Hebrew word · H7494

רַ֫עַשׁ

ra'ash

quaking

Shaking or quaking, and the roar that goes with it: earthquake, the clatter and thunder of chariots, the rattle of weapons.

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) quaking, rattling, shaking

1a) earthquake

1b) quaking, trembling (of person)

1c) shaking, quivering (of dart)

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 Ezekiel 3:12

Range of meaning

Shaking or quaking, and the roar that goes with it: earthquake, the clatter and thunder of chariots, the rattle of weapons.

Against the English

KJV and WEB: "a great rushing". BSB: "a great rumbling sound". Other versions use "earthquake". "Rushing" brings out speed, "earthquake" brings out shaking, and "rumbling" sits between the two.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kgs 19:11–12, where YHWH was not in the raʿaš (earthquake). Amos 1:1, "two years before the earthquake". Jer 47:3 and Nah 3:2 use it for the thunder of chariot wheels. Ezek 37:7 uses it for the rattling of the dry bones coming together.

From the study of Isaiah 9:5

Range of meaning

Quaking, shaking, trembling, and the rumble that goes with it. It is used of earthquakes and of the thunder of horses and chariots.

Against the English

KJV has 'confused noise', WEB 'noisy battle', YLT 'rushing'. BSB folds it into 'of battle', and ESV and NASB use 'battle tumult'. All of these move the word toward sound or toward war in general, and most lose the sense of the ground shaking.

How it drifted

'Confused noise' is older English for tumult and din. Today it sounds like a muddle, while the Hebrew word is about physical shaking.

Used elsewhere in the period

Earthquake: Amos 1:1; 1 Kings 19:11; Isaiah 29:6. Wheels and war: Jeremiah 47:3 and Nahum 3:2.

From the study of Zechariah 14:5

Range of meaning

Shaking, quaking, rumbling. Used of an earthquake (1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1), of the din of battle and chariots (Jer 47:3; Nah 3:2), and of the trembling of the earth when God appears (Isa 29:6; Ezek 38:19).

Against the English

'Earthquake' is right here because of the reference to Uzziah. But the word also carries the sense of the terror and noise of God coming, which 'earthquake' as a geology term does not.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 1:1 dates Amos's prophecy 'two years before the earthquake' in Uzziah's reign. Geologists have identified a major quake in the Levant around 760–750 BC, with destruction layers at Hazor and other sites (Austin, Franz & Frost 2000). Josephus (Antiquities 9.222–227) links it to Uzziah's sin in the temple. He says half a hill near En-rogel broke off and rolled about four furlongs, blocking the roads and the king's gardens.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 3

  1. 1 Kings 19:11 רַ֔עַשׁ בָרַ֖עַשׁ an earthquake, [was] in the earthquake

    Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

    Here: A shaking. It can be an earthquake (Amos 1:1) or a thunderous rumbling noise (Ezek 3:12–13). Both the ground trembling and the roar are in view.

  2. 1 Kings 19:12 הָרַ֙עַשׁ֙ the earthquake

    After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.

    Here: 'The quaking,' with the definite article because it was just mentioned in verse 11. The word covers any violent shaking: earthquakes, the rumble of chariots, the trembling of the earth when God appears (Judg 5:4; Ps 68:8).

Job · 2

  1. Job 39:24 בְּרַ֣עַשׁ with shaking

    Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.

  2. Job 41:29 לְרַ֣עַשׁ to [the] shaking of

    A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 9:5 בְּרַ֔עַשׁ with shaking

    For every trampling boot of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

    Here: With a shaking of the ground. The word is used of earthquakes and rumbling chariot wheels, so this is an army heavy enough to be felt, not only heard.

  2. Isaiah 29:6 וּבְרַ֖עַשׁ and with earthquake

    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: 'And with quaking': the earth shaking. Ra'am and ra'ash sound almost alike (thunder / shaking), so heaven and earth seem to answer each other in sound. Judah remembered a great earthquake in Uzziah's day (Amos 1:1; Zech 14:5).

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 10:22 וְרַ֥עַשׁ and a din

    Listen! The sound of a report is coming—a great commotion from the land to the north. It will make the cities of Judah a desolation, a haunt for jackals.

  2. Jeremiah 47:3 מֵרַ֣עַשׁ from [the] rattling

    at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.

Ezekiel · 5

  1. Ezekiel 3:12 רַ֣עַשׁ rumbling

    Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!”

    Here: The roar of shaking. The word is used for earthquakes (1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1) and for the thunder of chariots and horses (Jer 47:3; Nah 3:2). Here it is the thunderous din of the moving throne-chariot.

  2. Ezekiel 3:13 רַ֥עַשׁ rumbling

    It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound.

  3. Ezekiel 12:18 בְּרַ֣עַשׁ in quaking

    “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.

  4. Ezekiel 37:7 רַ֔עַשׁ a rattling

    So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

  5. Ezekiel 38:19 רַ֣עַשׁ an earthquake

    In My zeal and fiery rage I proclaim that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 1:1 הָרָֽעַשׁ׃ the earthquake

    These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

    Here: 'The quake', with the definite article. It was a single disaster so well known that it needed no description and could serve as a date, like 'before the Flood'. Zechariah 14:5 still remembers 'the earthquake in the days of Uzziah'.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:2 רַ֣עַשׁ [the] rattling of

    The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!

    Here: Elsewhere this is the word for an earthquake. Here it is the ground-shaking rumble and rattle of iron-rimmed wheels on stone streets, the noise of the earth itself shuddering.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 14:5 הָרַ֔עַשׁ the earthquake

    You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.

    Here: '*The* earthquake': the definite article marks one famous quake, the same one Amos 1:1 uses to date his prophecy.

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