Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:8
Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks this verse as part of a song of deliverance, describing the immediate cosmic reaction to his distress call in 2 Samuel 22:7. The passage records the shaking of creation before detailing the physical manifestations of divine anger in 2 Samuel 22:9.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַתִּרְעַשׁ (va/tir.'Ash) denotes a violent quaking of the earth, while מוֹסְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם (mos.Dot ha./sha.Ma.yim) literally names the foundational supports of the heavens. The text states these structures trembled and shook specifically because God burned with anger.
The thread — This motif of cosmic instability at divine intervention appears in Job 26:11, where heaven's foundations quake at God's rebuke, and Judges 5:4, where the earth trembles and heavens pour out during God's march. Psalms 97:4 similarly records the earth trembling in response to divine manifestation, though it focuses solely on terrestrial reaction rather than celestial foundations.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine anger triggers cosmic upheaval, establishing God's sovereignty over creation's stability. It asks the reader to acknowledge that human distress meets a response that transcends natural order before detailing the specific mechanisms of judgment in the following verse.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
Cross-references
- Job 26:11 The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.
- Psalms 97:4 His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.
- Judges 5:4 O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
- Psalms 77:18 Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.
- Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- Matthew 28:2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
- Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
- Acts 4:31 After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
- Habakkuk 3:6 He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations; the ancient mountains crumbled; the perpetual hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.
- Matthew 27:51 At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.