nephele denotes a cloud or clouds, seen as covering, carrying, or accompanying heavenly appearances and once used figuratively.

The term most often denotes a cloud or clouds in narrated and visionary scenes: a cloud can overshadow people, conceal someone from sight, accompany ascent or coming, or provide the setting for a figure seated above it. Jude 1:12 also uses clouds figuratively, comparing certain people to clouds without water.

1. Clouds in narrated and visionary scenes · dominant

   The noun identifies clouds that interact with the scene: in Luke 9:34 the APB renders a cloud that came, overshadowed those present, and into which they entered; in Acts 1:9 it renders a cloud that removed someone from sight. Plural forms accompany the coming of the Son of Man in Matthew 24:30 and Mark 13:26, while Revelation 14:14 places one seated upon a white cloud.

   Luke 9:34Acts 1:9Matthew 24:30Mark 13:26Revelation 14:141 Thessalonians 4:17
2. Figurative image of unproductive clouds · rare

   In Jude 1:12, the plural noun occurs in a comparison of people who are described in the APB as “waterless clouds carried along by winds,” alongside unfruitful trees. The clause uses cloud imagery to characterize them as lacking what the comparison expects.

   Jude 1:12

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the supplied verses, the APB consistently presents the noun with “cloud” or “clouds,” including the figurative phrase “waterless clouds” in Jude 1:12. These renderings confirm the scenes' overall presentation rather than establish every clause-level correspondence.