Robertson Word Pictures - Revelation 6:8 - 6:8

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Robertson Word Pictures - Revelation 6:8 - 6:8


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

A pale horse (hippos chlōros). Old adjective. Contracted from chloeros (from chloē, tender green grass) used of green grass (Mar 6:39; Rev 8:7; Rev 9:4), here for yellowish, common in both senses in old Greek, though here only in N.T. in this sense, greenish yellow. We speak of a sorrel horse, never of a green horse. Zechariah (Zec 6:3) uses poikilos (grizzled or variegated). Homer used chlōros of the ashen colour of a face blanched by fear (pallid) and so the pale horse is a symbol of death and of terror.

His name was Death (onoma autōi ho thanatos). Anacoluthon in grammatical structure like that in Joh 3:1 (cf. Rev 2:26) and common enough. Death is the name of this fourth rider (so personified) and there is with Death “his inseparable comrade, Hades (Rev 1:16; Rev 20:13.)” (Swete). Hades (hāidēs, alpha privative, and idein, to see, the unseen) is the abode of the dead, the keys of which Christ holds (Rev 1:18).

Followed (ēkolouthei). Imperfect active of akoloutheō, kept step with death, whether on the same horse or on another horse by his side or on foot John does not say.

Over the fourth part of the earth (epi to tetarton tēs gēs). Partitive genitive gēs after tetarton. Wider authority (exousia) was given to this rider than to the others, though what part of the earth is included in the fourth part is not indicated.

To kill (apokteinai). First aorist active infinitive of apokteinō, explanation of the exousia (authority). The four scourges of Eze 14:21 are here reproduced with instrumental en with the inanimate things (romphaiāi, limōi thanatōi) and hupo for the beasts (thēriōn). Death here (thanatōi) seems to mean pestilence as the Hebrew does (loimos - cf. limos famine). Cf. the “black death” for a plague.