Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 77:18
The voice of thy thunder [was] in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
18. in the heaven ] The word galgal, derived from a root meaning to roll, was understood by the Jewish commentators to mean the vault or circuit of the heaven. More probably it should be rendered in the whirlwind (R.V.), or, with rumbling, the rolling of the thunder being conceived of as the rolling of God’s chariot-wheels. Cp. Hab 3:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven – Compare the notes at Psa 29:1-11. The word rendered heaven here – galgal – means properly a wheel, as of a chariot, Isa 5:28; Eze 10:2, Eze 10:6; Eze 23:24; Eze 26:10. Then it means a whirlwind, as that which rolls along, Eze 10:13. Then it is used to denote chaff or stubble, as driven along before a whirlwind, Psa 83:13; Isa 17:13. It is never used to denote heaven. It means here, undoubtedly, the whirlwind; and the idea is, that in the ragings of the storm, or of the whirlwind, the voice of God was heard – the deep bellowing thunder – as if God spoke to people.
The lightnings lightened the world – The whole earth seemed to be in a blaze.
The earth trembled and shook – See the notes at Psa 29:1-11.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
This tempest is not particularly recorded in its proper place, yet it may well be gathered from what is said Exo 14:24,25, and is in effect acknowledged by Josephus in his history. And this is no new thing in Scripture, for some circumstances of history omitted in the first and properest places to be supplied in following passages; whereof instances have been already given.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven,…. Thunder is the voice of God, Job 37:5 this is heard in “the orb” b, or the air, so called, because spherical; the Targum is
“the voice of thy thunder was heard in the wheel;”
so the word here used sometimes signifies; so Eze 10:13, and is so rendered here by some c; some think this refers to the wheels of the chariots of the Egyptians, which were taken off, it may be by the force of thunder and lightning, so that they drove on heavily, Ex 14:25,
the lightnings lightened the world; not only that part of the world where the Israelites and Egyptians were, but the whole world; for lightning comes out of the east, and shines to the west, Mt 24:27, this was in the night, and a very dark night it was, as Josephus d affirms; see Ps 97:4,
the earth trembled and shook; there was an earthquake at the same time; unless this is to be understood of the panic which the inhabitants of the earth were put into on hearing of this wonderful event, Jos 2:9.
b “in rotunditate”, Montanus, Vatablus; “in isto orbe”, Junius Tremeullis “in orbe”, Cocceius; “in sphaera”, Arab. c “In rota”, Pagninus, Tigurine version, Musculus, Gejerus; “in rotis”, Muis, Syr. vid. Suidam in voce . d Ut supra. (Antiq. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 3.)
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) In the heavens.Literally, in the vault. The Hebrew, galgal, from glal, to roll, has the same derivation as vault (volutum, from volvo). It is strange that this rendering, which so well suits the parallelism, should have been set aside by modern scholars in favour of whirlwind or rolling chariot wheels. The LXX. and Vulg. have wheel, but possibly with reference to the apparent revolution of the sky. The word, where it occurs in Isa. 17:13, means something rolled by the whirlwind, not the whirlwind itself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Earth trembled and shook A description of an earthquake, which associates literally with Sinai, not the Red Sea. See Exo 19:18; Exo 20:18; Heb 12:18-19
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 77:18 The voice of thy thunder [was] in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.
Ver. 18. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven ] Heb. in the sphere or round orb of the air. Of the thunder in the air, see Job 37:2-5 Psa 29:1-11 This made the Egyptians say, Let us flee, for God fighteth for Israel against us.
The lightnings lightened the world
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
was in the heaven. Hebrew. galgal = rolled along.
The. Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulg, read “Thy”.
lightened = illumined.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
voice: Psa 29:3-9, Exo 19:16, Job 37:1-5, Rev 11:19
lightnings: Psa 97:4, Hab 3:4, Rev 18:1
earth: Exo 19:18, 2Sa 22:8, 2Sa 22:14, Mat 27:51, Mat 28:2, Rev 20:11
Reciprocal: Exo 9:23 – the Lord sent Jos 10:11 – the Lord Jdg 5:20 – fought Psa 29:7 – flames Psa 68:8 – earth Psa 68:33 – his voice Psa 114:7 – Tremble Psa 144:6 – Cast forth Isa 5:25 – the hills Jer 4:24 – mountains Jer 10:10 – at Hab 3:10 – mountains Hab 3:11 – at the light of thine arrows they went Zec 9:14 – his Rev 19:6 – and as the voice of mighty