The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.

PSALMS 29:7KJV
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Psalms 29:7 (KJV)

What does Psalms 29:7 mean?

Psalms 29:7 describes the powerful voice of the LORD as dividing or splitting the flames of fire. The verse uses vivid imagery to show that God's voice has authority even over the most untamable and dangerous forces in nature.

In this psalm, David is speaking about the majesty and strength of God, using the picture of a thunderstorm. The verse comes in the middle of a series of descriptions where God's voice is shown as commanding over waters, forests, and now fire. The language highlights how nothing in creation is beyond God's control, not even fire, which was seen as both destructive and mysterious.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 29:7

  • "voice" (קוֹל, qol): This word refers to a sound or voice, and in this context, it is often understood as thunder, representing God's presence and power in the storm.
  • "divideth" (חָצַב, chatsav): This word means to hew, cut, or split. The image is of God's voice forcefully breaking apart or dividing the flames, suggesting both power and precision.
  • "flames" (לַהֶבֶת, lahevet): This word means a flame or blaze, emphasizing the intensity and energy of fire.
  • "fire" (אֵשׁ, esh): The basic word for fire, representing one of the most powerful and uncontrollable elements known to people at the time.

Why Psalms 29:7 matters

  • Psalms 29:7 clears up the idea that God's power is only gentle or comforting; it shows that His voice can also command and control the fiercest parts of creation.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by continuing the theme of God's voice as the central force in the storm, linking water, trees, and fire as examples of His authority.
  • Understanding the original words helps readers see that the verse is not just about literal fire, but about the awe-inspiring, unstoppable nature of God's power in the world.

Where else these words appear

“flames” Hebrew H3852 · used in 19 verses

  • Numbers 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
  • Isaiah 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
  • Ezekiel 20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

“divideth” Hebrew H2672 · used in 22 verses

  • Deuteronomy 6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
  • 2 Chronicles 2:18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
  • Isaiah 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.