Job 38 · Verse 29

Job 38:29

Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
Job 38:29, King James Version

Job 38:29 in other translations

BSBFrom whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
WEBWhose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
ASVOut of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
YLTFrom whose belly came forth the ice? And the hoar-frost of the heavens, Who hath begotten it?
DARBYOut of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth?
BBEOut of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?
WebsterOut of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

What does Job 38:29 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 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, therefore, is supposed to be the natural state of water; so that in its natural state water is solid, and becomes fluid only by the action of fire, as solid metallic bodies are brought into a state of fusion by the same means. Ice is lighter than water, its specific gravity being to that of water as eight to nine. This rarefaction of ice is supposed to be owing to the air-bubbles produced in water by freezing, and which, being considerably larger in proportion to the water frozen, render the body so much specifically lighter; hence ice always floats on water. The air-bubbles, during their production, acquire a great expansive power, so as to burst the containing vessels, be they ever so strong. See examples in the note on Job 37:10 (note). The hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? - Hoar-frost is the congelation of dew, in frosty mornings, on the grass. It consists of an assemblage of little crystals of ice, which are of various figures, according to the different disposition of the vapours when met and condensed by the cold. Its production is owing to some laws with which we are not yet acquainted. Of this subject, after the lapse and experience of between two and three thousand years, we know about as much as Job did. And the question, What hath engendered the hoar-frost of heaven! is, to this hour, nearly as inexplicable to us as it was to him! Is it enough to say that hoar-frost is water deposited from the atmosphere at a low temperature, so as to produce congelation?

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 38:29 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.

מִבֶּ֣טֶןmi.Be.tenfrom [the] womb ofH990
מִ֭יmiwhom?H4310
יָצָ֣אya.Tza'does it come forthH3318
הַקָּ֑רַחha.Ka.rachthe iceH7140
וּכְפֹ֥רu.khe.Forand [the] frost ofH3713
שָׁ֝מַיִםSha.ma.yimheavenH8064
מִ֣יmiwho?H4310
יְלָדֽוֹ\׃ye.la.Dodoes he give birth to itH3205

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

Cross references for Job 38:29

  • Psalms 147:16-17

    He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

  • Job 37:10

    By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.

  • Job 6:16

    Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:

  • Job 38:8

    Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8; 6:16; 37:10; Ps 147:16,17

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

Context

  • 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?

  • Job 38:30

    The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

Read all of Job 38

Job 38:29 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿De qué vientre salió el hielo? y la escarcha del cielo, ¿quién la engendró?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Du sein de qui sort la glace? et le frimas des cieux, qui l’enfante?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aus wessen Schoße kommt das Eis hervor, und des Himmels Reif, wer gebiert ihn?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		De cujus utero egressa est glacies? et gelu de cælo quis genuit?