properly · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
earth
אָ֑רֶץ'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
wiser
יְחַכְּמֵֽנוּye.cha.ke.Me.nu
H2449
to be wise (in mind · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
fowls
וּמֵע֖וֹףu.me.'of
H5775
a bird (as covered with feathers · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
heaven
הַשָּׁמַ֣יִםha.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 94:12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
Job 36:22 Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of th…
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 35:9-13
Elihu here returns an answer to another word that Job had said, which, he thought, reflected much upon the justice and goodness of God, and therefore ought not to pass without a remark. Observe,
I. What it was that Job complained of; it was this, That God did not regard the cries of the oppressed against their oppressors (Job 35:9): "By reason of the multitude of oppressions, the many hardships which proud tyrants put upon poor people and the barbarous usage they give them, they make the oppressed to cry; but it is to no purpose: God does not appear to right them. They cry out, they cry on still, by reason of the arm of the mighty, which lies heavily upon them." This seems to refer to those…
Man's spirit, which distinguishes him from the brute, is the strongest proof of God's beneficence; by the use of it we may understand that God is the Almighty helper of all sufferers who humbly seek Him; and that they err who do not so seek Him.
fowls--(see on Job 28:21).
Adam Clarke on Job 35:11
Who teacheth us more than the beasts - "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know me, my people do not consider;" Isa 1:3. Beasts, bards, fowls, and in many cases pond-fishes, know and seem thankful to the hand that feeds them; while man, made much more noble than they, gifted with the greatest powers, privileged with the most important benefits, considers not the Lord, nor discerns the operation of his hand. Quadrupeds, reptiles, and fowls, have more gratitude to their masters than man has to his God.
John Gill on Job 35:11
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth?.... Who are taught and know much, especially some of them; but not so much as man, see Isaiah 1:3;
and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? who are wise to provide food and nests for themselves and their young; and such as are birds of passage, as the turtledove, the crane, the stork, and the swallow, to know the time of their coming and returning, see Jeremiah 8:7. But then neither the beasts not; the fowls, though they are endowed with much knowledge and sagacity, according to their natures, yet not with reason and understanding, as men are, so as to make reflections on things they see and hear, and reason and discourse about them; n…
The Church Fathers
"He distinguished me from animals without reason, and gave me more wisdom than the birds of the sky. Thus we must seek the Lord in the afflictions of this life, not to ask him temporal goods, for before receiving them we are already superior to animals.
"Who makes me different from the four-footed beasts of the earth?" If you are a sinner, you were not distinguished from the four-footed beasts of the earth. "Man that has honor does not understand, he is compared to the senseless cattle, and is like them." If you are a sinner, you were not distinguished from the four-footed beasts of the earth, but it is said to you, "So that you might not be like horses and mules that have no understanding." If you are a sinner, if you are licentious, if you are reckless, you are not distinguished from the four-footed beasts. "They became like wanton horses." For this reason he audaciously said that he was segregated. "Who makes me different from the four-footed beasts of the earth?"
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and instructeth us more than the fowls of heaven. The beasts of the earth are they, who seek the lowest things, from the habit of a carnal life. But the fowls of the heaven are they, who search into lofty things, with the eagerness of a proud curiosity. These degrade themselves, by their conduct, below what they are in themselves; these exalt themselves, by their enquiries, beyond what they are able. The pleasure of the flesh casts down those to the very bottom, the lust of curiosity exalts these, as it were, in things above them. To those it is said by holy Scripture, Be ye not as the horse, and the mule, which have no understanding. [Ps. 32, 9] The proud labour of these is blamed, when it is said, Seek not out the things that are higher than thou, neither search the things that are above thy strength. [Ecclus. 3, 21] To those it is said, Mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication, lust, evil concupiscence. [Col. 3, 5] To these it is said, Let no man deceive you through philosophy and vain deceit. [Col. 2, 8] God teaches us, therefore, more than the beasts and the fowls of the air, because, while we understand what we are, neither does the infirmity of the flesh cast us down, nor does the spirit of pride raise us up. We do not, by sinking down, fall beneath the lowest things, nor are we puffed up, by pride, as to those above us. For he, who falls in the flesh, is overcome by the appetite of beasts, but he, who is exalted in mind, is raised up, like the fowls, as if with the wing of lightness. But if we keep strict watch, that both humility of mind and chastity of body be preserved, we soon know that the one is preserved by the other. For pride has often been to many a seed-plot of lust; for, whilst their spirit raised them, as it were, on high, their flesh plunged them in the lowest depths. For they are first secretly raised up, but afterwards they fall openly; for while they swell in the secret motions of the heart, they fall with open lapses of the body. Thus, thus, elated, they required to be smitten with righteous retribution; in order that, since they set themselves above men by pride, they might be brought down, by their lust, even to a resemblance of beasts. For, man when he was in honour, understood not, he hath been compared to the senseless beasts, and made like them. [Ps. 49, 20]…
Dictionary and topics
Birds · Instinct of, inferior to man’s reason — Instinct of, inferior to man’s reason
Man · Wiser than other creatures — Wiser than other creatures
Religion · NATURAL — NATURAL
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they raise a cry,
They call for help by reason of the arm of the great,
10 But none saith: Where is Eloah my Creator,
Who giveth songs of praise in the night,
11 Who teacheth us by the beasts of the earth,
And maketh us wise by the fowls of heaven?
12 Then they cry, yet He answereth not,
Because of the pride of evil men.
13 Vanity alone God heareth not,
And the Almighty observeth it not.
In Job 35:9 the accentuation of מרוב with Dech, according to which Dachselt interprets: prae multitudine (oppressionum) oppressi clamabunt, is erroneous; it is to be written מרב, as everywhere else, and this (according to Codd. and the editions of Jablonski, Majus,…
Elihu attempted to answer his own question (35:2), but his answer did not add to what Zophar (11:8-9), Eliphaz (22:12), Bildad (25:5-6), and Job (9:8-10) had already said. Elihu failed to recognize that all sin wrongs God (Gen 39:9; Matt 25:41-46; cp. Prov 19:17).
Rashi on Job 35:11
Who teaches us He teaches us more wisdom than [He does] the beasts; i.e., He esteemed us and made us greater than the beasts and the birds.
