איוב, פרק ל״ז, פסוק ט׳

The fierce forces of nature, with their violent storms and deep cold, do not act at random. They operate with a wondrous order, directed from hidden places established in advance by God. Extreme weather is divided into two opposing forces, each emerging from a distinct source.

Storms emerge from a specific dwelling place. Some explain that this refers to a hidden chamber or the cloud itself where the wind is formed and stored before it erupts [רלב"ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, the primary approach among commentators is that this hidden origin refers to the south, the direction from which the greatest tempests arrive. A unique perspective argues that this source actually symbolizes the east, a region characterized by the constant movement of winds [תקות אנוש].

The fierce winter cold arrives from an entirely different origin. One approach views it as a special storehouse where the cold is kept until God releases it into the world [רש"י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective focuses on the action of the wind itself, describing powerful northern winds that scatter clouds and vapor, bringing a strong chill [רלב"ג, מלבי"ם, אבן עזרא, אלשיך]. This force acts like a sweeping current or a spreading net that overtakes the land [רלב"ג, מלבי"ם, אבן עזרא].

A third explanation, shared by many commentators, identifies the source of the cold as the stars or heavenly constellations. This includes specific star clusters or the twelve signs that rule the months of the year. These celestial bodies reside in dark regions far from the warming light of the sun, and it is their distant, heavenly influence that sends deep cold down to the earth [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, רמב"ן, תקות אנוש, אבן עזרא].