עָנָן

From the study of Psalm 97:2

Range of meaning

Cloud, whether ordinary weather or the cloud of God's presence (the pillar of cloud, the cloud on the tabernacle, the cloud filling the temple).

Against the English

Translated 'clouds'. That is accurate, though the plural in most versions slightly blurs the single, defined Sinai cloud.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 13:21 (pillar of cloud); Exod 19:9, 16 (thick cloud on Sinai); Exod 40:34–35; 1 Kgs 8:10–11 (the cloud fills the temple).

From the study of Psalm 105:39

Range of meaning

Ordinary cloud (Gen 9:13–16). Most often in the Pentateuch it is the theophanic cloud, the cloud through which God shows himself: it leads the march (Exod 13:21), stands between Israel and Egypt (Exod 14:19–20), covers Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16; 24:15–18), fills and rests on the tabernacle (Exod 40:34–38; Num 9:15–23), and is the place God speaks from (Num 12:5).

Against the English

'Cloud' is accurate. A modern reader may picture weather. An Israelite heard 'the cloud', the visible sign that God was present and travelling with them.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 10:34: 'the cloud of the LORD was over them by day'. Neh 9:12, 19 and Ps 78:14 retell the same tradition. Wisdom of Solomon 10:17 and 19:7 speak of the cloud that 'overshadowed the camp'. 1 Cor 10:1–2: 'our fathers were all under the cloud.'

From the study of Jeremiah 4:13

Range of meaning

Cloud in general: rain cloud, storm cloud, a cloud mass covering the sky. It is often used of God's presence (the cloud on Sinai, the pillar of cloud, the cloud filling the temple). In poetry it pictures a mass that covers a land, and it belongs to 'the day of the LORD', a 'day of cloud and thick darkness' (Zeph 1:15; Joel 2:2; Ezek 30:3).

Against the English

English 'clouds' is accurate, but readers may picture soft or fair-weather clouds. The picture here is a dark storm front piling up over the horizon.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 38:9, 16 describes Gog's invading army as 'like a cloud covering the land'. Nah 1:3 says of God: 'clouds are the dust of his feet'. Ps 104:3 says he 'makes the clouds his chariot'. Isa 19:1 has the LORD 'riding on a swift cloud' into Egypt. The LXX of this verse has the singular, 'like a cloud' (νεφέλη).