In the Bible, hail is often used figuratively to represent divine judgment, power, and the overwhelming force of God's will. This imagery is rooted in the natural phenomenon of hailstorms, which are sudden, powerful, and often destructive. The figurative use of hail in Scripture underscores the might and authority of God, as well as His ability to execute judgment upon the earth.

One of the most prominent examples of hail as a symbol of divine judgment is found in the book of Exodus. During the plagues of Egypt, God sent a devastating hailstorm as the seventh plague, demonstrating His power over creation and His judgment against Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods. Exodus 9:23-24 states, "So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. The hail fell and continued to fall, and lightning flashed through it. So heavy was the hail that nothing like it had occurred in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation."

In the prophetic literature, hail is frequently used to depict the coming judgment of God upon nations and peoples who oppose His will. Isaiah 28:17 declares, "I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place." Here, hail symbolizes the purging and cleansing power of God's justice, which will dismantle falsehoods and bring truth to light.

The book of Revelation also employs the imagery of hail to convey the severity of God's end-time judgments. Revelation 16:21 describes a future event: "And great hailstones, about a hundred pounds each, rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous." This passage illustrates the intensity and inescapability of divine wrath, as the hailstones serve as instruments of God's final judgment upon a rebellious world.

Throughout Scripture, the figurative use of hail serves as a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty and the certainty of His justice. It calls believers to recognize the seriousness of sin and the inevitability of divine retribution, while also affirming the ultimate triumph of God's righteous purposes.Isaiah 28:2
Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
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Revelation 8:7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast on the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
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Revelation 11:19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightning, and voices, and thunder, and an earthquake, and great hail.
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Revelation 16:21
And there fell on men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
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Certain Amorous Speeches of the Soul to Herself in Prayer:
... 6. Hail, sweet Mary, whom, foreshadowed in sundry figurative speeches, and promised
in divers oracles of the Prophets, the ancient fathers did covet most ...
/.../certain amorous speeches of the.htm

Different Degrees of Knowledge.
... that transparent and resplendent to the Gnostics, like the innocuous hail, they
are ... But prophecy does not employ figurative forms in the expressions for the ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xv different degrees of knowledge.htm

Hymns, Festival and Occasional.
... with the more modern and less figurative". "No hostile chiefs to furious combat
ran.". ... Hail the heavenly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! ...
/.../brown/the story of the hymns and tunes/chapter xiii hymns festival and.htm

Psalm LXXVIII.
... is evident did happen, were done or described for the sake of some figurative meaning ...
also wherein, when he had said, "and He gave over to the hail their beasts ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lxxviii.htm

Interpretation of Prophecy.
... monarch's progress through the land of Judea, ending with a figurative account of
his ... After the storm of thunder and hail there follows a serene light, "as the ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxviii interpretation of prophecy.htm

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
... Exodus 9:24: "And there came hail, and fire mingled with the hail." It is more ... in
which, as in the one before us, the extinction has not a figurative, but a ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/exposition of chap iii ii.htm

Natural Science and Theological Science.
... to savour so plainly of the mythical, allegorical, or figurative; that the ... The
profession of faithfulness we hail with pleasure: the imputation of imbecility ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon ii natural science and.htm

Jesus, Son of God.
... Their threats are the pattering of hail on a bomb-proof shelter. ... as our Bibles do,
and also that it was easy for the Jews to put a figurative sense on all such ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol i/xxii jesus son of god.htm

The Book of Enoch
... The first similitude or figurative address (chaps. ... from the abodes of the just, the
mysteries of thunder and lightning, winds, clouds, dew, hail, mist, sun ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of enoch.htm

Professor of Sanskrit, Bengali, and Marathi
... in Persian, that the poems of Hafiz are to be understood in a figurative or mystical ...
The whole body of youth of this service hail you as their father and their ...
/.../smith/the life of william carey/chapter ix professor of sanskrit.htm

What is the Hail Mary that Catholics say so often? | GotQuestions.org

Does the name “Jesus” actually mean “Hail, Zeus”? | GotQuestions.org

What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt? | GotQuestions.org

Hail: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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