Reference: Rain
American
In Scripture the "early" and the "latter" rain of Palestine is spoken of,
De 11:14; Ho 6:3. The former falls in the latter part of October, the seed-time of Palestine; and the weather then continues variable, with more or less rain the whole winter, until after the latter or spring rain in April. Afterwards, the weather becomes serene, and the crops ripen. The wheat harvest takes place in May; by the middle of August, the fruits are gathered in; and from that time to the coming of the first or October rains, prevail the scorching heats and droughts of summer. Nothing can more expressively represent spiritual blessings than copious showers of rain after this trying season is past, De 32:2; Job 29:23; Isa 44:3; Ho 10:12.
It appears from meteorological records kept at Jerusalem, that the average annual fall of rain is fifty-five inches. It would seem therefore, that if the rains of Palestine could be preserved in pools and reservoirs, and employed in irrigating the ground during the summer, the old fertility might be restored; it would be clothed again with verdure, and become like "the garden of the Lord."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths wide as for the spring rain.
For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit upon your offspring, and My blessing upon your descendants.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.
Easton
There are three Hebrew words used to denote the rains of different seasons, (1.) Yoreh (Ho 6:3), or moreh (Joe 2:23), denoting the former or the early rain. (2.) Melqosh, the "latter rain" (Pr 16:15). (3.) Geshem, the winter rain, "the rains." The heavy winter rain is mentioned in Ge 7:12; Ezr 10:9; Song 2:11. The "early" or "former" rains commence in autumn in the latter part of October or beginning of November (De 11:14; Joe 2:23; comp. Jer 3:3), and continue to fall heavily for two months. Then the heavy "winter rains" fall from the middle of December to March. There is no prolonged fair weather in Palestine between October and March. The "latter" or spring rains fall in March and April, and serve to swell the grain then coming to maturity (De 11:14; Ho 6:3). After this there is ordinarily no rain, the sky being bright and cloudless till October or November.
Rain is referred to symbolically in De 32:2; Ps 72:6; Isa 44:3-4; Ho 10:12.
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And it rained upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month, and all the people sat in the open space before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain.
May he [Solomon as a type of King David's greater Son] be like rain that comes down upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.
For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit upon your offspring, and My blessing upon your descendants. And they shall spring up among the grass like willows or poplars by the watercourses.
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Fausets
(See PALESTINE; Climate.) Matar. Geshem, "violent rain" or generically "the early and latter rain" (Jer 5:24; Joe 2:23). Yoreh, "the early rain of autumn"; malkosh, "the latter rain of spring" (Pr 16:15; Job 29:23; Jer 3:3; Ho 6:3; Zec 10:1). Rebibim, from rab "many," from the multitude of drops; "showers" (De 32:2). Zerem, "violent rain," "hailstorm" (Job 24:8). Sagrir only in Pr 27:15. As compared with Egypt, Palestine was a land of rain (De 11:10-11), but for six months no rain falls so that "rain in harvest" and "thunder" were marvelous phenomena, and out of time and place (Pr 26:1; 1Sa 12:16-18). The early rain begins gradually, the latter end of October or beginning of November. Generally from the W. or S.W. (Lu 12:54); the wind then changes to the N. or E. At no period in the winter, from the end of October to the end of March, does rain entirely cease. In January and February snow falls, but lies only a short time.
The early rain means the first autumnal showers which prepare the arid soil for the seed; "the latter rain" the later spring showers, especially in March, which Bring forward the crop toward harvest (Jas 5:7; Pr 16:15). Showers fall occasionally in April and May. God claims as His peculiar prerogative the sending or withholding of rain, which He made dependent on the obedience or disobedience of Israel (Le 26:3-5,19; De 11:13-15; 28:23-24; Jer 3:3; 5:24; 14:22). "The latter rain in the first (month)" in Joe 2:23 means in the month when first it is needed; or else, as Vulgate and Septuagint, "as at the first" (compare Isa 1:26; Ho 2:15; Mal 3:4); or in Nisan or Abib, the Passover month, the first, namely, the end of March and beginning of April. The departure of winter was marked by the cessation of rain (Song 2:11-13). Rain is the beautiful image of the Spirit's refreshing influences in Messiah's kingdom (Ho 6:3; 2Sa 23:4; Ps 72:6).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase and the trees of the field yield their fruit. read more. And your threshing [time] shall reach to the vintage and the vintage [time] shall reach to the sowing time, and you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.
And I will break and humble your pride in your power, and I will make your heavens as iron [yielding no answer, no blessing, no rain] and your earth [as sterile] as brass.
For the land which you go in to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you came out, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot laboriously as in a garden of vegetables. But the land which you enter to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water of the rain of the heavens,
And if you will diligently heed My commandments which I command you this day -- "to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being -- " I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. read more. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, that you may eat and be full.
The heavens over your head shall be brass and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of your land powdered soil and dust; from the heavens it shall come down upon you until you are destroyed.
My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains and cling to the rock for want of shelter.
And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths wide as for the spring rain.
May he [Solomon as a type of King David's greater Son] be like rain that comes down upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.
In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.
Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool.
A continual dripping on a day of violent showers and a contentious woman are alike;
For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. read more. The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning; afterward you shall be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
Nor do they say in their hearts, Let us now reverently fear and worship the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the autumn and the spring rain in its season, Who reserves and keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Nor do they say in their hearts, Let us now reverently fear and worship the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the autumn and the spring rain in its season, Who reserves and keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Are there any among the false gods of the nations who can cause rain? Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers? Are You [alone] not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait [expectantly] for You, for You have made all these things [the heavens and the rain].
There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.
Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter or spring rain. It is the Lord Who makes lightnings which usher in the rain and give men showers, and grass to everyone in the field.
Then will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.
He also said to the crowds of people, When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, It is going to rain! And so it does.
So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.
Hastings
The Palestine year is divided roughly into two parts
Morish
Palestine differed from Egypt in that its vegetation was dependent on the rain from heaven, instead of having to be watered from the river. Rain fell regularly except when God withheld it in chastisement. De 11:11-17. We read of the 'early rain' and the 'latter rain.' The early rain was connected with the sowing of seed; the month Bul signifies 'rain,' which agrees with about our October; and the latter rain in spring (about our February). By recent statistics the seasons appear to have somewhat altered, and most rain now falls from November to March inclusive. It is also judged that the cutting down of trees to make charcoal has affected the fall of rain in some districts.
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But the land which you enter to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water of the rain of the heavens, A land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. read more. And if you will diligently heed My commandments which I command you this day -- "to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being -- " I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, that you may eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, lest your [minds and] hearts be deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, And the Lord's anger be kindled against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the land will not yield its fruit, and you perish quickly off the good land which the Lord gives you.
Smith
Rain.
In the Bible "early rain" signifies the rain of the autumn,
De 11:14
and "latter rain" the rain of spring.
For six months in the year, from May to October, no rain falls, the whole land becomes dry, parched and brown. The autumnal rains are eagerly looked for, to prepare the earth for the reception of the seed. These, the early rains, commence about the latter end of October continuing through November and December. January and February are the coldest months, and snow falls, sometimes to the depth of a foot or more, at Jerusalem, but it does not lie long; it is very seldom seen along the coast and in the low plains. Rain continues to fall more or less during the month of March it is very rare in April. Robinson observes that there are not, at the present day, "any particular periods of rain or succession of showers which might be regarded as distinct rainy seasons. The whole period from October to March now constitutes only one continued season of rain, without any regularly-intervening term of prolonged fine weather. Unless therefore, there has been some change in the climate, the early and the latter rains, for which the husbandman waited with longing, seem rather to hare implied the first showers of autumn--which revived the parched and thirsty soil and prepared it for the seed --and the later showers of spring, which continued to refresh and forward both the ripening crops and the vernal products of the fields."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue.
Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.
In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.
So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.
Watsons
RAIN, the vapours exhaled by the sun, which descend from the clouds to water the earth, Ec 11:3. The sacred writers often speak of the rain of the former and latter season, De 11:14; Ho 6:3. Twice in the year there generally fell plenty of rain in Judea; in the beginning of the civil year, about September or October; and half a year after, in the month of Abib, or March, which was the first month in the ecclesiastical or sacred year, whence it is called the latter rain in the first month, Joe 2:23. (See Canaan.) The ancient Hebrews compared elocution, and even learning or doctrine, to rain: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain," De 32:2.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.