Job 36:27 — Word Study
WLCכִּ֭י יְגָרַ֣ע נִטְפֵי־ מָ֑יִם יָזֹ֖קּוּ מָטָ֣ר לְאֵדֽוֹ׃
BSAForkîy [because of this reason] He draws upgâraʻ▸ [lifts, gathers] dropsnâṭâph [small droplets, refined particles] of watermayim [liquid refreshment, H2O] which distillzâqaq▸ [are refined, purified] the rainmâṭar [precipitation, heavenly showers] from the mistʼêd [fog, vapor, cloud cover]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| כִּ֭י | for | Particle |
| יְגָרַ֣ע | he draws up | Verb, Piel, imperfect third person masculine singular |
| נִטְפֵי־ | drops of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| מָ֑יִם | water | Noun common, masculine plural absolute |
| יָזֹ֖קּוּ | they refine | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine plural |
| מָטָ֣ר | rain | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| לְאֵדֽוֹ׃ | to mist its | Preposition, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist, |
| KJV | For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: |
| ASV | For he draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor, |
| YLT | When He doth diminish droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapour, |
| WEB | For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor, |
| BBE | For he takes up the drops from the sea; he sends them through his mist as rain, |
Translations agree on the action of God drawing up water, with no significant differences noted.
The sentence has a main clause followed by a noun phrase and a relative clause, indicating a clear action and its result.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbגָּרַע
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 36:27
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — God's Sovereignty Over Naturegenerated
Job 36:27 describes God's ability to gather water from the earth, which He then distills into rain. This verse is part of a larger passage where Elihu emphasizes God's greatness and His control over the natural world. The surrounding verses (Job 36:26-29) highlight God's unfathomable wisdom and the way He interacts with creation, particularly through the processes of water and rain.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Job 5:9 | the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. |
| 2 | Job 38:25–28 | Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt, |
| 3 | Genesis 2:5–6 | Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. |
| 4 | Psalm 65:9–13 | You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth. |
| 5 | Isaiah 5:6 | I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.” |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יְגָרַ֣ע, ye.ga.Ra'generated
The verb גָּרַע (gara) is in the Piel stem, indicating an action of drawing up or gathering. It suggests a deliberate action of God in the natural processes of the world, particularly in relation to water.
This form emphasizes God's active role in creation, as He draws up water to distill it into rain. The choice of this verb underlines the idea of God's intentionality and control in the natural order.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase reads He draws up, which is consistent across the KJV and ASV as well, emphasizing God's action in gathering water.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb in this verse is יְגָרַ֣ע, he draws up, which governs the rest of the sentence. The structure follows with a noun phrase נִטְפֵי־ מָ֑יִם, drops of water, and then a clause describing the action of distilling rain.
This construction emphasizes God's action as the subject, with the following phrases detailing what He does with the water.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יְגָרַ֣ע as συλλέγει, meaning gathers. This choice reflects a similar understanding of God actively collecting water, but it may suggest a broader interpretation of gathering rather than just drawing up.
This translation shows a slight widening of the concept, emphasizing God's overarching control over all water sources.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 36:27 explains that God draws up drops of water from the earth, which then become rain. This verse highlights God's power and control over nature, particularly in how He manages water and rain.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It signifies God's active role in nature, controlling the water cycle and ensuring that rain falls to nourish the earth.
Rain symbolizes God's blessing and provision, essential for life and growth in the biblical context.
This verse illustrates God's sovereignty over creation, showing that He can manipulate natural processes for His purposes.
We learn about God's majesty and control over the elements, reminding us of His greatness in the natural world.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How do I see God's hand in the natural processes around me, like rain and water?
- What does this verse teach me about trusting in God's control over my life?
- In what ways can I acknowledge God's provision in my daily needs?
- How can I reflect on the beauty of creation as a reminder of God's greatness?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Quotations from Gregory the Dialogist discuss God's control over rain and the just in life, drawing from this verse.
Who taketh away the stars of rain, and poureth forth showers like whirlpools. There are two kinds of just persons in this life; one, namely, of those who live uprightly, but teach nothing;Early Church Fathers on Job 36 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 36:27 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleFor he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu proceeds to give instances and proofs of the greatness of God, and begins with rain, as Eliphaz does, Job 5:9; a common phenomenon, what is very
Read John Gill on Job 36 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryFor he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: The marvelous formation of rain (so Job 5:9-10; Job 37:13).
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 36 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleHaving affirmed that God’ s works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now enters upon the proof of it; and he proveth it from the most common and visible works of nature and providence, which if thoroughly considered, are full of wonder, and past the reach of the greatest philosophers, who indeed speak of them only by guess, and by their innumerable disputations about them discover their ignorance in them. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how incomparably more deep and unconceivable the secret counsels and judgments of God must needs be, and therefore how foolish and presumptuous a thing it was for him to judge and censure them. He maketh small the drops of water, i.e. he…
Read Matthew Poole on Job 36 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:Ver. 27. For he maketh small the drops of water] Here Elihu beginneth to instance the greatness of God in his works, and particularly in the meteors; many of which Aristotle confesseth he understood not. And this I dare say, saith a learned interpreter here, that there is not extant any poem, either of the Greeks or Latins, which may be compared with this stately eloquence of Elihu in describing those natural effects which are caused in the air; and for the same cause are of the philosophers called meteors, or airy impressions; as namely, clouds, rain, hail, snow, thunder, lightning, and…
Read John Trapp on Job 36 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(27) The drops of water.—The origin and first beginnings of the tempest are described. “He maketh small,” or draweth up by exhalation. “They pour down rain,” or “they distil in rain from His vapour,” or “belonging to the vapour thereof.” The rain is first absorbed, and then distilled and poured down.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Job 36 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 27. He maketh small the drops of water] This appears simply to refer to evaporation, and perhaps it would be better to translate יגרע yegara, "he exhales;" detaches the smallest particles of the aqueous mass from the surface in order to form clouds, as reservoirs for the purpose of furnishing rain for the watering of the earth. God is seen in little things, as well as great things; and the inconceivably little, as well as the stupendously great, are equally the work of Omnipotence. They pour down rain] These exceedingly minute drops or vapour become collected in clouds; and then, when agitated by winds, &c. many particles being united, they become too heavy to be sustained by the air…
Read AdamClarke on Job 36 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesChap. Job 36:26-33. The greatness and unsearchableness of God, seen in His marvellous operations in the skies; and exhortation to Job to allow these wonders duly to impress him, and to bow beneath the greatness of God, who surpasses all comprehension The passage has two sections: First, ch. Job 36:26 to Job 37:13, the incomprehensible greatness of God, seen in the phenomena of the atmosphere: in the formation of the rain-drops (ch. Job 36:26-28); in the thunder-storm (ch. Job 36:29 to Job 37:5); in snow and ice, which seals up the hand of man and makes him powerless before the mighty power of God (Job 36:6-10); in His lading the cloud with moisture, and guiding it to the fulfilment of His…
Read Cambridge on Job 36 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleFor he maketh small the drops of water - Elihu now appeals, as he proposed to do, to the works of God, and begins with what appeared so remarkable and inexplicable, the wisdom of God in the rain and
Read Albert Barnes on Job 36 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor,
For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
He draws up drops of water; they distill the rain into its mist,
Tyndale line
For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
For he draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor,
For he draweth up the drops of water, which distil in rain from his vapour:
For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapor of it.
When he restraineth the droppes of water, the rayne powreth down by the vapour thereof,
Strictly literal
For he draweth up the drops of water: they distil in rain from the vapour which he formeth,
When He doth diminish droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapour,
When He diminishes droppings of the waters, || They refine rain according to its vapor,
For he taketh away drops of water, which are purified into rain in his mist:
For he draws up the drops of water that he distills as rain from his vapor,
From the Latin
He lifteth up the drops of rain, and poureth out showers like floods:
Simplified
He draws up the water and distils it into the dew and the rain.
For he takes up the drops from the sea; he sends them through his mist as rain,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads כִּ֭י יְגָרַ֣ע נִטְפֵי־ מָ֑יִם יָזֹ֖קּוּ מָטָ֣ר לְאֵדֽוֹ׃, while the Septuagint matches 4 of the 7 words, indicating a close relationship between the two texts. The Dead Sea Scrolls show partial agreement, with some words restored by an editor, indicating a similar understanding of the verse.
כִּ֭י יְגָרַ֣ע נִטְפֵי־ מָ֑יִם יָזֹ֖קּוּ מָטָ֣ר לְאֵדֽוֹ׃
4 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
[כי] יגרע [נטפי] מים וזקו [מטר] [לאד׳ו]
1 word on the leather — 2 partly restored, 4 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 36:27
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
כִּי (ki) is a conjunction primarily meaning 'that,' 'for,' or 'when.' It indicates causal relationships and can express conditions like 'if' or 'though.' The word is versatile, appearing in various contexts to convey certainty, exception, or concession. Notably, it can combine with other particles to modify its meaning, such as in the phrase כִּי אם־ (ki im), meaning 'that if.'
כִּי conj. that, for, when
that
Of time, when, of the past
elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usu. represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם
when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though
Because, since
base
כִּי אם־
each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause:
that if
for if
(About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause—
limiting the prec. clause, except
the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
after an oath, surely
base
כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as
base
H3588a כִּי that, for, when . that
. . Of time, when, of the past
. elsewhere כִּי has a force approximating to if, though it usu. represents a case as more likely to occur than אִם
. when or if, with a concessive force, i.e. though
. Because, since
H3588b כִּי אם־ . each part. retaining its independent force, and relating to a different clause: . that if
. for if
. (About 140 t.) the two particles being closely conjoined, and relating to the same clause— . limiting the prec. clause, except
. the if being neglected, and treated as pleonastic, so that the clause is no longer a limitation of the preceding clause but a contradiction of it: but rather, but
. after an oath, surely
H3588c כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as
3588 kiy kee
a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional
prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent
or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative
conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by
other particles annexed:--and, + (forasmuch, inasmuch,
where-)as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else,
even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, +
nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then,
therefore, + (al- )though, + till, truly, + until, when,
whether, while, whom, yea, yet.
כִּי (ki) — for.
1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since
1a) that
1a1) yea, indeed
1b) when (of time)
1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force)
1c) because, since (causal connection)
1d) but (after negative)
1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if
1f) but rather, but
1g) except that
1h) only, nevertheless
1i) surely
1j) that is
1k) but if
1l) for though
1m) forasmuch as, for therefore
כִּי [אם] (ki im) — that if: except.
1) except if
1a) but if
1b) even though
כִּי [עַל כֵּן] (ki [al ken]) — for as that: since.
1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since
1a) that
1a1) yea, indeed
1b) when (of time)
1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force)
1c) because, since (causal connection)
1d) but (after negative)
Conj — ParticleHTc
for (ki (conjunction), le, from 'el (preposition), and various other words. In the New Testament also the words are various, chiefly gar, kai gar, hoti (conjunctions); anti apo eis dia (accusative), epi (dative and accusative), peri (genitive), pros (genitive and accusative), huper (genitive) (prepositions)): the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version give in many cases more literal or more accurate renderings than those in the King James Version.
In the New Testament the most important preps. from a doctrinal point of view are anti, "face to face," "over against," "instead," "on behalf of," peri, "around," "about," "concerning," huper, "over," "on behalf of." The first has been claimed as stating the substitutionary nature of Christ's sacrifice as contrasted with huper and peri, more frequently used of it. But, although anti in the New Testament often means…
גָּרַע (gara) is a primitive root meaning to diminish or withdraw. It covers a range of actions including to scrape off, restrain, and keep back. The verb appears in various forms, indicating different nuances such as being withdrawn or restrained. The entries consistently emphasize its implications of reduction or removal.
[גָּרַע] vb. diminish, restrain, withdraw
Qal
diminish
restrain
withdraw
Niph.
be withdrawn
be restrained
Pi. withdraw = draw up
base
H1639 גָּרַע diminish, restrain, withdraw
1639 gara` gaw-rah'
a primitive root; to scrape off; by implication, to shave,
remove, lessen, withhold:--abate, clip, (di-)minish, do (take)
away, keep back, restrain, make small, withdraw.
גָּרַע (ga.ra) — to dimish.
1) to diminish, restrain, withdraw, abate, keep back, do away, take from, clip
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to diminish
1a2) to restrain
1a3) to withdraw
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be withdrawn
1b2) to be restrained
1c) (Piel) to withdraw, draw up
V-Piel-Imperf-3ms — Verb · Piel · imperfect third person masculine singularHVpi3ms
נָטָף (nataph) refers to a drop, particularly an aromatic gum known as stacte, which is gathered in drops and used in sacred incense. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to drop' and is mentioned in Job 36:27 and Exodus 30:34.
H5198a נָטָף drop H5198b נָטָף an odorif. gum (gathered in drops), used in sacred incense
5198 nataph naw-tawf'
from 5197; a drop; specifically, an aromatic gum (probably
stacte):--drop, stacte.
see HEBREW for 05197
נָטָף (na.taph) — drop.
drop
נָטָף (na.taph) — gum.
1) gum, drops of stacte
1a) an aromatic gum resin of a shrub used in incense
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural constructHNcmpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
מַי (mayim) is a Hebrew word meaning 'water' and is used in the plural form. It encompasses various meanings, including literal water, urine, and metaphorical uses related to refreshment or danger. The entries indicate it is derived from a primitive noun and is primarily referenced in contexts involving water.
[מַי] 580 n.m. only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water
base
H4325 מַי only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water
4325 mayim mah'-yim
dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense);
water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen:--+
piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood, -spring)).
מַי (ma.yim) — water.
1) water, waters
1a) water
1b) water of the feet, urine
1c) of danger, violence, transitory things, refreshment (fig.)
מַי (ma.yim) — Water (Gate).
This name means water, refreshment
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural absoluteHNcmpa
wo'-ter (mayim; hudor):
(1) The Greek philosophers believed water to be the original substance and that all things were made from it. The Koran states, "From water we have made all things." In the story of the creation (Ge 1:2) water plays an elemental part.
(2) Because of the scarcity of water in Palestine it is especially appreciated by the people there. They love to go and sit by a stream of running water. Men long for a taste of the water of their native village (1Ch 11:17). A town or village is known throughout the country for the quality of its water, which is described by many adjectives, such as "light," "heavy," etc.
(3) The rainfall is the only source of supply of water for Palestine. The moisture is carried up from the sea in clouds and falls on the hills as rain or snow.…
See CISTERN and WELLS.
In Isa 35:7, the Hebrew word for "parched ground" that shall become a pool of water, is the same with the Arabic term for the mirage, a peculiar optical illusion by which travelers in hot and dry deserts think they see broad lakes and flowing waters; they seem to discern the very ripple of the waves, and the swaying of tail trees on the margin in the cool breeze; green hills and houses and city ramparts rise before the astonished sight, recede as the traveler advances, and at length melt away in the hot haze. Not so the blessings of the gospel; they are no alluring mockery, but real waters of everlasting life, Isa 55:1 Joh 4:14 Re 22:1. Compare
→ Creation of Ps 148:4,5
→ Covered the whole earth Ge 1:9
→ Daily allowance of Eze 4:11
→ City waterworks 2Ki 20:20
→ Vision of, by Ezekiel Eze 47:1-5
→ Of separation Nu 19:2-22
זָקַק (zaqaq) is a Hebrew verb meaning to refine or purify. It encompasses actions like straining, distilling, and clarifying, with various forms indicating different nuances, such as purging or refining. The entries suggest its use in contexts related to purification, including a figurative sense of refining the sons of Levi.
[זָקַק] vb. refine, purify
Qal Impf. 3 mpl.
Pi. fig., of purifying sons of Levi
Pu. refined
base
H2212 [זָקַק] refine, purify
2212 zaqaq zaw-kak'
a primitive root; to strain, (figuratively) extract,
clarify:--fine, pour down, purge, purify, refine.
זָקַק (za.qaq) — to refine.
1) to purify, distil, strain, refine
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to purify, distil, strain
1a2) to refine
1b) (Piel) to purge, refine
1c) (Pual) to refine, purify
V-Qal-Imperf-3mp — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine pluralHVqi3mp
מָטַר (matar) means 'rain' in Hebrew. It is derived from the root word מָטַר (H4305), which also relates to rain. The entries consistently define it simply as rain, with no significant disagreement among the lexicons.
H4306 מָטַר rain
4306 matar maw-tawr'
from 4305; rain:--rain.
see HEBREW for 04305
מָטַר (ma.tar) — rain.
rain
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
ran (maTar, Arabic (?), maTar, "rain" geshem, "heavy rain" moreh, "early rain," yoreh, "former rain," malqosh, "latter rain"; brecho, huetos):
1. Water-Supply in Egypt and Palestine:
In Egypt there is little or no rainfall, the water for vegetation being supplied in great abundance by the river Nile; but in Syria and Palestine there are no large rivers, and the people have to depend entirely on the fall of rain for water for themselves, their animals and their fields. The children of Israel when in Egypt were promised by Yahweh a land which "drinketh water of the rain of heaven" (De 11:11). Springs and fountains are found in most of the valleys, but the flow of the springs depends directly on the fall of rain or snow in the mountains.
2. Importance of Rain in Season:
Rain
There are three Hebrew words used to denote the rains of different seasons, (1.) Yoreh (Hos. 6:3), or moreh (Joel 2:23), denoting the former or the early rain. (2.) Melqosh, the “latter rain” (Prov. 16:15). (3.) Geshem, the winter rain, “the rains.” The heavy winter rain is mentioned in Gen. 7:12; Ezra 10:9; Cant. 2:11. The “early” or “former” rains commence in autumn in the latter part of October or beginning of November (Deut. 11:14; Joel 2:23; comp.
In the Bible "early rain" signifies the rain of the autumn, (11:14) and "latter rain" the rain of spring. (Proverbs 16:1,5) For six months in the year, from May to October, no rain falls, the whole land becomes dry, parched and brown. The autumnal rains are eagerly looked for, to prepare the earth for the reception of the seed. These, the early rains, commence about the latter end of October continuing through November and December. January and February are the coldest months, and snow falls, sometimes to the depth of a foot or more, at Jerusalem, but it does not lie long; it is very seldom seen along the coast and in the low plains. Rain continues to fall more or less during the month of March it is very rare in April. Robinson observes that there are not, at the present day, "any particular periods of rain or succession of showers…
In Scripture the "early" and the "latter" rain of Palestine is spoken of, De 11:14 Ho 6:3. The former falls in the latter part of October, the seed-time of Palestine; and the weather then continues variable, with more or less rain the whole winter, until after the latter or spring rain in April. Afterwards, the weather becomes serene, and the crops ripen. The wheat harvest takes place in May; by the middle of August, the fruits are gathered in; and from that time to the coming of the first or October rains, prevail the scorching heats and droughts of summer. Nothing can more expressively represent spiritual blessings than copious showers of rain after this trying season is past, De 32:2
אֵד (ed) means 'mist' or 'vapor,' indicating a fog-like substance. It is derived from a root that suggests the idea of enveloping. The term is used in contexts related to atmospheric phenomena.
H108 אֵד mist
108 'ed ade
from the same as 181 (in the sense of enveloping); a fog:--
mist, vapor.
see HEBREW for 0181
אֵד (ed) — mist.
mist
Prep | N-ms | Suff — Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms