79 Bible Verses about Theophany

Then the earth shook and quaked, and [the] foundations of [the] mountains trembled, and they staggered because he was angry. Smoke went forth from his nose, and fire from his mouth consumed. Burning coals blazed from him. So he bowed [the] heavens and came down with a thick cloud under his feet.read more.
And he mounted a cherub and flew, and he swooped down on wings of wind. He made darkness his hiding place; all about him his covering [was] a darkness of waters, {thick clouds}. From the brightness before him his clouds passed over [with] hail and coals of fire. And Yahweh thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice [with] hail and coals of fire. And he shot his arrows and scattered them, and many lightning bolts and routed them. Then the channels of [the] sea became visible, and [the] foundations of [the] world were uncovered by your rebuke, O Yahweh, by the {blast} of the wind of your nose.

{And} on the third day, when it was morning, there was thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain and a very loud ram's horn sound, and all the people who [were] in the camp trembled.

And all the people [were] seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram's horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance.

"God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things, and we cannot comprehend.

The voice of Yahweh [is] over the waters; the God of glory thunders. Yahweh [is] over many waters. The voice of Yahweh [is] powerful. The voice of Yahweh [is] majestic. The voice of Yahweh breaks [the] cedars. Yahweh shatters even the cedars of Lebanon.read more.
And he makes them skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of Yahweh flashes flames of fire. The voice of Yahweh shakes [the] wilderness. Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of Yahweh causes deer to give birth and strips [the] forests bare. And at his temple all in it say, "Glory!"

The sound of your thunder [was] in the whirlwind; lightnings lit [the] world; the earth shook and quaked.

His lightnings light [the] world; the earth sees and trembles.

Look! The name of Yahweh comes from afar, burning [with] his anger and heaviness of cloud. His lips are full [of] indignation, and his tongue [is] like a devouring fire. And his breath [is] like an overflowing river; it reaches up to [the] neck to shake [the] nations with [the] sieve of worthlessness; and a bridle that leads astray [is] on [the] jawbones of [the] peoples. {You shall have a song} as [in] [the] night when a holy festival is kept, and a gladness of heart like one who goes with the flute, to go to the mountain of Yahweh, to the rock of Israel.read more.
And Yahweh will cause the majesty of his voice to be heard, and he will cause the descent of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, [with] a cloudburst and a rainstorm and stones of hail. Indeed, Assyria will be shattered by the voice of Yahweh; he strikes with the rod. And every stroke of [the] staff of foundation that Yahweh lays will be on it with timbrels and lyres, and he will fight against it with battles of brandishing. For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood {abundant}. The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.

And he said, "Yahweh roars from Zion and he utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither and the top of Carmel dries up."

Sun [and] moon stood still in [their] place; at the light of your arrows they moved about; at the gleam of the flashing of your spear.

Then Yahweh will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; and my Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and he shall go out in the storm winds of [the] south.

And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were lightnings and sounds and thunders and an earthquake and large hail.

And Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke because Yahweh went down on it in the fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood {abundant}. The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.

But the multitude of your strangers shall be like fine dust, and [the] multitude of tyrants like chaff that passes by. And it will happen [in] an instant, suddenly. You will be punished by Yahweh of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great sound, storm wind and tempest and [the] flame of a devouring fire.

Yahweh, when you went down from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured down, the clouds poured down water. The mountains trembled before Yahweh, this Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

He stood and measured the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. Then the mountains of old were shattered; the hills of old collapsed. The ways of old belong to him.

And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed.

And Yahweh was going before them by day in a column of cloud to lead them [on] the way and [by] night in a column of fire to give light to them to go by day and night.

And the appearance of the glory of Yahweh [was] like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain to the eyes of the {Israelites}.

Then a fire went out {from before} Yahweh, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And all the people saw [it], so they shouted [for joy], and they fell on their faces.

and they will {tell it} to the inhabitants of this land. They heard that you, Yahweh, [are] in the midst of this people, that you are seen eye to eye, and your cloud [is] standing over them, and in a column of cloud you go before them by day and in a column of fire [at] night.

And [so] you came near, and you stood under the mountain, and the mountain [was] burning with fire up to the heart of the heaven, {dark with a very thick cloud}. And Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; {you heard} a sound of words, but {you did not see} a form--only a voice.

{Face to face} Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire.

And when the flame went up toward the heaven from the altar, the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar to heaven while Manoah and his wife [were] watching. And they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, and then Manoah knew that he [was] a messenger of Yahweh. And Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die because we have seen God."

Fire goes before him, and devours his enemies round about.

And I will {set} wonders in the heavens, and on earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.

O Yahweh, bow the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.

And the pivots of the thresholds shook from the sound of those who called, and the house was filled [with] smoke.

Look! The name of Yahweh comes from afar, burning [with] his anger and heaviness of cloud. His lips are full [of] indignation, and his tongue [is] like a devouring fire.

and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

And at the moment of Aaron's speaking to all the community of the {Israelites}, they turned to the desert, {and just then} the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, I [am going to] come to you in {a thick cloud} in order that the people will hear when I speak with you and will also trust in you forever." And Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. And the glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it [for] six days, and he called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud.

{And} at the entering of Moses [into] the tent the column of cloud would descend and stand [at] the opening of the tent, and he would speak with Moses.

And Yahweh descended in the cloud, and he stood with him there, and he proclaimed the name of Yahweh.

And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a column of cloud, and the column of the cloud stood at the entrance of the tent.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell your brother Aaron [that] he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary {behind} the curtain {in front of} the atonement cover that [is] on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

And on a day setting up the tabernacle, the cloud covered the tent of the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony; in the evening it was on the tabernacle as an appearance of fire until morning. So it was continually; the cloud would cover it and the appearance of fire [by] night. [Whenever] the cloud lifted up from on the tent, after that the {Israelites} would set out, and in the place where the cloud dwelled, there the {Israelites} camped.read more.
On the {command of Yahweh} the {Israelites} would set out, and on the {command of Yahweh} they encamped; all the days that the cloud dwelled on the tabernacle they encamped. And when the cloud prolonged on the tabernacle many days the {Israelites} kept the kept requirement of Yahweh and did not set out. When the cloud {remained} a number of days on the tabernacle, on the {command of Yahweh} they encamped; and on the {command of Yahweh} they set out. When the cloud {remained} from evening until morning, and the cloud lifted up in the morning, they would set out, or [if it remained] in the daytime and [at] night, [when] the cloud lifted up they set out. When [it was] two days, a month, {or a year} that the cloud prolonged to dwell on the tabernacle, the {Israelites} encamped, and they did not set out; when it lifted up they set out.

When the priests went out from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh. The priests [were] not able to stand to minister {because of the presence of} the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

And I looked, and look! A storm wind [was] coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing back and forth, and brightness around [and] {within it}, and from its midst [it was] like [the] outward appearance of amber stone from the midst of the fire.

Now the cherubim [were] standing on [the] south of the temple {when the man went}, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. And the glory of Yahweh rose up from on the cherub toward the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh.

[While] he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!"

And [while] he was saying these [things], a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. And a voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, [my] Chosen One. Listen to him!"

And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud was seated [one] like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, "Send out your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe!" And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

And the angel of Yahweh found her at a spring of water in the wilderness, at the spring by the road of Shur. And he said to Hagar, the servant of Sarai, "{From where} have you come, and where are you going?" And she said, "I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai my mistress." Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit yourself under {her authority}."read more.
And the angel of Yahweh said to her, "{I will greatly multiply} your offspring, so that they cannot be counted for [their] abundance." And the angel of Yahweh said to her: "Behold, you are pregnant and shall have a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, for Yahweh has listened to your suffering. And he shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand [will be] against everyone, and the hand of everyone [will be] against him, and he will live {in hostility with all his brothers}." So she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, "You [are] El-Roi," for she said, "Here I have seen after he who sees me."

And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting in the doorway of the tent at the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing near him. And he saw [them] and ran from the doorway of the tent to meet them. And he bowed down to the ground. And he said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes do not pass by your servant.read more.
Let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest under the tree. And let me bring a piece of bread, then refresh {yourselves}. Afterward you can pass on, {once} you have passed by with your servant." Then they said, "Do so as you have said." Then Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and he said, "Quickly--make three seahs of fine flour for kneading and make bread cakes!" And Abraham ran to the cattle and took a {calf}, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he made haste to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk, and the calf which he prepared, and set [it] before them. And he was standing by them under the tree while they ate. And they said to him, "Where [is] Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Here, in the tent." And he said, "I will certainly return to you {in the spring}, and look, Sarah your wife [will have] a son." Now Sarah [was] listening at the doorway of the tent, and which [was] behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old, {advanced in age}; {the way of women} had ceased to be for Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself saying, "After I am worn out and my husband is old, shall [this] pleasure be to me?" Then Yahweh said to Abraham, "What [is] this [that] Sarah laughed, saying, 'Is it indeed true [that] I will bear a child, now [that] I have grown old?' Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you {in the spring} and Sarah [shall have] a son." But Sarah denied [it], saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh." Then the men set out from there, and they looked down upon Sodom. And Abraham went with them {to send them on their way}. Then Yahweh said, "Shall I conceal from Abraham what I [am going] to do? Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed on account of him. For I have chosen him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him." Then Yahweh said, "Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah [is] great and because their sin [is] very {serious}, I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress [which] has come to me? If not, I will know." And the men turned from there and went toward Sodom. And Abraham [was] still standing before Yahweh.

And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."read more.
Then he said to him, "What [is] your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked and said, "Please tell me your name." And he said, "Why do you ask this--for my name?" And he blessed him there. Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means] "I have seen God face to face and my life was spared."

And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, {he looked up}, and he saw a man standing {opposite him} [with] his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, "Are you with us, or with our adversaries?" And he said, "Neither. I have come now [as] the commander of Yahweh's army." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and {he bowed down} and said to him, "What [is] my lord commanding his servant?" The commander of Yahweh's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you [are] standing [is] holy." And Joshua did so.

In the year of the death of Uzziah the king, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and raised throne, and the hem of his robe [was] filling the temple.

Isaiah said these [things] because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him.

And from above the expanse that [was] above their heads [there was] the likeness of a throne, {looking like a sapphire}, and above the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness similar to [the] appearance of a human on it, [but] {above it}.

And I looked, and look! On the expanse that [was] above the head of the cherubim [something] like a stone of sapphire, [and] like [the] appearance of [the] shape of a throne it appeared above them.

"{I continued watching} until thrones were placed and an Ancient of Days sat; his clothing [was] like white snow and the hair of his head [was] like pure wool and his throne [was] a flame of fire and its wheels [were] burning fire.

Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one was seated on the throne.

And I saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, {from whose presence} earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them.

Seraphs [were] standing above him. {Each had six wings}: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And from its midst [was] the likeness of four living creatures, and this [was] their appearance: {a human form}, and {each had four faces}, and {each of them had four wings}. And their legs [were] straight legs, and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole of [the] foot of a calf, and [they] were sparkling like the outward appearance of polished bronze.read more.
And under their wings [were] {human hands} on their four sides. And their faces and their wings for the four of them [were as follows]: {their wings were touching one another}; {each of them went straight forward}, {without turning right or left}. The likeness of their faces [was the] face of a human [in front], and [the] face of a lion on the right {of each of them}, and the face of an ox on the left {of each of them}, and [the] face of an eagle {for each of them}. So [were] their faces; their wings [were] spread out {upward}; each [had] two touching one another and two covering their bodies. And each {went straight forward}; {wherever the spirit went} they went, [and] {they did not turn as they went}. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It [was] moving to and fro between the living creatures, and {the fire was very bright} and lightning [was] going out from the fire. And the living creatures {were speeding to and fro} like the appearance of lightning. And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth beside {each of the living creatures that had four faces}. The appearance of the wheels and their construction [was] like [the] appearance of beryl, and {they all looked alike}, and their appearance and their construction [was] {like a wheel within a wheel}. When they moved, they went toward their four sides; they did not {veer at all as they went}. And their rims {were high and awesome}, and {all four of} their rims [were] full of eyes [all] around.

And I saw, and look, four wheels beside the cherubim, {one wheel beside each cherub}, and the appearance of the wheels [was] like [the] outward appearance of {turquoise stone}. Their appearance {was the same for each of the four of them}, as if the wheel was in the midst of a wheel. {When they went} to the four of their directions [that] they went, they did not change direction {when they went}, for the place [to] which the head turned, they went behind him; they did not change direction at their going.read more.
And {their whole body}, and their rims, and their spokes, and their wings, and the wheels [were] full of eyes [all] around--{the wheels for the four of them}. Concerning the wheels, he [was] calling them "the wheelwork" {in my hearing}.

And before the throne [was something] like a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the midst of the throne and around the throne [were] four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. And the first living creature [was] similar to a lion, and the second living creature [was] similar to an ox, and the third living creature had a face like a man's, and the fourth living creature [was] similar to an eagle flying. And the four living creatures, {each one} of them, had six wings apiece, full of eyes around and inside, and they do not have rest day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy [is] the Lord God All-Powerful, the one who was and the one who is and the one who is coming!"read more.
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, the one who lives {forever and ever}, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives {forever and ever}, and put down their crowns before the throne, saying, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all [things], and because of your will they existed and were created."

And they saw the God of Israel, and [what was] under his feet [was] like sapphire tile work and like the very heavens for clearness.

And the one seated [was] similar in appearance to jasper and carnelian stone, and a rainbow [was] around the throne similar in appearance to emerald.

And the glory of Yahweh rose up from on the cherub toward the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of Yahweh.

And the glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it [for] six days, and he called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud.

And the cloud covered the tent of assembly, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. And Moses was unable to go into the tent of assembly because the cloud settled on it and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.

Then Moses and Aaron entered [the] tent of assembly. When they came out, they blessed the people, and Yahweh's glory appeared to all the people. Then a fire went out {from before} Yahweh, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And all the people saw [it], so they shouted [for joy], and they fell on their faces.

And all the community said to stone them with stones, but the glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of assembly among the {Israelites}.

The priests [were] not able to stand to minister {because of the presence of} the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

And when Solomon finished praying, then fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the house. And the priests were not able to go into the house of Yahweh, for the glory of Yahweh had filled the house. When all the {Israelites} saw the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh upon the house, they knelt down [with their] faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to Yahweh, for [he is] good, for his loyal love [is] everlasting.

The voice of Yahweh [is] over the waters; the God of glory thunders. Yahweh [is] over many waters.

Cloud and thick darkness [are] surrounding him; righteousness and justice [are] the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and devours his enemies round about. His lightnings light [the] world; the earth sees and trembles.read more.
[The] mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and their wheels [were] beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel {was over them}. And the glory of Yahweh went up from the midst of the city, and it stood [still] on the mountain that [is] to the east of the city.

{And Yahweh became very angry} with them, and he went [away]. And the cloud departed from on the tent, and behold, Miriam [was] infected with {a skin disease} white like snow; when Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, [she was] afflicted with a skin disease.

And Yahweh thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice [with] hail and coals of fire. And he shot his arrows and scattered them, and many lightning bolts and routed them. Then the channels of [the] sea became visible, and [the] foundations of [the] world were uncovered by your rebuke, O Yahweh, by the {blast} of the wind of your nose.

And all the people [were] seeing the thunder and the lightning and the sound of the ram's horn and the mountain smoking, and the people saw, and they trembled, and they stood at a distance. And they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that his fear will be before you so that you do not sin."

And I said, "Woe to me! For I am destroyed! For I [am] a man {of unclean lips}, and I [am] living among a people {of unclean lips}, for my eyes have seen the king, Yahweh of hosts!"

Then I heard [the] voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "I [am] here! Send me!"

And Yahweh went down in a column of cloud and stood [at] the doorway of the tent, and he called Aaron and Miriam, and the two of them went, and he said, "Please hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; in all my house he [is] faithful.read more.
I will speak to him mouth to mouth, [in] clearness, not in riddles; and he will look at the form of Yahweh. Why were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?"