Psalms 78:48 — Word Study
WLCוַיַּסְגֵּ֣ר לַבָּרָ֣ד בְּעִירָ֑ם וּ֝מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם לָרְשָׁפִֽים׃
BSAHe abandonedçâgar▸ [gave up, surrendered] their cattlebᵉʻîyr [beasts, livestock] to the hailbârâd [ice, frozen balls of rain] and their livestockmiqneh [flocks, herds] to bolts of lightningresheph [hot thunderbolts, flashes of fire]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַיַּסְגֵּ֣ר | and he delivered up | Verb, Hiphil, sequential imperfect third person masculine singular |
| לַבָּרָ֣ד | to hail | Preposition, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| בְּעִירָ֑ם | cattle their | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| וּ֝מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם | and livestock their | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| לָרְשָׁפִֽים׃ | to lightning bolts | Preposition, noun common masculine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning. |
| KJV | He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. |
| ASV | He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts. |
| YLT | And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames. |
| WEB | He also gave over their livestock to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. |
| BBE | Ice was rained down on their cattle; thunderstorms sent destruction among the flocks. |
All translations agree on the key elements of the verse.
The sentence has one main clause with two prepositional phrases detailing the objects affected by God's action.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbסָגַר
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Psalms 78:48
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — God's Judgments on Egyptgenerated
Psalm 78:48 describes how God unleashed His power against the Egyptians by sending hail and lightning, demonstrating His authority over nature. This verse follows a series of plagues that God inflicted upon Egypt as a response to Pharaoh's refusal to free the Israelites, showcasing the consequences of disobedience to God. The preceding verses highlight the destruction of crops and the devastation that followed, emphasizing God's might in judgment.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exodus 9:28 | Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.” |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — וַיַּסְגֵּר, vai.yas.Gergenerated
The verb סָגַר (sagar) is a Hiphil form meaning 'to deliver up' or 'to surrender.' It is built from the root that conveys the idea of shutting or closing, but in this context, it implies a handing over of something to another force, illustrating God's control over the elements.
This use of the verb indicates that God actively chose to give up their cattle to the hail, rather than it being an accidental occurrence. The Hiphil stem shows that this is a deliberate action by God, emphasizing His sovereignty in executing judgment.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.' The KJV and ASV align closely with this wording, maintaining the essence of the original Hebrew.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb וַיַּסְגֵּר governs the entire verse, indicating the action of delivering up. The structure includes two prepositional phrases specifying what was delivered up and to what forces, highlighting the direct consequences of God's judgment.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the action of God first, followed by the objects affected, which reinforces the severity of the judgment.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint uses the word παρέδωκεν (paredōken), meaning 'he delivered.' This choice aligns with the Hebrew's implication of surrendering but shifts the focus slightly to the act of delivering rather than the concept of shutting or closing.
This translation choice suggests a broader interpretation of God's action, emphasizing His authority in delivering their livestock to destruction.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 78:48 tells us that God gave up the cattle and livestock of the Egyptians to hail and lightning. This verse is part of a larger narrative about God's judgment on Egypt, where He used natural disasters to demonstrate His power and authority.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that God allowed their cattle to be destroyed by hail, showing His judgment against the Egyptians.
Cattle refers to larger animals, while livestock encompasses all domestic animals, highlighting the extent of the destruction.
Hail is often seen as a sign of God's judgment and power, used here to demonstrate the consequences of Egypt's disobedience.
This verse is part of a recounting of Israel's history, emphasizing God's faithfulness and judgment in response to Israel's unfaithfulness.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How does understanding God's judgment in this verse affect my view of His power?
- What can I learn from the consequences faced by the Egyptians for their disobedience?
- In what ways do I see God's hand at work in the events of my life?
- How can I apply the lessons of judgment and mercy from this psalm to my daily decisions?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers referenced this verse to discuss God's judgments and their implications, as seen in the commentary by Hippolytus of Rome.
"He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their substance to the fire." Symmachus renders it: "Who gave up their cattle to the plague, and their possessions to birds." For, having met an overwhelming overthrow,Early Church Fathers on Psalms 78 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 78:48 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHe gave up their cattle also to the hail,.... For the hail fell upon man and beast, as well as upon herbs and trees, Exodus 9:22, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts: which were killed by them: this
Read John Gill on Psalms 78 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryHow oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 78 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleHe gave up, Heb. he shut up, as in a prison, that they could not escape them.
Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 78 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsPsalms 78:48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.Ver. 48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail] Moses saith men also, who were brained and burned by it.
Read John Trapp on Psalms 78 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(48) Hail.—Some copies read “pestilence,” which from its association with resheph, as in Habakkuk 3:5, a word there denoting some contagious malady (comp. Deuteronomy 32:24; see Note Psalms 76:3), is probably to be preferred here though the authority of the LXX. is against it. If so, we must refer this verse to the murrain that came on the cattle.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 78 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 48. He gave up their cattle] See on Exodus 9:23.
Read AdamClarke on Psalms 78 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges48. And he gave over their beasts to the hail, And their cattle to fiery lightnings. As the text stands, the reference is to the destruction of the Egyptian cattle as well as the crops by the lightning which accompanied the hailstorm (Exodus 9:28). But two Hebrew MSS., with which agrees the version of Symmachus, read Deber, ‘pestilence’ in place of Bârâd, ‘hail.’ Now Deber is the word used in Exodus 9:3 ff. of the murrain which attacked the cattle. Resheph, the word rendered fiery lightnings, is also used of burning fever in Deuteronomy 32:24; Habakkuk 3:5; in the latter passage in parallelism with Deber. It seems possible, therefore, that this verse originally referred to the fifth plague…
Read Cambridge on Psalms 78 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleHe gave up their cattle also to the hail - Margin, he shut up. Exodus 9:22-25. And their flocks to hot thunderbolts - Margin, lightnings. The original word means flame; then, lightning.
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 78 →The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
He also gave over their livestock to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their livestock to bolts of lightning.
He rained hail down on their cattle, and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.
Tyndale line
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He gave over their cattle also to the hail, And their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He gave over their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.
He gaue their cattell also to the haile, and their flockes to the thunderboltes.
Strictly literal
And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts.
And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
And delivers their beasts up to the hail, || And their livestock to the burning flames.
And he surrendered to the hail their cattle, and their herds to the lightning's flashes.
He rained hail on their cattle and hurled lightning bolts at their livestock.
Simplified
He handed over their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.
Ice was rained down on their cattle; thunderstorms sent destruction among the flocks.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads: וַיַּסְגֵּ֣ר לַבָּרָ֣ד בְּעִירָ֑ם וּ֝מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם לָרְשָׁפִֽים׃. The Septuagint matches four out of five words, indicating a strong agreement between the two texts on the core elements of the verse.
וַיַּסְגֵּ֣ר לַבָּרָ֣ד בְּעִירָ֑ם וּ֝מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם לָרְשָׁפִֽים׃
4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Psalms 78:48
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
סָגַר (sagar) means to shut or close, with various applications including shutting doors, closing up breaches, and imprisoning. It can also imply delivering someone up or surrendering. The verb appears in different forms, such as Qal (to shut), Niphal (to be shut up), and Piel (to deliver up). The term is associated with the concept of being tightly sealed or enclosed.
סָגַר vb. shut, close
Qal
shut door
close in upon
close up breach
Pt. pass., closed up = closely joined with tight seal
elsewhwere only Pt. pass. (gold shut up, and so prized, rare, fine?)
Niph.
subj. pers. be shut up
be shut, closed, of city gates
Pi. deliver up to (leave no other opening for one, shut one up to)
Pu.
of cities
of prisoners
of doors
Hiph.
deliver up to
shut up
base
H5462 סָגַר shut, close .. shut door
. . close in upon
. close up breach
. Pt. pass., closed up = closely joined with tight seal
. elsewhwere only Pt. pass. (gold shut up, and so prized, rare, fine?)
. . subj. pers. be shut up
. be shut, closed, of city gates
. deliver up to (leave no other opening for one, shut one up to)
. . of cities
. of prisoners
. of doors
. . deliver up to
. shut up
5462 cagar saw-gar'
a primitive root; to shut up; figuratively, to
surrender:--close up, deliver (up), give over (up), inclose,
X pure, repair, shut (in, self, out, up, up together), stop, X
straitly.
סָגַר (sa.gar) — to shut.
1) to shut, close
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to shut
1a2) to close, close up
1a3) closed up, closely joined, shut up
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be shut up
1b2) to be shut or closed
1c) (Piel) to shut up, deliver up
1d) (Pual) to be shut up
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to deliver up
1e2) to shut up, imprison
2) pure gold
Aramaic equivalent: se.gar (סְגַר "to shut" H5463)
Conj | V-Hiphil-ConsecImperf-3ms — Verb · Hiphil · sequential imperfect third person masculine singularHc/Vhw3ms
בָּרָד (barad) means hail, specifically referring to hailstones. It is derived from the root word associated with H1258. The term is noted in the context of God's judgment in a figurative sense.
בָּרָד n.m. hail
base
H1259 בָּרָד hail
1259 barad baw-rawd'
from 1258; hail -hail ((stones)).
see HEBREW for 01258
בָּרָד (ba.rad) — hail.
1) hail
1a) of God's judgment (fig.)
Prep | N-ms — Preposition · noun common masculine singular absoluteHRd/Ncmsa
Hail!
A salutation expressive of a wish for the welfare of the person addressed; the translation of the Greek Chaire, “Rejoice” (Luke 1:8). Used in mockery in Matt. 27:29.
A salutation, importing a wish for the welfare of the person addressed. It is now seldom used among us; but was customary among our Saxon ancestors, and imported "joy to you," or "health to you," including in the term health all kind of prosperity.
בְּעִיר (be'ir) refers to cattle or beasts in a collective sense. It is derived from the root meaning related to eating, as indicated in Strong's entries. The term is used in contexts involving livestock, but no specific verses are cited.
[בְּעִיר] n.m. beasts, cattle coll.
base
H1165 [בְּעִיר] beasts, cattle coll.
1165 b`iyr beh-ere'
from 1197 (in the sense of eating): cattle:--beast, cattle.
see HEBREW for 01197
בְּעִיר (be.ir) — cattle.
beasts, cattle
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp3mp
מִקְנֶה (miqneh) refers to cattle or livestock, specifically domestic animals that can be purchased. It encompasses general terms for herds and flocks, including cows, sheep, and goats. The word is derived from a root meaning 'something bought' and relates to property and possession.
מִקְנֶה 76 n.m. cattle
base
H4735 מִקְנֶה cattle
4735 miqneh mik-neh'
from 7069; something bought, i.e. property, but only
livestock; abstractly, acquisition:--cattle, flock, herd,
possession, purchase, substance.
see HEBREW for 07069
מִקְנֶה (miq.neh) — livestock.
1) cattle, livestock
1a) cattle, livestock
1a1) in general of a purchasable domestic animal
1b) cows, sheep, goats (in herds and flocks)
Conj | N-ms | Suff — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHC/Ncmsc/Sp3mp
רֶ֫שֶׁף (resheph) refers to a flame or fire-bolt, and can also denote a live coal or lightning. It is associated with burning heat, sparks, and fever. The word is built from the root meaning to burn, and it captures a range of fiery imagery.
רֶ֫שֶׁף n.m. flame, fire-bolt
base
H7565 רֶ֫שֶׁף flame, fire-bolt
7565 resheph reh'-shef
from 8313; a live coal; by analogy lightning; figuratively,
an arrow, (as flashing through the air); specifically,
fever:--arrow, (burning) coal, burning heat, + spark, hot
thunderbolt.
see HEBREW for 08313
רֶ֫שֶׁף (re.sheph) — flash.
1) flame, firebolt, spark
1a) flame
1b) fire-bolt
Prep | N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine plural absoluteHRd/Ncmpa