Texts in Conversation
Revelation’s description of hail and fire falling from the sky mirrors the plague on Egypt, where hail and flame devastated the land. Revelation reshapes the narrative of the plague into cosmic judgment, expanding the scope from Egypt to the entire earth.
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Exodus 9:23
Hebrew Bible
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sky that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on people and on animals, and on everything that grows in the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 When Moses extended his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire fell to the earth; so the Lord caused hail to rain down on the land of Egypt. 24 Hail fell and fire mingled with the hail; the hail was so severe that there had not been any like it in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 The hail struck everything in the open fields, both people and animals, throughout all the land of Egypt. The hail struck everything that grows in the field, and it broke all the trees of the field to pieces.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 8:7
New Testament
3 Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 4 The smoke coming from the incense, along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Noting from the Old Testament background that the “third part” is used in terms of judgment, it is also noteworthy that in Revelation 16:19 Babylon is divided into three parts as God delivers judgment against it. This “third part” is killed by three plagues: “fire, smoke, and sulfur” that come out of the mouth of the horses (vs. 18). Again, the mention of plagues presupposes an Old Testament background. In fact, the woes of the seven trumpets reflect the plagues God poured upon Egypt1 before the exodus (Thomas, Revelation 8-22, 49, notices that the term plege, used to describe “the threefold destructive capacity of the horses ... is the same word used in the LXX to name the plagues of Egypt.” In fact, the plagues mentioned in the Trumpets’ narrative have striking similarities with those that fell on ancient Egypt: hail and fire - Revelation 8:7; Exodus 9:23; waters turned into blood - Revelation 8:8; Exodus 7:17; darkness - Revelation 8:12; Exodus 10:21-23; and locusts - Revelation 9:3; Exodus 10:4, 5) ..."
Pollard, Leslie N.
The Function of loipos in Contexts of Judgment and Salvation in The Function of loipos in Contexts of Judgment and Salvation in the Book of Revelation
(pp. 198-199) Andrews University, 2007
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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