Scripture: Job 36:27–29; Job 26:8; Job 37:11, 16; Job 38:22–29, 34–37; Ecclesiastes 1:7; Amos 9:6
Job describes water being drawn up, held in clouds and returned to the earth as rain, snow, hail and dew: a picture of the water cycle.
Job has more on the water cycle than any other book. God "draws up the drops of water" that "distill as rain" (36:27–28); binds the waters in clouds that "do not burst" (26:8); loads the clouds with moisture and balances them (37:11, 16); gives the wind its weight and decrees the rain (28:25–26); and keeps storehouses of snow and hail, fathering rain, dew, ice and frost (38:22–29). Ecclesiastes 1:7 and Amos 9:6 add rivers running to the sea and the sea's waters poured back on the land. Together these match evaporation, condensation, cloud formation and precipitation. Greek thinkers also described the cycle: Xenophanes (6th century BCE) called the sea the source of clouds, winds and rivers, and Aristotle explained evaporation and rain in the 4th century BCE.
