12
And afterוְאַחַרthe earthquake,הָרַעַשׁa fire;אֵשׁYHWHיְהוָהwas notלֹאin the fire.בָאֵשׁAnd afterוְאַחַרthe fire,הָאֵשׁa soundקוֹלof thinדַקָּהsilence.דְּמָמָה
1 Kings 19:12
Study it in the app“And after the earthquake, a fire; YHWH was not in the fire. And after the fire, a sound of thin silence.”
With the Hebrew beneath
1 Kings 19:12, word by word
- the earthquakeרַעַשׁraash
earthquake
When the ground trembles.
Where else “raash” appears- a fireאֵשׁesh
fire
Fire that burns or cooks.
Where else “esh” appears- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- a soundקוֹלkol
sound
What is heard: a noise, a sound or a din.
Where else “kol” appears- of thinדַקָּהdaka
faint
Very soft, barely heard.
Where else “daka” appears- silenceדְּמָמָהdemama
silence, calm
Silence, calm, stillness; like the calm that remains when a storm passes (Psalm 107:29).
Where else “demama” appears
Translation note
“A sound of thin silence”: three Hebrew words hard to translate: “voice” or “sound,” “silence” or “calm,” and “fine, thin.” They describe something barely audible, the opposite of the wind, the earthquake, and the fire.
The context
11He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before YHWH.” And there, YHWH was passing by, and a great and strong wind was tearing mountains and breaking rocks before YHWH; YHWH was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake; YHWH was not in the earthquake.
12 · This verse (above)
13And it happened, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his cloak, and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And there, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”