the well-known flood, To quench his thirst, and cool his fiery blood; He swims luxuriant in the liquid plain, And o'er his shoulders flows his waving mane; He neighs, he snorts, he bears his head on high; Before his ample chest the frothy waters fly. Virgil's description is much fuller than the foregoing, which, as I said, is only a simile; whereas Virgil professes to treat of the nature of the horse: - ______ Tum, si qua sonum procul arma dedere, Stare loco nescit: micat auribus, et tremit artus Collectumque premens volvit sub naribus ignem: Densa juba, et dextro jactata recumbit in armo. At duplex agitur per lumbos spina, cavatque Tellurem, et solido graviter sonat ungula cornu. VIRG. Georg. lib. iii., ver. 83.

19–25. The war horse.

Hast thou given the horse strength? - The incidental allusion to the horse in comparison with the ostrich in the previous verse, seems to have suggested this magnificent description of this noble

Third long strophe — FURTHER FROM THE BRUTE , OF THE WORKING OF GOD. THE HORSE A TASTE FOR WAR; THE HAWK, LED BY , TO DISTANT LANDS; WHILE THE KING OF BIRDS DEVOTES HIS OF VISION TO SEEKING CARRION FOR HIS PREY, Job 39:19-30.α.