Earthquake on Water

Was reading through Matthew and came to Jesus calming the storm. It struck me that in Matthew 8:24 it is seismos which can mean sock, agitation, earthquake or storm. In BDAG it only lists Matthew 8:24 for a biblical use of storm. Most often found in scripture referring to an earthquake.

But this is where my mind jumped. What if it was an actual earthquake? I am not sure if under a body of water as small as the sea of Galilee an earthquake would do much damage. But I know that when earthquakes occur under the ocean floor they create something very violent. Japan was hit by a tsunami which was caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor. Think of the violence of the storm or waves that would be crashing over the boat.

Some of you may have seen pictures of violent tsunamis or possibly the movie the Perfect Storm. You see how violent the waves can be. This just struck me as interesting. The storm that Jesus calms on the sea of Galilee being this violent. Jesus was sleeping on the ship while all this was happening around him.

Now I should clarify, the text still says that Jesus rebukes wind and wave. So the translation of storm is probably the best translation. But it did strike me to think of the pure horror that must have been going through the minds of the disciples.

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