Lexical Summary ramah: To cast, throw, hurl, deceive Original Word: רַעְמָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance thunder Feminine of ra'am; the mane of a horse (as quivering in the wind) -- thunder. see HEBREW ra'am NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as raam Definition perhaps vibration, quivering NASB Translation mane (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs I. רַעְמָה (GiIntr. 127 f.) noun feminine vibration? quivering mane? of horse's neck: Job 39:19 hast thou clothed his neck (with) ׳ר? so most, but very uncertain. Topical Lexicon Meaning and Imagery The noun rāʿmāh evokes the crashing intensity of thunder and, by extension, any awe-inspiring roar placed by God within creation. In Job 39:19 the word is applied metaphorically to the horse’s neck, portraying the animal’s mane as a crest of rolling thunder. The image captures both power and majesty: the war-horse, stirred by its Maker, becomes a living storm that cannot be subdued by human means. Immediate Context: Job 39:19 “Do you give the horse his strength, or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?” (Job 39:19). The Lord is answering Job out of the whirlwind, challenging human presumption by showcasing creatures whose might comes solely from God. The single use of rāʿmāh intensifies the contrast between divine sovereignty and human limitation. The horse’s “thundering” neck stands as evidence that strength, beauty, and fearsome energy originate in the Creator’s wisdom rather than in man’s ingenuity. Theology of Divine Power 1. Sovereign endowment: The question “Do you give…?” demands a negative answer, underscoring that God alone bestows vigor on His creatures (Psalm 104:27–30). Intertextual Echoes of Thunder While rāʿmāh itself appears only once, its parent root rʿm is widespread: The shared motif links Job 39:19 to a larger biblical pattern in which auditory or visual “thunder” underscores Yahweh’s might and covenant faithfulness. Historical Reception Jewish and Christian commentators have long perceived a dual emphasis on strength and terror. Medieval Jewish expositors highlighted the war-horse of Near-Eastern armies; early Church Fathers saw an emblem of spiritual warfare, with Christ as the Rider whose mount embodies both majesty and obedient submission (cf. Revelation 19:11-16). Reformers emphasized that even the seemingly autonomous charging steed serves God’s providential purposes in history. Ministry and Pastoral Application • Humility: Leaders must recognize that any personal capacity for impact is a gift, not a personal possession (1 Corinthians 4:7). Christological Reflections The Rider on the white horse in Revelation 19 presents a consummate picture of divinely empowered conquest. Job’s solitary rāʿmāh anticipates the greater demonstration of authority entrusted to Christ, “Faithful and True,” who governs creation’s forces and leads His people in triumph. Summary Rāʿmāh is far more than an isolated poetic term; it is a window into the biblical theology of thunder, power, and divine artistry. In its lone occurrence it proclaims that strength, dignity, and the capacity to inspire awe flow inexorably from the LORD, calling every generation to reverent trust and obedient submission. Forms and Transliterations רַעְמָֽה׃ רעמה׃ ra‘·māh ra‘māh raMahLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 39:19 HEB: הֲתַלְבִּ֖ישׁ צַוָּאר֣וֹ רַעְמָֽה׃ NAS: Do you clothe his neck with a mane? KJV: his neck with thunder? INT: apparel his neck thunder 1 Occurrence |
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