Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Joel 2:4

A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.

appearance . . . of horses-- (Rev 9:7). Not literal, but figurative locusts. The fifth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (Rev 9:1-11), cannot be literal: for in Rev 9:11 it is said, "they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit"--in the Hebrew, Abaddon ("destroyer"), but in the Greek, Apollyon--and (Rev 9:7) "on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." Compare Joe 2:11, "the day of the Lord . . . great and very terrible"; implying their ultimate reference to be connected with Messiah's second coming in judgment. 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.

Read Joel 2:4 →Read the full chapter →John Gill's Exposition →Barnes' Notes →Tyndale Open Study Notes →Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge →Keil & Delitzsch →

How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.