Bible Dictionary: Frost

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Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Hebrews kerah, from its smoothness) Job 37:10 (R.V., "ice"); Genesis 31:40; Jeremiah 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" (Hebrews kephor, so called from its covering the ground) is mentioned in Exodus 16:14; Job 38:29; Psalm 147:16.

In Psalm 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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The act of freezing; -- applied chiefly to the congelation of water; congelation of fluids.

2. (n.) The state or temperature of the air which occasions congelation, or the freezing of water; severe cold or freezing weather.

3. (v. i.) Frozen dew; -- called also hoarfrost or white frost.

4. (v. i.) Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.

5. (v. t.) To injure by frost; to freeze, as plants.

6. (v. t.) To cover with hoarfrost; to produce a surface resembling frost upon, as upon cake, metals, or glass.

7. (v. t.) To roughen or sharpen, as the nail heads or calks of horseshoes, so as to fit them for frosty weather.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

FROST

frost (kephor, "hoar-frost," Exodus 16:14 Job 38:29; chanamal, perhaps "the aphis," Psalm 78:47; qerach, "cold," Genesis 31:40 Job 37:10 the King James Version; Jeremiah 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" (Genesis 31:40); "In the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost" (Jeremiah 36:30; compare Jeremiah 22:19), a passage which suggests that Jehoiakim's corpse was left unburied.

3. In Egypt:

The meaning of chanamal, translated "frost" in Psalm 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" (Exodus 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" (Psalm 78:47); "He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes" (Psalm 147:16).

Alfred H. Joy

Greek

2930. krustallos -- crystal
... Word Origin from kruos (frost) Definition crystal NASB Word Usage crystal
(2). crystal. From a derivative of kruos (frost); ice, ie ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2930.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

2602. chanamel -- perhaps frost
... 2601, 2602. chanamel. 2603 . perhaps frost. Transliteration: chanamel
Phonetic Spelling: (khan-aw-mawl') Short Definition: frost. ...
/hebrew/2602.htm - 5k

7140. qerach -- frost, ice
... 7139, 7140. qerach. 7141 . frost, ice. Transliteration: qerach Phonetic Spelling:
(keh'-rakh) Short Definition: ice. ... crystal, frost, ice. ...
/hebrew/7140.htm - 6k

3713. kphowr -- a bowl
... 3712, 3713. kphowr. 3713a . a bowl. Transliteration: kphowr Phonetic Spelling:
(kef-ore') Short Definition: bason. bason, hoary frost ...
/hebrew/3713.htm - 5k

3713b. kephor -- hoarfrost
... hoarfrost. Transliteration: kephor Short Definition: frost. Word Origin from the
same as kephor Definition hoarfrost NASB Word Usage frost (3). 3713a, 3713b. ...
/hebrew/3713b.htm - 5k

Library

Keep the Fire Burning While the Frost Lasts!
... XLVI. KEEP THE FIRE BURNING WHILE THE FROST LASTS! Many railway travellers ...
kept burning? This is a time of spiritual frost. What ...
//christianbookshelf.org/champness/broken bread/xlvi keep the fire burning.htm

It is Written that in Our Lord's Passion There was Darkness Over ...
... There shall be cold and frost in one day, and that day known to the Lord; and it
shall be neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light ...
/.../24 it is written that.htm

What May Hinder a Man in this Inebriation
... And in this season, that is to say, in this state, hoar-frost and fog often harm
such men; for it is just in the middle of May according to the course of the ...
/.../john/the adornment of the spritual marriage/chapter xx what may hinder.htm

Caph.
... But when spiritual desires burn, carnal desires without doubt cool: on this account
followeth, "Since I am become like a bottle in the frost, I do not forget ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/caph.htm

Of the Spiritual Girdle and Its Mystical Meaning.
... are found to be destroyed, and who sing with might and main this utterance of the
blessed David: "For I am become like a bottle in the frost," [670] because ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter xi of the spiritual.htm

Letter F
... Frink, Elislia "Received 1822, Located 1828 * Frink, Hiram W. "Received 1837 * Frink,
Silas "Received 1823, Located 1831 * Frost, William "Received 1809 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter f.htm

The Consulship of Eutropius
... The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,. And bears his blushing honours thick
upon him; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost. Henry VIII., iii.2. ...
/.../chapter xxiv the consulship of.htm

The Empty Throne Filled
... But, just as men will frost a window, so that the light may come in but the sight
cannot go out, so by our own fault and misuse of the good things which are ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the empty throne filled.htm

Wesley in the Fens
... 2)that the bohea is much tenderer thanthe green; 3) that the green is an evergreen
and bears, not only in the open air, but in the frost, perfectly well; 4 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/wesley/the journal of john wesley/wesley in the fens.htm

Knox and Queen Mary (Continued), 1564-1567
... An offended Deity now sent frost in January 1564, and an aurora borealis in February,
Knox tells us, and "the threatenings of the preachers were fearful," in ...
/.../lang/john knox and the reformation/chapter xvii knox and queen.htm

Thesaurus

Frost (9 Occurrences)
... 1:22. "At the present day frost is entirely unknown in ... In Psalm 78:47 the word rendered
"frost" (RV marg., "great hail-stones"), hanamal, occurs only there. ...
/f/frost.htm - 14k

Hoar-frost (3 Occurrences)
Hoar-frost. Hoarfrost, Hoar-frost. Hoary . Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia
HOAR-FROST; HOARY. hor'-frost. See FROST. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/h/hoar-frost.htm - 7k

Hoarfrost (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The white particles formed by the congelation of
dew; white frost. Int. ... HOAR-FROST; HOARY. hor'-frost. See FROST. ...
/h/hoarfrost.htm - 7k

Hoary (10 Occurrences)
... HOAR; HOARY. hor, hor'-i. See COLOR (8); HAIR. HOAR-FROST; HOARY. hor'-frost. See
FROST. ... and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? (KJV ASV DBY WBS). ...
/h/hoary.htm - 9k

Ice (20 Occurrences)
... resembling ice. 6. (vt) To cover with icing, or frosting made of sugar and
milk or white of egg; to frost, as cakes, tarts, etc. 7. (vt ...
/i/ice.htm - 13k

Nip (1 Occurrence)
... 4. (vt) Hence: To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy. ...
9. (n.) A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost. 10. ...
/n/nip.htm - 7k

Manna (19 Occurrences)
... meaning "to allot," and hence denoting an "allotment" or a "gift." This "gift" from
God is described as "a small round thing," like the "hoar-frost on the ...
/m/manna.htm - 21k

Sycomore (3 Occurrences)
... stood near there. It is a tree which cannot flourish in the cooler mountain
heights; it cannot stand frost (Psalm 78:47). It was ...
/s/sycomore.htm - 10k

Sycamore (9 Occurrences)
... At Jericho, Zacchaeus climbed a sycomore-tree to see Jesus as he passed by (Luke
19:4). This tree was easily destroyed by frost (Psalm 78:47), and therefore it ...
/s/sycamore.htm - 10k

Stake (2 Occurrences)
... The King James Version Sirach 43:19, "The hoar frost,.... being congealed,
lieth on the top of sharp stakes," is of course meaningless. ...
/s/stake.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Frost (9 Occurrences)

Genesis 31:40 This was my situation: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Exodus 16:14 When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 37:10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
(KJV WBS YLT)

Job 38:29 Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Psalms 147:16 He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 148:8 Fire and rain of ice, snow and mists; storm-wind, doing his word:
(See RSV)

Jeremiah 36:30 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on 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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 14:6 It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost.
(WEB RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Frost

Related Terms

Hoar-frost (3 Occurrences)

Hoarfrost (3 Occurrences)

Hoary (10 Occurrences)

Ice (20 Occurrences)

Nip (1 Occurrence)

Manna (19 Occurrences)

Sycomore (3 Occurrences)

Sycamore (9 Occurrences)