בָּרָד – hail

Semantic Fields: Weather
Author(s): Chiara Stornaiuolo
First published: 2024-11-1
Last update: 2024-11-14 (Paul Sanders)
Citation: Chiara Stornaiuolo, בָּרָד – hail,
Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2024 (update: 2024)

Introduction

Grammatical type: n.m.
Occurrences: 29× HB (17/5/7); 5× Sir; 3× Qum; 0× Inscr. (Total: 37)

Torah: Exod 9:18, 19, 22, 23 (2x), 24 (2x), 25 (2x), 26, 28, 29, 33, 34; 10:5, 12, 15;
Nebiim: Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2, 17; 30:30; Hag 2:17;
Ketubim: Pss 18:13, 14; 78:47, 48; 105:32; 148:8; Job 38:22;
Sir: 32:10^B (2x; see A.4); 39:29^B; 43:13^Mas (see A.5); 43:15^Mas (see A.5);
Qumran: 4Q381 fr14+5:2 (ב֯ר֯ד); 4Q422 3:10; 4Q473 fr2:6 (בר֯[ד; see A.6 below).
Text doubtful: 4Q216 (4QJub^a) V:7; 4Q222 (4QJub^g) fr3:2; see A.6 below.

A.1 The lexeme בֶּרֶד (LXX Βαραδ) occurs once as a toponym (Gen 16:14, pausal בָּרֶד) and once as a personal name (1 Chron 7:20; LXX Βαραδ). These occurrences are not taken into consideration for the semantic analysis.

A.2 The denominative verb ברד appears only in Isa 32:19: וּבָרַד בְּרֶדֶת הַיָּעַר. The verb is supposed to mean ‘to hail’ (HALOT, 154; DCH ii:259) and a literal but strange translation of the phrase in Isa 32:19 could be ‘and it will hail in the descending of the forest’. The ancient translations interpret ברד as the noun בָּרָד; LXX: ἡ δὲ χάλαζα ἐὰν καταβῇ, ‘and if hail descends’ (NETS); α’σ’:¹ καὶ χάλαζα ἐν τῇ καταβάσει τοῦ δρυμοῦ, ‘and hail in the descend of the forest’; Pesh: ܘܒܪܕܐ ܢܚܘܬ ܥܠ ܥܒܐ (wbrdʾ nḥwt ʿl ʿbʾ), ‘and hail will descend on the forest’; Tg: וְיֵחוֹת בַרדָא, ‘then will descend hail’; Vg: grando autem in descensione saltus, ‘but the hail in the descent of the forest’. Although 1QIsa^a reads the same consonantal text as MT (וברד ברדת היער), the Hebrew text is often regarded as corrupt. It has been proposed to read וירד instead of וברד: ‘then the forest will descend while descending’ (Wildberger 1982:1274; cf. BHS: 1 ms MT וירד). However, Reymond (1958:25) and Blenkinsopp (2000:432) still interpret ברד as a verbal form and retain the meaning ‘to hail’.

A.3 In MT Ps 18:14 reads as follows: ‏וַיַּרְעֵם בַּשָּׁמַיִם יְֽהוָ֗ה וְעֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּן קֹלוֹ בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ, ‘and YHWH thundered in heaven; Elyon gave forth his voice; hail and coals of fire’. The final colon, בָּרָד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ, ‘hail and coals of fire’, also occurs at the end of Ps 18:13. The colon is missing in LXX (17:14^LXX), but is attested in Tg (ברדא וגומרין די נור, ‘hail and coals of fire’), Pesh (ܒܪܕܐ ܘܓܘܡܪ̈ܐ ܕܢܘܪܐ, brdʾ wgwmrʾ dnwrʾ, ‘hail and coals of fire’), and Vg (grando et carbone ignis, ‘hail and coals of fire’). Ps 18:14 corresponds partially with the parallel verse 2 Sam 22:14, but there the final colon בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ is absent. In Ps 18:14 the colon is probably not original (cf. BHS, Barthélemy 2005:89-91).

A.4 Ms B presents Sir 32:10 in two forms, plus a marginal note:

      לפני ברד ינצח ברק ולפני דכא ינצח חן,
          ‘lightning flashes before a hailstorm and favor is shown forth upon the contrite.’
      לפני ברד ינצח ברק ולפני בושי חן,
          ‘lightning flashes before a hailstorm and favor is shown forth upon those who feel shame.’

Marginal note: בררי נצח ברד, ‘flashed hailstorm’. The wordplay with ברד and ברק suggests that ‘hail’ is original here. Pesh lacks the verse, while LXX has no equivalent for ברד, ‘hail’.

A.5 There are different readings between Sir 43:13^Mas; 43:15^Mas and 43:13^B. The Masada Scroll shows ברד in Sir 43:13^Mas and Sir 43:15^Mas. In the Cairo Genizah ms B, Sir 43:13^B occurs ברק instead of ברד while Sir 43:15^B is not preserved. The different versions read as follows:

      Sir 43:13^Mas: גערתו [תתו]ה̊ ברד, ‘his rebuke marks out the hail’.
      Sir 43:13^B-text: גבורתו תתוה ברק, ‘his strength marks out the thunder’.
      Sir 43:13^B-marg: גערתו תתוה בקר, ‘his rebuke marks out the morning’.
      Sir 43:13^LXX: προστάγματι αὐτοῦ κατέσπευσεν χιόνα, ‘by his ordinance he urges on snow’.

This verse fits into a passage in which the various elements of weather are described as expression of the divine. God manifests his rebuke trough natural elements, like hail, clouds, and thunder. We can compare Sir 43:13 with Ps 8:8-16, a lucid example of the majestic and disruptive power of YHWH.
According to Yadin (1999:189) the reading of Sir 43:13^B is more appropriate and the author of the Masada Scroll may have miscopied, reading ברד on the basis of Sir 43:15 (גבורתו חזק ענן ותגדע א̊ב̊ני ברד, ‘Clouds derive their strength from his might and his might fells the hailstones’). To deepen the question, as pointed by Shean and di Lella (1987:493), we should observe the next verse:

      Sir 43:14^B-text: למען ברא אוצ[…]ויעף[…],²
            ’he created the storehouse for the sake of […] and makes fly … ’
      Sir 43:14^Mas: למענו פרא אוצר ויעף עבים כעיט,
            ‘for his own purpose he let loose the storehouse and made clouds fly like birds of prey’.

According to the text, natural forces are stored in a ‘depository’, and if that storehouse is loosed the elements will fly out of it and they are unleashed on the earth. There are several references to ‘storehouses’ of meteorological elements. In Deut 28:12 מָטָר, ‘rain’ is released from אֶת־אוֹצָרוֹ הַטּוֹב אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם, ‘his rich storehouse, the heavens’. Jer 51:16 speaks of וַיּוֹצֵא רוּחַ מֵאֹצְרֹתָיו, ‘and brings the wind out of his storehouse’. Job 38:22 speaks of אֹצְרוֹת שָׁלֶג וְאוֹצְרוֹת בָּרָד ‘storehouses of snow and storehouses of hail’. The next verse in the Masada scroll has:

      Sir 43:15^Mas: גבורתו חזק ענן ותגדע א֗ב֗ני ברד,
            ‘His strength buttresses (lit., strengthens) clouds and splinters hailstones’.
      43:15^LXX: ἐν μεγαλείῳ αὐτοῦ ἴσχυσεν νεφέλας, καὶ διεθρύβησαν,
            ‘In his majesty he made clouds strong, and stones of hail were broken apart.’

According to Yadin (1999:189) the Masada scroll’s reading of Sir 43:15 is correct on the basis of the Greek version. Furthermore, the genitive construction אבנ(י) (ה)ברד is attested (Josh 10:11; Isa 30:30) and also the collocation of ברד, ‘hail’ and ענן.CHECK (not in Accordance)
Reading the entire sequence of Sir 43:13-15 it seems to have more sense to read ברד in both verses, because the hailstones and the clouds of Sir 43:15 are a consequence of the divine rebuke in Sir 43:13, that led to unleashing the elements from the storehouse.

A.6 The reconstructions of ברד in 4Q216 (4QJub^a) V:7 and 4Q222 (4QJub^g) fr3:2 (see DJD XIII, 13-15, 93-94) are based on Jub 2:2 and Jub 48:5, respectively. Jub 2:2 mentions all the natural phenomena created by God. Jub 48:5 lists the ten plagues sent on Egypt by God. For Qumran Aramaic, see Root and Comparative Material A.3.

A.7 Another noun for hail is אֶלְגָּבִישׁ, which occurs only in Ezekiel (Ezek 13:11, 13; 38:22).

Qere/Ketiv: none

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 In East Semitic languages ברד is not present as a substantive. Although Koehler and Baumgartner (KBL, 147-48) suggest that an Akk. verb barâdu, ‘to be vexatious’, is a cognate of the Heb. verb ברד I, ‘to hail’, this verb is not found in the Akk. dictionaries (AHw, CAD, Black et al. 2000). HALOT does not refer to an Akk. cognate anymore.

A.2 Ancient Aramaic: reconstruction אבני ב]רד], ‘hailstones’, in KAI 222A:26-27.³ For this text, see Exegesis, A.9.

A.3 Jewish Aramaic: ברד, ‘hail’.⁴ The word ברד has been reconstructed twice in the Aramaic 1 Enoch text 4Q204 (4QEn^c, DSS.SE, 416-17): אבני ברד, ‘hailstones’, in 1.vi:21 and 1.vi:23, on the basis of 1 Enoch 14:9-10 (Greek: 2x ἐν λίθοις χαλάζης; see Charles 1912:290). Here the hailstones are mentioned together with other natural phenomena (e.g., תלג, ‘snow’, and [ב[רקין, ‘lightning’). However, if the reconstruction is correct, in 4Q204 the expression אבני ברד, ‘hailstones’, does not properly have a meteorological meaning. 4Q204 1.vi:21 refers to a wall made of hailstones in heaven, and 4Q204 1.vi:23 mentions a house made of hailstones in heaven.

A.4 Mandaic: בַּרְדָא barda, ‘cold, hail’.⁵

A.5 Syriac: ܒܰܪܕܳܐ, ‘hail’;^syr New Syriac berda, ‘hail’.^nsyr

A.6 Arabic: barad, ‘hail’;⁶ barada and baruda, ‘to be cold’, ‘to become cold’; bard, ‘cold’.⁷

A.7 Old South Arabic: brd ‘hail’.⁸

A.8 Ethiopian: barad, ‘hail’; Tigre, Tigrinya: bäräd, ‘hail’; Amharic: bärädo, ‘hail’; Eth. and Ge’ez: ’abrada, ‘cool’; Tigre: bärdä, bärdädä; Amharic: bärrädä, ‘to become cold’.⁹

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 בָּרָד is a primary noun with qatal form (BL, 461, §61m″).

A.2 It is worth to mention here the Canaanite shift, caused Proto-NW-Semitic *ā to turn into *ō. Suchard (2020:72) refers to a shift ā > å and points out that in Hebrew there are a number of qāṭāl isolated nouns and most of them are semantically related and fall into the lexical field of weather, like בָּרָד, ‘hail’, בָּרָק, ‘lightning’, עָנָן, ‘cloud cover’, and מָטָר, ‘rain’ (Fox 2003:163).

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 בָּרָד is nomen rectum of:

אֶבֶן, ‘stone’: Josh 10:11; Isa 30:30; Sir 43:15^Mas;
זֶרֶם, ‘downpour’: Isa 28:2;
גֶשֶׁם, ‘rain’: Ps 105:32;
אֹצְרוֹת, ‘treasure’: Job 38:22.

A.2 בָּרָד is subject of:

ירד, ‘to go down’: Exod 9:19;
היה, ‘to be’: Exod 9:22, 24, 26, 28, 29;
נכה hiphil, ‘to smite’: Exod 9:25;
חדל, ‘to cease’: Exod 9:33-34;
שׁאר hiphil, ‘to leave over’: Exod 10:12;
יתר hiphil, ‘to leave over’: Exod 10:15;
יעה, ‘to sweep away’: Isa 28:17;
עבר, ‘to pass over’: Ps 18:13;
ברא niphal, ‘to be created’: Sir 39:29^B;
נצח, ‘to sparkle’: Sir 32:10^B.

A.3 בָּרָד is object of:

מטר niphal, ‘to rain’ : Exod 9:18, hiphil: Exod 9:23;
נתן ‘to give’: Exod 9:23; Ps 105:32;
תוה piel, ‘to mark out’: Sir 43:13^Mas;
גדע ‘to splinter’: Sir 43:15^Mas.

A.4 בָּרָד occurs with the following adjective:

כָבֵר, ‘heavy’: Exod 9:18, 24.

A.5 בָּרָד is governed by the following prepositions:

מִן, ‘from’, with verb שׁאר niphal, ‘to be left’: Exod 10:5;
בְּ, ‘with’, with verb נכה, ‘to smite’ hiphil: Hag 2:17, with verb הרג, ‘to destroy’ qal: Ps 78:47, with verb נכה hiphil, ‘to smite’: 4Q422 3:10;¹⁰
לְ, ‘to’, with verb סגר hiphil, ‘to hand over’: Ps 78:48;
‎ בְּתוֹךְ, ‘among’, with verb לקח hithpael, ‘to flash’: Exod 9:24;
לִפְנֵי, ‘before’, with verb נצח, ‘to flash’: Sir 32:10^B.

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX):

κρύσταλλος, ‘hail, snow, ice’:¹¹ Ps 148:8;
χάλαζα, ‘hail’:¹² Exod 9:18, 19, 22, 23 (2x), 24 (2x), 25 (2x), 26, 28, 29, 33, 34; 10:5, 12, 15; Josh 10, 11; Isa 28, 2; 28, 17; 30, 30; Hag 2:17; Pss 18[17]:13; 78[77]:47, 48; 105[104]:32; 148:8; Job 38:22; Sir 39:29; 43:15;
χιών, ‘snow’:¹³ Sir 43:13;
no rendering: Ps 18:14; Sir 32:10 (2x).

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

ܒܪܕܐ (brdʾ), ‘hail stones’:¹⁵ Exod 9:18, 19, 22, 23 (2x), 24 (2x), 25 (2x), 26, 28, 29, 33, 34; 10:5, 12, 15; Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2; 28:17; 30:30; 32:19; Hag 2:17; Pss 18:13, 14; 78:47, 48; 105:32; 148:8; Job 38:22; Sir 39:29^B;
verse omitted: Sir 32:10; 43:13, 15.

c. Targum (Tg: O/N/PsJ/Frg/J/K):¹⁶:

ברד, ‘hail’: Exod 9:18, 19, 22, 23(2x), 24 (2x), 25 (2x), 26, 28, 29, 33, 34; 10:5, 12, 15; Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2; Isa 30:30; Hag 2:17; Pss 18:13, 14; 78:47, 48; 105:32; 148:8; Job 38:22;
no rendering: Isa 28:17.

d.Vulgate (Vg):

grando, ‘grandine’:¹⁶ Exod 9:18, 19, 22, 23 (2x), 24, 25 (2x), 26, 28, 29, 33, 34; 10:5, 12, 15; Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2; 30:30; 32:19; Hag 2:18; Pss 18:13, 14; 78:47, 48; 105:32; 148:8; Job 38:22; Sir 32:14(10); 39:35(29); 43:16(15);
No rendering: Sir 43:13.

A.1 In Josh 10:11^LXX the word χάλαζα occurs two times, while in MT the word ברד occurs only once. The second time it is used to render אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד, ‘stones of hail’; the first time, however, is to render אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת, ‘huge stones’, which later are referred to as אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד, ‘stones of hail’.

5. Lexical and Semantic Field

A.1 Both in the Bible and in Qumran scrolls בָּרָד is often found in parallelism or close association with other terms concerning the weather:

שָׁלֶג, ‘snow’: Ps 148:8; Job 38:22; 4Q381 fr14+5:2; 4Q473 fr2:6;
מָטָר, ‘rain’: Exod 9:33, 34;
קֹלוֹת, ‘thunders’: Exod 9:23, 28, 33, 34;
שַׂעַר קָטֶב, ‘storm bringing destruction’: Isa 28:2;
נֶפֶץ, ‘cloudburst’: Isa 30:30;
זֶרֶם, ‘downpour’: Isa 30:30;
רוּחַ, ‘wind’: Ps 148:8;
קִיטוֹר, ‘fog’: Ps 148:8;
בָרָק, ‘lightning’: Sir 32:10^B;
עָנָן, ‘cloud’: Sir 43:15^Mas; 4Q381 fr14+5:2;
עבים, ‘clouds’: 4Q381 fr14+5:2.

A.2 Besides the lexical field of the meteorological phenomena בָּרָד is found in close relationship with terms referring to natural phenomena related to water and to fire:

מַיִם, ‘water’: Isa 28:17;
חֲנָמַל, ‘flood’: Ps 78:47; 4Q 422 3:10;
קֶרַח, ‘ice’: 4Q473 2:6;
אֵשׁ, ‘fire’: Es 9:23, 24; Pss 105:32; 148:8; Sir 39:29^B;
לַהַב אֵשׁ אוֹכֵלָה, ‘flame of devouring fire’: Isa 30:30;
רְשָׁפִים, ‘flame’: Ps 78:48;
גַחֲלֵי- אֵשׁ, ‘coals of fire’: Ps 18:13, 14.

A.3 In a number of passages בָּרָד is found in close association with terms related to decay and disease:

שִׁדָּפוֹן, ‘blasting’, and יֵּרָקוֹן, ‘mildew’: Hag 2:17, both terms refer to a disease of the grain;
יֵּרָקוֹן, ‘mildew’: 4Q473 2, 6
רַע וָדָבֶר, ‘misery and pestilence’: Sir 39:29^B

A.4 In Isa 28:2 there is a similitude, כְּזֶרֶם בָּרָד שַׂעַר קָטֶב כְּזֶרֶם מַיִם כַּבִּירִים שֹׁטְפִים, ‘like a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, a storm of mighty overflowing waters’. It is probable that these constructions are synonymous and could be part of the same lexical field.

A.5 Even in Mishnah and Tosefta the word בָּרָד occurs together with שלג, ‘snow’ (Mishnah Mikva’ot 7:1; Mishnah Oholot 8:5, Tosefta Oholot 14:6). In these passages בָּרָד also occurs with כפור, ‘frosted dew’, גליד, ‘ice’, מלח, ‘salt’ (only in Mishnah), and מים, ‘water’ (only in Tosefta). According to the context it is clear that ‘hail’ here is intended as a natural phenomenon.

6. Exegesis

A.1 Due to the context where the word appears and the meaning of the cognates, we can assume that the interpretation of בָּרָד as ‘hail’ is pretty certain. Even if ‘hail’ is often accompanied by fire, stones, thunder and other disruptive phenomena, it seems made of water, as suggested by a similitude in Isa 28:2 and parallelism in Exod 9:33 and Isa 28:17. Also in Mishnah Mikva’ot 7, 1 בָּרָד is mentioned among materials that can raise the mikveh up to the right quantity and do not make it invalid.

A.2 Hail, as natural phenomenon, occurs only as the result of violent turbulence in fully developed cumulo-nimbus clouds and is accompanied by severe thunderstorms. Raindrops within the cloud are carried to great heights where the temperature is below 0° C, and the ice pellets grow in size as they are carried up and down. When they eventually fall to earth, they may be hailstones, a half to one inch in diameter, capable of damaging field crops and even of injuring men and animals. In exceptional conditions they may be even larger (DB, 336). Winter storms are often accompanied by hail and according to Efrat and Orni (1971:146) about 70% of the rainfall in Israel falls from November to February with January being both the wettest and the coldest month.

A.3 Hail is, in all of the context, a manifestation of the power of God, and none of the occurrences is considered benignant. Hail is punitive, destructive and disruptive, and manifests itself as a plague (Exodus 9), as a punishment (Hag 2:17; Sir 39:29^B and 4Q473), as theophany and as demonstration of a majestic divine power (in most cases against enemies).

A.4 The lexeme בָּרָד is mentioned rather frequently in the Old Testament and it is strongly connected to the plague tradition of Exodus 9: the 7th Egypt plague is a violent hailstorm bringing devastation and destruction for the crops and the harvest and animals and people that are in the fields. In Egypt, however, hail is extremely rare and therefore the plague of the hail inflicted to the Pharaoh by Moses cannot be regarded as natural phenomenon but must have of preternatural nature (Exod 9:18–19, 22-26, 28-29, 33-34; Pss 78:47; 105:32; 4Q422).

A.5 In Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2, 17; 30:30 and Ps 18:13-14 the hail is a sign of divine power unleashed against the enemies of Israel. In Josh 10:11 we found אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד, ‘hailstones’. In the context God provides victory for Israel against his enemies. It is clear that the victory is due to the divine power that manifest itself with disruptive natural and meteorological phenomena. There is, indeed, a cooperation between Joshua and God. The hailstones which killed the Amorites in Josh 10:11 must have come from an exceptionally heavy cumulo-nimbus which had covered the sun. It is important to note that, according to Efrat and Orni (1971:155), ‘the coastal Plain has an average of five to eight days of hail per year, mostly in midwinter’, so it seems to be an unusual and unseasonable hailstorm.
In Isa 28:2, 17 this woe saying is directed against Samaria and its political leaders. The fate of the city by the hand of the Assyrian is alluded in the expressive metaphor of a violent storm, recurring often in the book, in Isa 28:17 and 30:30 (Blenkinsopp 2000:387). In Isa 28:2 occurs the construct state זֶרֶם בָּרָד, ‘hail downpour’, which is in parallelism with זֶרֶם מַיִם, ‘water downpour’: it emphasizes the disruptive nature of this specific atmospheric phenomenon, the hail. Even in Isa 28:17 there is a parallelism between בָרָד, ‘hail’ and מַיִם, ‘water’. According to the context and the semantic relationship with these two terms, the catastrophic and violent force of the meteorological elements is highlighted and strengthened by this parallelism.
In Isa 30:30 בָרָד, ‘hail’ occurs together with נֶפֶץ, ‘cloudburst’, זֶרֶם, ‘downpour’ and לַהַב אֵשׁ אוֹכֵלָה, ‘flame of devouring fire’. The violence of the atmospheric agents is defined by the close relationship between the terms. Again, all the power of the meteorological elements is unleashed by God against an enemy, Assyria in this case.
In Isa 30:30 and Ps 18:13–14 theophany is announced by קֹלוֹ, ‘his voice’, the voice of the divine. The manifestation of the divine power is an act of speech. Mostly the voice of God is represented by a thunder, but in a number of specific case the divine voice has the power to afflict the weather (see also Exod 9:28; 1 Sam 7:10; 2 Sam 22:14; Jer 10:13; 51, 16, Job 37:5).

A.6 In a specific passage בָּרָד is mentioned with בַּשִׁדָפוֹן וּבַיֵּרָקוֹן, ‘blight, mildew and hail’ (Hag 2:17).¹⁷ The meaning of שִׁדָפוֹן and יֵּרָקוֹן is debated, but both terms refer to diseases that affect grain and grapes before harvest. In fact, they are in close association with hail, that is one of the agent used by God to attack a nation’s agricultural goods, especially on crops in the fields before harvest (Petersen 1985:92). This passage recalls Amos 4:9 and Deut 28:22, in which appears both שִּׁדָּפוֹן, ‘blight’ and יֵּרָקוֹן, ‘mildew’, but not בָּרָד, ‘hail’. However, the context of these three passages presents similarity: ‘blight’, ‘mildew’ and ‘hail’ are punishment inflicted by God. Even in 4Q473 ‘blight’ appears as a plague in co-occurrence with hail, snow, and ice.

A.7 In a number of passages בָּרָד appears in close relationship with ‘fire’ and ‘flames’: Exod 9:23, 24; Isa 30:30; Pss 18:13, 14; 78:48; 105:32; 148:8; Sir 39:29^B. The contexts refer to Egypt plague, theophany and retribution. According to Wiggins (2014:71) in Psalms all of the occurrences of ‘fire’ and ‘flames’ connected to בָּרָד need to be read as ‘lightning’, because there is no hail without a thunderstorm. However, the hail in the Old Testament is not a natural phenomenon, instead it is a divine phenomenon, and it is not unlikely that it can occurs also with proper fire. In two specific passages, Isa 30:30 and Sir 39:29^B, the disruptive force of the element is a manifestation of the anger of God.

A.8 The recurring expression אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד (Josh 10:11; Isa 30:30; Sir 43:15^Mas) is usually translated as ‘hailstone’. Fensham (1963:169) suggests translating as ‘thunder-stone’, because in Isa 30:30 hailstones are mentioned along with lightning, cloudburst and tempest. However, the topic of ‘hailstones’ is found also in the Sefire Treaty, in which there is a wish that hailstones may shower on Arpad (Fitzmyer, 1995:181, 185). In Assyrian abnu ‘stone’ is attested, which is used in a construct state, even if it’s not found with brd in the dictionaries (CAD A^I, 60). In Standard Babylonian the expression ‘hailstone’ occurs once.¹⁸ It can be related with the Hebrew construct אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד, ‘hailstones’ (Josh 10:11; Isa 30:30; Sir 43:15^Mas).

A.9 As said previously, hail is one of the plagues sent to Egypt and is a typical phenomenon of the theophany of God against the enemies of Israel (Josh 10:11; Isa 28:2; 28:17; 30:30; Ps 18:13-14). According to Propp (1999:351) and Dozeman (2009:235), hail is more typical of Canaan than of Egypt and through this YHWH manifest himself as Storm God. The imagery of the Storm God is common in ancient Mesopotamia and in Syria-Palestine, because thunderstorm is central to the agricultural cycle. KAI 222A:26-27 describes a curse that will be brought by the weather god Hadad: ויסך על ארפד [אבני ב]רד, ‘and he shall pour out hailstones over Arpad’. [COS II 214 refers to Exod 10:4-5, Ps 105:32, 34.] Mythological and epic texts from Ugarit mention the deity Baʽal/ Hadad (these two names are often found in parallelism). He is called ‘the Storm God’ as inscribed on a statue from Alalah.¹⁹ His representations include images of fertility and control of the weather: Baal brings forth life through the storm rains, but also wages war to his enemies with his lightning bolts. The thunderstorm is an event of revelation, a celebration of life, and a proclamation of political victory and power (ANET, 129-42).
ברד is also supposed to be a name of an ancient deity of the Canaanite pantheon. References are found in Eblaitic God Baradu madu, who is a personification of the hail. In the Eblaite texts, Baradu madu receives sacrificial offering, so he is probably a minor deity of the Eblaite pantheon or a specific manifestation of the Storm God, Baʽal/ Hadad (DDD, 304-05).
The vassal treaties of Esarhaddon (ANET, 534-41), an Assyrian text, mentions the deity Hadad, who manifest his power with plagues which reminds of the Egypt plagues: violent downpour and locust that destroy all the crops.

A.10 The fragment 4Q473 contains the word ברד (partially restored). The context probably refers to a punishment from God. 4Q473 2:6 is part of a parabiblical fragment, similar to Deuteronomy 28. 4Q473 contains Deuteronomic material and scholars have suggested a reconstruction of 4Q473 2:6 based on plagues mentioned in Exodus 9: וירקון שלג קרח וברד, ‘and blight, snow, ice and hail’. 4Q473 is a lucid example of blessing and curses literature, that is also found in other fragments of the Qumran corpus. This fragment fits in the theme of the two ways, a recurring theme in the Old Testament and in the later Jewish and Christian texts (DJD XIII:289-24).
4Q422 3:10 is a paraphrase of the sequence of plagues in Exodus and presents resemblances with both Pss 78 and 105. All the plagues but boils are mentioned, even if they are presented in different order than in the Book of Exodus, with darkness before hail and not after locust (as in Exodus).²⁰

7. Conclusion

A.1 The context in which בָּרָד appears is mostly a theophany or a retribution inflicted by YHWH to enemies or ‘sinners’. The hail has in no context a positive connotation: the hail brings destruction and disasters and when it manifests it is often associated with other meteorological terms like שָׁלֶג, ‘snow’ or קֹלוֹת, ‘thunder’; or natural terms like אֵשׁ, ‘fire’.
The lexeme seems to have, indeed, a negative implication: when the hail comes, it may destroy crops and hurts people and, in the text, the disruptive strength of this phenomenon is clearly described. It is perfectly plausible that a similar phenomenon is connected with the divine force.

A.2 The lexeme occurs mainly in Early Biblical Hebrew and from the contexts it is clear that the hail is a divine phenomenon, even if it is connected to the natural environment. We have no occurrences in which the hail is intended as stand-alone phenomenon, not connected with the divine will.²²

A.3 As we’ve seen before, the way in which YHWH reveal his destroying power through the hail is similar to the theophany of the Tempest God of the other ancient Near Eastern religions. This is one of the aspects of divine features: the ability to control a meteorological phenomenon that is not usual in this area and that, certainly, makes people afraid of losing crops and harvests. Giving the power to control the hail to God may have been a way to exorcise the fear.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Allen 1983
Leslie Allen, Psalm 101-150 (WBC), Waco: Word Books.

Barthélemy 2005
Dominique Barthélemy, Critique textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, tome 4: Psaumes (eds. S.D. Ryan and A. Schenker; OBO 50/4), Fribourg: Éditions Universitaires; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Black et al. 2000
Jeremy A. Black et al. (eds.), A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, Wiesbaden: Harrosowitz.

Blenkinsopp 2000
Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 1-39 (AB), New Haven: Yale University Press.

Charles 1912
Robert Henry Charles, The Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch, translated from the editor's Ethiopic text (....) together with a reprint from the editor's text of the Greek fragments, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

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Peter Craigie and Marvin Tate, Psalm 1-50 (WBC), Waco, TX: Word.

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Thomas B. Dozeman, Exodus (Eerdmans Critical Commentary) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

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Charles F. Fensham, ‘Curses and Maledictions’, ZAW 75:155-75.

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David L. Petersen, Haggai and Zechariah 1-8 (OTL), London: SCM.

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William H.C. Propp, Exodus 1-18 (AB), New Haven: Yale University Press.

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Sabourin 1974
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Robert B.Y.Scott, ‘Meteorological Phenomena and Terminology in the Old Testament’, ZAW 23:11-25.

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Steve A. Wiggins, Weathering the Psalms: A Meteorotheological Survey, Eugene, OR: Cascade.

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Yigael Yadin, Masada VI: Hebrew Fragments from Masada. Masada: The Yigael Yadin excavations 1963-1965 final reports. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

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Notes

Payne Smith, CSD, 55. ↩
DISO, 43; KAI ??? ii, 248. ↩
Field II:493. ↩
Sir 43:14^B-marg has למענו, similar to Sir 43:14^Mas. ↩
DNWSI, 196; DISO, 43. ↩
DJPA, 111. ↩
MdD 50; DTT, 190. ↩
HALOT, 154. ↩
Ges I: 173. ↩
HALOT, 154. ↩
ESAC 13. ↩
As suggested in DJD XIII, 433. ↩
GELS, 415. ↩
GELS, 727; LSJ, 1970. ↩
GELS, 733. ↩
DJPA, 111; DTT, 190. ↩
Sokoloff, SLB, 186. ↩
Lewis & Short, LD, 824. ↩
Translation from Petersen 1985:86. CHECK text ↩
Black et al. 2000:2. ↩
DDD, 304-05. ↩
DJD XIII, 429-34. ↩
For functional languages and explanations about Early Biblical Hebrew and Late Biblical Hebrew see Zatelli 2004:140-141. ↩