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What does "Hail" mean in the Bible?

When a very cold current of air encounters a hot and humid one, the vapor of the latter is suddenly condensed into drops, and sometimes these are frozen into irregular spheroids of porous ice, which fall to the earth as hail. Hail appears in 22 verses across 6 books of the Bible.

Hail on the ground
Hail on the ground · © Noir, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What does the Bible say about Hail?

HAIL. When a very cold current of air encounters a hot and humid one, the vapor of the latter is suddenly condensed into drops, and sometimes these are frozen into irregular spheroids of porous ice, which fall to the earth as hail. This phenomenon is more frequent in temperate than in tropical regions, and usually occurs in summer and at the hottest hour of the day. Hail rarely falls except during thunderstorms; and hence the Bible commonly mentions it in connection with fire (lightning), as in Ps 148:8. As rain was always rare in Egypt, the fall of hail mentioned as the seventh plague, Ex 9, must have been singularly frightful, as it was greatly destructive to man, beast, and herb. God used a storm of hailstones to utterly rout and destroy the Amorites who fought with Joshua at Gibeon, Josh 10. In modern times stones of ice have been known to fall of half a pound in weight, and even eighteen ounces; and were it not that hail-storms are exceedingly local and rarely continue more than five or ten minutes, incalculable destruction would result. The largest hail falls in hot countries, where hail is less frequent. Inspiration often uses this agency figuratively to picture the awful judgments of God. In Rev 16:21 hail-stones are mentioned of a talent in weight, or, if the language were literal, of 55, and perhaps 11 1/2, pounds, according as the Attic or Jewish talent be intended; in all probability the former.

Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

What is the Hebrew word for Hail?

Hebrew · H1259

בָּרָד

ba.rad

hail

TBESH, STEPBible, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Where does Hail appear in the Bible?

Hail is referenced in 22 verses across 6 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Hail.

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Hail?

Hail appears in 22 verses across 6 books, most often in Exodus, which accounts for 14 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Hail?

Exodus, Psalms, Revelation, Haggai, Isaiah, Job.

Where can I read every verse about Hail?

This page lists 22 of them. Protos carries all 22, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Exodus with "Hail" explained on the verse.

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The Protos reader open on Genesis 1 with the How to Read Genesis background sheet raised over it

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