Job might have been expressing how he saw himself, how others saw him, or both. By saying he was a brother of jackals, a companion to owls, Job might have been describing his deep grief (Micah 1:8). People associated jackals with things devastated or ruins (see Psalm 63:10; Isaiah 13:22; 34:13; 35:7; Jeremiah 9:11; 10:22; 49:33; 51:37; Lamentations 5:18; Ezekiel 13:4; Malachi 1:3).