H4306 H4306
rain — precipitation sent or withheld by God, viewed as blessing on the land or instrument of judgment
Matar is the standard Hebrew noun for rain, appearing 38 times across law, prophecy, wisdom, and poetry. Unlike geshem, which emphasizes rain as a weather event, matar foregrounds rain as a theological reality — something given and withheld by the Lord. Deuteronomy 11:14 promises 'I will give the rain of your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain,' while verse 17 warns that disobedience will cause God to 'shut up the heavens so there will be no rain.' Elijah's confrontation with Baal worship is framed by matar: 'there shall be neither dew nor rain these years' (1 Kgs 17:1), culminating in the dramatic return of rain on Carmel (1 Kgs 18:1). The cognates are pan-Semitic — Arabic matar, Aramaic mitra, Sabaic mtr — placing this word among the oldest shared vocabulary of the ancient Near East.
1. rain, showers — Rain or showers as precipitation from the sky, predominantly framed as divinely bestowed agricultural blessing or withheld as covenantal punishment. The characteristic formula is natan matar ('to give rain,' Deut 11:14; 28:12; 1 Kgs 8:36), pairing rainfall with divine sovereignty over the land. Paired with tal ('dew') in 1 Kings 17:1 and with yoreh and malqosh ('early and latter rains') in Deuteronomy 11:14. The Exodus plague narrative uses matar for the hail-storm: 'Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt' (Exod 9:33-34). Job 28:26 and 36:27 celebrate rain as evidence of divine wisdom in ordering creation. French 'pluie,' Spanish 'lluvia,' German 'Regen' all render it straightforwardly. 38×
AR["الْمَطَرُ", "لِ-المَطَرِ", "لِـ-المَطَرِ", "لِلْمَطَرِ", "مَطَراً", "مَطَرًا", "مَطَرٌ", "مَطَرَ", "وَابِلاً"]·ben["-বৃষ্টির-জন্য", "বৃষ্টি", "বৃষ্টিপাত", "বৃষ্টির-জন্য"]·DE["Regen", "[למטר]", "[מטר]", "der-Regen", "für-der-Regen"]·EN["for-the-rain", "rain", "shower", "the-rain", "to-the-rain"]·FR["[מטר]", "de-pluie", "la-pluie", "pluie", "à-pluie"]·heb["ה-מטר", "ל-מטר", "מטר"]·HI["वर्षा", "वर्षा-के-लिए"]·ID["hujan", "untuk-hujan"]·IT["al-pioggia", "il-pioggia", "pioggia"]·jav["jawah", "kanggo-jawah", "kanggé-jawah", "udan"]·KO["그-비가", "비", "비-가", "비-를-위하여", "비-에게", "비가", "비도", "비를", "비에게", "비처럼"]·PT["a-chuva", "chuva", "chuva-para", "de-chuva", "para-a-chuva"]·RU["для-дождя", "дождь", "дождя", "у-дождя"]·ES["la-lluvia", "lluvia", "lluvia-de", "para-la-lluvia"]·SW["juu-ya", "kwa-mvua", "mvua", "watakuwa-wamekukosea", "ya-mvua"]·TR["yagmur", "yağmur", "yağmur-için-", "yağmura", "yağmurdur", "yağmuru", "yağmurun"]·urd["بارش", "بارش کا", "بارش-کے-لیے", "مینھ"]
Exod 9:33, Exod 9:34, Deut 11:11, Deut 11:14, Deut 11:17, Deut 28:12, Deut 28:24, Deut 32:2, 1 Sam 12:17, 1 Sam 12:18, 2 Sam 1:21, 2 Sam 23:4 (+26 more)
Senses
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)H1259 1. hail (weather phenomenon) (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מָטָר n.m. Ex 9:33 rain (Assyrian meṭru, DlHWB 406; Arabic مَطَرٌ; Sab. (Min.) מטר HomChrestom. 127, Aramaic מִטְרָא, ܡܶܛܪܳܐ );—מ׳ Ex 9:33 + 30 times; cstr. מְטַר Dt 11:11 + 5 times; pl.cstr. מִטְרוֹת Jb 37:6;—rain, as watering earth, especially Canaan, Dt 11:11 מ׳ הַשָּׁמַיִם; as blessing sent (vb. usually נָתַן) and withheld by י׳, Dt 11:14 (‖ יוֹרֶה, מַלְקוֹשׁ); v 17 (here מְ׳ אַרְצְכֶם);…