Job 39:24

24 He is hot, or fervent, and gnasheth, and swalloweth the earth; and he areckoneth not that the cry of the trump soundeth (and he cannot be held when the cry of the trumpet soundeth).

Job 39:24 Meaning and Commentary

Job 39:24

He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage
Being so eager for the battle, and so full of fierceness and rage, he bounds the plain with such swiftness that he seems rather to swallow up the ground than to run upon it;

neither believeth he that [it is] the sound of the trumpet;
for joy at hearing it; or he will not trust to his ears, but will see with his eyes whether the battle is ready, and therefore pushes forward. Mr. Broughton and others read it, "he will not stand still at the noise of the trumpet"; and the word signifies firm and stable, as well as to believe; when he hears the trumpet sound, the alarm of war, as a preparation for the battle, he knows not how to ^F1 stand; there is scarce any holding him in, but he rushes into the battle at once, ( Jeremiah 8:6 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Stare loco nescit". Virgil. Georgic. l. 3. v. 84. "Ut fremit acer equus" Ovid. Metamorph. l. 3. Fab. 10. v. 704.

Job 39:24 In-Context

22 He despiseth fearedfulness, and he giveth not stead to [the] sword.

23 An arrow case shall sound upon him; a spear and a shield shall shine.

24 He is hot, or fervent, and gnasheth, and swalloweth the earth; and he areckoneth not that the cry of the trump soundeth (and he cannot be held when the cry of the trumpet soundeth).

25 When he heareth a clarion, he saith, Joy! he smelleth (the) battle afar (off); the exciting of dukes, and the yelling of the host (the orders of the leaders, and the yelling of the army).

26 Whether an hawk spreading abroad his wings to the south, beginneth to have feathers by thy wisdom? (Be it by thy wisdom that a hawk haveth feathers, and spreadeth his wings towards the south?)