Job 38:29

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 38:25-41

Hitherto God had put such questions to Job as were proper to convince him of his ignorance and short-sightedness. Now he comes, in the same manner, to show his impotency and weakness. As it is but little that he knows, and therefore he ought not to arraign the divine counsels, so it is but little that he can do, and therefore he ought not to oppose the proceedings of Providence. Let him consider what great things God does, and try whether he can do the like, or whether he thinks himself an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice ?.... The parent of the rain and dew is the parent of the ice also, and he only; it is therefore called "his ice", his child, his offspring, Psalm 147:17 . Here the Lord is represented as a mother, and so he is by Orpheus F2 Apud Clement. Stromat. l. 5. p. 608. called "metropator", or "mother-father"; and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ? this is of God, and by his breath; see Job 37:10 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice? - Ice is a solid, transparent, and brittle body, formed of water by means of cold. Some philosophers suppose that ice is only the re-establishment of water in its natural state; that the mere absence of fire is sufficient to account for this re-establishment; and that the fluidity of water is a real fusion, like that of metals exposed to the action of fire; and differing only in this, that a greater portion of fire is necessary to one than the other. Ice,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:1-41

The tone of the appeal is sustained at a high pitch, and the entire passage is one of extraordinary force and eloquence. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:4-33

Human impotence and ignorance exposed. Job's affliction is a mystery—a mystery that needs to be revealed. Job has not given the explanation of it. He has not known it. His friends have failed. It has been attributed to his sin; but he is confident in his honest integrity, and cannot be persuaded that he is suffering punishment, for he has not a consciousness of guilt. Elihu has indicated the hidden nature of the Divine works, and has not made the mystery clearer. But he has closed the lips... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:16-30

Jehovah to Job: the first answer-the examination: 4. Concerning the mysteries of creation. I. THE MYSTERIES OF CREATION ARE MANIFOLD IN THEIR VARIETY . Jehovah directs Job's attention to some examples of these hidden things, or secrets, of nature. 1 . The depths of the ocean. The sea, perhaps more than any other object in nature, the universal emblem of the mysterious, in respect of its immensity, inconstancy, potency, harmony, is specially invested with a veil of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice? Modern scientists admit that the process by which a liquid is metamorphosed into a solid transcends their utmost power of thought. They know nothing more than the fact that at the temperature of 32° Fahr. water, and at other temperatures other liquids, are solidified. It is thus not only creation itself, but the transformations of created things, that transcend the scientific intellect and are inexplicable. And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice? - That is, who has caused or produced it? The idea is, that it was not by any human agency, or in any known way by which living beings were propagated.And the hoary frost of heaven - Which seems to fall from heaven. The sense is, that it is caused wholly by God; see the notes at Job 37:10. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 38:28-30

Job 38:28-30. Hath the rain a father? Is there any man that can beget or produce rain at his pleasure? No; this is my peculiar work. The hoary frost, who hath gendered it? What man can either produce, or doth fully understand where or how it is generated? The waters are hid as with a stone That is, with ice as hard as a stone. And the face of the deep is frozen Of the great sea, which is often called the deep, and which in some parts is frozen, so that its surface grows solid. The... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 38:1-38

38:1-42:17GOD’S ANSWERControl of the natural world (38:1-38)Possibly an approaching storm was what prompted Elihu’s poetic praise of the God of nature (see 36:27-37:5). If so, that storm now broke, and through it the voice of God spoke to Job. Job had repeatedly challenged God to a contest. God now accepts (38:1-3).In his reply, God asks Job questions that he cannot answer, in order to show him how little he knows of the mind and activity of the Almighty. God begins his ironical questioning of... read more

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