The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.

PSALMS 29:8KJV
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Psalms 29:8 (KJV)

What does Psalms 29:8 mean?

Psalms 29:8 portrays the LORD’s voice as powerful enough to shake a vast wilderness. The line uses the sound and force of a storm to picture the LORD’s command over a remote and seemingly unshakable landscape.

The repeated word “shaketh” gives the line a jolting rhythm. After the mountains are pictured moving in verse 6, the poem turns to Kadesh, a wilderness region familiar from Israel’s journey through the desert.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 29:8

  • “voice” — קוֹל (qol): The word can mean a voice or a sound. Here, “the voice of the LORD” fits the storm imagery and can bring thunder to mind.
  • “shaketh” — חוּל (chul): The word can describe twisting or trembling. It gives the wilderness the motion of something shaken by a powerful force.
  • “wilderness” — מִדְבָּר (midbar): The word refers to open, uncultivated land, often used for grazing. It need not mean a place made entirely of sand.

Why Psalms 29:8 matters

  • The verse gives the wilderness a name, making the image more specific. “Kadesh” recalls a place associated with Israel’s desert travels, where the people stayed for a time (Numbers 20:1).
  • The verse presents the sound as the LORD’s own action. The first half says “the voice of the LORD shaketh,” while the second says “the LORD shaketh.”
  • The verse extends the poem’s picture of power across different landscapes. The move from mountains in verse 6 to wilderness in verse 8 gives the scene a wide reach.

Where else these words appear

“Kadesh” Hebrew H6946 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 14:7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
  • Numbers 20:14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:
  • Deuteronomy 1:46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

“shaketh” Hebrew H2342 · used in 58 verses

  • Genesis 8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
  • Psalms 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
  • Isaiah 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.