2 Samuel 22:12
in 2 Samuel 22He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
KJV
And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 22
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
He mounted a cherub and flew
on 2 Samuel 22:11-12
“He mounted a cherub and flew”, a chariot picture later prophets develop. Adam Clarke notes that the sound of the Hebrew line matches its sense, wind rushing under the words. God makes darkness a canopy around Him, “a gathering of water and thick clouds”, and advances hidden inside the storm.
This site's exposition
a gathering of water
The Berean Standard Bible reads a gathering of water, where John Gill's King James text reads dark waters, the wording of Psalm 18:11. The two books keep the line in slightly different words. Either way the rain cloud hides God as He comes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. See Gill on Psa 18:11.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
He put [a protective] darkness around. For [protective] cover as it says, "The pillar of cloud and the darkness separated between Mitzrayim and Yisroel." 12 See Shemos:20.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
From the brightness before Him. You should not conclude that He dwells in darkness. I.e., because the previous verse mentioned darkness in connection with God. Furthermore, the verse here is describing punishment meted out to Yisroel’s enemies. The verse is telling us that the punishment’s source is light.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֥שֶׁת | vaiyashet | and he put | H7896 → | 83 times |
| חֹ֛שֶׁךְ | choshekh | darkness | H2822 → | |
| סְבִיבֹתָ֖יו | sevivotav | around him | H5439 → | 336 times |
| סֻכּ֑וֹת | sukot | shelters | H5521 → | |
| חַֽשְׁרַת־ | chashrat- | a sieve of | H2841 → | |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עָבֵ֥י | ʾavei | dark clouds of | H5645 → | |
| שְׁחָקִֽים׃ | shechakim | clouds | H7834 → |
וַיָּ֥שֶׁתand he put
vaiyashetH7896 →83 times
חֹ֛שֶׁךְdarkness
choshekhH2822 →
סְבִיבֹתָ֖יוaround him
sevivotavH5439 →336 times
סֻכּ֑וֹתshelters
sukotH5521 →
חַֽשְׁרַת־a sieve of
chashrat-H2841 →
מַ֖יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
עָבֵ֥יdark clouds of
ʾaveiH5645 →
שְׁחָקִֽים׃clouds
shechakimH7834 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 27:5For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 31:20
You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.
- Psalms 138:7
If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
- Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
- Proverbs 18:10
Through
Psalms 97:2Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
it leads to
- Psalms 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
- Exodus 19:9
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in…
- Proverbs 16:12
Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.
- Psalms 89:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).