Topical Bible: Locusts

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Topical Encyclopedia

Locusts are a type of grasshopper known for their swarming behavior and are frequently mentioned in the Bible as instruments of divine judgment and symbols of destruction. They are depicted as both literal and metaphorical agents of devastation, often associated with God's wrath and the call for repentance.

Biblical References:

1. Plague in Egypt: One of the most notable mentions of locusts is in the account of the plagues of Egypt. In Exodus 10:12-15 , God commands Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and consume everything left after the hail. The passage describes the locusts as covering the ground until it was black and devouring all that was left after the previous plagues, demonstrating their role as a tool of divine judgment against Pharaoh's hardened heart.

2. Judgment and Repentance: In the book of Joel, locusts are used as a metaphor for an invading army and a call to repentance. Joel 1:4 states, "What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten." This vivid imagery underscores the totality of destruction and serves as a warning to the people to return to God.

3. Symbol of Destruction: Locusts are also mentioned in the book of Revelation as part of the apocalyptic vision. Revelation 9:3 describes locusts coming out of the smoke upon the earth, given power like that of scorpions. These locusts are not ordinary insects but are symbolic of demonic forces unleashed during the end times, emphasizing their role as harbingers of divine judgment.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In the ancient Near East, locust swarms were a well-known natural disaster, capable of devastating crops and causing famine. Their sudden appearance and overwhelming numbers made them a fitting symbol for divine intervention and punishment. The biblical portrayal of locusts reflects the historical reality of their impact on agrarian societies, where a single swarm could obliterate the food supply and lead to widespread suffering.

Theological Significance:

From a theological perspective, locusts in the Bible serve as a reminder of God's sovereignty over creation and His ability to use natural phenomena to accomplish His purposes. They are a call to humility and repentance, urging people to recognize their dependence on God and to turn away from sin. The recurring theme of locusts as instruments of judgment highlights the seriousness of disobedience and the need for spiritual vigilance.

Conclusion:

While locusts are a natural part of the ecosystem, their biblical representation transcends their physical characteristics, embodying themes of judgment, repentance, and divine sovereignty. Through the imagery of locusts, the Bible communicates profound spiritual truths about the consequences of sin and the hope of restoration through repentance.

Topical Bible Verses

Mark 1:6
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;
Topicalbible.org

Leviticus 11:22
Even these of them you may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
Topicalbible.org

Greek

200. akris -- a locust
... locust Definition: a locust. Word Origin a prim. word Definition a locust
NASB Word Usage locusts (4). locust. Apparently from the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/200.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

1373b. gobay -- locusts
... locusts. Transliteration: gobay or gobay Short Definition: locust-swarm. Word Origin
from the same as gebeh Definition locusts NASB Word Usage locust-swarm (1). ...
/hebrew/1373b.htm - 5k

1462. gob -- locusts
... 1461, 1462. gob. 1463 . locusts. Transliteration: gob Phonetic Spelling:
(gobe) Short Definition: grasshoppers. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/1462.htm - 6k

1501. gazam -- locusts
... 1500, 1501. gazam. 1502 . locusts. Transliteration: gazam Phonetic Spelling:
(gaw-zawm') Short Definition: locust. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/1501.htm - 5k

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

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

3218. yeleq -- (a kind of) locust
... Word Origin from an unused word Definition (a kind of) locust NASB Word Usage
creeping locust (5), locust (1), locusts (2), young locusts (1). ...
/hebrew/3218.htm - 6k

1471. goy -- nation, people
... root as gevah (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also
(figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts -- Gentile, heathen ...
/hebrew/1471.htm - 6k

3767. kera -- a leg
... leg. From kara'; the leg (from the knee to the ankle) of men or locusts (only in
the dual) -- leg. see HEBREW kara'. 3766, 3767. kera. 3768 . Strong's Numbers
/hebrew/3767.htm - 6k

4264. machaneh -- an encampment, camp
... chanah; an encampment (of travellers or troops); hence, an army, whether literal
(of soldiers) or figurative (of dancers, angels, cattle, locusts, stars; or ...
/hebrew/4264.htm - 6k

Library

The Locust-Swarms
... Whether these names are rightly rendered, or whether they mean different sorts of
locusts, or the locusts in their different stages of growth, crawling at ...
/.../kingsley/the good news of god/sermon xx the locust-swarms.htm

Joel
... In an unusually devastating plague of locusts, which, like an army of the
Lord,[1] has stripped the land bare and brought misery alike upon city and country ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/joel.htm

Another Part of My Smoke' which You Frequently Laugh at is My ...
... might be applied, "Thou touchest the hills and they smoke." You do not understand
the allusion of the Prophet when he speaks of the smoke of the locusts; it is ...
/.../31 another part of my.htm

The Scope of the Apocalypse is Indicated by Its Place in the ...
... 2. The next allusion to the Antichrist is found in Rev.9:11 where he is given a
threefold appellation, namely, King over the locusts, The Angel of the Abyss ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/the scope of the apocalypse.htm

The Rod that Troubled Egypt.
... Then Moses told Pharaoh that the face of the earth would be covered with clouds
of locusts that would eat every green thing left by the storm, if he did not ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xi the rod that.htm

The Cost of Being Cruel and Stubborn
... For if you refuse to let my people go, then to-morrow I will bring locusts into
your land, and they will cover the surface of the earth, so that no one will be ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the cost of being cruel.htm

The Twelve Minor Prophets.
... The immediate occasion of his prophecies is a double plague of drought and locusts,
which has already invaded the land, and whose desolating progress he ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxiii the twelve minor.htm

Hosea and Joel.
... (1) The occasion of the prophecy was four successive plagues of insects, particularly
the locusts. ... 1. By the past scourge of locusts and drought, Ch.1. ...
/.../the way of salvation in the lutheran church/chapter xviii hosea and joel.htm

John the Baptist
... And as he grew older, he made up his mind that he would leave his home and friends,
and go and live in the wilderness; and his food there was locusts and wild ...
/.../anonymous/the good shepherd/chapter iv john the baptist.htm

Not Enough, as the Marcionites Pretend, that the Supreme God ...
... One work is sufficient for our god; he has delivered man by his supreme and most
excellent goodness, which is preferable to (the creation of) all the locusts. ...
/.../tertullian/the five books against marcion/chapter xvii not enough as the.htm

Thesaurus

Locusts (33 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Locusts (33 Occurrences). ... His food was locusts and
wild honey. (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/l/locusts.htm - 16k

Swarm (26 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/s/swarm.htm - 15k

Swarms (18 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/s/swarms.htm - 12k

Apollyon (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Destroyer, the name given to the king of the
hosts represented by the locusts (Revelation 9:11). It is ...
/a/apollyon.htm - 12k

Border (233 Occurrences)
... Exodus 10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will
I bring locusts into thy border: (ASV DBY JPS WBS YLT). ...
/b/border.htm - 40k

Borders (104 Occurrences)
... WBS). Exodus 10:4 For, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, I will
to-morrow bring locusts into thy borders; (DBY). Exodus ...
/b/borders.htm - 40k

Insects (17 Occurrences)
... Lepidoptera, clothes-moth, silk-worm; Siphonaptera, flea; Diptera, fly; Rhynchota,
louse, scarletworm; Orthoptera, several kinds of grasshoppers and locusts. ...
/i/insects.htm - 14k

Locust (25 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/l/locust.htm - 34k

Wore (19 Occurrences)
... His food was locusts and wild honey. (WEB WEY RSV). ... (WEB WBS). Revelation 9:7
The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. ...
/w/wore.htm - 11k

Dense (11 Occurrences)
... (See 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. ...
/d/dense.htm - 9k

Resources

Is Joel 1:4 referring to literal locusts? When was this prophecy fulfilled? | GotQuestions.org

How does God restore the years that the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25)? | GotQuestions.org

Summary of the Book of Joel - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Locusts (33 Occurrences)

Matthew 3:4
Now John himself wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 1:6
John was clothed with camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 9:3
Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 9:7
The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people's faces.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Revelation 9:11
The locusts had a king over them--the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is 'Abaddon,' while in the Greek he is called 'Apollyon.'
(WEY)

Exodus 10:4
Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS 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."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS 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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS 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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS 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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 28:38
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 28:42
All thy trees and the fruit of thy land shall the locust possess.
(See 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.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY 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.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 8:37
If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;
(See NIV)

2 Chronicles 6:28
If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
(KJV WBS NIV)

2 Chronicles 7:13
If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
(KJV BBE WBS NIV)

Psalms 78:46
He gave the increase of their fields to worms, the fruits of their industry to the locusts.
(BBE)

Psalms 105:34
He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number,
(WEB KJV BBE WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Proverbs 30:27
The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 33:4
Your spoil will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 40:22
It is he who is seated over the arch of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 46:23
They shall cut down her forest, says Yahweh, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 51:14
The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you.
(BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 51:27
Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts.
(BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Joel 1:4
What is left of the palmer-worm, eaten hath the locust, And what is left of the locust, Eaten hath the cankerworm, And what is left of the cankerworm, Eaten hath the caterpillar.
(See NIV)

Joel 2:25
And I have recompensed to you the years That consume did the locust, the cankerworm, And the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great force that I did send against you.
(See 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.
(See NIV)

Amos 7:1
Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's harvest.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY YLT RSV NIV)

Nahum 3:15
There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.
(KJV JPS BBE WBS NIV)

Nahum 3:16
You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away.
(See 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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS RSV NIV)

Malachi 3:11
And on your account I will keep back the locusts from wasting the fruits of your land; and the fruit of your vine will not be dropped on the field before its time, says the Lord of armies
(BBE)

Subtopics

Locusts

Related Terms

Locusts (33 Occurrences)

Locust-swarm (1 Occurrence)