Job 38:41

The raven. The question extends to the end of the verse,

Who provideth for the raven his food,

When his young ones cry unto God,

And wander without meat?

The raven is one of the commonest birds in Palestine; by its incessant croaking it presses itself upon the attention, and is often alluded to in Scripture. The cry of its young is an appeal unto God (Joel 1:20), and the feeding of it is proof of His universal providence, which does not overlook even the least of His creatures (Psalms 147:9; Luke 12:24). The lion and the raven are here associated perhaps by way of contrast, the one being the most powerful and the other one of the least of God's creatures. Their natures too are most dissimilar, the silent, subtle, self-reliance of the one, couching patiently in his lair, and the clamorous outcry and appeal of the other, wandering over the land in search of food. The raven, of course, is a general name, covering the whole Crow tribe.