37:10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.
37:18 will you, with him, spread out 1 the clouds,
solid as a mirror of molten metal?
38:30 when the waters become hard 2 like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
1 tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.
2 tn Several suggest that the verb is not from חָבָא (khava’, “to hide”) but from a homonym, “to congeal.” This may be too difficult to support, however.