Post post (ruts, "to run," ratsim, "runners"): The "runners" formed the royal guard (1 Samuel 22:17, 1 Kings 14:27, 2 Kings 11:4, 2 Kings 11:13; see GUARD). From them were chosen the couriers who carried royal letters and dispatches throughout the kingdom (2 Chronicles 30:6, 2 Chronicles 30:10, Esther 3:13, Esther 3:15, Jeremiah 51:31). In the Persian service they were mounted on the swiftest horses (Esther 8:10, Esther 8:14; compare Xenophon, Cyrop. viii.6,17; Herodotus viii.98). They had the right to command the service of either men or animals in order to expedite their progress (compare Matthew 5:41, Mark 15:21, "compel," "impress").
Used in Job 9:25 and the King James Version the Wisdom of Solomon 5:9 (aggelia, the Revised Version (British and American) "message") of the swift passage of time.
See also HOUSE, II, 1, (4), (7).
M. O. Evans