The Scripture uses the term "wild ox" (often translated "unicorn," but likely referring to a powerful, untamable creature like a buffalo or aurochs) not just to describe an animal, but to highlight the limits of human control. God’s questions reveal that even the strongest, most independent creatures resist domestication and service, a stark contrast to the predictable usefulness of a farm animal.
“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
English Standard Version (ESV)
God continues to challenge Job by highlighting the untamable nature of His creation, moving from the mighty lion to a powerful wild ox-like creature. He questions whether Job could possibly subjugate such a creature, contrasting its fierce independence with the humble service of a domestic ox. This serves as a rhetorical setup for further divine revelations about God's sovereignty over all creatures, wild and tame.
When you read 'unicorn' in your Bible, what image comes to mind? It might surprise you!
The Hebrew word translated as 'unicorn' (or 'wild ox' in many modern translations) is 'reem'. Scholars have debated for centuries what animal this refers to!
God's argument to Job isn't just about animals; it's about who's really in charge.
The core of God's question here is about control and service. He's asking Job:
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Understand the original words
re'em · Hebrew Noun
A strong animal of the bovine family, known for its immense, untamable strength and ferocity, used by God in Job as a symbol of forces beyond human control.
telam · Hebrew Noun
A deep trench cut into the earth by a plow; biblically, it symbolizes the preparation of the ground for sowing or the concept of structured labor and cultivation.
sadad · Hebrew Verb
An agricultural process of breaking up plowed ground with a heavy frame to level it or cover seeds; it represents the intensive, orderly subjection of land to human will.
aman · Hebrew Verb
A state of reliance, trust, or confidence in someone or something else for support, sustenance, or security. Biblically, it often contrasts placing one's trust in human or animal strength versus reliance on God.
yagia · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the physical, mental, or emotional exertion expended in toil, work, or the consequences/fruit of one's efforts. It implies the struggle for productivity and the hope for a return on one's labor.
emunah · Hebrew Noun
Firm trust, reliance, or confident belief in the reliability or capability of someone. In a spiritual context, it is the fundamental response to God’s character and promises.
goren · Hebrew Noun
An agricultural structure or location where harvested grain was separated from the chaff, often serving as a symbol of judgment or the gathering of the righteous harvest.
This passage describes God's declaration of Himself as the one who brought Israel out of Egypt, similar to how Job is being reminded of God's sovereign power over even the wildest creatures.
Psalm 22:21This psalm speaks of God saving the speaker 'from the horns of the wild oxen,' echoing the powerful imagery of the untamable strength mentioned in Job 39:9.
Isaiah 34:6-7Here, God's judgment on Edom is described, mentioning wild oxen and other powerful beasts, reinforcing the concept of untamed, powerful creatures under God's dominion.
Matthew 11:29Jesus invites people to take His yoke upon them, contrasting with the wild ox's refusal to be yoked, highlighting the difference between submission to Christ and resistance to God's authority.
jfbJob 39:9: "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?"
- unicorn—Pliny [Natural History, 8.21], mentions such an animal; its figure is found depicted in the ruins of Persepolis. The Hebrew reem conveys the idea of loftiness and power (compare Ramah; Indian, Ram; Latin, Roma). The rhinoceros was perhaps the original type of the unicorn. The Arab rim is a two-horned animal. Sometimes "unicorn" or reem is a mere poetical symbol or abstraction; but the buffalo is the animal r…
pooleJob 39:9: "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?"
It is much disputed among the learned, but is not needful to be known by others, whether there be or ever was such a creature as we call the unicorn; or whether this reem , which is the Hebrew name of it, be the rhinoceros , as some would have it; or a certain kind of wild goat, called oryx , which is very tall, and strong, and untractable; or one of that kind of wild oxen or bulls called uri ; which may seem most prob…
The Scripture uses the term "wild ox" (often translated "unicorn," but likely referring to a powerful, untamable creature like a buffalo or aurochs) not just to describe an animal, but to highlight the limits of human control. God’s questions reveal that even the strongest, most independent creatures resist domestication and service, a stark contrast to the predictable usefulness of a farm animal.
God continues to challenge Job by highlighting the untamable nature of His creation, moving from the mighty lion to a powerful wild ox-like creature. He questions whether Job could possibly subjugate such a creature, contrasting its fierce independence with the humble service of a domestic ox. This serves as a rhetorical setup for further divine revelations about God's sovereignty over all creatures, wild and tame.
God continues to challenge Job by highlighting the untamable nature of His creation, moving from the mighty lion to a powerful wild ox-like creature. He questions whether Job could possibly subjugate such a creature, contrasting its fierce independence with the humble service of a domestic ox. This serves as a rhetorical setup for further divine revelations about God's sovereignty over all creatures, wild and tame.
"“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you depend on him because his strength is great,…" — The Scripture uses the term "wild ox" (often translated "unicorn," but likely referring to a powerful, untamable creature like a buffalo or aurochs) not just to describe an animal, but to highlight t…
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Last reviewed October 2026
