Noise
In addition to the heavens passing away, the “elements” (στοιχεία) will also dissolve. Some have taken this to mean the heavenly bodies (see ASV, margin); others relate it to the so-
Bibliotheca Sacra : A quarterly published by Dallas Theological Seminary. 1996, c1955-
στοιχεῖα. Στοῖχος means “a row”; hence στοιχεῖα, “things arranged in a row,” the letters of the alphabet, or the elements of Nature. In Heb. 5:12, τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ Θεοῦ, are the Christian alphabet, the first rudimentary lessons of the creed. In Gal. 4:3, 9, τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, τὰ ἀσθνῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα, are again rudimentary lessons; but these, in St. Paul’s view, are laws, precepts, rites and ceremonies, distinguished from gospel freedom. So again, Col. 2:8, 20, the word is used of precepts based upon philosophy, vain deceit, and the traditions of men; school lessons which are no longer good for enlightened men. St. Peter is clearly speaking of physical elements. He may mean— (1) The four elements, earth, air, water, fire (so Bede). This sense is common in Greek philosophy. The objection that fire cannot destroy fire is not serious, for earthly sensible fire might very well be thought of as destroyed by heavenly ideal fire. But this explanation is too scientific for St. Peter.
(2) The great parts of which the world is composed, sun, moon, stars, earth, sea. In this sense our passage seems to have been understood by the author of the second book of the Sibylline Oracles (ii. 206):
Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude, 296 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark International, 1901).
Lev 25:9 Then you will make the trumpet blast pass over all your land in the seventh month on the tenth of the month. On the day of propitiatory shelters you shall make the trumpet pass over all your land.
Lev 25:10 And you will hallow the year, the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty in the land to all its dwellers. A jubilee year shall this one be for you; each of you will return to his holding, and each of you shall return to his family.
Lev 25:11 A jubilee year shall this one, the fiftieth year, be for you; you shall not sow nor shall you reap its self-
→ The Jubilee trumpet passed over the land. First it was blown at the Temple. Because the sound didn’t carry over the whole land it was sounded at various places of the Jewish land. A row of shofar blasts.
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Another word in 2 Peter 3:10 that needs to be investigated is ῥοιζηδόν (“great noise”), which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. For this particular word “the English seems to have no word which is like it in both sense and sound.” As Green observes, this word “is a colorful, onomatopoeic word which can be used of the swish of an arrow through the air, or the rumbling of thunder, as well as the crackle of flames, the scream of the lash as it descends, the rushing of mighty waters, or the hissing of a serpent.” Some think that here it refers to the flames which will do the consuming, others understand it of the noise of the failing heavens, while others make it suggestive of a great explosion. Peter may have had all of these in mind and thus chose this word so as to unite them all in one catastrophic event. The sound of the great explosion seems to dominate the context, however.
Bibliotheca Sacra : A quarterly published by Dallas Theological Seminary. 1996, c1955-
—> The shofar blasts passed over the land.
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ῥοιζηδόν adverb; of a noise, indicating sudden and violent movement with a roar, with a loud rush (2P 3.10)
Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament library, 342 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000).
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Merriam-
Noun: A continuous
intransitive verb: to fly, revolve, or move rapidly with a whir *hummingbirds whirring past*
transitive verb: to move or carry rapidly with a whirl
Gen 1:2 And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Gen 1:2 Now, the earth, had become waste and wild, and, darkness, was on the face of the roaring deep,––but, the Spirit of God, was brooding on the face of the waters.
Gen 1:2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness is on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,
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In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise.
The Greek for “with a great noise” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is one of those remarkable poetio forms which are not unfrequent in this Epistle: the noun is used of the whizzing of arrows, of the rush of wings, of the sound of mighty winds or roaring waters. It may be understood here of the crash of a falling world or of the roar of the destroying flames. The word rendered “pass away” is that used by our Lord in the prophecy just referred to (Matt. 24:35; also in Matt 5:18 and in Luke 16:17).
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καυσούμενα. Καῦαος means a peculiar kind of fever, and καυσοιῦσθαι is used by medical writers of those who suffer from that special complaint. It is obvious that this sense will not suit the present passage, but καυσοῦσθαι does not appear to be used in any other. It seems highly probable that καυσούμενα does not belong to καυσοῦσθαι at all, but is merely a vulgarism for καυσόμενα. In later Greek the middle future constantly assumes the Doric form; thus we find νευσοῦμαι, πνευσοῦμαι, πλευσοῦμαι, πιοῦμαι, πευσυμαι. In 2 Clem. 7:5 we have παθοῦμαι. Φευξοῦμαι is commonly used even by the classics. See Lobeck, Phrynichus, p. 30; Rutherford, New phrynichus, p. 91; Moeris, πίομαι: Cobet, Nouae Lectiones, p. 617; Veitch, καίω.
κατακαήσεται. Here again the text is corrupt. See Introduction, p. 213.
ἔργα are opera naturae et artis (Bengel).
Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude, 296 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark International, 1901).
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In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The Greek for “with a great noise (ῥοιζηδόν)” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is one of those remarkable poetio forms which are not unfrequent in this Epistle: the noun ῥοῖζος is used of the whizzing of arrows, of the rush of wings, of the sound of mighty winds or roaring waters. It may be understood here of the crash of a falling world or of the roar of the destroying flames. The word rendered “pass away” is that used by our Lord in the prophecy just referred to (Matt. 24:35; also in Matt 5:18 and in Luke 16:17). And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. It is uncertain whether by “the elements” (στοιχεῖα) St. Peter means the four elements (in the old and popular use of the word), or the great constituent parts of the universe, the heavenly bodies. Against the first view is the assertion that one of those elements is to be the agent of destruction. But the word rendered “melt” means “shall be dissolved” or loosed; “and it may be, as Bishop Wordsworth says, that “St. Peter’s meaning seems to be that the στοιχεῖα, elements or rudiments, of which the universe is composed and compacted, will be loosed; that is, the framework of the world will be disorganized; and this is the sense of στοιχεῖα in the LXX. (Wisd. 7:17; 19:17) and in Hippolytus, ‘Philos.,’ pp. 219, 318. The dissolution is contrasted with the consistency described by the word συνεστῶσα in ver. 5. The heavens are reserved for fire, and will pass away with a rushing noise, and, being set on fire, will be dissolved; the elements will be on fire and melt, and be reduced to a state of confusion; the earth and the works therein will be burnt up. There does not seem, therefore, to be any cause for abandoning the common meaning of στοιχεῖα, the elemental principles of which the universe is made.“On the other hand, the word στοιχεῖα is certainly used of the heavenly bodies by Justin Martyr (‘Apolog.,’ ii. c 5, and ‘Dial. cum Tryphon,’ c. 23); and the heavenly bodies are constantly mentioned in the descriptions of the awful convulsions of the great day (Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12, etc.). The objection that the word does not bear this meaning elsewhere in Holy Scripture is of little weight, as this is the only place in which it has a physical sense. The literal translation of the clause is, “The elements, being scorched, shall be dissolved.” The word for “being scorched” (καυσούμενα) occurs in the New Testament only here an in ver. 12; it is used by the Greek physicians of the burning heat of fever. The verb λυθήσεται means “shall be dissolved or loosened.” The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. By “the works that are therein” St Peter seems to mean all the works both of God and of man, “opera natures et artis” (Bengel). There is a very remarkable reading here (supported by the Sinaitic and Vatican and another uncial manuscript), εὑρεθήσεται, “shall be discovered,” instead of κατακαήσεται, “shall be burned up.” If we understand “the works that are therein” of man’s works and actions, this reading will give a good sense (comp. 1 Cor. 3:13, “Every man’s work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is”). Or the clause may be regarded as interrogative, “Shall the earth and the works that are therein be found?” But the reading,“shall be burned up” is well supported, and suits the context best.
Ver. 11—Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved; rather, seeing that all these things are being dissolved. The participle is present, and implies the certainty of the event foretold, and, perhaps, also that the germs of that coming dissolution are already in being, that the forces which are ultimately to bring about the final catastrophe are even now at work. Some of the better manuscripts read, instead of οὖν, then, οὕτως, thus: “seeing that all these things are thus being dissolved.” What manner of person “ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? The Greek word for”what manner of persons “means literally,” of what country; “it seems to point to the great truth that God’s people are fellow citizens of the saints, that the commonwealth of which they are citizens is in heaven. The word for “to be” is the emphatic ὑπάρχειν, which denotes original, essential, continuous being. (On the word for “conversation” (ἀναστροφαῖς, behaviour, conduct), see note on 1 Pet. 1:15.) Both this noun and the following are plural in the Greek, and therefore mean “in all aspects and forms of holy conduct and godliness.” Some commentators connect these last words, “in all holy conversation and godliness,” with the next verse: “looking in all holy conversation,” etc. Some, again, understand this verse as asking a question, which is answered in the next; but the Greek word for “what manner of persons ”(ποταπός) seems to be used in the New Testament as an exclamation only, not interrogatively.
The Pulpit Commentary: 2 Peter, ed. H. D. M. Spence-
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4853 ῥοιζηδόν (rhoizēdon): adv.; ≡ Str 4500—LN 14.85 with a shrill noise, with a roar, i.e., a sudden noise made by swift movement (2Pe 3:10+)
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed., DBLG 4853 (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
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ῥοιζηδόν adv. (Lycophron 66; Nicander, Theriaca 556; Polyaenus, Exc. 18, 5; Geopon. 15, 2, 34) with a hissing or crackling sound, w. a roar, w. great suddenness 2 Pt 3:10. M-
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ῥοιζηδόν (on the formation s. Schwyzer I 626) adv. (in ref. to ‘whirring sound made by an obj. going swiftly through the air’: Lycophron 66; Nicander, Theriaca 556; Polyaenus, Exc. 18, 5; Geopon. 15, 2, 34) pert. to noise made by someth. passing with great force and rapidity, with a rushing noise οἱ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται the heavens will pass away with a roar 2 Pt 3:10.—DELG s.v. ῥοῖζο. M-
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14.85 ῥοιζηδόν: (derivative of ῥοῖζος ‘the noise made by something passing swiftly through the air,’ not occurring in the NT) pertaining to a sudden noise made by swift movement—‘with a shrill noise, with a rushing noise.’ οἱ οὐρανοὶ ῥοιζηδὸν παρελεύσονται ‘the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise’ 2 Pe 3.10. The expression ‘with a rushing noise’ may be rendered as ‘suddenly and with a roar’ or ‘quickly and with a lot of noise.’
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-
4500. ῥοιζηδόν rhoizēdón; adv. from rhoizéō (n.f.), to make a whizzing or whistling noise, which is from rhoízos (n.f.), used in Homer for the whizzing of an arrow in its flight and by Plutarch for the whistling of the wind in a storm. Rushing as of winds and waves with great noise or a crash (2 Pet. 3:10). Most probably a word formed by an onomatopoeia from the sound.
Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament, electronic ed., G4500 (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000, c1992, c1993).
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ῥοιζηδόν, Ῥοῖζος, ῥοιζέω, and cognates, are used of shrill rushing sounds, the hissing of a snake, the whirr of a bird’s wings, the hurtling of an arrow. Here probably the roaring of flame is meant. The adverb is probably formed from ῤοιζέω, but it may come directly from ῤοῖζος. Lucian, Timon, 3, uses three similar words, κοσκινηδόν, σωρηδίν, πετρηδόν, all formed from nouns.
