Job 37:10

Job 37:10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.

Ver. 10. By the breath of God frost is given] Frost is the excess of cold by the blowing of the coldest winds, which are here called, "The breath of God"; these congeal the waters, and turn them into ice, contracting them into a narrower room. Hence it is, that as any country is more northerly, so it is colder; the sea also is frozen and impassable.

And the breadth of the waters is straitened] This the same again in other words, though some understand it to be hail; when the broad flowing water in the clouds by the force of the cold is narrowed up into hail. All this is of the Lord. Fides non in ordinem operis, sed in authorem oculos suos dirigit, saith Brentius upon the text; faith seeth God in all.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, is frozen up and dried.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the breath of God--poetically, for the ice-producing north wind.

frost--rather, "ice."

straitened--physically accurate; frost compresses or contracts the expanded liquid into a congealed mass (Job 38:29-30; Psa 147:17-18).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 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 gun-barrel, it will split the solid metal throughout its whole length. Bombshells have been filled with water, and plugged tight, and exposed to cold air, when they have been rent, though the shell has been nearly two inches thick! Attempts have been made to account for this; but they have not, as yet, been generally successful. The breath of God freezes the waters; and that breath thaws them. It is the work of Omnipotence, and there, for the present, we must leave it.

The breadth of the waters is straitened.] This has been variously translated; מוצק mutsak, which we here render straitened, we translate Job 37:18 melted. Mr. Good thinks that the idea of a mirror is implied, or something molten; and on this ground it may be descriptive of the state of water formed into ice. He therefore translates: -

By the blast of God the frost congealeth,

And the expanse of the waters into a mirror.

I have only to observe, that in the act of freezing wind or air is necessary; for it has been observed that water which lay low in ponds did not freeze till some slight current of air fell on and ruffled the surface, when it instantly shot into ice.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) The breadth of the waters is straitened.—Firm, like a molten mass.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. By the breath of God frost] Rather, ice. The wind is the breath of God as the thunder is His voice. This cold breath gives ice.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the breath of God frost is given,.... By the word of God, as the Targum; at his command it is, at his word it comes, and at his word it goes, Psa 147:15; or by his will, as Ben Gersom interprets it, when it is his pleasure it should be, it appears; it may be understood of a freezing wind from the Lord, for a wind is sometimes expressed by the breath of his nostrils, Psa 18:15; and as the word "God" added to things increases the signification of them, as mountains of God are strong mountains; so the breath of God may signify a strong wind, as Sephorno notes, the north wind (q);

and the breadth of the waters is straitened; by the frost they are reduced and brought into a narrower compass; or made hard, as Mr. Broughton renders it; so hard as to walk upon, to draw carriages on, and lay weights and burdens very great upon; or become compact or bound together, like metal melted, poured out, and consolidated; though some think it refers to the thawing of ice by the south winds (r), when the waters return to their former breadth; which is done by the breath or commandment of God, as appears from the place before quoted from the psalmist, Psa 18:15; for it may be rendered, "and the breadth of the waters is pouring out", so the Targum, when thawed; or through the pouring down of rain, so the Syriac and Arabic versions, "he sends forth plenty of water".

(q) "Induroque nives", &c. Ovid. (r) "----cum vere reverso Bistoniae tepuere nives", &c. Statii Theb. l. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By the breath of God frost is given - Not by the violent north wind, or by the whirlwind of the south, but God seems to “breathe” in a gentle manner, and the earth is covered with hoary frost. It appears in a still night, when there is no storm or tempest, and descends upon the earth as silently as if it were produced by mere breathing. Frost is congealed or frozen dew. On the formation and cause of dew, see the notes at Job 38:28. The figure is poetical and beautiful. The slight motion of the air, even when the frost appears, seems to be caused by the breathing of God.

And the breadth of the waters is straitened - That is, is contracted by the cold; or is frozen over. The waters are “compressed” into a solid mass (במוצק bemûtsaq), or are in a state of “pressure” or “compression” - or so the word used here means. What were before expanded rivers or arms of the sea, are now compressed into solid masses of ice. This, also, is proof of the greatness and power of God, for though the cause was not understood by Elihu, yet there was no doubt that it was produced by his agency. Though the laws by which this occurs are now better understood than they were then, it is no less clearly seen that it is by his agency; and all the light which we obtain in regard to the laws by which these things occur, only serve to exalt our conceptions of the wisdom and greatness of God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Abundantly. He cause it to freeze or rain at pleasure. (Haydock) (Psalm cxlvii. 17.) (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By the breath of God, i.e. by the word of God, as this very phrase is explained, Psa 33:6; by his will or appointment, to which as the principal cause all these works are ascribed.

The breadth of the waters is straitened; the frost dries up the waters in great measure, and bringeth the remainder into a narrower compass, as we see.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. By the breath of God — See note on Job_4:9. Frost is given — The preceding verse has spoken of the whirlwind of the south, and the mysterious mezarim that “scatter” the clouds, and prepare the way for “the cold,” (קרה,) the wintry king of nature. But these stormy messengers do not so much speak of God as the silent frost, (קרח,) whose beneficent mission is accomplished amid the general silence of nature. “Frost,” says Dr. Clarke, “is God’s universal plough, by which he cultivates the whole earth.” “The waves of cold,” of which science speaks, that in solemn silence sweep across continents, Elihu sublimely attributes to the breath of God.

Is straitened — Compare Job_38:30. Hitzig acutely remarks, that “it is not the mass of waters that is spoken of, but their breadth.” The straitening of the waters does not necessarily refer, therefore, to the freezing of them over, but rather to their restriction, or narrowing, by reason of the ice along each side or bank, and, therefore, has nothing to do with the scientific fact that water expands in the act of congealing. The citation Umbreit makes from an Arabic poet will illustrate another possible rendering of במוצק, “firmly bound,” (thus T. Lewis,) instead of “straitened:” — “The floods are fettered in bonds of iron.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the breath of God frost is given. (comp. Psa_147:16-18) "The breath of God," which is a metaphor for the will of God, causes alike both frost and thaw. And the breadth of the waters is straitened; or, congealed. A broad expanse of water is suddenly turned by frost into a stiff and solid mass.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The waters - The waters which had freely spread themselves before, are congealed and bound up in crystal fetters.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

By the breath of God ice is given

Elihu speaks of the cold north wind as if it were God's breath. This can be stated in active form. AT: "God's breath makes ice" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

frozen like metal

Elihu compares the hardness of ice to the hardness of metal. AT: "frozen, as hard as metal" (See: Simile)

he weighs down the thick cloud with moisture

Elihu speaks of God causing the storm clouds to be full of water as if the moisture weighed heavily on the clouds. AT: "he causes the thick clouds to be full of moisture" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

breath

God

water

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

From the breath of By His wind.

and the breadth of the waters in a good When they are poured out in retribution.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.