Job 38 · Verse 28

Job 38:28

Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Job 38:28, King James Version

Job 38:28 in other translations

BSBDoes the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?
WEBDoes the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
ASVHath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
YLTHath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
DARBYHath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew?
BBEHas the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?
WebsterHath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew?

What does Job 38:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 38:19-38

19-38. 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 full comment on Job 38:19-38 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 28 Hath 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 slow motion, and falling while the sun is below the horizon. It appears to differ from rain as less from more. Its origin and matter are doubtless from the vapours and exhalations that rise from the earth and water." Various experiments have been instituted to ascertain whether dew arises from the earth, or descends from the atmosphere; and those pro and con have alternately preponderated. The question is not yet decided; and we cannot yet tell any more than Job which hath begotten the drops of dew, the atmosphere or the earth. Is it water deposited from the atmosphere, when the surface of the ground is colder than the air?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 38:25-41

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…

Read the full comment on Job 38:25-41 →

Job 38:28 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֲיֵשׁ\־ha.yesh-¿ [is] thereH3426
לַמָּטָ֥רla.ma.Tarfor the rainH4306
אָ֑ב'Ava fatherH1
א֥וֹ'oorH176
מִי\־mi-who?H4310
ה֝וֹלִ֗ידho.Liddoes he fatherH3205
אֶגְלֵי\־'eg.lei-[the] drops ofH96
טָֽל\׃TaldewH2919

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 38:28

  • Jeremiah 14:22

    Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

  • Psalms 147:8

    Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

  • Jeremiah 10:13

    When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

  • Proverbs 3:20

    By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

  • Deuteronomy 33:13

    And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

  • Genesis 27:28

    Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

  • Hosea 14:5

    I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

  • 1 Samuel 12:17-18

    Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

  • 2 Samuel 1:21

    Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

  • Deuteronomy 33:28

    Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.

  • Job 5:9-10

    Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:

  • Joel 2:23

    Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hath the.
8; 5:9,10; 1Sa 12:17,18; Ps 65:9,10; Jer 5:24; 10:13; 14:22
Joe 2:23; Am 4:7; Mt 5:45
dew.
29:19; Ge 27:28,39; De 33:13,28; 2Sa 1:21; 1Ki 17:1; Pr 3:20
Ho 14:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 38:27

    To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

  • Job 38:28

    Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

  • Job 38:29

    Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

Read all of Job 38

Job 38:28 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Tiene la lluvia padre? ¿ó quién engendró las gotas del rocío?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		La pluie a-t-elle un père? ou qui engendre les gouttes de la rosée?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Hat der Regen einen Vater, oder wer zeugt die Tropfen des Taues?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quis est pluviæ pater? vel quis genuit stillas roris?