heaven thunders

φωνή, ῆς, ἡ (s. prec. entry; Hom.+).

① an auditory effect, sound, tone, noise the source of which is added in the gen.: of musical instruments (Pla., Rep. 3, 397a ὀργάνων; Eur., Tro. 127 συρίγγων; Plut., Mor. 713c ψαλτηρίου καὶ αὐλοῦ; Aristoxenus, Fgm. 6; Paus. Attic. α, 169; Ex 19:16, Is 18:3 and PsSol 8:1 σάλπιγγος; cp. ParJer 3:2; Is 24:8 κιθάρας; Aristobul. in Eus., PE 8, 10, 13=p. 144, 94f Holladay) σάλπιγγος Mt 24:31 v.l.; D 16:6. φωναὶ τῆς σάλπιγγος blasts of the trumpet Rv 8:13b; or of those who play them κιθαρῳδῶν 14:2d; 18:22a; cp. 10:7. Of the noise made by a millstone 18:22b. Of a shout produced by a crowd of people φωνὴ ὄχλου πολλοῦ 19:1, 6a (cp. Da 10:6 Theod.; also λαοῦ πολλοῦ PsSol 8:2). Of the sound caused by spoken words (Da 10:9; Just., D. 131, 2 μηδὲ μέχρι φωνῆς) ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ ἀσπασμοῦ σου Lk 1:44. φωνὴ ῥημάτων sound of words Hb 12:19. Cp. 1 Cl 27:7 (Ps 18:4). ἔσομαι φωνή I will be just a meaningless sound (in contrast to Ignatius functioning as a λόγος θεοῦ [=meaningful expression of God] if his adherents abstain from pleas in his behalf) IRo 2:1 (s. ἠχώ). Abs. of the sound made by a wail of sorrow (cp. TestJob 40:9; TestIss 1:4) Mt 2:18 (Jer 38:15). μεγάλη φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐν τ. οὐρανῷ GPt 9:35.—Of musical instruments it is said that they φωνὴν διδόναι produce sound (in ref. to mere sonant capability in contrast to distinguishable notes) 1 Cor 14:7f.—In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm? In Ex 19:16 φωναὶ κ. ἀστραπαί are surely thunder and lightning. But in Ex 9:23, 28; 1 Km 12:18 the mng. of φωναί remains unclear. Cp. also Esth 1:1d φωναί, βρονταί).—Freq. in imagery: of wind sound J 3:8; cp. Ac 2:6. Of thunderclap (1 Km 7:10; GrBar 6:13) Rv 6:1; 14:2c; 19:6c. Of roar of water (Ezk 1:24b) 1:15b; 14:2b; 19:6b. Of whirring of wings (Ezk 1:24a) 9:9a. Of the clatter of chariots 9:9 b (cp. Ezk 3:13; 26:10).

② the faculty of utterance, voice (Tat. 15:3 προύχει τῶν θηρίων ὁ ἄνθρωπος κατὰ τὴν ἔναρθον φωνήν=humankind excels beasts in articulate utterance)

ⓐ gener. of sonant aspect: any form of speech or other utterance w. the voice can take place μετὰ φωνῆς μεγάλης Lk 17:15; ἐν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ Rv 5:2; 14:7, 9; mostly φωνῇ μεγάλῃ (TestAbr A 5 p. 82, 20f [Stone p. 12]; ParJer 2:2; Achilles Tat. 8, 1, 1; SibOr 3, 669; 5, 63) Mt 27:46, 50; Mk 1:26; 5:7; 15:34; Lk 1:42 v.l. (s. κραυγή 1b); 4:33; 8:28; 19:37; J 11:43; Ac 7:57, 60; 8:7; Rv 6:10; 7:2, 10 al.; IPhld 7:1a. μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῃ (Diod S 1, 70, 5; 8, 23, 3; Lucian, Hist. Conscr. 1, Tim. 9; ParJer 9:8; Jos., Bell. 6, 188) Ac 14:10 v.l. 26:24; ἐν ἰσχυρᾷ φωνῇ Rv 18:2. ἐν φωνῇ μιᾷ IEph 4:2; μιᾷ φ. (Pla., Laws 1, 634e; Diod S 11, 9, 3; 11, 26, 6; 19, 81, 2; Ael. Aristid. 24, 4 K.=44 p. 825 D.; Lucian, Nigr. 14) ApcPt 5:19.—αἴρειν φωνήν (αἴρω 1b) Lk 17:13; πρός τινα Ac 4:24. ἐπαίρειν φωνήν (ParJer 9:14; s. ἐπαίρω 1) Lk 11:27; Ac 2:14; 14:11; 22:22; AcPl Ha 6, 33. ἀκούειν τῆς φωνῆς τινος hear someone speaking or calling (TestAbr B 3 p. 107, 10 [Stone p. 62]; TestJob 42:3; TestJos 9:4; ParJer 3:10) J 5:25, 28; 10:3; Hb 3:7, 15; 4:7 (the last three Ps 94:7); w. a neg. and acc. (φωνήν) Mt 12:19 (cp. Is 42:2); J 5:37. The same expr.=listen to someone’s speech or call, follow someone (Gen 3:17) 10:16, 27; 18:37; Rv 3:20; B 8:7; cp. 9:2 (s. Ex 15:26).—(ἡ) φωνὴ (τοῦ) νυμφίου (cp. Jer 25:10) J 3:29 (cp. Arrian, Cyneg. 17, 1 the dogs χαίρουσιν τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ δεσπότου γνωρίζουσαι); Rv 18:23.

ⓑ voice as it varies from individual to individual or fr. one mood to another (X., An. 2, 6, 9; Gen 27:22; Tat. 5:2) ἐπιγνοῦσα τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ Πέτρου Ac 12:14. Cp. J 10:4f (s. Ael. Aristid. 46 p. 320, horses). ἤθελον ἀλλάξαι τὴν φωνήν μου Gal 4:20 (ἀλλάσσω 1; φωνή=tone: Diod. S 8, 5, 4 πᾶσαν φωνήν=every variation in tone; Artem. 4, 56 p. 235, 15).

ⓒ that which the voice gives expression to: call, cry, outcry, loud or solemn declaration (Sb 7251, 21 [III/IV A.D.]=order, command) ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀφεὶς φωνὴν μεγάλην Mk 15:37. φωνὴ ἐγένετο μία a single outcry arose Ac 19:34 (cp. Jos., Vi. 133). Cp. 22:14; 24:21. Pl. (Ael. Aristid. 52, 3 K.=28 p. 551 D.: ἦσαν φωναί; Jos., Vi. 231, Ant. 15, 52) φωναὶ μεγάλαι loud cries Lk 23:23a; cp. 23b. ἐλάλησαν αἱ βρονταὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν φωνάς the thunders sounded forth their crashing peals Rv 10:3b. θεοῦ φωνὴ (D φωναί) καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου (this is) the utterance of a god and not of a mere mortal Ac 12:22 (Just., D. 119, 6 τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ θεοῦ; cp. 21, 1 αἱ φωναὶ αὐτοῦ; Plut., Mor. 567f: a divine φωνή sounds forth fr. a φῶς μέγα that appears suddenly; Ael. Aristid. 45 p. 11 D.: Πυθίας φωνή; Epict. 3, 23, 20 ἰδοὺ φωναὶ φιλοσόφου; 3, 22, 50; Biogr. p. 454 people received sayings of Hippocr. ὡς θεοῦ φωνὰς κ. οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνου προελθούσας ἐκ στόματος). φωνὴ ἐνεχθεῖσα αὐτῷ a declaration (was) borne to him 2 Pt 1:17; cp. vs. 18. Also of sayings in scripture αἱ φωναὶ τῶν προφητῶν Ac 13:27 (Ath. 9, 1; cp. Diod S 19, 1, 4 ἡ Σόλωνος φωνή; 20, 30, 2 τῆς τοῦ μάντεως [=τοῦ δαιμονίου] φωνῆς; Diog. L. 8, 14 sayings of Pythagoras). Of apostolic tradition τὰ παρὰ ζώσης φωνῆς καὶ μενούσης Papias (2:4) (s. ζάω, end; on Papias’ ‘living voice’ s. ABaum, NTS 44, ’98, 144–51).

ⓓ In accordance w. OT and Jewish usage gener. (s. Bousset, Rel.³ 315. The Socratic δαιμόνιον [=ὁ θεός Ep. 1, 7] is called ἡ φωνή: Socrat., Ep. 1, 9 [p. 222, 34 Malherbe] τὸ δαιμόνιόν μοι, ἡ φωνή, γέγονεν, cp. Pla., Apol. 31d) ‘the voice’ oft. speaks, though the (heavenly) speaker neither appears nor is mentioned (cp. PGM 3, 119 ἐξορκίζω σε κατὰ τῆς ἑβραικῆς φωνῆς.—In most cases the divine voice is differentiated fr. the divinity: Theopompus [IV B.C.]: 115 Fgm. 69 Jac. [in Diog. L. 1, 115] when Epimenides wishes to build τὸ τῶν Νυμφῶν ἱερόν: ῥαγῆναι φωνὴν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ‘Ἐπιμενίδη, μὴ Νυμφῶν, ἀλλὰ Διός’=[when E. was building] a shrine for the Nymphs: a voice cried out from heaven, “Epimenides! Not for the Nymphs, but for Zeus!”; Plut., Mor. 355e; 775b; Oenomaus in Eus., PE 5, 28, 2 Lycurgus receives the laws ὑπὸ τῆς θεοῦ φωνῆς in Delphi; Artapanus; 726 Fgm. 3, 21 Jac. [in Eus., PE 9, 27, 21]; Jos., Ant. 1, 185 φ. θεία παρῆν; 3, 90 φ. ὑψόθεν; cp. 2, 267) ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν λέγουσα (on the voice fr. heaven s. the lit. s.v. βαπτίζω 2a; also JKosnetter, D. Taufe Jesu ’36, esp. 140–90, and FDölger, Ac V/3, ’36, 218–23) Mt 3:17; cp. 17:5. ἦλθεν φ. (ἐκ) Mk 9:7 v.l.; J 12:28; 30 v.l. (TestAbr A 10 p. 88, 15 [Stone p. 24] al.; cp. Ps. Callisth, 1, 45, 2f ἦλθεν φωνὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδύτου the divine saying follows in direct discourse). ἐξῆλθεν φ. Rv 16:17 (ἐκ); 19:5 (ἀπό τοῦ θρόνου). γίνεται (ἐγένετο) φ. (ἐκ: Plut., Agis et Cleom. 807 [28, 3]: φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ γενέσθαι φράζουσαν; Ael. Aristid. 40, 22 K.=5 p. 62 D.: φωνῆς θείας γενομένης … ἐκ τοῦ μητρῴου [=temple of the Mother of the Gods]) Mk 1:11; 9:7; Lk 3:22; 9:35f; J 12:30 (v.l. ἦλθεν; s. above); Ac 10:13, 15 (both πρὸς αὐτόν); MPol 9:1a; GEb 18, 37 (verb of origin understood), cp. ibid. ln. 38; ἐγένετο φ. κυρίου Ac 7:31 (cp. Jos., Vi. 259 ἐγένοντο φωναί). ἀπεκρίθη φ. ἐκ τ. οὐρανοῦ 11:9; ἦχος φωνῆς μοι ἀπεκρίθη Hv 4, 1, 4. ἀκούειν φωνήν hear a voice (also w. such additions as λέγουσαν, ἐκ w. gen. of place, μεγάλην, gen. of the speaker) Ac 9:4; 22:9; 26:14; Rv 6:6f; 9:13; 10:4, 8; 12:10; 14:2; 18:4; MPol 9:1b; EpilMosq 4; φωνῆς w. the same mng. (w. corresp. additions) Ac 9:7; 11:7; 22:7 (MMeyer, The Light and Voice on the Damascus Road: Forum 2, ’86, 27–35 [Nag Hammadi pp. 30–32]); Rv 11:12; 14:13; 16:1; 21:3; GPt 10:41. Paul speaks διὰ φωνῆς πνεύματος ἁγίου AcPl Ha 11, 5.

ⓔ special cases: ἐπέστρεψα βλέπειν τὴν φωνὴν ἥτις ἐλάλει μετʼ ἐμοῦ I turned around to see (to whom) the voice that was speaking to me (belonged) Rv 1, 12 (cp. X., Hell. 5, 1, 22 σκεψόμενοι τίς ἡ κραυγή; Aesop 248b H.=141 P.=146 H-H. ἐπεστράφη πρὸς τὴν φ.). φ. βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ (it is) the voice of one calling out in the wilderness (Is 40:3; cp. En 9:2; Jos., Bell. 6, 301) Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4. Referring to Is 40:3, John the Baptist applies its words to himself J 1:23 the voice of one calling out in the wilderness (Ael. Aristid. 49, 5 K.=25 p. 489 D.: φ. λέγοντός του ‘τεθεράπευσαι’; Ps.-Pla., Axioch. 1 p. 364a φωνὴ βοῶντός του).—B 9:3.

③ a verbal code shared by a community to express ideas and feelings, language (Aeschyl., Hdt. et al.; Cebes 33, 6; Aelian, VH 12, 48; Herodian 5, 3, 4; Diog. L. 8, 3; SEG VIII, 548, 17 [I B.C.]; PLond I, 77, 13 p. 232 [Christ. VIII A.D.]; PGM 12, 188 πᾶσα γλῶσσα κ. πᾶσα φωνή; Gen 11:1; Dt 28:49; 2 Macc 7:8, 21, 27; 4 Macc 12:7; Jos., C. Ap. 1, 1; 50; 73 al.; Just., A I, 31, 1; Tat. 37, 1; Mel., P. 29, 199) 1 Cor 14:10f; 2 Pt 2:16 (an animal w. ἀνθρώπου φ. as Appian, Bell. Civ. 4:4 §14 βοῦς φωνὴν ἀφῆκεν ἀνθρώπου; schol. on Appolon. Rhod. 2, 1146 ὁ κριὸς ἀνθρωπίνῃ χρησάμενος φωνῇ; sim. TestAbr A 3 p. 79, 19 [Stone p. 6]; sim. TestAbr B 3 p. 107, 10 [St. p. 62] a tree; ParJer 7:2 an eagle; Philo, Op. M. 156); Dg 5:1. ὁ λέων εἶπεν μιᾷ φωνῇ AcPlHa 5, 4 (on the probability that μια was misread for θεια s. the editor’s note, p. 41, 4).—B. 1248; 1260. DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.