The Meaning of Revelation 6:6 Explained

Revelation 6:6

KJV: And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

YLT: and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, 'A measure of wheat for a denary, and three measures of barley for a denary,' and 'The oil and the wine thou mayest not injure.'

Darby: And I heard as a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenixes of barley for a denarius: and do not injure the oil and the wine.

ASV: And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  I heard  a voice  in  the midst  of the four  beasts  say,  A measure  of wheat  for a penny,  and  three  measures  of barley  for a penny;  and  [see] thou hurt  not  the oil  and  the wine. 

What does Revelation 6:6 Mean?

Study Notes

beasts
living creatures.
living creatures
The "living creatures" are identical with the Cherubim. The subject is somewhat obscure, but from the position of the Cherubim at the gate of Eden, upon the cover of the ark of the covenant, and in Revelation 4, it is clearly gathered that they have to do with vindication of the holiness of God as against the presumptuous pride of sinful man who, despite his sin, would "put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life" Genesis 3:22-24 . Upon the ark of the covenant, of one substance with the mercy-seat, they saw the sprinkled blood which, in type, spake of the perfect maintenance of the divine righteousness by the sacrifice of Christ Exodus 25:17-20 . (See Scofield " Romans 3:24 ") . See Scofield " Romans 3:25 ". See Scofield " Romans 3:26 ". The living creatures (or Cherubim) appear to be actual beings of the angelic order. Cf. See Scofield " Isaiah 6:2 ". The Cherubim or living creatures are not identical with the Seraphim. Isaiah 6:2-7 . They appear to have to do with the holiness of God as outraged by sin; the Seraphim with uncleanness in the people of God. The passage in Ezekiel is highly figurative, but the effect was the revelation to the prophet of the Shekinah glory of the Lord. Such revelations are connected invariably with new blessing and service. Cf.; Exodus 3:2-10 ; Isaiah 6:1-10 ; Daniel 10:5-14 ; Revelation 1:12-19 .

Verse Meaning

The voice in the middle of the four living creatures must belong to God or the Lamb, probably God the Father since He is the ultimate source of all these judgments (cf. Revelation 6:11). The price of wheat (good food) and barley (cheap cattle food) will be very high. A quart of wheat would provide one meal, but it would cost a whole day"s wages. In John"s day a denarius would purchase eight to16 times as much food as what he said it will purchase in the future. [1] The poor would have little money left over for oil, for fuel and health needs, and for wine to drink (cf. Ezekiel 4:16-17). "Do not harm" means, "Do not tamper with," reflecting the strict control over prices that ungodly rulers under Antichrist"s leadership will have at this time.
The causes of the famine were not extremely severe since they killed the wheat and barley but not the vines and olive trees ( Revelation 6:6) whose roots go deeper. [2] As the Tribulation grows worse, the rich as well as the poor will suffer, but at this early stage the poor will suffer more than the rich. Probably the wars that the ungodly rulers under Antichrist"s leadership begin will reduce the food supply greatly. These rulers will control it strictly with consequent suffering for many people (cf. Luke 21:11).

Context Summary

Revelation 6:1-8 - The Riders On The Four Horses
The seals signify those events which prepare the way for the coming of the Kingdom. The breaking of the first seals is accompanied by the summons of one of the living creatures to the glorified Lord to hasten His advent. Come, glorious Redeemer, and bring about the wondrous consummation for which thy bride is waiting. The white horse signifies the victorious progress of the gospel; the red, war with its bloodshed; the black, scarcity and want; the pale, or livid, pestilence and death. Compare with Ezekiel 14:21 and Matthew 24:6-14. "Thus good and bad their several warnings give of his approach, whom none can see and live. Faith's ear, with awful, still delight, counts them as minute bells at night."
Three lines of interpretation have been adopted for these and the following mysterious utterances of this book. We shall not go into these questions, but present the main spiritual lessons which are generally accepted. That treasure is buried here none can deny; and the perpetual turning over of these sods to discover it, has greatly enriched the Church. [source]

Chapter Summary: Revelation 6

1  The First Seal: Rider on White Horse
3  The Second Seal: War
5  The Third Seal: Famine
7  The Fourth Seal: Death
9  The Fifth Seal: Martyrs
12  The Sixth Seal: Terror

Greek Commentary for Revelation 6:6

As it were a voice [ως πωνην]
“This use of ως — hōs giving a certain vagueness or mysteriousness to a phrase, is one of the characteristics of the writer‘s style, e.g., Revelation 8:1; Revelation 14:3; Revelation 19:1, Revelation 19:6 ” (Beckwith). This voice comes from the midst of the four living creatures, “the protest of nature against the horrors of famine” (Swete). [source]
A measure [χοινιχ]
Old word for less than a quart with us, here only in N.T.Of wheat (σιτου — sitou). Old word for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Rev only here and Revelation 18:13. This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day.For a penny Genitive of price, the wages of a day laborer (Matthew 20:2), about eighteen cents in our money today.Of barley (κριτων — krithōn). Old word κριτη — krithē usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf. 2 Kings 7:18). The proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid).Hurt thou not Prohibition with μη — mē and the ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of αδικεω — adikeō See Revelation 7:3; Revelation 9:4 for αδικεω — adikeō for injury to vegetable life. “The prohibition is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth” (Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple foods in Palestine and Asia Minor. [source]
Of wheat [σιτου]
Old word for wheat, a number of times in N.T., in Rev only here and Revelation 18:13. This was enough wheat to keep a man of moderate appetite alive for a day. [source]
For a penny [δηναριου]
Genitive of price, the wages of a day laborer (Matthew 20:2), about eighteen cents in our money today.Of barley (κριτων — krithōn). Old word κριτη — krithē usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf. 2 Kings 7:18). The proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid).Hurt thou not Prohibition with μη — mē and the ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of αδικεω — adikeō See Revelation 7:3; Revelation 9:4 for αδικεω — adikeō for injury to vegetable life. “The prohibition is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth” (Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple foods in Palestine and Asia Minor. [source]
Of barley [κριτων]
Old word κριτη — krithē usually in plural as here. Barley was the food of the poor and it was cheaper even in the famine and it took more of it to support life. Here the proportion is three to one (cf. 2 Kings 7:18). The proclamation forbids famine prices for food (solid and liquid). [source]
Hurt thou not [μη αδικησηις]
Prohibition with μη — mē and the ingressive first aorist active subjunctive of αδικεω — adikeō See Revelation 7:3; Revelation 9:4 for αδικεω — adikeō for injury to vegetable life. “The prohibition is addressed to the nameless rider who represents Dearth” (Swete). Wheat and barley, oil and the vine, were the staple foods in Palestine and Asia Minor. [source]
Measure [χοῖνιξ]
Choenix. Only here in the New Testament. A dry measure, according to some, a quart; to others a pint and a half. Herodotus, speaking of the provisions for Xerxes' army, assigns a choenix of corn for a man's daily supply, evidently meaning a minimum allowance (vii., 187); and Thucydides, speaking of the terms of truce between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, mentions the following as one of the provisions: “The Athenians shall permit the Lacedaemonians on the mainland to send to those on the island a fixed quantity of kneaded flour, viz., two Attic quarts ( χοίνικας ) of barley-meal for each man” (iv., 16). Jowett (“Thucydides”) says that the choenix was about two pints dry measure. So Arnold (“Thucydides”), who adds that the allowance of two choenixes of barley-meal daily to a man was the ordinary allowance of a Spartan at the public table. See Herodotus, vi., 57. [source]
For a penny [δηναρίου]
See on Matthew 20:2. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 6:6

John 6:9 A lad here [παιδαριον ωδε]
Old word, diminutive of παις — pais here only in N.T., not genuine in Matthew 11:16. How he came to have this small supply we do not know. Barley Adjective, here and John 6:13 only in N.T., in the papyri, from κριτη — krithē barley (Revelation 6:6). Considered an inferior sort of bread. Fishes Late diminutive of οπσον — opson common in papyri and inscriptions for delicacies with bread like fish. In N.T. only here, John 6:11; John 21:9-13. Synoptics have ιχτυας — ichthuas f0). [source]
Revelation 2:11 Shall not be hurt [ου μη αδικητηι]
Strong double negative with first aorist passive subjunctive of αδικεω — adikeō old verb, to act unjustly (from αδικος — adikos), here to do harm or wrong to one, old usage as in Revelation 6:6; Revelation 7:2.; Revelation 9:4, Revelation 9:10; Revelation 11:5. [source]
Revelation 7:2 From the sun-rising [απο ανατολης ηλιου]
Same phrase in Revelation 16:12. From the east, though why is not told. Swete suggests it is because Palestine is east of Patmos. The plural απο ανατολων — apo anatolōn occurs in Matthew 2:1 without ηλιου — hēliou (sun).The seal of the living God (σπραγιδα τεου ζωντος — sphragida theou zōntos). Here the signet ring, like that used by an Oriental monarch, to give validity to the official documents. The use of ζωντος — zōntos with τεου — theou accents the eternal life of God (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 10:6; Revelation 15:7) as opposed to the ephemeral pagan gods.To whom it was given For εδοτη — edothē see Revelation 6:2, Revelation 6:4, etc. The repetition of αυτοις — autois in addition to οις — hois (both dative) is a redundant Hebraism (in vernacular Koiné to some extent) often in the Apocalypse (Revelation 3:8). The angels are here identified with the winds as the angels of the churches with the churches (Revelation 1:20).To hurt (αδικησαι — adikēsai). First aorist active infinitive of αδικεω — adikeō subject of εδοτη — edothē common use of αδικεω — adikeō in this sense of to hurt in the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 6:6 already), in Luke 10:19 also. The injury is to come by letting loose the winds, not by withholding them. [source]
Revelation 7:2 To whom it was given [οις εδοτη αυτοις]
For εδοτη — edothē see Revelation 6:2, Revelation 6:4, etc. The repetition of αυτοις — autois in addition to οις — hois (both dative) is a redundant Hebraism (in vernacular Koiné to some extent) often in the Apocalypse (Revelation 3:8). The angels are here identified with the winds as the angels of the churches with the churches (Revelation 1:20).To hurt (αδικησαι — adikēsai). First aorist active infinitive of αδικεω — adikeō subject of εδοτη — edothē common use of αδικεω — adikeō in this sense of to hurt in the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 6:6 already), in Luke 10:19 also. The injury is to come by letting loose the winds, not by withholding them. [source]
Revelation 7:2 To hurt [αδικησαι]
First aorist active infinitive of αδικεω — adikeō subject of εδοτη — edothē common use of αδικεω — adikeō in this sense of to hurt in the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:11; Revelation 6:6 already), in Luke 10:19 also. The injury is to come by letting loose the winds, not by withholding them. [source]

What do the individual words in Revelation 6:6 mean?

And I heard [something] like a voice in [the] midst of the four living creatures saying A choenix of wheat for a denarius three choenixes of barley the oil the wine not you should injure
καὶ ἤκουσα ὡς φωνὴν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν τεσσάρων ζῴων λέγουσαν Χοῖνιξ σίτου δηναρίου τρεῖς χοίνικες κριθῶν τὸ ἔλαιον τὸν οἶνον μὴ ἀδικήσῃς

ἤκουσα  I  heard 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ὡς  [something]  like 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὡς 
Sense: as, like, even as, etc.
φωνὴν  a  voice 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: φωνή  
Sense: a sound, a tone.
μέσῳ  [the]  midst 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Neuter Singular
Root: μέσος  
Sense: middle.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τεσσάρων  four 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: τέσσαρες  
Sense: four.
ζῴων  living  creatures 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Plural
Root: ζῷον  
Sense: a living being.
λέγουσαν  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Χοῖνιξ  A  choenix 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: χοῖνιξ  
Sense: a choenix, a dry measure, containing four cotylae or two setarii (less than our quart, one litre) (or as much as would support a man of moderate appetite for a day).
σίτου  of  wheat 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: σιτίον 
Sense: wheat, grain.
δηναρίου  for  a  denarius 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular
Root: δηνάριον  
Sense: A Roman silver coin in NT time.
τρεῖς  three 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Plural
Root: τρεῖς 
Sense: three.
χοίνικες  choenixes 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Plural
Root: χοῖνιξ  
Sense: a choenix, a dry measure, containing four cotylae or two setarii (less than our quart, one litre) (or as much as would support a man of moderate appetite for a day).
κριθῶν  of  barley 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: κριθή  
Sense: barley.
ἔλαιον  oil 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ἔλαιον  
Sense: olive oil.
οἶνον  wine 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οἶνος  
Sense: wine.
ἀδικήσῃς  you  should  injure 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἀδικέω  
Sense: absolutely.

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