2 Samuel 22:13
in 2 Samuel 22From the brightness of His presence coals of fire blazed forth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.
KJV
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 22
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
were coals of fire kindled
on 2 Samuel 22:13-16
The brightness before him kindles coals of fire, and thunder and lightning follow as his weapons, arrows and lightning to discomfit them, language that turns the storm itself into an army. The channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered echoes the exodus, ground laid bare that no eye should have seen, at the rebuking of the Lord. Matthew Henry calls it God appearing in a singular and extraordinary manner for David and against his enemies, built from the vocabulary Israel already kept for God in the storm and at the sea.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. See Gill on Psa 18:12.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
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.
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
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִנֹּ֖גַהּ | minogah | from [the] brightness | H5051 → | |
| נֶגְדּ֑וֹ | negdo | before him | H5048 → | 151 times |
| בָּעֲר֖וּ | baaru | they burned | H1197 → | 94 times |
| גַּחֲלֵי־ | gachalei- | coals of | H1513 → | 18 times |
| אֵֽשׁ׃ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
מִנֹּ֖גַהּfrom [the] brightness
minogahH5051 →
נֶגְדּ֑וֹbefore him
negdoH5048 →151 times
בָּעֲר֖וּthey burned
baaruH1197 →94 times
גַּחֲלֵי־coals of
gachalei-H1513 →18 times
אֵֽשׁ׃fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
2 Samuel 22:9Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Psalms 18:15
The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
- Psalms 18:8
Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.
- Job 41:20–21
Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
- Jeremiah 5:14
Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts says: “Because you have spoken this word, I will make My words a fire in your mouth and this people the wood it consumes.
- Hebrews 12:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.