Psalms 18:7

18:7 The earth heaved and shook; ¹ 

the roots of the mountains ²  trembled; ³ 

they heaved because he was angry.

Psalms 46:3

46:3 when its waves ⁴  crash ⁵  and foam,

and the mountains shake ⁶  before the surging sea. ⁷  (Selah)

Job 9:6

9:6 he who shakes the earth out of its place ⁸ 

so that its pillars tremble; ⁹ 

Isaiah 13:13

13:13 So I will shake the heavens, ¹⁰ 

and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, ¹¹ 

because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies,

in the day he vents his raging anger. ¹² 

Joel 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹³  his voice bellows out. ¹⁴ 

The heavens ¹⁵  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ¹⁶  of Israel.

Haggai 2:6

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ¹⁷  I will once again shake the sky ¹⁸  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground.

Haggai 2:21

2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ¹⁹  to shake the sky ²⁰  and the earth.

Hebrews 12:26

12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” ²¹ 

[18:7]  ¹ sn The earth heaved and shook. The imagery pictures an earthquake in which the earth’s surface rises and falls. The earthquake motif is common in OT theophanies of God as warrior and in ancient Near Eastern literary descriptions of warring gods and kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 160-62.

[18:7]  ² tn 2 Sam 22:8 has “heavens” which forms a merism with “earth” in the preceding line. The “foundations of the heavens” would be the mountains. However, the reading “foundations of the mountains” has a parallel in Deut 32:22.

[18:7]  ³ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the three prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive in the verse.

[46:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “its waters.”

[46:3]  ⁵ tn Or “roar.”

[46:3]  ⁶ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the characteristic nature of the activity described.

[46:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “at its swelling.” The Hebrew word often means “pride.” If the sea is symbolic of hostile nations, then this may be a case of double entendre. The surging, swelling sea symbolizes the proud, hostile nations. On the surface the psalmist appears to be depicting a major natural catastrophe, perhaps a tidal wave. If so, then the situation would be hypothetical. However, the repetition of the verbs הָמָה (hamah, “crash; roar,” v. 3) and מוֹט (mot, “shake,” v. 2) in v. 6, where nations/kingdoms “roar” and “shake,” suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[9:6]  ⁸ sn Shakes the earth out of its place probably refers to earthquakes, although some commentators protest against this in view of the idea of the pillars. In the ancient world the poetical view of the earth is that it was a structure on pillars, with water around it and under it. In an earthquake the pillars were shaken, and the earth moved.

[9:6]  ⁹ tn The verb הִתְפַלָּצ (hitfallats) is found only here, but the root seems clearly to mean “to be tossed; to be thrown about,” and so in the Hitpael “quiver; shake; tremble.” One of the three nouns from this root is פַּלָּצוּת (pallatsut), the “shudder” that comes with terror (see Job 21:6; Isa 21:4; Ezek 7:18; and Ps 55:6).

[13:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from its place” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NCV).

[13:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and in the day of the raging of his anger.”

[3:16]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “sons.”

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.

[2:21]  ¹⁹ tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.

[2:21]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[12:26]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.