Bible Dictionary
WEATHER
The Bible has no single Hebrew word corresponding exactly to “weather.” It describes clear skies, cold days, storms, heat, and changing conditions, and Jesus used weather signs to rebuke spiritual blindness.
Definition
Weather describes atmospheric conditions such as clear skies, cold, storms, heat, and changing conditions. The Bible has no single Hebrew word corresponding exactly to the English term weather.
Biblical Usage
Jesus referred to red evening and morning skies when rebuking people who could interpret natural signs but lacked spiritual foresight.
Historical Background
Weather in Palestine is less variable by season than in colder countries, but conditions on a particular day are difficult to predict because of the proximity of mountains, desert, and sea.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>weth'-er (zahabh (Job 37:22), yom (Pr 25:20), translated "day"; eudia, "clear sky," cheimon, "tempest"): In the East it is not customary to talk of the weather as in the West. There seems to be no word in the Hebrew corresponding to "weather." In Job 37:22 the King James Version translates "Fair weather comes out of the north," but the Revised Version (British and American) translates more literally, "Out of the north cometh golden splendor." "As one that taketh off a garment in cold weather (or literally, "on a cold day"), .... so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart" (Pr 25:20).</p><p>Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their lack of spiritual foresight when they took such interest in natural foresight. He said, "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the heaven is red and lowering" (Mt 16:2,3). The general conditions of the weather in the different seasons are less variable in Palestine than in colder countries, but the precise weather for a given day is very hard to predict on account of the proximity of the mountains, the desert and the sea.</p><p>Alfred H. Joy</p>