Hebrew word · H7482

רַ֫עַם

ra'am

thunder

Ra'am is thunder (Ps 77:18; 104:7, where the waters flee 'at the sound of your thunder'). Ra'ash is a shaking or quaking: an earthquake (Amos 1:1; Zech 14:5; 1 Kgs 19:11), but also the rumble of chariots or the clatter of battle (Jer 47:3; Job 39:24).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

thunder

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 Isaiah 29:6

Range of meaning

Ra'am is thunder (Ps 77:18; 104:7, where the waters flee 'at the sound of your thunder'). Ra'ash is a shaking or quaking: an earthquake (Amos 1:1; Zech 14:5; 1 Kgs 19:11), but also the rumble of chariots or the clatter of battle (Jer 47:3; Job 39:24).

Against the English

Every major English version has 'thunder and earthquake'. That is accurate, but it cannot carry the near-rhyme of the Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

Storm and earthquake together form the standard picture of God appearing in person: Sinai (Exod 19:16–18), the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:4–5), Ps 18:7–15, Hab 3. In the Ugaritic texts (Canaan, about 1300 BC), Baal's thunder 'voice' makes the earth shake. Israel's poets used the same storm language to claim that Yahweh, not Baal, rules the storm. 'Thunder, voices, earthquake' appears again in Revelation (8:5; 11:19; 16:18).

From the study of Job 26:14

Range of meaning

Thunder. Also loud rumbling or war-shouting ('the thunder of the captains', Job 39:25). The related verb means 'to thunder'.

Against the English

All major versions have 'thunder'. The word is not misleading, but modern readers may hear only weather. Ancient hearers heard a voice.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Israel thunder is God's voice: 'The God of glory thunders' (Psalm 29:3); 'God thunders wondrously with his voice' (Job 37:5); 'Can you thunder with a voice like his?' (Job 40:9). Psalm 77:18 and 104:7 speak of the 'voice of your thunder' rebuking the waters. In Canaanite texts from Ugarit, the storm-god Baal 'gives his voice' in the clouds. Israel's poets took over this imagery for YHWH.

Where it appears

Job · 2

  1. Job 26:14 וְרַ֥עַם and [the] thunder of

    Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?”

    Here: 'But the thunder'. The 'and' here works as a contrast. Thunder was heard in Israel as God's own voice (Psalm 29; Job 37:4–5), the opposite of a whisper.

  2. Job 39:25 רַ֥עַם [the] thunder of

    At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shouts of captains and the cry of war.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 77:18 רַעַמְךָ֨׀ thunder your

    Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

    Here: 'Your thunder': the storm belongs to God and is spoken of as his personal possession and act, not a neutral weather event.

  2. Psalm 81:7 רַ֑עַם thunder

    You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the cloud of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

    Here: 'Thunder': the sound of God's storm presence, recalling the thunder, lightning and thick cloud at Sinai and the storm at the sea (Psalm 77:18). The main pause in the verse falls here.

  3. Psalm 104:7 רַֽ֝עַמְךָ֗ thunder your

    At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

    Here: "Your thunder." This half of the line explains the first: the rebuke is heard as thunder. The image is God as the storm-King whose voice booms across the sky.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 29:6 בְּרַ֥עַם with thunder

    you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.

    Here: 'With thunder.' Thunder was heard as Yahweh's voice (Ps 29; Ps 18:13). It is the first of the storm signs that announce the divine warrior's arrival.

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