Bible Dictionary: Locust

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

Locust

a well-known insect, of the grasshopper family, which commits terrible ravages on vegetation in the countries which it visits. "The common brown locust is about three inches in length, and the general form is that of a grasshopper." The most destructive of the locust tribe that occur in the Bible lands are the (Edipoda migratoria and the Acridium peregrinum ; and as both these species occur in Syria and Arabia, etc., it is most probable that one or other is denoted in those passages which speak of the dreadful devastations committed by these insects. Locusts occur in great numbers, and sometimes obscure the sun. (Exodus 10:15; Judges 6:5; Jeremiah 46:23) Their voracity is alluded to in (Exodus 10:12,15; Joel 1:4,7) They make a fearful noise in their flight. (Joel 2:5; Revelation 9:9) Their irresistible progress is referred to in (Joel 2:8,9) They enter dwellings, and devour even the woodwork of houses. (Exodus 10:6; Joel 2:9,10) They do not fly in the night. (Nahum 3:17) The sea destroys the greater number. (Exodus 10:19; Joel 2:20) The flight of locusts is thus described by M. Olivier (Voyage dans l? Empire Othoman , ii. 424): "With the burning south winds (of Syria) there come from the interior of Arabia and from the most southern parts of Persia clouds of locusts (Acridium peregrinum), whose ravages to these countries are as grievous and nearly as sudden as those of the heaviest hail in Europe. We witnessed them twice. It is difficult to express the effect produced on us by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled on all sides and to a great height by an innumerable quantity of these insects, whose flight was slow and uniform, and whose noise resembled that of rain: the sky was darkened, and the light of the sun considerably weakened. In a moment the terraces of the houses, the streets, and all the fields were covered by these insects, and in two days they had nearly devoured all the leaves of the plants. Happily they lived but a short time, and seemed to have migrated only to reproduce themselves and die; in fact, nearly all those we saw the next day had paired, and the day following the fields were covered with their dead bodies." "Locusts have been used as food from the earliest times. Herodotus speaks of a Libyan nation who dried their locusts in the sun and ate them with milk. The more common method, however, was to pull off the legs and wings and roast them in an iron dish. Then they thrown into a bag, and eaten like parched corn, each one taking a handful when he chose." --Biblical Treasury. Sometimes the insects are ground and pounded, and then mixed with flour and water and made into cakes, or they are salted and then eaten; sometimes smoked; sometimes boiled or roasted; again, stewed, or fried in butter.

Scripture Alphabet Of Animals

Locust

The locust is called an insect, as well as the ant and the bee, but instead of being harmless, as they usually are, it does a great deal of injury. It is also much larger than they; for it is generally three inches long, and sometimes as much as four or five. The plague of the locusts was the eighth that God sent upon the Egyptians, because they would not let the children of Israel go, as he commanded; and it was a very terrible one indeed. The Bible says, "They covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field through all the land of Egypt." This is the way they often do in those countries, though perhaps it is not common for so many to come at once.

They fly in companies of thousands together, and so close that they look like a great black cloud. When they alight on the ground they all come down in a body, and immediately begin to devour the grass and grain; they also eat the leaves of the trees, and every green thing they can find. The people dread them more than they do the most terrible fire or storm; because though they are so small, they destroy all the food, and leave the people ready to starve. When the inhabitants see them coming over their fields, they try to drive them away by making loud noises or by kindling fires; but this does little good.

It is said that a great army of locusts came over the northern part of Africa about a hundred years before the birth of Christ. They consumed every blade of grass wherever they alighted; also the roots, and bark, and even the hard wood of the trees. After they had thus eaten up every thing, a strong wind arose, and after tossing them about awhile, it blew them over the sea, and great numbers of them were drowned. Then the waves threw them back upon the land, all along the sea-coast, and their dead bodies made the air so unwholesome that a frightful pestilence commenced, and great numbers of men and animals died.

Many travellers have seen these great clouds of locusts, and describe them in their books. One says that he saw a company consisting of so many that they were an hour in passing over the place where he was. They seemed to extend a mile in length and half a mile in width. When he first noticed them, they looked like a black cloud rising in the east; and when they came over head, they shut out the light of the sun, and made a noise with their wings like the rushing of a water-fall. Another swarm is mentioned which took four hours to pass over one spot; and they made the sky so dark that one person could not see another at twenty steps off.

You can now understand two or three passages from the Bible which I will mention. David says in Psalm 109:23, "I am tossed up and down as the locust;" that is, as the clouds of locusts are tossed about by the wind. In the first chapters of Joel God threatens to send the locust among the people, because of their wickedness; and he says of them, "Before their faces the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. They (the locusts,) shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief." An English clergyman who visited countries where the locusts are found, a few years ago, says that these verses describe them exactly as he has himself seen them.

Locusts are sometimes used for food. The Arabs boil them with salt, and then add a little oil or butter; sometimes they toast them by the fire before eating them. A traveller speaks of seeing the Arab women employed in filling bags with locusts, which were to be used for food. You know it is said in the New Testament that John the Baptist "did eat locusts and wild honey," but it is not quite certain that this insect was meant; perhaps it was the fruit of the locust-tree that he ate.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Locust

A voracious winged insect, belonging to the genus known among naturalists as the Grylli, closely resembling the grasshopper, and a great scourge in oriental countries in both ancient and modern times. There are ten different names in the Hebrew Bible for insects of this kind; but some of these probably designate different forms or stages in life of the same species. The Bible represents their countless swarms as directed in their flight and march by God, and used in the chastisement of guilty nations, De 28:38-42 1 Kings 8:37 2 Chronicles 6:28. A swarm of locusts was among the plagues of Egypt; they covered the whole land, so that the earth was darkened, and devoured every green herb of the earth, and the fruit of every tree which the hail had left, Exodus 10:4-19. But the most particular description of this insect, and of its destructive career, in the sacred writings, is in Joel 2:3-10. This is one of the most striking and animated descriptions to be met with in the whole compass of prophecy; and the double destruction to be produced by locusts and the enemies of which they were the harbingers, is painted with the most expressive force and accuracy. We see the destroying army moving before us as we read, and see the desolation spreading. It should also be mentioned, that the four insects specified in Joel 1:4, the palmer-worm, the locust, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, are strictly, according to the Hebrew, only different forms of locusts, some perhaps without wings, as mentioned below. The following extracts from Dr. Shaw and Mr. Morier, which are also corroborated by Niebuhr, Burckhardt, and other travelers, may serve as a commentary upon this and other passages of Scripture.

Dr. Shaw remarks, "Those which I saw, were much bigger than our common grasshoppers, and had brown spotted wings, with legs and bodies of a bright yellow. Their first appearance was towards the end of March, the wind having been some time from the south. In the middle of April, their numbers were so vastly increased, that in the heat of the day they formed themselves into large and numerous swarms, flew in the air like a succession of clouds, and as the prophet Joel expresses it, they darkened the sun. When the wind blew briskly, so that these swarms were crowded by others, or thrown one upon another, we had a lively idea of that comparison of the psalmist, Psalm 109:23, of being tossed up and down as the locust. In the month of May, these swarms gradually retired into the Metijiah and other adjacent plains, where they deposited their eggs. These were no sooner hatched, in June, than each of the broods collected itself into a compact body of a furlong or more square, and marching afterwards in a direct line towards the sea, they let nothing escape them; eating up every thing that was green and juicy, not only the lesser kinds of vegetables, but the vine likewise, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, Joel 1:12; in doing which, kept their ranks like men of war, climbing over, as they advanced, every tree or wall that was in their way; nay, they entered into our very houses and bedchambers like thieves. The inhabitants, to stop their progress, made a variety of pits and trenches all over their fields and gardens, which they filled with water; or else they heaped up therein heath, stubble, and such like combustible matter, which were severally set on fire upon the approach of the locusts. But this was all to no purpose, for the trenches were quickly filled up and the fires extinguished by infinite swarms succeeding one another, while the front was regarded less of danger and the rear pressed on so close that a retreat was altogether impossible. A day or two after one of these broods was in motion, others were already hatched to march and glean after them, gnawing off the very bark and the young branches of such trees as had before escaped with the loss only of their fruit and foliage. So justly have they been compared by the prophet to a great army; who further observes, that the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness."

Mr. Morier says, "On the 11th of June, while seated in our tents about noon, we heard a very unusual noise, that sounded like the rustling of a great wind at a distance. On looking up, we perceived an immense cloud, here and there semi-transparent, in other parts quite black, that spread itself all over the sky, and at intervals shadowed the sun. These we soon found to be locusts, whole swarms of them falling about us. These were of a red color, and I should suppose are the red predatory locusts, one of the Egyptian plagues. As soon as they appeared, the gardeners and husbandmen made loud shouts, to prevent their settling on their grounds. They seemed to be impelled by one common instinct, and moved in one body, which had the appearance of being organized by a leader, Joel 2:7."

The locust was a "clean" animal for the Jews, Le 11:22, and might be used for food. In Matthew 3:4, it is said of John the Baptist, that "his meat was locusts, and wild honey." They are still eaten in the East, and regarded by some as a delicacy, though usually left to the poorest of the people. Niebuhr remarks, "Locusts are brought to market on mount Sumara I saw an Arab who had collected a whole sackful of the. They are prepared in different ways. An Arab in Egypt, of whom we requested that he would immediately eat locusts in our presence, threw them upon the glowing coals, and after he supposed they were roasted enough, he took them upon the glowing coals, and after he supposed they were roasted enough, he took them by the legs and head, and devoured the remainder at one mouthful. When the Arabs have them in quantities, they roast or dry them in an oven, or boil the locusts, and then dry them on the roofs of their houses. One sees there large baskets full of them in the markets."

Burckhardt also relates the fact in a similar manner: "The Bedaween eat locusts, which are collected in great quantities in the beginning of April, when they are easily caught. After having been roasted a little upon the iron plate on which bread is baked, they are dried in the sun, and then put into large sacks, with the mixture of a little salt."

In Revelation 9:7-10, there is a terrific description of symbolical locusts, in which they are compared to war-horses, their hair to the hair of women, etc. Niebuhr heard an Arab of the desert, and another in Bagdad, make the same comparison. They likened "the head of the locust to that of the horse; its breast to that of the lion; its feet to those of the camel; its body to that of the serpent; its tail to that of the scorpion; its antennae, if I mistake not, to the locks of hair of a virgin; and so of other parts." In like manner, the Italians still call locusts little horses, and the Germans hayhorses.

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged 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.

International 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.

Greek

200. akris -- a locust
... akris. 201 . a locust. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: akris Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-rece') Short Definition: a locust Definition: a locust. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/200.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

697. arbeh -- (a kind of) locust
... 696, 697. arbeh. 698 . (a kind of) locust. Transliteration: arbeh Phonetic
Spelling: (ar-beh') Short Definition: locusts. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/697.htm - 6k

5556. solam -- a locust
... 5555, 5556. solam. 5557 . a locust. Transliteration: solam Phonetic Spelling:
(sol-awm') Short Definition: locust. Word Origin probably ...
/hebrew/5556.htm - 6k

2284. chagab -- locust, grasshopper
... 2283, 2284. chagab. 2285 . locust, grasshopper. Transliteration: chagab Phonetic
Spelling: (khaw-gawb') Short Definition: grasshopper. ... locust. ...
/hebrew/2284.htm - 5k

3218. yeleq -- (a kind of) locust
... 3217, 3218. yeleq. 3219 . (a kind of) locust. Transliteration: yeleq
Phonetic Spelling: (yeh'-lek) Short Definition: locust. Word ...
/hebrew/3218.htm - 6k

1357. geb -- locust
... 1356b, 1357. geb. 1358 . locust. Transliteration: geb Phonetic Spelling:
(gabe) Short Definition: locust. Word Origin see gebeh. locust ...
/hebrew/1357.htm - 5k

2625. chasil -- (a kind of) locust
... (a kind of) locust. Transliteration: chasil Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-seel') Short
Definition: grasshopper. ... From chacal; the ravager, ie A locust -- caterpillar. ...
/hebrew/2625.htm - 6k

2728. chargol -- (a kind of) locust
... (a kind of) locust. Transliteration: chargol Phonetic Spelling: (khar-gole') Short
Definition: cricket. ... From charag; the leaping insect, ie A locust -- beetle. ...
/hebrew/2728.htm - 6k

1361a. gebeh -- locust
... gebeh. 1361b . locust. Transliteration: gebeh Short Definition: locusts. Word
Origin from an unused word Definition locust NASB Word Usage locusts (1). ...
/hebrew/1361a.htm - 5k

6767c. tselatsal -- a whirring locust
... a whirring locust. Transliteration: tselatsal Short Definition: cricket. Word Origin
from tsalal Definition a whirring locust NASB Word Usage cricket (1). ...
/hebrew/6767c.htm - 5k

1361. gabahh -- locust
... 1360, 1361. gabahh. 1361a . locust. Transliteration: gabahh Phonetic Spelling:
(gaw-bah') Short Definition: exalt. exalt, be haughty ...
/hebrew/1361.htm - 5k

Library

The Locust-Swarms
... SERMON XX. THE LOCUST-SWARMS. Joel 2:12, 13. Therefore also now, saith
the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with ...
/.../kingsley/the good news of god/sermon xx the locust-swarms.htm

Joel's Rhapsody of the Locust Plague
... LYRICS JOEL'S RHAPSODY OF THE LOCUST PLAGUE. i The Land Desolate and Mourning. OLD
MEN. Hear this, ye old men, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land! ...
/.../select masterpieces of biblical literature/joels rhapsody of the locust.htm

December 16. "I Will Restore to You the Years that the Locust Hath ...
... DECEMBER 16. "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker
worm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, my great army, which I sent ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /december 16 i will restore.htm

On Psalm Lxxvii. Or Lxxviii.
... 46. He gave also their fruits to the mildew, and their labours to the locust. 47.
He destroyed their vine with hail, and their sycamines with frost. ...
/.../the extant works and fragments of hippolytus/on psalm lxxvii or lxxviii.htm

Bible Study.
... The next thing the speaker compared them to was a locust. ... "Well, I will be like a
locust; my King is away," I thought. The next comparison was a spider. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/bible study.htm

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
... from the sciences of the Indians, Persians, and Egyptians: "The locust, no doubt,
is generally to be referred to a multitude of enemies: For so it is recorded ...
/.../mede/a key to the apocalypse/of the three woe trumpets.htm

The Oration of Moses at the Rehearsal of the Blessing and the ...
... thee away. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather
little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/i the oration of moses.htm

The Last Farewell in the Presence of the one Hundred and Fifty ...
... Alas! how rich we were in misfortunes, for the fire consumed the beauties of the
world. [4303] That which the palmerworm left did the locust eat, and that ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xlii the last farewell.htm

A Cultivated Conservative Friend of Mine once Exhibited Great ...
... things of the earth. But never before, I think, have Christians called
a Turk a locust and meant it as a compliment. Now for the ...
/.../chesterton/whats wrong with the world/chapter 42 a cultivated conservative.htm

History of Arian Opinions.
... treatise, which was on a par with the crime of his sacrifice, yet answered their
wishes; for in it, after comparing, or rather preferring, the locust and the ...
/.../athanasius/select works and letters or athanasius/part ii history of arian.htm

Thesaurus

Locust (25 Occurrences)
... There are ten Hebrew words used in Scripture to signify locust. ... The ordinary Syrian
locust resembles the grasshopper, but is larger and more destructive. ...
/l/locust.htm - 34k

Locust's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Locust's (1 Occurrence). Deuteronomy 28:42 All your
trees and the fruit of your land will be the locust's. (BBE). ...
/l/locust's.htm - 6k

Locust-swarm (1 Occurrence)
Locust-swarm. Locust's, Locust-swarm. Lod . Multi-Version Concordance
Locust-swarm (1 Occurrence). Amos 7:1 Thus hath ...
/l/locust-swarm.htm - 6k

Grasshopper (12 Occurrences)
... 39:30; Jeremiah 46:23, where the Authorized Version has "grasshopper," the Revised
Version more correctly renders the Hebrew word (`arbeh) by "locust." This is ...
/g/grasshopper.htm - 12k

Caterpillar (6 Occurrences)
... 33:4) as the translation of a word (hasil) the root of which means "to devour" or
"consume," and which is used also with reference to the locust in Deuteronomy ...
/c/caterpillar.htm - 10k

Cankerworm (7 Occurrences)
... (Hebrews yelek), "the licking locust," which licks up the grass ... Psalms 105:34 He
spoke, and the locust came, and the cankerworm, even without number; (DBY YLT). ...
/c/cankerworm.htm - 10k

Swarming (19 Occurrences)
... (See JPS). Joel 1:4 What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten.
What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. ...
/s/swarming.htm - 12k

Locusts (33 Occurrences)
... There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt. ... (See NIV). Deuteronomy
28:42 All thy trees and the fruit of thy land shall the locust possess. ...
/l/locusts.htm - 16k

Canker-worm (7 Occurrences)
... CANKER-WORM. kan'-ker-wurm (yeleq, (Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25 Nahum 3:15, 16)): The name
given to a larval stage of the LOCUST (which see). See also CATERPILLAR. ...
/c/canker-worm.htm - 9k

Palmerworm (2 Occurrences)
... LXX.), which wanders like a palmer or pilgrim, or which travels like pilgrims in
bands (Joel 1:4; 2:25), the wingless locusts, or the migratory locust in its ...
/p/palmerworm.htm - 8k

Bible 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)

Subtopics

Locust

Locust used As Food

Locust: Authorized As Food

Locust: Devastation By

Locust: Figurative

Locust: Instincts of

Locust: Plague of

Locust: Sun Obscured By

Locust: Symbolical

Locust: Translated "Grasshopper"

The Locust of Destructive Enemies