hail
also known as: hailstone
An aggregate hailstone—large hailstone with smaller stones attached. Diameter is approximately 6 centimeters. Photographer: National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) Collectionballs of ice / frozen, multi-layered rain-drops (sometimes aggregated)
God has sometimes used hail as a way of stoning people and their land. An enormous and devastating hailstorm was one of the plagues God sent on Egypt.
“Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.”
The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; but he who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
Now the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field.
Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail (Exodus 9:18-26—NASB).
ARMY EXECUTED BY HAIL—A miraculous hail storm was sent by God to utterly destroy the army of the idolatrous Amorites that tried to kill the Israelites led by Joshua.
“As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword” (Joshua 10:11—NASB).
Hail is also mentioned by Haggai as a divine judgment.
“‘I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord” (Hag. 2:17—NKJV).
Ezekiel 38:22—“I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”
Rev. 8:7—“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.”
Rev. 11:19—“…there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail”.
Rev. 16:21—“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”
Ezekiel represents a wall daubed with untempered mortar as destroyed by great hailstones (Ezek. 13:11).
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