2 Samuel 22:8
in 2 Samuel 22Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the earth shook and trembled, The foundations of heaven quaked And were shaken, because he was wroth.
KJV
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 22
Commentary
3 notes on this verseWe do not find that in any of David's battles God fought for him with thunder (as in Samuel's time), or with hail (as in Joshua's time), or with the stars in their courses (as in Deborah's time); but these lofty metaphors are used, [1.] To set forth the glory of God, which was manifested in his deliverance.
This site's exposition
the earth shook and trembled
on 2 Samuel 22:8-10
The earth shook and trembled answers Sinai, where the ground trembled under God's descent at the giving of the law, and the song borrows that theophany's language to describe the rescue of a single man. Smoke out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth are storm imagery for a king riding to battle for his servant, not a description meant to be read as literal anatomy. He bowed the heavens also, and came down repeats the verb of Sinai's own descent, and Matthew Henry reads the whole section as built from Israel's founding memory of God appearing in the storm.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. See Gill on Psa 18:7.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתְגָּעַ֤שׁ | vatgaash | and it shook back and forth | H1607 → | |
| וַתִּרְעַשׁ֙ | vatirash | and it quaked | H7493 → | |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מוֹסְד֥וֹת | mosdot | [the] foundations of | H4146 → | |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| יִרְגָּ֑זוּ | yirgazu | they trembled | H7264 → | 41 times |
| וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁ֖וּ | vaiyitgaashu | and they shook back and forth | H1607 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָ֥רָה | charah | it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | to <the> him |
וַיִּתְגָּעַ֤שׁand it shook back and forth
vatgaashH1607 →
וַתִּרְעַשׁ֙and it quaked
vatirashH7493 →
הָאָ֔רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
מוֹסְד֥וֹת[the] foundations of
mosdotH4146 →
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
יִרְגָּ֑זוּthey trembled
yirgazuH7264 →41 times
וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁ֖וּand they shook back and forth
vaiyitgaashuH1607 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָ֥רָהit burned
charahH2734 →91 times
לֽוֹ׃to <the> him
lo
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 97:4His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
it leads to
- Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 77:18
Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.
- Exodus 19:16–18
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
- Revelation 11:19
Through
Judges 5:4O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:2
He said: “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned upon us from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at His right hand.
- Deuteronomy 33:2
Through
Psalms 18:7Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
it leads to
- Psalms 68:7–8
O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wasteland, Selah
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 5:4
O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 4:31
After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
- Psalms 68:7–8
Through
Job 26:11The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:8
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth…
- 1 Samuel 2:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.