mountain goats Estainboc in Old French. It hates its young, and, when preparing to give birth, goes to the top of a high rock, so that its young should fall to the earth and die. But the Holy One, blessed be He, prepares an eagle for it [the young], which receives it on its wings.

Do you wait for the hinds to calve? Heb. חלל, an expression of (Jer. 6:24), “pain (חיל) as of a woman in travail.” The hind’s womb is narrow, and the young cannot come forth; and, at the time of birth, I prepare a snake for her that bites her womb so that it opens; should it be a moment too early or too late, she would die immediately. I know to distinguish these moments, so should the distinction between Job (אִיוֹב) and enemy (אוֹיֵב) escape Me?

they bring forth Their womb splits open and gives forth the young, and their birth pangs...

they send forth from themselves in their birth at the moment that I prepare for them.

and do not return to them When they have grown a little, they are raised on the grain, on seeds and grasses, and they do not require the raising of their father or mother.

free For no man can raise a wild donkey to teach it the work of cattle.

who loosed his bands so that the yoke of man is not upon him.

He spies out the mountains for his pasture He personally spies out for himself a place of pasture.

wild ox Heb. רֵים, like רְאֵם.

serve you To serve you.

to a furrow with his rope (Or did you tie a wild ox because of the furrow of your ox?) rope Heb. עבתו, a rope with which they tie [oxen] to the furrows of the plow.

will he harrow, prepare the field.

Will you rely on him to gather your grain because his strength is great and he can bear great burdens?

or will you leave your toil for him to gather into the house?

The wing of the renanim rejoices This is the name of a huge bird, called in the language of the Mishnah, Bar Yochni (Bechoroth 57b).

the winged Heb. אֶבְרָה. Every bird is called אֶבְרָה because it flies; i.e., either the bird named “stork,” or the bird called nozah. Note her behavior.

For she leaves her eggs on the ground and she goes and warms herself on the dust at a distance.

She forgets that a foot will crack it Heb. תְּזוּרֶהָ [i.e., it will crack] her egg. [תְּזוּרֶהָ means:] will crack it.

She is hardened She deals harshly with her young ones, [distancing them] from her heart as though they were not hers.

her toil is in vain and she is not afraid to lose them.

Like the time that she goes off on high [When she flies up, she scorns the horse. She is not afraid that he will tread on the eggs and crack them.] Every expression of הַמְרָאָה applies to a man whose heart prompts him to stray from his lifestyle, his upbringing, and his country, to roam in other countries and to try other lifestyles. Similarly (Deut. 21:18), “a stubborn and rebellious (וּמרֶה) son”; and in the language of the Talmud it is אִמְרָאִי: “Rav Zevid’s daughter-in-law rebelled (אִמְרָאִי) and went away” (Kethuboth 63b, Venice edition) (cf. Rashi to Hullin 58b, Baba Mezia 77a).

fierceness Heb. רעמה, an expression of thunder and fright, like (Ezek. 27:35), “Their faces are as though thunderstruck (רעמו).”

like a locust He skips and leaps like a locust and shakes himself all over.

his snorting When he blows with his nostrils, it is with an awesome sound.

They spy in the valley Heb. יחפרו, like (Deut. 1:22), “that they may spy out (ויחפרו) the land for us,” for it is the habit of the horsemen to lie in wait in the valleys and in the ravines.

and rejoices with strength The horse rejoices and goes forth toward the weapons.

and is not dismayed He will not be frightened.

The quiver...rattles [i.e., the quiver that is] full of arrows, and they knock against each other so that their sound is heard.

the blade of the spear An iron utensil (and an iron spear) is called לַהַב, as in (Jud. 3:22), “and the haft also went in after the blade (הלהב).”

he hollows out the ground Heb. יגמא. He makes holes (גומות) with his feet. Another explanation: יְגַמֶא is like (Gen. 24:17), “Let me please swallow (הגמיאיני).”

and he does not believe out of the great joy that he longs for battle.

that it is the sound of a shofar of battle.

To many shofaroth Heb. בדי, an expression of (Lev. 25:28), “sufficient (די) to get it back,” to many shofaroth.

he says, ‘Hurrah!’ An expression that (the passersby) (the slaves—Berechiah) say when they are happy, much as they say, ‘Woe!’ out of pain.

the hawk grows a wing Heb. יאבר, the hawk grows a wing. That is an angel resembling a hawk, who stays the severity of the south wind by spreading out his wings, lest it destroy the world.

Or is it by your order that the eagle flies high [This refers to] the Shechinah, as it is said (Deut. 32:11): “As an eagle first stirs up its nest.” He would remove His court so that they should not injure Aaron when he entered the sanctuary on Yom Kippur.

He dwells on the rock and lodges Aaron was confident when he placed the censer with the incense on the foundation stone [in the Holy of Holies].

From there he searches for food He would pray for the needs of the entire year, and after all this honor he saw the death of his two eaglets, Nadab and Abihu, who died so that My name might be sanctified through them, for My fear fell upon those who remained.

gulp down Heb. יעלעו. Only according to the measure that one is able to swallow of blood or water, but it appears as if one swallows much, in imitation of the sound “al al.” Similarly, in the language of the Sages, concerning the suspected adulteress [who must] drink [the cursing water] (Sotah 20a), “they make her swallow (מערערין) and drink against her will.” [Here too, the sound “ar ar” is alluded to.] Similarly (Isa. 15:5), “a cry of destruction they shall raise (יעוערו),” the prophet using the onomatopoetic word in imitation of the sound produced by the throat.

and where there are slain, there he is to eat. Our Sages explain this entire passage as an allegory applying to Aaron, in the Pesikta to Acharei Moth (Pesikta Rabbathi, ch. 48, Meir Ayin edition, ch. 47).