Job 38:22
in Job 38Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
KJV
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHast thou entered into the treasures of snow, or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have prepared against the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war? What else must be understood by the 'snow' or 'hail,' but the cold and hard hearts of the wicked? For as charity is designated by warmth, so also in Holy Scripture wickedness is wont to be designated by cold. For it is written, As a cistern maketh its water cold, so doth its own wickedness make cold the soul.
This site's exposition
the storehouses of snow
on Job 38:22-24
God names the “storehouses of snow” and hail as held “in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle”. Barnes reads the military language deliberately, the snow and hail that fall as ordinary weather also standing ready as instruments of judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Obviously this does not mean that there exist such storehouses, but he simply shows that these elements are at his complete disposal when he wants, as if he took them from his own reserves. "And is there a store of them for you against the time of your enemies, for the day of wars and battles?" You certainly understand that he wants to emphasize their opportunity, the fact that they come at the right moment and never at random. Then he equally speaks about all the rest, that is, about rain, hail and, on the other hand, about the Notus.
The Medieval Church1 voice
After he considers these things about the changeableness of light and darkness, he comes to diverse changes of the air, according to which the air varies as storm or calm. He begins with the snow and the hail saying, "Have you entered the storehouses of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " Hast thou entered into these and taken a view of them?" In the clouds the snow and hail are generated, and thence they come in such abundance that one would think there were treasures of them laid up in store there, whereas indeed they are produced extempore -- suddenly, as I may say, and pro re nata -- for the occasion.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail? The vapours raised, and clouds formed in the atmosphere, which is the storehouse of those meteors; and may be called treasures, because hidden in the clouds, and not seen by man until the fall of them; and because they are in the keeping, and at the command and direction of the Lord the proprietor of them; and because rich and enriching, especially snow, which falling keeps the earth warm, and makes it fruitful; and because of the abundance thereof which sometimes falls.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The treasures of the snow - The places where snow is formed, and the cause of that formation. See on Job 37:6 (note). Treasures of the hail - It is more easy to account for the formation of snow than of hail. Hail, however, is generally supposed to be drops of rain frozen in their passage through cold regions of the air; and the hail is always in proportion to the size of the raindrop from which it was formed.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
treasures--storehouses, from which God draws forth snow and hail. Snow is vapor congealed in the air before it is collected in drops large enough to form hail. Its shape is that of a crystal in endless variety of beautiful figures.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hast thou entered into the treasures of snow? - Snow is here represented as something which is laid up like treasure, and kept in reserve for use when God shall require it. Silver and gold were thus laid up for occasions when they would be wanted, and the figurative sentiment here is, that snow and hail were thus preserved for the use to which the Almighty might devote them, or for those great occasions when it would be proper to bring them forth to execute his purposes. Of course, it was to be expected that God would speak in the language which people commonly used when speaking of his works, and would not go into a philosophical or scientific explanation of the phenomena of nature. His object was not to teach science, but to produce a solemn impression of his greatness, and that is secured by such an appeal whether the laws of nature are understood or not. The simple appeal to Job here is, whether he could explain the phenomena of snow and hail? Could he tell how they were formed? Whence they came? Where they were preserved, and how they were sent forth to execute the purposes of God? The idea is, that all that pertained to the snow was distinctly understood by God, and that these were facts which Job did not know of, and which he could not explain. The effect of time and of scientific investigation, in this as in other cases to which reference is made in this book, has been only to increase the force of this question. The effect of the discoveries which are made in the works of God is not to diminish our sense of his wisdom and majesty, but to change mere wonder to praise; to transform blind amazement to intelligent adoration. Every new discovery of a law of nature is fitted more to impress the mind with awe, and at the same time it becomes the basis of a new act of intelligent confidence in God. […]
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲ֭בָאתָ | havata | ¿ have you gone | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֹצְר֣וֹת | ʾotzerot | [the] storehouses of | H214 → | |
| שָׁ֑לֶג | shaleg | snow | H7950 → | 20 times |
| וְאֹצְר֖וֹת | veotzerot | and [the] storehouses of | H214 → | |
| בָּרָ֣ד | barad | hail | H1259 → | |
| תִּרְאֶֽה׃ | tireh | have you seen? | H7200 → | 1300 times |
הֲ֭בָאתָ¿ have you gone
havataH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֹצְר֣וֹת[the] storehouses of
ʾotzerotH214 →
שָׁ֑לֶגsnow
shalegH7950 →20 times
וְאֹצְר֖וֹתand [the] storehouses of
veotzerotH214 →
בָּרָ֣דhail
baradH1259 →
תִּרְאֶֽה׃have you seen?
tirehH7200 →1300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 33:7He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.
it leads to
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Exodus 15:8
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
- Joshua 3:13
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will…
- Genesis 1:9–10
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
- Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.
- Joshua 3:16
Through
Psalms 135:7He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:13
When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from…
- Job 28:25–26
When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,
- Zechariah 10:1
Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.
- Jeremiah 10:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 38:22-23; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.