A tempest is a violent storm of wind and rain. Biblical storms include the Flood, storms at sea, the storm on Galilee, and the tempest that threatened Paul’s voyage; Scripture also portrays God as ruling over storms and using them in judgment or deliverance.
Definition
A tempest is a heavy or violent storm of wind and rain. The term may describe an actual storm at sea or on land, and it may also be used figuratively for overwhelming judgment, danger, or distress.
Biblical Usage
Biblical tempests include the rain of Noah’s flood, the Egyptian hail and rain, the storm after Elijah’s contest, Jonah’s storm at sea, the storm Jesus calmed on Galilee, and the storm that caused Paul’s shipwreck. Scripture also declares God’s power over storms, portrays them as instruments of judgment, and calls him a refuge from them.
Historical Background
Heavy storms of wind and rain are common in Palestine and the Mediterranean. The biblical examples therefore include both inland storms and dangerous weather encountered on the Mediterranean and the Lake of Galilee.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>tem'-pest (ce`-arah, or se`-arah, "a whirlwind," zerem, "overflowing rain"; cheimon, thuella): Heavy storms of wind and rain are common in Palestine and the Mediterranean. The storms particularly mentioned in the Bible are:</p><p>(1) the 40 days' rain of ~the great flood of Noah (Ge 7:4);</p><p>(2) hail and rain as a plague in Egypt (Ex 9:18);</p><p>(3) the great rain after the drought and the contest of Elijah on Carmel (1Ki 18:45);</p><p>(4) the tempest on the sea in the story of Jonah (1:4);</p><p>(5) the storm on the Lake of Galilee when Jesus was awakened to calm the waves (Mt 8:24; Mr 4:37; Lu 8:23);</p><p>(6) the storm causing the shipwreck of Paul at Melita (Ac 27:18).</p><p>Frequent references are found to God's power over storm and use of the tempest in His anger: "He maketh the storm a calm" (Ps 107:29); He sends the "tempest of hail, a destroying storm" (Isa 28:2). See also Job 9:17; 21:18; Isa 30:30. Yahweh overwhelms His enemies as with a storm: "She shall be visited of Yahweh of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest" (Isa 29:6). Yahweh is a "refuge from the storm" (Isa 25:4; 4:6).</p><p>Alfred H. Joy</p>
