Topic
Frost
11 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1897–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 31:40Easton · ISBE
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
- Exodus 16:14Easton · ISBE
And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
- Job 37:10Easton · ISBE
By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
- Job 38:29Easton · ISBE
Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
- Psalms 78:47Easton · ISBE
He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost.
- Psalms 147:16Easton · ISBE
He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
- Jeremiah 36:30Easton · ISBE
Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
- Job 6:16Easton
Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
- Job 7:8Easton
The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
- Jeremiah 22:19ISBE
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 1:22Easton
And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 10 references
(Heb. kerah, from its smoothness) Job 37:10 (R.V., “ice”); Gen. 31:40; Jer. 36:30; rendered “ice” in Job 6:16, 38:29; and “crystal” in Ezek. 1:22. “At the present day frost is entirely unknown in the lower portions of the valley of the Jordan, but slight frosts are sometimes felt on the sea-coast and near Lebanon.” Throughout Western Asia cold frosty nights are frequently succeeded by warm days.
“Hoar frost” (Heb. kephor, so called from its covering the ground) is mentioned in Ex. 16:14; Job 38:29; Ps. 147:16.
In Ps. 78:47 the word rendered “frost” (R.V. marg., “great hail-stones”), hanamal, occurs only there. It is rendered by Gesenius, the Hebrew lexicographer, “ant,” and so also by others, but the usual interpretation derived from the ancient versions may be maintained.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 15 references
frost (kephor, "hoar-frost," Ex 16:14; Job 38:29; chanamal, perhaps "the aphis," Ps 78:47; qerach, "cold," Ge 31:40; Job 37:10 the King James Version; Jer 36:30):
1. Formation:
A temperature of freezing or lower is called frost. Dew forms when the temperature is decreased; and if below freezing, the dew takes the form of a white film or covering over rocks and leaves. This white covering is called hoar-frost. Like dew it is the result of condensation of the moisture of the air on objects which radiate their heat quickly. In order that condensation may take place the atmosphere must be saturated. Frost may be expected on clear, still nights when the radiation is sufficient to reduce the temperature below the freezing-point.
In Syria and Palestine frost is a very rare occurrence at sea-level; but on the hills and elevated plains it is usual in winter, beginning with November, and on the highest elevations throughout the year. Late spring frosts in March or early April do great damage to fruit.
2. In Syria and Palestine:
In clear weather there is often a great variation in the temperature of the day and the night, especially on the inland plains, so that literally, as Jacob said to Laban, "In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night" (Ge 31:40); "In the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost" (Jer 36:30; compare Jer 22:19), a passage which suggests that Jehoiakim's corpse was left unburied.
3. In Egypt:
The meaning of chanamal, translated "frost" in Ps 78:47 (see above), "He destroyed .... their sycomore-trees with frost" (m "great hail stones"), is uncertain. "Frost is unknown in Egypt, and Gesenius suggests `ants,' comparing it with Arabic namal" (Temple, BD, S.V.).
4. Figurative Uses:
The manna in the wilderness is compared to hoarfrost. "A small round thing, small as the hoarfrost" (Ex 16:14). Manna is occasionally found in Syria now as a flaky, gelatinous substance formed on bushes and rocks. The elements of Nature are indications of God's power, and are referred to as signs of His might: "By the breath of God frost is given" (Job 37:10 the King James Version). "The hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?" (Job 38:29); "He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost" (Ps 78:47); "He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes" (Ps 147:16).
Alfred H. Joy
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.