Job 5:10
in Job 5He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields;
KJV
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
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This verse in Job 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseEliphaz acknowledges that God is the ruler and creator of all things. It is likely that he has these convictions. He is a man who possesses wisdom in human things. Eliphaz also has an understanding of the invisible and visible, since he speaks of the …
This site's exposition
He gives rain to the earth
on Job 5:10-11
The hymn holds two workings of providence together, "He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety". The God who governs the weather also raises and lowers men. The lifting of mourners stands as a general promise, which Eliphaz applies once he has assumed Job's repentance.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Consequently he shows that the course of created things is governed by divine providence. First in natural things which seems to have been made for the use of man and the other animals, although the natural order of the elements seems to demand another thing. …
MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION. Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and sendeth waters upon all things. Forasmuch as we believe that the friends of blessed Job were enlightened by their intercourse with him, we must needs handle these words of Eliphaz in a mystical manner.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Rain - He begins with this ordinary work of God, in which he implies that there is something wonderful, as indeed there is in the rise of it from the earth, in the strange hanging of that heavy body in the air, and in the distribution of it as God sees fit; and how much more in the hidden paths of Divine Providence?
Who giveth rain upon the earth,....
That the afflictions which are borne well will end well; and Job particularly, if he would come to a better temper, might assure himself that God had great mercy in store for him,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Observe, When he would show what great things God does he speaks of his giving rain, which, because it is a common thing, we are apt to look upon as a little thing, but, if we duly consider both how it is produced and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work both of power and goodness.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Who giveth rain upon the earth - The Chaldee gives this verse a fine turn: “Who gives rain on the face of the land of Israel, and sends waters on the face of the provinces of the people.” Similar to our Lord’s saying, which is expressed in the half of the compass: Your Father which is in heaven - Sendeth Rain on the Just and on the Unjust; Mat 5:
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who giveth rain upon the earth - In the previous verse, Eliphaz had said, in general, that God did wonderful things - things which are fitted to lead us to put our trust in him. In this and the succeeding verses, he descends to particulars, and specifies those things which show that God is worthy to be confided in. This enunciation continues to Job 5:16, and the general scope is, that the agency of God is seen everywhere; and that his providential dealings are adapted to impress man with elevated ideas of his justice and goodness. Eliphaz begins with the rain, and says that the fact that God sends it upon the earth was fitted to lead man to confide in him. He means, that while the sun, and moon, and seasons have stated times, and are governed by settled laws, the rain seems to be sent directly by God, and is imparted at such times as are best. It is wholly under his control, and furnishes a constant evidence of his benevolence. Without it, every vegetable would dry up, and every animal on the earth would soon die. The word earth here refers probably to the cultivated part of the earth - the fields that are under tillage. Thus, Eichhorn renders it, Angebauten Feldern. On the interest which the phenomena of rain excited among the ancient sages of Idumea, and the laws by which it is produced, see Job 37:6, note; Job 37:15-16, note; Job 38:22-28, note. And sendeth waters - That is, showers. Upon the fields - Margin, “out-places.” Hebrew חוצוּת chûtsôt - out of doors, outside, abroad, meaning the fields out of cities and towns. Eichhorn renders it, “the pastures,” auf Triften. The meaning is, that the whole country is watered; and the fact that God gives rain in this manner, is a reason why we should put confidence in him. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Who gives rain upon the face of the land The land of Israel.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
to place the humble on high He gives the rain, and He frustrates the plans of the crafty, who intend to raise the prices and buy the fields of the poor for little grain.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַנֹּתֵ֣ן | hanoten | who gives | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מָ֭טָר | mator | rain | H4306 → | 38 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵי־ | penei- | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אָ֑רֶץ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְשֹׁ֥לֵֽחַ | vesholeach | and [who] sends | H7971 → | 845 times |
| מַ֝יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חוּצֽוֹת׃ | chutzot | [the] open places | H2351 → | 164 times |
הַנֹּתֵ֣ןwho gives
hanotenH5414 →2011 times
מָ֭טָרrain
matorH4306 →38 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵי־[the] surface of
penei-H6440 →2123 times
אָ֑רֶץ[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
וְשֹׁ֥לֵֽחַand [who] sends
vesholeachH7971 →845 times
מַ֝יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
חוּצֽוֹת׃[the] open places
chutzotH2351 →164 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
Jeremiah 14:22Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have…
it leads to
- Joel 2:23
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 5:24
They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
- Psalms 135:7
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 His storehouses.
- Isaiah 30:23
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will…
- Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
- Joel 2:23
Through
Acts 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
it leads to
- Romans 1:19–20
For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
- Deuteronomy 11:14
then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
- Romans 1:19–20
Through
Jeremiah 5:24They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
it leads to
- Psalms 147:8
who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.
- Psalms 147:8
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON JOB 5:9-10; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book VI; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.