Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PILLAR OF CLOUD, PILLAR OF FIRE

Complementary manifestations of the divine presence, cloud by day and fire by night, to guide the Israelites through the wilderness (Exod. 13:21). The combined term only occurs in Exod. 14:24. This pattern is interrupted once by the Sea of Reeds; here the pillar of cloud moves into a defensive position behind the Israelites at night, apparently to supplement the darkness of night for the Egyptians and thus prevent any nighttime attack. In addition, the pillar of cloud is associated with the presence of God in the tent of meeting (Exod. 33:9-10).

Fire and cloud are both common symbols of God throughout the Bible. The cloud both reveals God’s presence and conceals God’s person (e.g., Exod. 16:10; Lev. 16:2), while fire signifies God’s power, passion, and purity (e.g., Exod. 19:18; Mal. 3:2). These images both reach back to the theophanies of the patriarchs and point forward to the theophany on Mt. Sinai and beyond to those of the prophets.

Scholars have tried to connect the pillar of fire and cloud with either the pillar torches used in religious and military ceremonies or the pillars of the Solomonic temple, as well as storms and volcanic eruptions, but such efforts remain conjecture.

Bibliography. J. I. Durham, Exodus. WBC 3 (Waco, 1987); T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.

Cheryl Lynn Hubbard

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PILLAR OF CLOUD, PILLAR OF FIRE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)