Sunday, June 03, 2012

Notes on Revelation 6:4

KAI EXHLQEN ALLOS hIPPOS PURROS KAI TWi KAQHMENWi EP' AUTON EDOQH AUTWi LABEIN THN EIRHNHN EK THS GHS KAI hINA ALLHLOUS SFAXOUSIN KAI EDOQH AUTWi MAXAIRA MEGALH.

"Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword" (NIV).

"And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him" (NASB).

"And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword" (ASV).

"The second [horseman], who rides a fiery red horse, is intent to engage the enemy in battle. God has given earth over to itself to engage in a global, civil war, preventing its inhabitants from attaining the very things that make for peace and security" (Robert W. Wall, Revelation, p. 110).

"A red horse (hIPPOS PURROS). Old adjective from PUR(fire), flame-coloured, blood-red (2 Kings 3:22), in N.T. only here and Revelation 12:3, like Zechariah 1:8; Zechariah 6:2 (roan horse). To take peace from the earth (LABEIN THN EIRHNHN EK THS GHS). Second aorist active infinitive of LAMBANW, and here the nominative case, the subject of EDOQH (see verse Zechariah 2), "to take peace out of the earth." Alas, how many red horses have been ridden through the ages. And that they should slay one another (KAI hINA ALLHLOUS SFAXOUSIN). Epexegetical explanatory purpose clause with hINA and the future active of SPAZW(Zechariah 5:6) instead of the more usual subjunctive (verse Zechariah 6:2). Cf. Robertson, Grammar, p. 998f. This is what war does to perfection, makes cannon fodder (cf. John 14:27) of men. A great sword (MAXAIRA MEGALH). MAXAIRA may be a knife carried in a sheath at the girdle (John 18:10) or a long sword in battle as here. ROMFAIA, also a large sword, is the only other word for sword in the N.T. (Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12,16; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 19:15,21)" (Robertson's Word Pictures).

"The color red may symbolize blood, representing the death and destruction caused by the second cavalier" (David Aune, Revelation 6-16, p. 395).

"PURROS, A, ON . . . (s[ee] prec. entry; Aeschyl., Hdt. +; ins, pap, LXX; En 18:7. On the double R s[ee] B-D-F Section 34, 2; Mlt-H. 101) fiery red as the apocalyptic color of a horse (Theocr. 15, 53, of a fox standing on its hind legs) Rv 6:4 . . . In Rv, prob. because of the influence of the hIPPOS PURROS of Zech 1:8 and 6:2, the word ER. has been changed to its practical equivalent PURR" (BDAG, p. 900).

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