To rain
מָטַרStrong’s H4305matar (ma-tar)
Appears in 14 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Matar is the Hebrew word usually translated “rained down”, “about to rain down” and “had caused rain”. It appears in 14 verses of the Old Testament.
“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.”
Meaning
- To rain(Niphal) to be rained on or upon · (Hiphil)
How it's translated
- and he rained down 3
- about to rain down 2
- he had caused rain 1
- about to bring rain 1
- he caused to rain 1
- and he will send rain 1
- to send rain 1
- he will rain down 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Genesis 3
- Exodus 3
- Psalms 3
- Job 2
- Isaiah 1
- Ezekiel 1
7 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Genesis 7:4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
- Genesis 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
- Exodus 9:18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
- Exodus 9:23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 16:4Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
- Job 20:23When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Hebrew dictionary
מָטַר matar · to rain
1) to rain 1a) (Niphal) to be rained on or upon 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to rain, send rain 1b2) to rain hail, send hail
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “rain” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
RAIN, verb intransitive
[It seems that rain is contracted from regen. It is the Gr. to rain to water, which we retain in brook, and the Latins, by dropping the prefix, in rigo, irrigo, to irrigate. The primary sense is to pour out, to drive forth. Heb.]
- To fall in drops from the clouds, as water; used mostly with it for a nominative; as, it rains; it will rain; it rained, or it has rained.
- To fall or drop like rain; as, tears rained at their eyes.
All definitions and other forms of “rain”
RAIN, verb transitive
To pour or shower down from the upper regions, like rain from the clouds.
- “Then said the Lord to Moses, behold I will rain bread from heaven for you” Exodus 16:4“God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating” Job 20:23“Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and horrible tempest” Psalms 11:6
RAIN, noun
The descent of water in drops from the clouds; or the water thus falling. rain is distinguished from mist, by the size of the drops, which are distinctly visible. When water falls in very small drops or particles, we call it mist, and fog is composed of particles so fine as to be not only indistinguishable, but to float or be suspended in the air.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.