Job 39:8 — Word Study
WLCיְת֣וּר הָרִ֣ים מִרְעֵ֑הוּ וְאַחַ֖ר כָּל־ יָר֣וֹק יִדְרֽוֹשׁ׃
BSAthe mountainshar [hills, high places] for pasturemirʻeh [grazing land, feeding ground] searchingdârash▸ [seeking diligently, looking carefully] forʼachar anykôl [all kinds of, every] green thingyârôwq△ [herb, lush vegetation, plant life]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| יְת֣וּר | it explores | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine singular |
| הָרִ֣ים | mountains | Noun common, masculine plural absolute |
| מִרְעֵ֑הוּ | pasture its | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וְאַחַ֖ר | and after | Conjunction |
| כָּל־ | every | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| יָר֣וֹק | green plant | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| יִדְרֽוֹשׁ׃ | it searches | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine singular |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing. |
| KJV | The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. |
| ASV | The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing. |
| YLT | The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh. |
| WEB | The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing. |
| BBE | He goes looking for his grass-lands in the mountains, searching out every green thing. |
Where they part company is יָר֣וֹק — see How Translations Differ.
One main verb with two phrases detailing the action and its purpose. The structure emphasizes the wild ass's search for food.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbתור
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 7 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 39:8
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Behavior of the Wild Assgenerated
Job 39:8 describes the wild ass roaming the mountains in search of pasture. This verse highlights the creature's instinctual behavior and freedom in nature, contrasting it with domesticated animals. The surrounding verses (Job 39:7-10) further illustrate the wild ass's independence and its ability to thrive away from human control.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job 40:15–20 | Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He feeds on grass like an ox. |
| 2 | Genesis 1:29–30 | Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. |
| 3 | Psalm 104:27–28 | All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season. |
| 4 | Psalm 145:15–16 | The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יְת֣וּר, ye.Turgenerated
The verb תּוּר (tuwr) means to explore or spy out, often used to describe the actions of traders or scouts. In this verse, it emphasizes the wild ass's behavior as it freely seeks out its feeding ground in the mountains.
The parsing as a Qal imperfect third person masculine singular indicates an ongoing action, reflecting the wild ass's continuous search for grazing land. This word captures the essence of exploration and the instinct to find sustenance.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb יְת֣וּר governs the main action of the verse, with two phrases hanging off it: a prepositional phrase indicating where the wild ass roams and a noun phrase describing what it searches for. The structure emphasizes the wild ass's active pursuit of food.
The word order places the verb first, highlighting the action of exploring as the central focus, followed by the location and the object of its search.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יְת֣וּר as κατασκέψεται, meaning 'it will explore.' This choice suggests a similar emphasis on investigation and searching, aligning closely with the Hebrew meaning.
The translation of יָר֣וֹק as ξλωροῦ indicates a focus on the quality of the vegetation, reinforcing the idea of lushness in the wild ass's diet.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 39:8 tells us that the wild ass roams the mountains looking for places to graze. It searches diligently for any green plants to eat. This verse highlights the animal's natural behavior and freedom in seeking its food.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It signifies the wild ass's instinctive behavior to explore its environment for food, reflecting its independence from human control.
The description serves to illustrate the contrast between wild and domesticated animals, emphasizing the wild ass's freedom and natural instincts.
It implies that the wild ass is not picky and will seek out various types of vegetation to satisfy its hunger.
This verse contributes to the theme of God's creation and the natural order, showcasing the wild ass as a creature that thrives in its environment without human intervention.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does the behavior of the wild ass teach us about freedom and instinct?
- How can we appreciate the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it?
- In what ways do we seek out sustenance for our own lives, both physically and spiritually?
- How does understanding the wild ass's behavior enhance our view of God's creation?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers comment on this passage to illustrate the wild ass's freedom as a metaphor for spiritual contemplation and the pursuit of truth.
He looks round on the mountains of his pasture. 64. The mountains of his pasture are the lofty contemplations of inward refreshment.Early Church Fathers on Job 39 →
[ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE WILD ASS AS CHRIST - continued] He looketh around on the mountains of His pasture. 78. Mountains we understand to be all the lofty ones of this world,Early Church Fathers on Job 39 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 39:8 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThe range of the mountains [is] his pasture,.... It ranges about the mountains for food; it looks about for it, as the word signifies, and tries first one place and then another to get some, it
Read John Gill on Job 39 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThe range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. The range , [ yªtuwr (H3491)] - literally, searching: 'that which it finds by searching is,' etc.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 39 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThe range of the mountains; that which he searcheth out or findeth in the mountains. He prefers that mean provision and hardship with his freedom, before the fattest pastures with servitude. Why so weak and harmless a creature as the wild ass should be untamable, when the most savage lions and tigers have been tamed, and how there comes to be so vast a difference between the tame and the wild ass, thou canst give no reason, but must refer it wholly to my good pleasure; to which also thou shouldst upon the same grounds refer all the various methods of my providence and dealings with thee, and with other men, and not so boldly censure what thou dost not understand.
Read Matthew Poole on Job 39 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 39:8 The range of the mountains [is] his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.Ver. 8. The range of the mountains is his pasture] There he keeps, probably, for fear of lions and other fierce creatures; and there he finds food and forage, such as doth not only appease his hunger, but excite his appetite; as if he were in some fat pasture. And he searcheth out every green thing] Speeding better in his search than those asses of Hetruria, which, feeding upon green hemlock, are thereby laid for dead for three days; till half hileded by the countrymen, who take them for dead, they start up, and with a horrible noise run away in that pickle.
Read John Trapp on Job 39 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 8. The range of the mountains] The mountains and desert places are his peculiar places of pasture; and he lives on any thing that is green, or any kind of vegetable production.
Read AdamClarke on Job 39 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges5–8. The wild ass. Who gave the wild ass his freedom and his indomitable love of liberty—who scorns the noise of cities and laughs at the shouts of the driver, which his tame brother obeys? The point of the questions lies not only in the striking peculiarities of the beautiful creature itself, but in the strange contrast between it and the tame ass, which in external appearance it resembles.
Read Cambridge on Job 39 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleThe range of the mountains is his pasture - The word rendered “range” יתור yâthûr, means properly a “searching out,” and then that which is obtained by search. The word “range” expresses the idea with sufficient exactness.
Read Albert Barnes on Job 39 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible8. Range of the mountains — éúåø, rendered “range,” if a verbal noun may mean “that which is seen,” (on the mountain:) so Delitzsch and Umbreit. If a verb, it signifies, “He spies through the mountain,” as his pasturage.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 39 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing.
He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.
It ranges the hills as its pasture, and searches after every green plant.
Tyndale line
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
Who hath set the wilde asse at libertie? or who hath loosed the bondes of the wilde asse?
Strictly literal
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
The range of mountains [is] his pasture, And after every green thing he seeketh.
The range of mountains [is] his pasture, || And he seeks after every green thing.
What he espieth on the mountains is his pasture, and after every green thing doth he search.
He roams over the mountains as his pastures; there he looks for every green plant to eat.
From the Latin
He looketh round about the mountains of his pasture, and seeketh for every green thing.
Simplified
It hunts in the mountains for pastureland, searching for all kinds of green plants to eat.
He goes looking for his grass-lands in the mountains, searching out every green thing.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all seven words matched. This consistency indicates a strong preservation of the text across these traditions.
יְת֣וּר הָרִ֣ים מִרְעֵ֑הוּ וְאַחַ֖ר כָּל־ יָר֣וֹק יִדְרֽוֹשׁ׃
7 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 39:8
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
תּוּר (tuwr) is a Hebrew verb meaning to seek out, spy out, or explore. It encompasses actions like searching, selecting, and going about, with uses in both Qal and Hiphil forms. The word can refer to explorers or merchants, indicating a range of activities from reconnaissance to trade.
תּוּר vb. seek out, spy out, explore
Qal
seek out, select
spy out, explore
go about
Hiph. they made a reconnaissance at Bethel
base
H8446 תּוּר seek out, spy out, explore
8446 tuwr toor
a primitive root; to meander (causatively, guide) about,
especially for trade or reconnoitring:--chap(-man), sent to
descry, be excellent, merchant(-man), search (out), seek,
(e-)spy (out).
תּוּר (tur) — to spy.
1) to seek, search out, spy out, explore
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to seek out, select, find out how to do something
1a2) to spy out, explore
1a2a) explorers, spies (participle)
1a3) to go about
1a3a) merchant, trader (participle)
1b) (Hiphil) to make a search, make a reconnaissance
HVqi3ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine singularHVqi3ms
הַר (har) means 'mountain' or 'hill,' and can refer to a range of hills or hill-country. It is derived from a root that suggests elevation and can be used figuratively. The entries consistently highlight its geographical connotations without significant disagreement.
הַר 568 n.m. mountain, hill, hill-country
mountain, hill
hill-country, mountain-region
base
H2022 הַר mountain, hill, hill-country
2022 har har
a shortened form of 2042; a mountain or range of hills
(sometimes used figuratively):--hill (country), mount(-ain), X
promotion.
see HEBREW for 02042
הַר (har) — mountain: mount.
: mount/hill
hill, mountain, hill country, mount
הַר (har) — mountain: hill country.
: hill_country
hill, mountain, hill country, mount
A sub-meaning of har (הַר ": mount" H2022)
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural absoluteHNcmpa
Are among the most sublime and impressive of the Creator’s works on earth, and from the noblest and most enduring monuments of great events. Most of the mountains of Scripture thus stand as witnesses for God—every view of their lofty summits, and every recurrence to them in thought reminding us of the sacred facts and truths connected with them. Thus Mount Ararat is a standing memorial of the deluge of man’s sin, God’s justice, and God’s mercy. Mount Sinai asserts the terrors of the divine law. Mount Carmel summons us, like the prophet Elijah of old, not to "halt between two opinions;" but if Jehovah is God, to love and serve him. The mount of the Transfiguration still shines with the glory of the truths there taught, and Mounts Ebal and Gerizim still echo the curses and the blessings once so solemnly pronounced from them. So Mount Hor, Nebo, Lebanon, and Gilboa have been signalized by…
- The elevated parts of the earth
Ge 7:19,20
- GOD
. Formed
. Set fast
. Gives strength to
. Weighs, in a balance
. Waters, from his chambers
מִרְעֶה (mir'eh) refers to pasture or pasturage, indicating both the place where animals feed and the act of feeding itself. It is derived from a root meaning to feed and can also denote a haunt for wild animals. The term captures the concept of a feeding area in agricultural contexts.
מִרְעֶה n.m. pasturage, pasture
base
H4829 מִרְעֶה pasturage, pasture
4829 mir`eh meer-eh'
from 7462 in the sense of feeding; pasture (the place or the
act); also the haunt of wild animals:--feeding place,
pasture.
see HEBREW for 07462
מִרְעֶה (mir.eh) — pasture.
pasture, pasturage
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp3ms
The Hebrew word אַחַר (*achar*) primarily denotes the concept of 'after' or 'behind' in both spatial and temporal contexts. It functions as a substantive, adverb, preposition, and conjunction, indicating a following part or time. The related form אַחֲרַי (*acharai*) refers to a person who turns backwards. There is a reference to Proverbs 28:23 in relation to the latter.
אַחַר prop. subst. the hinder or following part
adv.
of place, behind
of time, afterwards
prep.
of place, behind, after
of time, after
conj. after that.
H310a אַחַר prop. subst. the hinder or following part . adv. . of place, behind
. of time, afterwards
. prep. . of place, behind, after
. of time, after
. conj. after that.
H310b אַחֲרַי a man that turneth backwards.
310 'achar akh-ar'
from 309; properly, the hind part; generally used as an
adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses):--after
(that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side),
behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from,
hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute,
posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence(-forth),
when, with.
see HEBREW for 0309
אַחַר (a.char) — after.
1) after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time)
1a) as an adverb
1a1) behind (of place)
1a2) afterwards (of time)
1b) as a preposition
1b1) behind, after (of place)
1b2) after (of time)
1b3) besides
1c) as a conjunction
1c) after that
1d) as a substantive
1d1) hinder part
1e) with other prepositions
1e1) from behind
1e2) from following after
אַחֲרַי (a.cha.ray) — backwards.
backwards (of a man that turns backwards)
Conj | Prep — ConjunctionHC/Acmsc
כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
Absolutely:
without the art., all things, all
with the art. הַכֹּל
where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
base
H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all
. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
3605 kol kole
or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;
hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a
plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any
(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as
many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,
whoso(-ever).
see HEBREW for 03634
כֹּל (kol) — all.
1) all, the whole
1a) all, the whole of
1b) any, each, every, anything
1c) totality, everything
Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
יָרוֹק (yarowq) means 'green' and refers to green things, particularly herbs or plants. It is noted in Job 39:8 as food for a wild ass. The word is derived from a root that also relates to the concept of greenness.
יָרוֹק n.[m.] green thing (= יָרָק), only as food of wild ass Jb 39:8.
done
H3387 יָרוֹק
3387 yarowq yaw-roke'
from 3417; green, i.e. an herb:--green thing.
see HEBREW for 03417
יָרוֹק (ya.roq) — green.
greens, green plants, green thing
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
דָּרַשׁ (darash) is a Hebrew verb meaning to seek or inquire. It encompasses a range of actions from frequenting a place to consulting deities in prayer and worship. The word can imply a diligent search or demand, and it appears in both Qal and Niphal forms, indicating various nuances of seeking and being sought. The entries do not present any significant disagreement.
דָּרַשׁ 162 vb. resort to, seek
Qal
(tread a place,) resort to, frequent
seek, consult, inquire of
seek deity in prayer and worship
seek, with idea of demanding, require
inquire, investigate (a matter)
ask for, require, demand
seek with application, study, follow, practise
seek with care, care for
Niph.
let oneself be inquired of, consulted, only of God
be sought out
be required, of blood
base
H1875 דָּרַשׁ resort to, seek
1875 darash daw-rash'
a primitive root; properly, to tread or frequent; usually to
follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or
ask; specifically to worship:--ask, X at all, care for, X
diligently, inquire, make inquisition, (necro-)mancer,
question, require, search, seek (for, out), X surely.
דָּרַשׁ (da.rash) — to seek.
1) to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to resort to, frequent (a place), (tread a place)
1a2) to consult, enquire of, seek
1a2a) of God
1a2b) of heathen gods, necromancers
1a3) to seek deity in prayer and worship
1a3a) God
1a3b) heathen deities
1a4) to seek (with a demand), demand, require
1a5) to investigate, enquire
1a6) to ask for, require, demand
1a7) to practice, study, follow, seek with application
1a8) to seek with care, care for
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to allow oneself to be enquired of, consulted (only of God)
1b2) to be sought, be sought out
1b3) to be required (of blood)
V-Qal-Imperf-3ms — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine singularHVqi3ms