Psalms 18:12
Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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It's easy to read this as just a description of a storm, but the original phrasing suggests that God's "brightness" pierces through the clouds, turning them into instruments of His power—hail and fire. This isn't a storm happening to God, but a storm God commands from behind the veil of His dazzling glory.
David is describing God's awesome power as He descends in a storm, using vivid imagery of lightning, thunder, and fire. This dramatic portrayal isn't just a poetic flourish; it serves as a backdrop for God's direct intervention to deliver David from his enemies, emphasizing that his salvation is a supernatural act.
Imagine the sky split open by a blinding flash. This verse paints a picture of God's presence revealed not gently, but with terrifying intensity.
The verse describes a dramatic, almost violent, unveiling of God's power. The "brightness" isn't just light; it's the overwhelming radiance that precedes and accompanies divine action. The "thick clouds" that "passed" are rent asunder by this brightness, allowing the "hailstones and coals of fire" to burst through. This isn't about clouds clearing naturally; it's about God's glory penetrating even the densest obscurity, revealing His presence through the terrifying phenomena of a divine storm. Think of it as God's unstoppable power making its presence known, breaking through any veil.
Hailstones and coals of fire – these aren't just weather events. They are charged with divine meaning in this powerful declaration.
The "hailstones and coals of fire" are not random meteorological events but deliberate expressions of God's power and, at times, His judgment. They represent the fierce and destructive energy unleashed in His presence. The mention of hail, rare in Palestine, recalls God's power over nature (like the plagues in Egypt). The "coals of fire" suggest an intense, consuming heat or a fiery judgment. When God reveals Himself in such a storm, these elements are His instruments, demonstrating His might and capability to act decisively, whether in judgment or in overwhelming acts of deliverance.
Understand the original words
nogah · Hebrew Noun
A term used to describe the overwhelming and often awe-inspiring manifestation of God’s glory, holiness, or power. It is frequently associated with the 'glory of the LORD' (Shekinah) which is too brilliant for human eyes to behold directly.
This psalm powerfully uses the imagery of a divine storm, drawing parallels to the Exodus plague of hail and fire, to describe God's awesome power and deliverance of David from his enemies during his reign.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Israel's Exodus from Egypt
God delivers the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through a series of powerful plagues, including a devastating hailstorm mingled with fire.
c. 1010-1000 BC
David's Flight from Saul
David, anointed king but hunted by King Saul, experiences numerous dangers and miraculous deliverances, which he recounts in this psalm.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
David's Reign as King
David is firmly established as king over Israel, having secured his kingdom and expanded its borders.
This passage describes a terrifying storm of hail and fire that God sent upon Egypt, mirroring the destructive power depicted in Psalms 18:12.
2 Samuel 22:13This parallel account in Samuel provides a slightly different wording of the same event, emphasizing the fire kindled by God's brightness during the storm.
Job 38:22-23These verses show God directly addressing Job about His control over natural phenomena like snow, hail, lightning, and thunder, echoing the divine power displayed in the psalm.
Revelation 8:7This prophetic vision describes hail mingled with fire falling upon the earth during divine judgment, connecting the imagery of destructive storms to God's wrath.
ellicottPsalms 18:12: "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire."
(12) At the brightness. —This is obscure. Literally, From the brightness before him his clouds passed through (Heb., avar —LXX., διῆλθον ; Vulg., transierunt ) hail and fiery coals. In Samuel it is “From the brightness before him flamed fiery coals,” which is the description we should expect, and, doubtless, gives the sense we are to attach to our text. Through the dark curtain of cloud…
barnesPsalms 18:12: "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire."
At the brightness that was before him - From the flash - the play of the lightnings that seemed to go before him. His thick clouds passed - or, vanished. They seemed to pass away. The light, the flash, the blaze, penetrated those clouds, and seemed to dispel, or to scatter them. The whole heavens were in a blaze, as if there were no clouds, or as if the clouds were all driven away. The…
It's easy to read this as just a description of a storm, but the original phrasing suggests that God's "brightness" pierces through the clouds, turning them into instruments of His power—hail and fire. This isn't a storm happening to God, but a storm God commands from behind the veil of His dazzling glory.
David is describing God's awesome power as He descends in a storm, using vivid imagery of lightning, thunder, and fire. This dramatic portrayal isn't just a poetic flourish; it serves as a backdrop for God's direct intervention to deliver David from his enemies, emphasizing that his salvation is a supernatural act.
David is describing God's awesome power as He descends in a storm, using vivid imagery of lightning, thunder, and fire. This dramatic portrayal isn't just a poetic flourish; it serves as a backdrop for God's direct intervention to deliver David from his enemies, emphasizing that his salvation is a supernatural act.
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"Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds." — It's easy to read this as just a description of a storm, but the original phrasing suggests that God's "brightness" pierces through the clouds, turning them into instruments of His power—hail and f…
