Job 37:5-13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 37:13

He causeth it to come ,.... The cloud, and rain by it; whether for correction ; for the reproof and chastisement of men for their sins, by suffering such quantities to fall as wash away, or corrupt and destroy, the fruits of the earth: or "for a tribe" F20 לשבט "in una tribu", V. L. "uni tribui", Tigurine version. , as the word sometimes signifies; the rain is sent, and comes only to a particular part or spot of ground, to one city and not to another, Amos 4:7 ; or for his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:5

God thundereth marvellously with his voice - This is the conclusion of Elihu's description of the lightning and thunder: and here only should chapter 36 have ended. He began, Job 36:29 , with the noise of God's tabernacle; and he ends here with the marvellous thundering of Jehovah. Probably the writer of the book of Job had seen the description of a similar thunder storm as given by the psalmist, Psalm 77:16-19 ; : - Psalm 77:16 ; The waters saw thee, O God! The waters saw thee,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:6

For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth - Snow is generally defined, "A well-known meteor, formed by the freezing of the vapours in the atmosphere." We may consider the formation of snow thus: - A cloud of vapours being condensed into drops, these drops, becoming too heavy to be suspended in the atmosphere, descend; and, meeting with a cold region of the air, they are frozen, each drop shooting into several points. These still continuing their descent, and meeting with some... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:7

He sealeth up the hand of every man - After all that has been said, and much of it most learnedly, on this verse, I think that the act of freezing is probably intended; that when the earth is bound up by intense frost, the hand, יד yad , labor, of every man is sealed up; he can do no more labor in the field, till the south wind blow, by which a thaw takes place. While the earth is in this state of rigidity, the beasts go into their dens, and remain in their places, Job 37:8 , some of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:9

Out of the south cometh the whirlwind - See the note on Job 9:9 . What is rendered south here, is there rendered chambers. Mr. Good translates here, the utmost zone. The Chaldee: - "From the supreme chamber the commotion shall come; and from the cataracts of Arcturus the cold." What the whirlwind, סופה suphah , is, we know not. It might have been a wind peculiar to that district; and it is very possible that it was a scorching wind, something like the simoom. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:10

By the breath of God frost is given - The freezing of water, though it is generally allowed to be the effect of cold, and has been carefully examined by the most eminent philosophers, is still involved in much mystery; and is a very proper subject to be produced among the great things which God doeth, and which we cannot comprehend, Job 37:5 . Water, when frozen, becomes solid, and increases considerably in bulk. The expansive power in freezing is so great, that, if water be confined in a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:11

By watering he wearieth the thick cloud - Perhaps it would be better to say, The brightness ברי beri , dissipates the cloud; or, if we follow our version, By watering the earth he wearieth, wearieth out or emptieth, the thick cloud - causes it to pour down all its contents upon the earth, that they may cause it to bring forth and bud. The Vulgate understood it differently: Frumentum desiderat nubes, et nubes spargunt lumen suum. "The grain desireth the clouds; and the clouds scatter... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:12

And it is turned round about by his counsels - The original is difficult: בתחבולתו מתהפך מסבות והוא vehu mesibboth mithhappech bethachbulothav ; which has been thus paraphrased: And he - the sun, makes revolutions - causes the heavenly bodies to revolve round him, turning round himself - turning round his own axis, by his attachments - his attractive and repulsive influences, by which the heavenly bodies revolve round him, and by which, as if strongly tied to their center, בחבל ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 37:13

He causeth it to come - The Vulgate translates the text thus: Sive in una tribu, sine in terra sua, sive in quocunque loco misericordiae suae eas jusserit inveniri . "Whether in one tribe, or whether in his own land, or in whatsoever place of his mercy he has commanded them to come." In the preceding verse it is said that God conducts the clouds according to the orders of his counsels, whithersoever he pleases: and here it is added that, when he designs to heap favors upon any land, he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 37:1-5

The voice of the thunder. I. A VOICE OF TERROR . The deep roar, the wide volume of sound, the mystery and the majesty of the thunder, combine to make it strike us with awe. Thunder accompanied the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai ( Exodus 19:16 ). Men are naturally alarmed at any voice from heaven. God sometimes speaks to us in thunderous notes, i.e. through great calamities. Then we tremble as before an irresistible majesty. II. A VOICE OF NATURE . The thunder is part... read more

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