Job 38:28

Job 38:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
• New International Version (NIV)Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Context of Job 38:28

26I cause rain to fall in places where no person lives. It makes even a desert become a wet place. 27The rain falls on dry ground where nothing grows. It causes grass to grow there again. Do you know if the rain has a father? Who is a father to the dew? 29Who is a mother to the ice? Who gives birth to the frost that makes the air so cold? 30It causes the water to become as hard as stone. The water of the sea also becomes ice.

Job 38:28 word by word

הֲיֵשׁ־לַמָּטָ֥ר אָ֑ב א֥וֹ מִי־ה֝וֹלִ֗יד אֶגְלֵי־טָֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Hathיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• the rainמָטַרmâţâr · rainH4306
• a fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• or who hath begottenיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• the dropsאֵ֫גֶל'egel · dropH96
• of dewטַלţal · dewH2919

Cross-references for Job 38:28

• Job 38:8When the sea poured out of the ground, I decided where its borders should be. I kept the water in its right place.
• Job 5:9He does great things that nobody can understand. He does more miracles than anyone can count.
• 1 Samuel 12:17This is the time of the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will understand that you have done an evil thing against the Lord. You asked for a king to rule over you.’
• Psalms 65:9You take care of the land. You send rain to make the earth good for plants. Your rivers are full of water. You cause the earth to give good crops so that the people have grain to eat.
• Jeremiah 5:24They do not say to themselves, “We should respect the Lord our God. He sends rain for us in the autumn and in the spring. He makes sure that we have a harvest from our crops.”
• Jeremiah 10:13When he shouts like thunder, the water in the sky roars. He causes clouds to rise from the far places of the earth. He causes bright lightning to show in the storms. He opens his rooms so that the wind comes out and it blows everywhere.
• Jeremiah 14:22The idols of other nations are useless. None of them can cause rain to fall. And the sky itself does not make rain. No, it is you, Lord, our God, who sends rain. You alone do all these things, so we trust you to help us.’
• Joel 2:23Shout with joy, people in Zion! Be very happy because of the things that the Lord your God has done. He has given you just enough autumn rain. He has given you the winter rain, and the summer rain, as before.
• Amos 4:7‘Three months before your food was ready to pick, I did not send rain. So all the food became too dry. Sometimes I sent rain to one city, but I did not send it to other cities. I sent rain to one person's land, but I did not send it to another person's land. So that other person's land became too dry.
• Matthew 5:45If you live like this, you will show that you really are children of your Father above. God is kind to everyone. He causes the sun to shine on everyone, both good people and bad people. He also causes the rain to fall on everyone, people who obey him and people who do not obey him.
• Job 29:19My body is strong and well, like a tree that always has plenty of water.
• Genesis 27:28May God give you rain for your crops, so that they grow well in the good ground. Then you will have plenty of grain for food. And you will have grapes to make wine.
• Deuteronomy 33:13I pray this for the tribe of Joseph: Lord, please bless their land. Send rain from the sky above, and springs of water from under the ground.
• 2 Samuel 1:21You mountains of Gilboa, I hope that no rain or dew will come on you now. I pray that no crops will grow in your fields to make grain offerings. In those fields, the shields of brave soldiers became useless. No longer will anyone clean Saul's shield with oil.
• 1 Kings 17:1There was a prophet called Elijah who came from Tishbe in Gilead. He said to King Ahab, ‘I am a servant of the Lord, Israel's God. As surely as God lives, there will be no rain or dew for the next few years. Nothing will make the ground wet until I command it to happen.’
• Proverbs 3:20He used his knowledge to pour water from under the earth into the rivers and seas. He caused the clouds to send down rain.

Commentaries on Job 38:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Hath the rain a father? - Or, Who is the father of the rain? We have seen above one part of the apparatus by which God produces it; other causes have been mentioned on Job 36:27, etc. The drops of dew? - אגלי egley, the sphericles, the small round drops or globules. Dew is a dense moist vapor, found on the earth in spring and summer mornings, in the form of a mizzling rain. Dr. Hutton defines it, "a thin, light, insensible mist or rain, descending with a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28Hath the rain a father? - That is, it is produced by God and not by man. No one among men can claim that he causes it, or can regard it as his offspring. The idea is, that the production of rain is among the proofs of the wisdom and agency of God, and that it is caused in a way that demonstrates his own agency. It is not by any power of man; and it is not in such a way as to constitute a relation like that between a father and a son. The rain is often…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-41Verses 25-41 Hitherto God had put questions to Job to show him his ignorance; now God shows his weakness. As it is but little that he knows, he ought not to arraign the Divine counsels; it is but little he can do, therefore he ought not to oppose the ways of Providence. See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence; it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing. And he that takes care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-41God challenges Job. Job admits he cannot judge the moral world. God shows Job's ignorance of the natural world's elements related to the realm of heaven, weather, animals, and birds (38:4–21; 22–38; 39–39:30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-3819-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 38:28

• Blessing
• God
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Consume
• Covert
• Dark
• Father
• Hitherto
• Loose
• Reserve
• Satisfy
• Spring

Commentaries on Job 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings