God’s Word Translation
Job 38:28
28Does the rain have a father? Who gave birth to the dewdrops?
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
26to bring rain on a land where no one lives, on a desert where there are no humans, 27to saturate the desolate wasteland in order to make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? Who gave birth to the dewdrops? 29From whose womb came the ice, and who has given birth to the frost in the air? 30The water hardens like a stone, and the surface of the ocean freezes over.
Read all of Job 38Job 38:28 word by word
הֲיֵשׁ־לַמָּטָ֥ר אָ֑ב א֥וֹ מִי־ה֝וֹלִ֗יד אֶגְלֵי־טָֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 38:28
- Job 38:8“Who shut the sea behind gates when it burst through and came out of the womb,
- Job 5:9He does great things that ⌞we⌟ cannot understand and miracles that ⌞we⌟ cannot count.
- 1 Samuel 12:17Isn’t the wheat being harvested today? I will call on the Lord, and he’ll send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what a wicked thing you did in the Lord’s presence when you asked for a king.”
- Psalms 65:9You take care of the earth, and you water it. You make it much richer than it was. (The river of God is filled with water.) You provide grain for them. Indeed, you even prepare the ground.
- Jeremiah 5:24They don’t say to themselves, ‘We should fear the Lord our God. He sends rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain. He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.’
- Jeremiah 10:13He speaks, and the water in the sky produces a storm. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning flash with the rain. He brings wind out of his storehouses.
- Jeremiah 14:22The worthless gods of the nations can’t make it rain. By themselves, the skies can’t give showers. But you can, O Lord our God. We have hope in you because you do all these things.
- Joel 2:23People of Zion, be glad and find joy in the Lord your God. The Lord has given you the Teacher of Righteousness. He has sent the autumn rain and the spring rain as before.
- Amos 4:7I stopped the rain from falling three months before the harvest. I sent rain on one city and not on another. One field had rain. Another field had none and dried up.
- Matthew 5:45In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust.
- Job 29:19My roots will grow toward the water, and dew will lie on my branches all night.
- Genesis 27:28May God give you dew from the sky, fertile fields on the earth, and plenty of fresh grain and new wine.
- Deuteronomy 33:13About the tribes of Joseph he said, “May the Lord bless their land with ⌞water,⌟ the best gift heaven can send, with dew and deep springs below the ground.
- 2 Samuel 1:21You mountains in Gilboa, may there be no dew or rain on you or on your slopes, because warriors’ shields were tarnished there. Saul’s shield was never rubbed with olive oil.
- 1 Kings 17:1Elijah, who was from Tishbe but had settled in Gilead, said to Ahab, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord God of Israel whom I serve lives, there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I say so.”
- Proverbs 3:20By his knowledge the deep waters were divided, and the skies dropped dew.
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
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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