| Easton's Bible Dictionary There are ten Hebrew words used in Scripture to signify locust. In the New Testament locusts are mentioned as forming part of the food of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). By the Mosaic law they were reckoned "clean," so that he could lawfully eat them. The name also occurs in Revelation 9:3, 7, in allusion to this Oriental devastating insect. Locusts belong to the class of Orthoptera, i.e., straight-winged. They are of many species. The ordinary Syrian locust resembles the grasshopper, but is larger and more destructive. "The legs and thighs of these insects are so powerful that they can leap to a height of two hundred times the length of their bodies. When so raised they spread their wings and fly so close together as to appear like one compact moving mass." Locusts are prepared as food in various ways. Sometimes they are pounded, and then mixed with flour and water, and baked into cakes; "sometimes boiled, roasted, or stewed in butter, and then eaten." They were eaten in a preserved state by the ancient Assyrians. The devastations they make in Eastern lands are often very appalling. The invasions of locusts are the heaviest calamites that can befall a country. "Their numbers exceed computation: the hebrews called them `the countless,' and the Arabs knew them as `the darkeners of the sun.' Unable to guide their own flight, though capable of crossing large spaces, they are at the mercy of the wind, which bears them as blind instruments of Providence to the doomed region given over to them for the time. Innumerable as the drops of water or the sands of the seashore, their flight obscures the sun and casts a thick shadow on the earth (Exodus 10:15; Judges 6:5; 7:12; Jeremiah 46:23; Joel 2:10). It seems indeed as if a great aerial mountain, many miles in breadth, were advancing with a slow, unresting progress. Woe to the countries beneath them if the wind fall and let them alight! They descend unnumbered as flakes of snow and hide the ground. It may be `like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them is a desolate wilderness. At their approach the people are in anguish; all faces lose their colour' (Joel 2:6). No walls can stop them; no ditches arrest them; fires kindled in their path are forthwith extinguished by the myriads of their dead, and the countless armies march on (Joel 2:8, 9). If a door or a window be open, they enter and destroy everything of wood in the house. Every terrace, court, and inner chamber is filled with them in a moment. Such an awful visitation swept over Egypt (Exodus 10:1-19), consuming before it every green thing, and stripping the trees, till the land was bared of all signs of vegetation. A strong north-west wind from the Mediterranean swept the locusts into the Red Sea.", Geikie's Hours, etc., ii., 149. Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) Any one of numerous species of long-winged, migratory, orthopterous insects, of the family Acrididae, allied to the grasshoppers; esp., (Edipoda, / Pachytylus, migratoria, and Acridium perigrinum, of Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the United States the related species with similar habits are usually called grasshoppers. See Grasshopper. 2. (n.) The locust tree. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia LOCUST lo'-kust: The translation of a large number of Hebrew and Greek words:
1. Names:
(1) 'arbeh from the root rabhah, "to increase" (compare Arabic raba', "to increase").
(2) sal`am, from obsolete [?] cal`am, "to swallow down," "to consume."
(3) chargol (compare Arabic charjal, "to run to the right or left," charjalat, "a company of horses" or "a swarm of locusts," charjawan, a kind of locust).
(4) chaghabh (compare Arabic chajab, "to hide," "to cover").
(5) gazam (compare Arabic jazum, "to cut off")
(6) yeleq, from the root laqaq "to lick" (compare Arabic laqlaq, "to dart out the tongue" (used of a serpent)).
(7) chacil, from the root chacal, "to devour" (compare Arabic chaucal, "crop" (of a bird)).
(8) gobh, from the obsolete root gabhah (compare Arabic jabi, "locust," from the root jaba', "to come out of a hole").
(9) gebh, from same root.
(10) tselatsal from [?] tsalal (onomatopoetic), "to tinkle," "to ring" (compare Arabic call, "to give a ringing sound" (used of a horse's bit); compare also Arabic Tann, used of the sound of a drum or piece of metal, also of the humming of flies).
(11) akris (genitive akridos; diminutive akridion, whence Acridium, a genus of locusts).
2. Identifications:
(1), (2), (3) and (4) constitute the list of clean insects in Leviticus 11:21, characterized as "winged creeping things that go upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth." This manifestly refers to jumping insects of the order Orthoptera, such as locusts, grasshoppers and crickets, and is in contrast to the unclean "winged creeping things that go upon all fours," which may be taken to denote running Orthoptera, such as cockroaches, mole-crickets and ear-wigs, as well as insects of other orders.
'Arbeh (1) is uniformly translated "locust" in the Revised Version (British and American). the King James Version has usually "locust," but "grasshopper" in Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12 Job 39:20 Jeremiah 46:23. Septuagint has usually akris, "locust"; but has brouchos, "wingless locust," in Leviticus 11:22 1 Kings 8:37 (akris in the parallel passage, 2 Chronicles 6:28); Nahum 3:15; and attelebos, "wingless locust," in Nahum 3:17. 'Arbeh occurs (Exodus 10:4-19) in the account of the plague of locusts; in the phrase "as locusts for multitude" (Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12); "more than the locusts.... innumerable" (Jeremiah 46:23);
"The locusts have no king,
Yet go they forth all of them by bands" (Proverbs 30:27).
'Arbeh is referred to as a plague in Deuteronomy 28:38 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 6:28 Psalm 78:46; in Joel and in Nahum. These references, together with the fact that it is the most used word, occurring 24 times, warrant us in assuming it to be one of the swarming species, i.e. Pachtylus migratorius or Schistocerca peregrina, which from time to time devastate large regions in the countries bordering on the Mediterranean.
Cal`am (2), English Versions of the Bible "bald locust," occurs only in Leviticus 11:22. According to Tristram, NBH, the name "bald locust" was given because it is said in the Talmud to have a smooth head. It has been thought to be one of the genus Tryxalis (T. unguiculata or T. nasuta), in which the head is greatly elongated.
Chargol (3), the King James Version "beetle," the Revised Version (British and American) "cricket," being one of the leaping insects, cannot be a beetle. It might be a cricket, but comparison with the Arabic (see supra) favors a locust of some sort. The word occurs only in Leviticus 11:22.
See BEETLE.
Haghabh (4) is one of the clean leaping insects of Leviticus 11:22 (English Versions of the Bible "grasshopper"). The word occurs in four other places, nowhere coupled with the name of another insect. In the report of the spies (Numbers 13:33), we have the expression, "We were in our own sight as grasshoppers"; in Ecclesiastes 12:5, "The grasshopper shall be a burden"; in Isaiah 40:22, "It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers." These three passages distinctly favor the rendering "grasshopper" of the English Versions of the Bible. In the remaining passage (2 Chronicles 7:13), ".... if I command the locust (English Versions) to devour the land," the migratory locust seems to be referred to. Doubtless this as well as other words was loosely used. In English there is no sharp distinction between the words "grasshopper" and "locust."
The migratory locusts belong to the family Acridiidae, distinguished by short, thick antennae, and by having the organs of hearing at the base of the abdomen. The insects of the family Locustidae are commonly called "grasshoppers," but the same name is applied to those Acridiidae which are not found in swarms. The Locustidae have long, thin antennae, organs of hearing on the tibiae of the front legs, and the females have long ovipositors. It may be noted that the insect known in America as the seventeen-year locust, which occasionally does extensive damage to trees by laying its eggs in the twigs, is a totally different insect, being a Cicada of the order Rhynchota. Species of Cicada are found in Palestine, but are not considered harmful.
The Book of Joel is largely occupied with the description of a plague of locusts. Commentators differ as to whether it should be interpreted literally or allegorically (see JOEL). Four names 'arbeh (1), gazam (5), yeleq (6) and chacil (7), are found in Joel 1:4 and again in 2:25.
For the etymology of these names, see 1 above. Gazam (Amos 4:9 Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25) is in the Revised Version (British and American) uniformly translated "palmer-worm" Septuagint kampe, "caterpillar"). Chacil in the Revised Version (British and American) (1 Kings 8:37 2 Chronicles 6:28 Psalm 78:46 Isaiah 23:4 Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25) is uniformly translated "caterpillar." The Septuagint has indifferently brouchos, "wingless locust," and erusibe, "rust" (of wheat). Yeleq (Psalm 105:34 Jeremiah 51:14, 27 Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25 Nahum 3:15, 16) is everywhere "canker-worm" in the Revised Version (British and American), except in Psalm 105:34, where the American Standard Revised Version has "grasshopper." the King James Version has "caterpillar" in Psalms and Jeremiah and "canker-worm" in Joel and Nahum. Septuagint has indifferently akris and brouchos. "Palmerworm" and "canker-worm" are both Old English terms for caterpillars, which are strictly the larvae of lepidopterous insects, i.e. butterflies and moths.
While these four words occur in Joel 1:4 and 2:25, a consideration of the book as a whole does not show that the ravages of four different insect pests are referred to, but rather a single one, and that the locust. These words may therefore be regarded as different names of the locust, referring to different stages of development of the insect. It is true that the words do not occur in quite the same order in 14 and in 2:25, but while the former verse indicates a definite succession, the latter does not. If, therefore, all four words refer to the locust, "palmer-worm," "canker-worm," "caterpillar" and the Septuagint erusibe, "rust," are obviously inappropriate.
Gobh (8) is found in the difficult passage (Amos 7:1), ".... He formed locusts (the King James Version "grasshoppers," the King James Version margin "green worms," Septuagint akris) in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth"; and (Nahum 3:17) in ".... thy marshals (are) as the swarms of grasshoppers (Hebrew gobh gobhay; the King James Version "great grasshoppers"), which encamp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are." The related gebh (9) occurs but once, in Isaiah 33:4, also a disputed passage, "And your spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar (chacil) gathereth: as locusts (gebhim) leap shall men leap upon it." It is impossible to determine what species is meant, but some kind of locust or grasshopper fits any of these passages.
In Deuteronomy 28:42, "All thy trees and the fruit of thy ground shall the locust (English Versions of the Bible) possess," we have (10) tselatsal, Septuagint erusibe). The same word is translated in 2 Samuel 6:5 and Psalm 150:5 bis "cymbals," in Job 41:7 "fish-spears," and in Isaiah 18:1 "rustling." As stated in 1, above, it is an onomatopoetic word, and in Deuteronomy 28:42 may well refer to the noise of the wings of a flight of locusts.
In the New Testament we have (11) akris, "locust," the food of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4 Mark 1:6); the same word is used figuratively in Revelation 9:3, 1; and also in the Apocrypha (Judith 2:20; The Wisdom of Solomon 16:9; and see 2 Esdras 4:24).
3. Habits:
The swarms of locusts are composed of countless individuals. The statements sometimes made that they darken the sky must not be taken too literally. They do not produce darkness, but their effect may be like that of a thick cloud. Their movements are largely determined by the wind, and while fields that are in their path may be laid waste, others at one side may not be affected. It is possible by vigorous waving to keep a given tract clear of them, but usually enough men cannot be found to protect the fields from their ravages.
Large birds have been known to pass through a flight of locusts with open mouths, filling their crops with the insects. Tristram, NHB, relates how he saw the fishes in the Jordan enjoying a similar feast, as the locusts fell into the stream. The female locust, by means of the ovipositor at the end of her abdomen, digs a hole in the ground, and deposits in it a mass of eggs, which are cemented together with a glandular secretion. An effective way of dealing with the locusts is to gather and destroy these egg-masses, and it is customary for the local governments to offer a substantial reward for a measure of eggs. The young before they can fly are frequently swept into pits or ditches dug for the purpose and are burned.
The young are of the same general shape as the adult insects, differing in being small, black and wingless. The three distinct stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and others of the higher insects are not to be distinguished in locusts. They molt about six times, emerging from each molt larger than before. At first there are no wings. After several molts, small and useless wings are found, but it is only after the last molt that the insects are able to fly. In the early molts the tiny black nymphs are found in patches on the ground, hopping out of the way when disturbed. Later they run, until they are able to fly.
In all stages they are destructive to vegetation. Some remarkable pictures of their ravages are found in Joel 1:6, 7, "For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my figtree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white" (see also 2:2-9, 20).
4. Figurative:
Locusts are instruments of the wrath of God (Exodus 10:4-19 Deuteronomy 28:38, 42 2 Chronicles 7:13 Psalm 78:46; Psalm 105:34 Nahum 3:15-17; The Wisdom of Solomon 16:9; Revelation 9:3); they typify an invading army (Jeremiah 51:14, 27); they are compared with horses (Joel 2:4 Revelation 9:7); in Job 39:20, Yahweh says of the horse: "Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?" the King James Version "Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?" Locusts are among the "four things which are little upon the earth, but.... are exceeding wise" (Proverbs 30:27). Like the stars and sands of the sea, locusts are a type of that which cannot be numbered (Judges 6:5; Judges 7:12 Jeremiah 46:23; Judith 2:20). Grasshoppers are a symbol of insignificance (Numbers 13:33 Ecclesiastes 12:5 Isaiah 40:22; 2 Esdras 4:24).
5. Locusts as Food:
The Arabs prepare for food the thorax of the locust, which contains the great wing muscles. They pull off the head, which as it comes away brings with it a mass of the viscera, and they remove the abdomen (or "tail"), the legs and the wings. The thoraxes, if not at once eaten, are dried and put away as a store of food for a lean season. The idea of feeding upon locusts when prepared in this way should not be so repellent as the thought of eating the whole insect. In the light of this it is not incredible that the food of John the Baptist should have been "locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4).
See INSECTS.
Alfred Ely Day BALD LOCUST bold lo'kust.
See LOCUST. |  | Multi-Version Concordance Locust (25 Occurrences) Exodus 10:4 Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Exodus 10:12 Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail has left." (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Exodus 10:13 Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind on the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Exodus 10:14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt. They were very grievous. Before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Exodus 10:19 Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Leviticus 11:22 Even of these you may eat: any kind of locust, any kind of katydid, any kind of cricket, and any kind of grasshopper. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Deuteronomy 7:20 And also the locust doth Jehovah thy God send among them, till the destruction of those who are left, and of those who are hidden from thy presence; (YLT) Deuteronomy 28:38 You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Deuteronomy 28:42 All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV) Judges 6:5 For they came up with their livestock and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it. (Root in WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV) Judges 7:12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude. (Root in WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV) 1 Kings 8:37 "If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight, mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) 2 Chronicles 6:28 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there be; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) 2 Chronicles 7:13 If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Job 39:20 Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome. (WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 78:46 He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 105:34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number, (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 109:23 I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Proverbs 30:27 The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Joel 1:4 What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Joel 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Amos 4:9 "I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees have the swarming locust devoured: yet you haven't returned to me," says Yahweh. (WEB RSV NIV) Nahum 3:15 There the fire will devour you. The sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the grasshopper. Multiply like grasshoppers. Multiply like the locust. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Nahum 3:16 You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away. (See NAS RSV NIV) Nahum 3:17 Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) |
