Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joel 2:4
The appearance of them [is] as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
4. as the appearance of horses, &c.] partly on account of their speed and compact array, but chiefly on account of a resemblance which has been often observed between the head of a locust and the head of a horse (hence the Italian name cavalletta, and the German name Heupferd). Theodoret says, “If you observe attentively the head of a locust, you will find it exceedingly like the head of a horse.” And an Arabic poet, quoted by Bochart, Hieroz. Pt. II., L. iv., c. 4, writes, “They have the thigh of a camel, the legs of an ostrich, the wings of an eagle, the breast of a lion, a tail like a viper’s; and the appearance of a horse adorns them about the head and mouth.” C. Niebuhr heard a similar description in Bagdd ( Beschreibung von Arabien, 1772, p. 173). “To this day the same metaphor is familiar in every Arab camp” (Tristram, N.H.B [36] p. 314). See also Rev 9:7.
[36] .H.B. H. B. Tristram, Natural History of the Bible (1868).
as horsemen or, possibly, as war-horses so do they run ] charging with the same directness, and also with the same swiftness and sure-footedness. For these virtues of an ancient warrior, cf. 2Sa 1:23; 2Sa 2:18; Psa 18:33.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 9. Further description of the march of the locusts. They move on like some mighty host: the noise of their approach is heard from afar; they spread terror before them; their advance is irresistible; the keenest weapons, the strongest walls, are alike powerless to arrest their progress.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
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.
But its most prominent resemblance is to the horse, which the prophet mentions; and which the Arabic writer puts in the first place, as being the chief.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; their carriage, for fierceness, agility, and irresistibleness, is like that of horses trained up to the wars, of which Job 39:19, &c.
And as horsemen, so shall they run: this gives light to the former expression, and by it we see these locusts are not resembled to the horse for shape, but for their nimbleness in motion. And as were these types, so should the armies which were typified be also.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. appearance . . . of horses(Re 9:7). Not literal, butfigurative locusts. The fifth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallelpassage (Re 9:1-11),cannot be literal: for in Re 9:11it is said, “they had a king over them, the angel of thebottomless pit”in the Hebrew, Abaddon (“destroyer”),but in the Greek, Apollyonand (Re9:7) “on their heads were as it were crowns likegold, and their faces were as the faces of men.” CompareJoe 2:11, “the day of theLord . . . great and very terrible”; implying their ultimatereference to be connected with Messiah’s second coming in judgment.The locust’s head is so like that of a horse that the Italians callit cavalette. Compare Job39:20, “the horse . . . as the grasshopper,” or locust.
runThe locust bounds,not unlike the horse’s gallop, raising and letting down together thetwo front feet.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 Re 9:7. The Chaldeans are often represented as strong and mighty, fierce and furious, and riding on horses exceeding swift, Jer 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 wholly to the enemies of the Jews, and not the locusts; and it seems indeed best to favour them; but Theodoret observes, that the “as” here may be taken, not as a note of similitude, but as used for the increase and vehemency of the expression.
h Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 5. p. 474, 475.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Joe 2:4-6 we have a description of this mighty army of God, and of the alarm caused by its appearance among all nations. Joe 2:4. “Like the appearance of horses is its appearance; and like riding-horses, so do they run. Joe 2:5. Like rumbling of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the crackling of flame which devours stubble, like a strong people equipped for conflict. Joe 2:6. Before it nations tremble; all faces withdraw their redness.” The comparison drawn between the appearance of the locusts and that of horses refers chiefly to the head, which, when closely examined, bears a strong resemblance to the head of a horse, as Theodoret has already observed; a fact which gave rise to their being called Heupferde (hay-horses) in German. In Joe 2:4 the rapidity of their motion is compared to the running of riding-horses ( parashm ); and in Joe 2:5 the noise caused by their springing motion to the rattling of chariots, the small two-wheeled war-chariots of the ancients, when driven rapidly over the rough mountain roads. The noise caused by their devouring the plants and shrubs is also compared to the burning of a flame over a stubble-field that has been set on fire, and their approach to the advance of a war force equipped for conflict. (Compare the adoption and further expansion of these similes in Rev 9:7, Rev 9:9). At the sight of this terrible army of God the nations tremble, so that their faces grow pale. Ammm means neither people (see at 1Ki 22:28) nor the tribes of Israel, but nations generally. Joel is no doubt depicting something more here than the devastation caused by the locusts in his own day. There are differences of opinion as to the rendering of the second hemistich, which Nahum repeats in Joe 2:11. The combination of with , a pot (Chald., Syr., Jer., Luth., and others), is untenable, since comes from , to break in pieces, whereas (= ) is from the root , piel, to adorn, beautify, or glorify; so that the rendering, “they gather redness,” i.e., glow with fear, which has an actual but not a grammatical support in Isa 13:8, is evidently worthless. We therefore understand , as Ab. Esr., Abul Wal., and others have done, in the sense of elegantia, nitor, pulchritudo, and as referring to the splendour or healthy ruddiness of the cheeks, and take ekat dn as an intensive form of , in the sense of drawing into one’s self, or withdrawing, inasmuch as fear and anguish cause the blood to fly from the face and extremities to the inward parts of the body. For the fact of the face turning pale with terror, see Jer 30:6.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
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, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) As the appearance of horses.So also are locusts described in the Revelation: And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle (from this likeness the Italians call a locust cavalletta) . . . and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses running to battle (Rev. 9:7; Rev. 9:9).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4-11. Having described in general terms the destructiveness of the people great and strong, the prophet pictures most vividly the appearance of the host and its terrible advance. The locusts he compares to horses (4), the noise accompanying the advance to the noise of advancing armies and of a consuming fire (5), producing terror wherever they go (6), their attack to the attack of a well-equipped, well-organized army (7-9); even the sky is darkened (10); surely the day of Jehovah is at hand (11). The prophet has been so successful in his description that the thing compared and the object to which it is compared have been confused, and the locusts have been regarded as mere symbols of a hostile army (compare above, pp 142ff).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4. As horses The head of the locust bears a strong resemblance to the head of a horse, as Theodoret (c. 450 A.D.) remarked: “If you carefully consider the head of the locust you will find it exceedingly like that of a horse.” Tristram, referring to this passage, says, “To this day the same metaphor is familiar in every Arab camp. One of my Arabs gave me a long list of reasons why the locust is like the horse or horseman.” It is this similarity that explains one of the German words for locust, Heupferd ( hay-horse). Not only in appearance, but also in rapidity of motion, locusts resemble horses. For A.V. “horsemen” read margin of R.V., “war-horses.” In Joe 2:5 the noise accompanying the advance of the innumerable horses is compared to the rattling of chariots Low two-wheeled vehicles used for military and other purposes. Chariots were not adapted to the hills of Palestine, but the Canaanites used them in the valleys (Jos 17:16; Jdg 4:3). They were common also among other ancient nations. The Persians armed the axles and sometimes the tongue with scythes, and such chariots were known in Palestine during the Seleucidan period ( 2Ma 13:2 ). For an expansion of this picture compare Rev 9:7 ff.
On the tops of mountains Not to be connected with “chariots,” for chariots cannot well be used on the mountains, but with they leap The locusts are seen to approach over the mountains, and “they come so near the top of the mountains that they seem to leap over them rather than to fly.” The noise meant is the indistinct sound heard in the distance; the next comparison brings them nearer. Travelers compare the noise made by the wings of the locusts to the blowing of a wind, the rush of a torrent, the roar of the sea. “The noise made by them in marching and foraging was like that of a heavy shower falling upon a distant forest” (Thomson).
Having pictured the locusts approaching from the distance, he now describes them as they are devouring herbs, plants, shrubs, and trees.
Flame The noise made while eating is like the noise of a flame that sweeps over a dry field.
Stubble Fires during the dry season are not uncommon in Palestine (Joe 1:19; Isa 5:24; Amo 7:4); sometimes the stubbles are set on fire for purposes of fertilization. Our passage refers to fire, whatever its origin.
Strong people in battle array The point of comparison is not the noise, but the orderly steady advance. “Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them; on they came like a disciplined army” (Thomson). “They seemed to march in regular battalions, crawling over everything that lay in their passage” (Morier). The impression made is the same as that made by a hostile army. Everybody is terror-struck.
The people R.V., “the peoples.” Neither is correct; the Hebrew has no article “peoples,” that is, whole nations.
Shall be much pained Or, with R.V., “are in anguish,” a very strong word, used especially of the anguish of women in travail (Deu 2:5; Isa 13:8; Mic 4:9). Hardly an exaggeration, for locusts do cause immense loss of property and are responsible for disastrous famines. “In Algiers after an invasion of locusts in 1866 two hundred thousand persons are said to have perished from famine” (Driver). “The Bedouins who occupy the Sinaitic peninsula are frequently driven to despair by the multitudes of locusts” (Burkhardt).
All faces gather blackness So Targum, Peshitto, Vulgate, and a few later writers, but an impossible translation of the Hebrew; better, R.V., “all faces are waxed pale”; literally, all faces draw in redness, that is, beauty, healthy color. As a result of terror the blood leaves the face and returns to the inward parts of the body; only paleness remains (Jer 30:6).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The March Of The Young Locust/Grasshopperss ( Joe 2:4-11 ).
Joel then describes the onward ‘march’ of the young locusts in their mass movement made up of sheer numbers, advancing like a huge ‘army’ covering many miles of territory, a living converging mass, and he does so in picturesque terms. He likens them in appearance to horses, a likeness related to the head of the locusts and often noted by observers, and likens the noise that they made as they moved forward to the rumbling of chariot wheels, and the crackling the fires that burned up stubble (in this case before its time), seeing them as moving forward ‘in battle array’ as a strong people, whom nothing could turn back. Meanwhile people turn pale at their advance, and are filled with anguish, while the locusts themselves move inevitably forward as irresistible as mighty men, climbing up walls rather than going round them (or breaking them down), with each marching forward on his way. There is no breaking of ranks and no jostling as they pour forward in their huge numbers like a rolling mass, and they burst through every ‘weapon’ set up to prevent their advance, whether it be fire, or flails, or feet, or whatever. Nothing holds them back.
Though multitudes die, the remainder just carry on over them. They leap up walls, climb up into houses and scurry through windows, while the earth and the heavens (in other words the whole creation) tremble before them because they are YHWH’s messengers. Meanwhile as a result of the swarms of flying locusts the sun is darkened and the moon’s shining is blotted out, while visibility of the stars is lost. And the question then is ‘Who leads this people who have no king?’ And the answer is, ‘It is YHWH Himself, Who has brought them as a judgment on His people, because it is the latest great and terrible day of YHWH’.
Analysis of Joe 2:4-11 .
a
b At their presence the peoples are in anguish, all faces have become pale (Joe 2:6).
c They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war, and they march every one on his ways, and they do not break their ranks (Joe 2:7).
d Nor does one jostle another, they march every one in his path, and they burst through the weapons, and do not break off (Joe 2:8).
c They leap on the city, they run on the wall, they climb up into the houses, they enter in at the windows like a thief (Joe 2:9).
b The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining (Joe 2:10).
a And YHWH utters his voice before his army, for his camp is very great, for he is strong who executes his word, for the day of YHWH is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? (Joe 2:11).
In ‘a’ the advancing ‘army’ is described in all its terribleness, a strong ‘people’ set in battle array and in the parallel we learn that it is YHWH’s army, and that He too is terrible and strong. In ‘b’ the people are in anguish and all faces become pale, and in the parallel earth and heaven tremble, and the lights of heaven become dark. In ‘c’ we have a detailed description of their forward movement, and in the parallel we have the same. Centrally in ‘d’ their invincibility is emphasised.
Joe 2:4-5
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses,
And as horsemen, so do they run.
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap,
Like the noise of a flame of fire which devours the stubble,
As a strong people set in battle array.
It is made clear here that they are not horses and chariots, any more than they are like flames of fire, but merely in one way or another give the impression of the same. Note the reference to ‘leaping’, and compare Joe 2:9 which was typical of the movement of a small locust (grasshopper).
Locusts are compared with horses elsewhere. In Jer 51:27 the horses are to come up ‘like rough locusts’, while in Job 39:19-20 they are seen as ‘leaping like a locust’, and certainly the heads of locusts do remind us of tiny armoured horses, which is why the Italian word for locust means “little horse,” and the German word means “hay horse”, confirming that they share the same impression Thus the description of the locusts here as ‘having the appearance of horses’ and as ‘leaping on the tops of the mountains’ is in accord with general opinion. The reference to chariot noise and the crackling of fires burning up the stubble is reminiscent of the clicking noise that grasshoppers make with their legs, while the description of them as a ‘strong people’ has in mind the inexorable way in which they progress, with nothing holding them back.
Joe 2:6
At their presence the peoples are in anguish,
All faces have become pale.
Joel was striving here to get over the impression of the awfulness of the judgment that God was bringing on His people, and it is a feature of the movements of small locusts in vast, heaving masses that they bring anguish and even fear to men, as they see the awesome nature of their advance, consider the consequences of that advance, and after struggling to deal with the menace, find the situation hopeless. Dr Thomson saw the sight as so fearsome that he admitted that he could not get it out of his thoughts and his dreams for some time afterwards, and he was a man used to strange and awesome sights.
‘All faces have become pale.’ The fear of what was coming could be seen on the faces of the watchers. This could be rendered ‘they gather blackness’. Compare the darkening of sun and moon in Joe 2:10. The reference to ‘peoples’ may suggest that other nations around were also affected.
Joe 2:7-8
‘They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war,
And they march every one on his ways,
and they do not break their ranks.
Nor does one jostle another,
They march every one in his path,
And they burst through the weapons,
And do not break off.’
.
The scurrying huge mass of leaping grasshoppers are here likened to the eager advance of mighty men into battle, as like men of war they ascend the walls and continue marching on in their ways. The mass never breaks up as they move inexorably forward, every one on its path, and they surmount any obstacle put in their way by mass suicide, with the dead grasshoppers providing a bridge for the living. They ‘burst through the weapons and do not break off (or alternatively ‘fall’).
An alternative translation to ‘weapons’ is ‘water-courses’. This may suggest that even water does not prevent their advance, or that they used water tunnels as a means of access to the city (e.g. the tunnel of Siloam).
If we use our imaginations we can see the people of Jerusalem looking over its walls at the massive phalanx of young locust/grasshoppers advancing on the city, leaping and prancing like a great host of tiny horsemen, and making the noise of many chariots. The young locusts did not, of course, have the city as their goal. They were just advancing in a straight line and the city happened to be in their way (it was YHWH Who was directing their advance – Joe 2:11). But there was no stopping them and no obstacle hindered them. They did not turn aside for anything, nor did they hesitate, they just climbed over whatever lay before them, city walls, houses, palaces, and the lot. This is now eloquently described.
Joe 2:9
‘They leap on the city,
They run on the wall,
They climb up into the houses,
They enter in at the windows like a thief.’
Once in the city they move everywhere in search of food. They leap on the city, they run up the wall, they climb up into the houses and they enter into windows ‘like a thief’, a description hardly applicable to soldiers. But it is a typical picture of insects getting everywhere with no means of preventing them. Dr Thomson describes similar behaviour in his town, ‘when the head of the mighty column came in contact with the palace of the Emeer — they did not take the trouble to wheel round the corners but climbed the wall like men of war and marched over the top of it; so when they reached the house of Dr Van Dyck, in spite of all his efforts to prevent it, a living stream rolled right over his roof’. Compare also the words of Moses of the plague of locusts in his day, ‘they will cover the face of the earth that one shall not be able to see the earth, — and your houses will be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians’ (Exo 10:5-6).
Joe 2:10
‘The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon are darkened,
And the stars withdraw their shining.’
The reason that the earth quakes before them and the heavens tremble is because they are instruments of YHWH’s judgment (compare how in Hag 2:21 God speaks to His people in terms of shaking the heavens and the earth through the activities of Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest. Whenever God works in His mighty power the heavens and the earth are seen as trembling). The whole of creation is watching in anticipation at what YHWH is doing. And it may well be that there was a huge storm, or even an earthquake, or both, but it is not really required by the wording.
And the consequence will be that the sun, moon and stars will cease to shine. This last idea may well have come to Joel from the way in which light had been blocked out by the huge swarms of flying locusts, something which would be repeated when these young locusts being described grew their wings and flew. Such an effect on the heavens would make a great impression on the people. The same descriptions were used of human invasions when the smoke from burning fields and cities blotted out the sun (e.g. Isa 13:10; Isa 13:13). It is how men speak when they face their greatest catastrophes. But it is not limited to ‘the end times’. It may well be that it was Joel’s description that was taken up and expanded on by the other prophets.
Joe 2:11
‘And YHWH utters his voice before his army,
For his camp is very great,
For he is strong who executes his word,
For the day of YHWH is great and very terrible,
And who can abide it?’
And the reason why the heavens and the earth would shake was because YHWH was marching before His army (compare Psa 148:8 for the idea of YHWH commanding creation to do His will) and uttering His cries of judgment (or commands to His army of young locusts/grasshoppers), while His followers were ‘very great’, for they were beyond human counting, and in carrying out His word they were invulnerable, as they pierced into every part of life. Their strength lay in their numbers. As men saw the locust/grasshoppers covering the whole ground and getting into their homes, with their voracious appetites consuming everything that was remotely edible, they would indeed see in it ‘the great and terrible day of YHWH’, as He expressed His judgment against them for their wrongdoing. It must have been a time of great horror (it would have appeared as though locusts would be arriving for ever). And like all ‘days of YHWH’ it would be almost beyond bearing. Furthermore it would be a reminder to them of the great and terrible Day of YHWH yet to come.
‘His camp is very great.’ We can compare here how we might say, ‘the whole camp went out to meet him’. The camp here indicates an ‘army’, and such an army had never been seen before in such huge numbers..
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
It will be very easy for a child of God to make a gracious improvement of what is here said, if read spiritually with an eye to soul exercises, in the conflicts of flesh and spirit, when once a life of grace is begun in the soul. The concluding sentence in this portion is very striking, with an eye to this state of mind; for indeed the voice of the Lord is heard through the whole, in all the chambers of the awakened heart.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joe 2:4 The appearance of them [is] as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Ver. 4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and as horsemen ] i.e. the locusts and other insects come on amain; they march with much nimbleness and swiftness. A horse is a warlike creature, full of terror; so swift in service, that the Persians dedicated him to their god, the sun, as the swiftest creature to the swiftest god, (Pausan.). See Job 41:20 Pro 21:31 . In Persia they do all almost on horseback; they buy, sell, confer, but especially fight on horseback to this day. So they did of old, and so did the Chaldeans, from whom they took the monarchs. These were horsemen, and not as horsemen; the place, therefore, is properly and principally to be understood of the locusts. Confer Rev 9:7 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The appearance of them: i.e. the army of Joe 2:20, symbolized by the locusts of Joe 1:4. Compare Rev 9:7.
horsemen = war-horses (Hab 1:8).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 9:7
Reciprocal: Isa 13:4 – like as Jer 51:14 – as with
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joe 2:4. Appearance of horses is lit-eral, for the army of Babylon used that noble animal in its triumphant march through the country.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joe 2:4-6. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses
Bochart and many other writers mention the resemblance which the head of a locust bears to that of a horse; whence the Italians call them cavalette. Like the noise of chariots on the mountains shall they leap Or, as the clause may be better rendered, They shall leap on the tops of mountains with the noise of chariots. The locusts being represented as an army attacking the country, and chariots being anciently a part of warlike preparations, the text says that these locusts shall resemble them in their swiftness, noise, and terror. Pliny mentions (Natural History, lib. 40. cap. 29) locusts making a noise with their wings, as if they were winged fowls. Like the noise of a flame of fire, &c. Like the crackling of the fire burning up stubble. Cyril says of them, that while they are breaking their food with their teeth, the noise is like that of flame driven about by the wind. See Bochart on the place. The Baron de Tott, quoted by Harmer, speaking of the clouds of locusts coming from Tartary toward Constantinople, observes, To the noise of their flight succeeds that of their devouring activity; it resembles the rattling of hailstones, but its consequences are infinitely more destructive. Fire itself eats not so fast, nor is there a vestige of vegetation to be found, when they again take their flight, and go elsewhere to produce like disasters. As a strong people set in battle array Their noise is like that of the shouts of an army going to be engaged. These expressions are undoubtedly hyperbolical; but yet the noise which such a vast multitude of locusts would make must needs be very great. Before their face the people shall be much pained At seeing their vast multitudes, and the havoc they make of the fruits of the earth, the inhabitants of the land shall be in great pain and anguish, and shall be seized with such a dread and fear as shall make their visage look black and ghastly, like that of persons who are dying.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joel compared this advancing army to warhorses and chariots, the war machines of his day. He heard the familiar sound of chariots in battle, which he likened to the crackling of fire as it rages up a mountainside swiftly consuming everything in its path. The huge army that Joel saw appeared unstoppable.
It is interesting that locusts look like tiny armored horses, and they behave like them as well (cf. Job 39:19-20; Rev 9:7). The Italian word for locust means "little horse," and the German word means "hay horse." [Note: Cf. Wolff, p. 45, n. 46; Driver, p. 52; et al.] Thus the correspondence between the army of locusts that had recently swept through the land swiftly and this future invading army is unmistakable. Even their sounds were similar. However, the point of the comparison is probably the horse as a symbol of power and might (cf. Isa 31:1-3; Hos 14:3; Mic 5:10; Hag 2:22; Zec 9:10; Zec 12:4; Rev 9:7). [Note: Dillard, p. 274.]