Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Noel O'Riordan" <nor AT iol.ie>]

Hello All

What is the most accurate translation of Exodus 9:24a.

The NIV has: hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth
The Jerusalem Bible has:  The hail fell and lightning flashing in the middle
of it.
The Douay-Challoner text has:  And the hail and fire mixed with it drove on
together.
The KJV has:  So there was Hail and fire mingled with the hail.

The translation hinges on the word  'esh which is normally translated as
fire, but can also be used to indicate lightning.

The reason I ask is that the translation that favors the use of Fire gives
the plague a lot more punch, and of course this is the version that has
taken the popular imagination so that the plague is often seen as being
almost a plague of Fire and Brimstone.

The more obvious translation, especially considering the context seems to be
Lightning this of course merely turns the Hail storm into just that.

Any comments?

Best Regards
Noel O'Riordan