Hebrew word · H7460

רָעַד

mar'idim

to tremble

rāʿad: 'tremble, quake, shake'. Rare in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 104:32, the earth trembles; Ezra 10:9). This participle form describes continuing shaking.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to tremble, quake

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to tremble

1a2) (earth)quake

1b) (Hiphil) trembling (participle)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 10:11

Range of meaning

rāʿad: 'tremble, quake, shake'. Rare in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 104:32, the earth trembles; Ezra 10:9). This participle form describes continuing shaking.

Against the English

All versions 'trembling'. Accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezra 10:9: the people sat in the temple square 'trembling (marʿîdîm) because of the matter and because of the rain', the only other occurrence of this form.

From the study of Psalm 104:32

Range of meaning

To tremble, shake, quake. The verb is rare: only here, Ezra 10:9 (people trembling over a matter and the rain), and Daniel 10:11 (Daniel trembling before the angel). Related nouns are reʿādāh and raʿad, "trembling" (Exodus 15:15; Psalm 2:11; 48:6; 55:5; Isaiah 33:14).

Against the English

"Trembles" (all major versions) is accurate. The word is used for the shaking of fear in front of something overwhelming, so the earth's quaking here reads almost as if the earth were a creature shuddering in God's presence.

Used elsewhere in the period

The noun is used for the panic of nations at the Exodus (Exodus 15:15) and the 'trembling' that grips kings at Zion (Psalm 48:6). Other Hebrew texts about God appearing use similar verbs for the earth shaking (Judges 5:4; Psalm 18:7; 97:4; Exodus 19:18, where the verb is ḥārad). The Septuagint has τρέμειν, "to tremble".

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 10:9 מַרְעִידִ֥ים trembling

    So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 104:32 וַתִּרְעָ֑ד and it trembled

    He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smolder.

    Here: "And it trembles." The verb form shows result: the shaking follows from the look as soon as it happens. It is a strong word for shuddering or quaking, used of people trembling in fear (Ezra 10:9; Daniel 10:11) and here of the ground itself.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 10:11 מַרְעִֽיד׃ trembling

    He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.

    Here: 'Trembling, shaking.' A rare verb (the same form describes the shivering crowd in Ezra 10:9). Daniel obeys but is still shaking. The fear has not gone, and the angel speaks to it in the next verse ('Do not be afraid').

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.