Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
Parallel Translations
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Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
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Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
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Then the earth did shake and quake, the foundations of heaven did tremble; they were shaken, because He was wroth.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 22:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke.
- Psalms 97:4 His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
- Judges 5:4 “Yahweh, when you went out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water.
- Psalms 77:18 The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.
- Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry.
- Matthew 28:2 Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
- Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, yes, the world, and all who dwell in it.
- Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
- Habakkuk 3:6-11 He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled. Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation? You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in the sky, at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.
- Matthew 27:51 Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Through the brightness before him were coals of fire…
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. See Gill on Psa 18:12.
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2 Samuel 22:14
sa2 22:14
sa2 22:14
sa2 22:14The Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. See Gill on Psa 18:13.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Quakes and shakes — There is a similar…
8. Quakes and shakes — There is a similar play upon the words in the Hebrew — gaash and raash. From this verse on to 2Sa_22:17, the poet pictures his deliverance by the imagery of a sublime theophany drawn from the history of the scene at Sinai. Compare Exo_19:16-21. So overwhelming was David’s subjective view of the magnitude and grandeur of his deliverance from all his foes, that in his gratitude and glory he finds no ordinary language adequate to express his emotions of triumphant joy. We are not to understand that this sublime theophany was a literal historical fact in David’s life, but rather a highly-wrought poetical picture of his many and great deliverances as they were apprehended by his soul at a moment of great spiritual exultation.
Foundations of the heavens — A stronger expression than foundation of the hills, used in the corresponding passage in Psalms 18. The ideal pillars which support the skies are supposed to move and quake when God comes down in anger to smite David’s wicked enemies.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. shook and trembled] The paronomasia of the original…
8. shook and trembled] The paronomasia of the original may be preserved by translating, and the earth did shake and quake.
the foundations of heaven] The mountains on which the vault of heaven seems to rest: cp. “the pillars of heaven” (Job_26:11): or perhaps the universe is regarded as a vast building, without any precise application of the details of the metaphor. See note on 1Sa_2:8. For heaven Psa_18:7 reads “the mountains.”
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8–16. The manifestation of Jehovah for the discomfiture of David’s enemies
Earthquake and storm are regarded as the visible manifestations of Divine Power: and therefore God’s interposition for the deliverance of His servant from the perils that surrounded him is described as accompanied by terrible phenomena in nature. We have here an ideal description of a Theophany, based on the description of the Theophany at Sinai. See Exo_19:16-18; and cp. Psa_68:8; Psa_77:16-18; Jdg_5:4-5. It is not indeed impossible that David refers to some occasion when his enemies were scattered by the breaking of a terrible storm (cp. Jos_10:11; 1Sa_7:10): but we have no record of such an event having actually happened in his life; and in any case the picture is designed to serve as a description of God’s intervention for his deliverance in general, and not upon any single occasion. His power was exerted as really and truly as if all these extraordinary natural phenomena had visibly attested His Advent.
The earthquake (2Sa_22:8); the distant lightnings (2Sa_22:9); the gathering darkness of the storm (2Sa_22:10-12); the final outburst of its fury (2Sa_22:13-16); are pictured in regular succession.
Psalms 29 may be compared as illustrating David’s sense of the grandeur and significance of natural phenomena.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Of heaven.—Psalms 18, “of the hills.” The thought…
(8) Of heaven.—Psalms 18, “of the hills.” The thought is the same, but the strong poetic figure by which the mountains are spoken of as “the pillars of heaven” (comp. Job_26:11) is softened in the psalm.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of…
Vers. 8-10.
And the earth quaked and trembled; The foundations of the heavens shook, And quaked because he was wroth. A smoke went up in his nostril,
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And fire out of his mouth devoured; Red hot cinders burned from him. And he bowed the heavens and came down, And darkness was under his feet.
In describing the manifestation of God for his deliverance, David bore in mind and repeated the description of God"s descent to earth given in Exo_19:16, Exo_19:18. But the poetic vigour of David"s imagination intensities the imagery, and makes it more grand and startling. Not merely is there the earthquake and the volcano and the storm cloud, but the dim form of the Almighty is present, with the smoke of just anger at unrighteousness ascending from his nostrils, and the lightnings flashing forth to execute his wrath. But David certainly intended that these metaphors should remain ideal; and it was quite unnecessary for the Targum carefully to eliminate all such expressions as seem to give the Almighty bureau shape. In so doing it merely changes poetry into prose. But even more dull and commonplace is the explanation given by some modern commentators, that all that is meant is that David was once saved by a thunderstorm from some danger or other. Really this glorious imagery, taken from all that is grandest on earth, is intended to magnify to us the spiritual conception of God"s justice coming forth to visit the earth and do right and equity. In ver. 8 for "the foundations of the heavens," we find in Psa_18:7 "the foundations of the hills." The former is the grander metaphor, and signifies the mighty mountain ranges, like those of Lebanon, on which the skies seem to rest. The smoke signifies hailstorms and, perhaps, also the rain driven in wreaths along the ground by the wind. Red hot cinders burned from him describes the flashing lightnings that were shot forth like the coals from the refiner"s furnace when heated to the full. It is to be regretted that the Revised Version retains the bathos of the old rendering, that God"s fiery breath set coals on fire.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
David's song to Yahweh continues. He uses parallelism to emphasize what he is saying. (See: Parallelism)
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Then the earth shook ... were ignited by it
This is Yahweh's response to David's cry for help from his enemies. David uses the imagery of the earth shaking and fire coming from Yahweh to emphasize Yahweh's terrible anger. (See: Metaphor)
earth shook ... heavens trembled
David speaks of the two extremes to include everything in creation. (See: Merism)
and were shaken, because God was angry
This can be stated in active form. AT: "because God's anger shook them" (See: Active or Passive)
his nostrils ... his mouth
David speaks of Yahweh as if he had these humans parts. (See: Personification)
Coals were ignited by it
Here Yahweh's anger is compared to fire, which causes coals to ignite and burn. AT: "The flame from his mouth set coals on fire" or "He also sent burning coals from his mouth" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
earth
found
heaven
anger
fire
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:8-20 David vividly expands on how God heard him…
22:8-20 David vividly expands on how God heard him (22:7). David describes God’s rescue as a theophany (manifestation of God’s presence; see study notes on Exod 19:16-25; Deut 1:33) that recalls God’s manifestation at Sinai (Exod 19:16-20; cp. Judg 5:4-5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.