Joel 2:4 BSB — MannaFest

Joel 2:4

Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run.

KJV

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

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Commentary

3 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses,.... in their running, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; they came with, as much swiftness and eagerness, with as much fierceness and courage, as horses rush into the battle. Bochart (h) has shown, from various writers, that the head of a locust is in shape like that of a horse; and Theodoret on the text observes, that whoever thoroughly examines the head of a locust will easily perceive that it is very like the head of a horse; see Rev 9:

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The appearance of horses - The head of the locust is remarkably like that of the horse; and so Ray on Insects describes them: Caput oblongum, equi instar, prona spectans - “They have an oblong head, like to that of a horse, bending downward.” On this account the Italians call them cavaletta, cavalry. Bochart remarks, from an Arabic writer, that the locusts resemble ten different kinds of animals: 1. The Horse in its head. 2. The Elephant in its eyes. 3. The Bull in its neck. 4. The Stag in its horns. 5. The Lion in its breast.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The locust's head is so like that of a horse that the Italians call it cavalette. Compare Job 39:20, "the horse . . . as the grasshopper," or locust. run--The locust bounds, not unlike the horse's gallop, raising and letting down together the two front feet.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

6 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כְּמַרְאֵ֥ה	ke.mar.'Eh	[is] like [the] appearance of	H4758 →
סוּסִ֖ים	su.Sim	horses	H5483 →
מַרְאֵ֑הוּ	mar.'E.hu	appearance its	H4758 →
וּכְפָרָשִׁ֖ים	u.khe.fa.ra.Shim	and like horsemen	H6571 →
כֵּ֥ן	ken	so	H3651 →
יְרוּצֽוּן׃	ye.ru.Tzun	they run !	H7323 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H7323yerutzunthey run !103×

The walk

The walk4

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 9:7
And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men.
leads to
- Daniel 7:8
  While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a…
- Nahum 3:17
  Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows…
- Daniel 7:4
  The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to…
- Joel 2:4–5
  Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds.

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The Covenants

Six covenants in succession, cumulative rather than replacing. Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, New. Each narrowing the line of promise while widening the scope of fulfillment.

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Pentecost

The fiftieth day, read twice — the Law given in fire at Sinai, the Spirit given in fire in Jerusalem.

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About Joel

Joel: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: Joel 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Joel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Joel