Joel 2:4

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. THE APPEARANCE OF THEM IS AS THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES. Not literal, but figurative locusts. The fifth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (Revelation 9:1) cannot be literal; for in 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 () "The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle, and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." Compare , "The day of the Lord is great a...

He afterwards adds many similitudes, which any one of himself can sufficiently understand: I shall not therefore be long in explaining them, and many words would be superfluous. _As the appearance of horses their appearance, and as horsemen, so will they run. _This verse sets forth again the suddenness of vengeance, as though the Prophet had said, that long distance would be no obstacle, for the Assyrians would quickly move and occupy Judea; for distance deceived the Jews, and they thought that there would be a long respite to them. Hence the Prophet here removes this vain confidence, when he says that they would be like horses and horsemen. He then adds, —...

1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The striking description which follows, shows what would attend the devastations of locusts, but may also describe the effects from the ravaging of the land by the Chaldeans. If the alarm of temporal judgments is given to offending nations, how much more should sinners be warned to seek deliverance from the wrath to come! Our business therefore on earth must especially be, to secure an interest in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we should seek to be weaned from objects which will soon be torn from all who now make idols of them. There must be outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, weeping, and mourning; tears for trouble must be turned i...

Verse 4. _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_. 6. The SCORPION in its _belly_. 7. The EAGLE in its _wings_. 8. The CAMEL in its _thighs_. 9. The OSTRICH in its _feet_. And 10. The SERPENT in its _tail_. _Vid._ _Hieroz_., vol. ii., p. 475, edit. 1692.

THE APPEARANCE OF THEM, IS AS THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES - “If you carefully consider the head of the locust,” says Theodoret, a Bishop in Syria, “you will find it exceedingly like that of a horse.” Whence the Arabs, of old and to this day , say; “In the locust, slight as it is, is the nature of ten of the larger animals, the face of a horse, the eyes of an elephant, the neck of abull, the horns of a deer, the chest of a lion, the belly of a scorpion, the wings of an eagle, the thighs of a camel, the feet of an ostrich, the tail of a serpent.”...

EXPOSITION JOEL 2:1 These verses contain a further description of the calamity occasioned by the locusts and the appearance presented by them; the calling of a congregational meeting for penitence and prayer; the reason assigned in the coming of the day of the Lord. JOEL 2:1 BLOW YE THE TRUMPET (margin, cornet) in Zion, AND SOUND AN ALARM (or, cause it to sound) IN MY HOLY MOUNTAIN. The _shophar_, or far-sounding horn, and probably the _chatsoterah_,_ _the _hazar_ or silver trumpet, were called into requisition. The priests are urged with great vehemence, as _tiqu shophar _and _hariu _imply, to apprise the people that the day of Jehovah's terrible judgment was near

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 Revelation 9:7. The Chaldeans are often represented as strong and mighty, fierce and furious, and riding on horses exceeding swift, Jeremiah 4:13; AND AS HORSEMEN, SO SHALL THEY RUN; with great agility and swiftness. The particle "as" is observed by some, against those interpreters that apply this whol

II. THE COMING DAY OF THE LORD: THE REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The alarm sounded and the day at hand (Joel 2:1) _ 2. The invading army from the north (Joel 2:3) 3. The repentance of the people and cry for help (Joel 2:12) 4. “Then.” The great change (Joel 2:18) 5. Promises of restoration, and the early and latter rain (Joel 2:19) 6. The outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28) 7. Deliverance in Mount Zion

LET THE ALARM BE SOUNDED, FOR THE LOCUSTS ARE PRECURSORS OF THE DAY OF YAHWEH. Speaking in Yahweh's name the prophet bids the priests sound the alarm from Mt. Zion, that all the community may realise that the dreaded Day of Yahweh is approaching. All the mountains, which dawn covers with light, are covered with blackness by the unprecedented hordes of locusts (Exodus 10:1 *). The land they have traversed is left bare as though fire had scorched it, a dreary waste; and so fast do they eat into the fertile country before them that it seems as though they were a flame licking up what comes in its way. Like horses in appearance (Revelation 9:7) the resemblance about the head and mouth has often been remarked they are like them too in the speed of their onrush. The rustling of their wings as they fly over the m

THE APPEARANCE of them: i.e. the army of Joel 2:20, symbolized by the locusts of Joel 1:4. Compare Revelation 9:7. HORSEMEN. war-horses (Habakkuk 1:8)....