Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
EARTHQUAKE. Korah and his companions were destroyed by the rending asunder of the ground where they stood, thus engulfing them in the cavity, Num 16:32; in other words, by an earthquake. The earthquake mentioned in Am 1:1; Zech 14:5 is also mentioned by Josephus, who adds that it divided a mountain near Jerusalem, and was so violent as to separate one part some distance from the other. The earthquake was among the fearful signs which attended the crucifixion of our Saviour. Matt 27:51-54.
Earthquakes are mentioned among the calamities which should, and did, precede the destruction of Jerusalem. Matt 24:7. Earthquakes, in prophetical language, denote revolutions and commotions in states and empires. An earthquake, "conveying the idea of some universal and unlimited danger," as Humboldt says, was an appropriate illustration of the awe which strikes the soul when God seems to draw nigh. It is therefore a fitting token of his presence, IKgs 19:11, and is used in Scripture, poetry, and prophecy in descriptions of the coming of Jehovah.
Jud 5:4; 2 Sam 22:8; Ps 77:18; Ps 97:4; Ps 104:32; Am 8:8; Hab 3:10.