The Hebrew verb raam means to thunder, roar, or rage — describing the thunderous voice of God and the roaring power of storms. It is used most extensively in Psalm 29, the great psalm of God's thundering voice, and in Job 37 where Elihu describes God's majestic thunder. The related noun raam means thunder.
Thunder in the Hebrew Bible is the voice of God (qol YHWH). Psalm 29 depicts the divine voice (raam) splitting cedars, stripping forests bare, and shaking the wilderness. This is not mere meteorology — it is theophany. When God thundered from Sinai, the people trembled. Samuel called down thunder on the Philistines (1 Samuel 12:17-18). The Sons of Thunder (Boanerges) received their nickname from Jesus Himself (Mark 3:17), perhaps signaling their zealous, thunderous temperaments that would be shaped into apostolic power. God's thunder both terrifies and purifies — the same voice that shakes the earth also brings the floods that cleanse it.