Job 38:22
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The verse doesn't just ask if Job has seen the snow and hail, but if he has entered their "storehouses" or "treasures." This highlights that these powerful natural phenomena aren't random but are intentionally kept and dispensed by God, implying a divine plan and control that Job couldn't possibly grasp.
God is responding to Job's lament by highlighting His own immense power and wisdom through a series of rhetorical questions about the natural world. He asks Job if he has witnessed the hidden origins and storage of snow and hail, underscoring that these phenomena, like all of creation, are under God's sovereign control, not something Job can comprehend or command.
Understand the original words
otsar · Hebrew Noun
A storehouse or treasury, often used metaphorically to describe the places where God keeps the elements of nature or blessings for His people under His sovereign control.
While Job's story is set in the ancient patriarchal era, the book's profound exploration of suffering, divine sovereignty, and the limits of human understanding likely found its final form and was preserved during a period of significant national reflection, possibly after the Babylonian exile.
c. 600 BC— this verse
Job's Life and Suffering
The Book of Job is traditionally understood to be set in the patriarchal period, though its final composition likely occurred later. Job experiences immense personal tragedy, losing his wealth, children, and health.
c. 5th century BC
Composition of the Book of Job
While the setting is ancient, many scholars believe the Book of Job was compiled and edited during or after the Babylonian exile, possibly around the 5th century BC. This period influenced reflections on suffering and divine justice.
This passage describes God sending hail and fire upon Egypt, directly linking these destructive weather phenomena to divine judgment and power, much like in Job.
Psalm 18:12-13The psalmist describes God's manifestation in storm with hail and coals of fire, echoing the imagery of divine power and wrath unleashed through weather events.
Isaiah 30:30This prophecy foretells God thundering with a voice of great anger, sending down hail and coals of fire to destroy Assyria, again showing how severe weather serves as instruments of God's judgment.
Nahum 1:3Nahum speaks of God's power in storms, noting that the Lord 'makes the storm clouds his chariot' and walks on the 'wings of the wind,' paralleling the depiction of God controlling atmospheric forces.
jfbJob 38:22: "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,"
- 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. Hail is formed by rain falling through dry cold air.
cambridgeJob 38:22: "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,"
22 . the treasures ] That is, the treasuries, the magazines. Snow and hail are represented as having been created and laid up in great storehouses in the heavens or above them, from whence God draws them forth for the moral ends of His government ( Job 38:23 ). The idea may be suggested by observation of the vast masses in which snow falls. Job, no doubt, has inspected these treasuries, o…
The verse doesn't just ask if Job has seen the snow and hail, but if he has entered their "storehouses" or "treasures." This highlights that these powerful natural phenomena aren't random but are intentionally kept and dispensed by God, implying a divine plan and control that Job couldn't possibly grasp.
God is responding to Job's lament by highlighting His own immense power and wisdom through a series of rhetorical questions about the natural world. He asks Job if he has witnessed the hidden origins and storage of snow and hail, underscoring that these phenomena, like all of creation, are under God's sovereign control, not something Job can comprehend or command.
God is responding to Job's lament by highlighting His own immense power and wisdom through a series of rhetorical questions about the natural world. He asks Job if he has witnessed the hidden origins and storage of snow and hail, underscoring that these phenomena, like all of creation, are under God's sovereign control, not something Job can comprehend or command.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Job 38:22 is available in the Sola app.
"“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail," — The verse doesn't just ask if Job has seen the snow and hail, but if he has entered their "storehouses" or "treasures." This highlights that these powerful natural phenomena aren't random but are int…
