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Selected Verse: Matthew 3:4 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Mt 3:4	Strong Concordance	And [1161] the same [846] John [2491] had [2192] his [846] raiment [1742] of [575] camel's [2574] hair [2359], and [2532] a leathern [1193] girdle [2223] about [4012] his [846] loins [3751]; and [1161] his [846] meat [5160] was [2258] locusts [200] and [2532] wild [66] honey [3192].
	King James	And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--woven of it. and a leathern girdle about his loins--the prophetic dress of Elijah (Kg2 1:8; and see Zac 13:4). and his meat was locusts--the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Lev 11:22). and wild honey--made by wild bees (Sa1 14:25-26). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair--woven of it.

and a leathern girdle about his loins--the prophetic dress of Elijah (Kg2 1:8; and see Zac 13:4).

and his meat was locusts--the great, well-known Eastern locust, a food of the poor (Lev 11:22).

and wild honey--made by wild bees (Sa1 14:25-26). This dress and diet, with the shrill cry in the wilderness, would recall the stern days of Elijah.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
His raiment of camel's hair - His clothing. This is not the fine hair of the camel from which our elegant cloth is made called camlet, nor the more elegant stuff brought from the East Indies under the name of "camel's hair," but the long shaggy hair of the camel, from which a coarse cheap cloth is made, still worn by the poorer classes in the East, and by monks. This dress of the camel's hair, and a leather belt, it seems, was the common dress of the prophets, Kg2 1:8; Zac 13:4. His meat was locusts - His food. These constituted the food of the common people. Among the Greeks the vilest of the people used to eat them; and the fact that John made his food of them is significant of his great poverty and humble life. The Jews were allowed to eat them, Lev 11:22. Locusts are flying insects, and are of various kinds. The green locusts are about 2 inches in length and about the thickness of a man's finger. The common brown locust is about 3 inches long. The general form and appearance of the locust is not unlike the grasshopper. They were one of the plagues of Egypt Exo. 10. In Eastern countries they are very numerous. They appear in such quantities as to darken the sky, and devour in a short time every green thing. The whole earth is sometimes covered with them for many leagues, Joe 1:4; Isa 33:4-5. "Some species of the locust are eaten until this day in Eastern countries, and are even esteemed as a delicacy when properly cooked. After tearing off the legs and wings, and taking out the entrails, they stick them in long rows upon wooden spits, roast them at the fire, and then proceed to devour them with great zest. There are also other ways of preparing them. For example: they cook them and dress them in oil; or, having dried them, they pulverize them, and, when other food is scarce, make bread of the meal. The Bedouins pack them with salt in close masses, which they carry in their leather sacks. From these they cut slices as they may need them. It is singular that even learned men have suffered themselves to hesitate about understanding these passages of the literal locust, when the fact that these are eaten by the Orientals is so abundantly proved by the concurrent testimony of travelers. One of them says they are brought to market on strings in all the cities of Arabia, and that he saw an Arab on Mount Sumara who had collected a sackful of them. They are prepared in different ways. An Arab in Egypt, of whom he requested that he would immediately eat locusts in his presence, threw 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 them and eat them with salt. The Arabs in the kingdom of Morocco boil the locusts; and the Bedouins 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. They are never served up as a dish, but every one takes a handful of them when hungry" (Un. Bib. Dic.). Burckhardt, one of the most trustworthy of travelers, says: "All the Bedouins of Arabia and the inhabitants of towns in Nejd and Hedjaz are accustomed to eat locusts." "I have seen at Medina and Tayf locust-shops, where these animals were sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are only eaten by the poorest beggars The Land and the Book, ii. 107). "Locusts," says Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, ii. 108), "are not eaten in Syria by any but the Bedouin on the extreme frontiers, and it is always spoken of as an inferior article of food, and regarded by most with disgust and loathing tolerated only by the very poorest people. John the Baptist, however, was of this class either from necessity or election." It is remarkable that not only in respect to his food, but also in other respects, the peculiarities in John's mode of life have their counterparts in the present habits of the same class of persons. "The coat or mantle of camel's hair is seen still on the shoulders of the Arab who escorts the traveler through the desert, or of the shepherd who tends his flocks on the hills of Judea or in the valley of the Jordan. It is made of the thin, coarse hair of the camel, and not of the fine hair, which is manufactured into a species of rich cloth. I was told that both kinds of raiment are made on a large scale at Nablus, the ancient Shechem. The 'leathern girdle' may be seen around the body of the common laborer, when fully dressed, almost anywhere; whereas men of wealth take special pride in displaying a rich sash of silk or some other costly fabric" (Hackett's Illustrations of Scripture, p. 104). Wild honey - This was probably the honey that he found in the rocks of the wilderness. Palestine was often called the land flowing with milk and honey, Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Exo 13:5. Bees were kept with great care, and great numbers of them abounded in the fissures of trees and the clefts of rocks. "Bees abound there still, not only wild, but hived, as with us. I saw a great number of hives in the old castle near the Pools of Solomon; several, also, at Deburieh, at the foot of Tabor: and again at Mejdel, the Magdala of the New Testament, on the Lake of Tiberias. Maundrell says that he saw 'bees very industrious about the blossoms' between Jericho and the Dead Sea, which must have been within the limits of the very 'desert' in which John 'did eat locusts and wild honey'" (Hackett's Illustrations of Scripture, p. 104). There is also a species of honey called wild honey, or wood honey (Sa1 14:27, margin), or honeydew, produced by certain little insects, and deposited on the leaves of trees, and flowing from them in great quantities to the ground. See Sa1 14:24-27. This is said to be produced still in Arabia, and perhaps it was this which John lived upon.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

His raiment of camel's hair - His clothing. This is not the fine hair of the camel from which our elegant cloth is made called camlet, nor the more elegant stuff brought from the East Indies under the name of "camel's hair," but the long shaggy hair of the camel, from which a coarse cheap cloth is made, still worn by the poorer classes in the East, and by monks. This dress of the camel's hair, and a leather belt, it seems, was the common dress of the prophets, Kg2 1:8; Zac 13:4.

His meat was locusts - His food. These constituted the food of the common people. Among the Greeks the vilest of the people used to eat them; and the fact that John made his food of them is significant of his great poverty and humble life. The Jews were allowed to eat them, Lev 11:22. Locusts are flying insects, and are of various kinds. The green locusts are about 2 inches in length and about the thickness of a man's finger. The common brown locust is about 3 inches long. The general form and appearance of the locust is not unlike the grasshopper. They were one of the plagues of Egypt Exo. 10. In Eastern countries they are very numerous. They appear in such quantities as to darken the sky, and devour in a short time every green thing. The whole earth is sometimes covered with them for many leagues, Joe 1:4; Isa 33:4-5. "Some species of the locust are eaten until this day in Eastern countries, and are even esteemed as a delicacy when properly cooked. After tearing off the legs and wings, and taking out the entrails, they stick them in long rows upon wooden spits, roast them at the fire, and then proceed to devour them with great zest. There are also other ways of preparing them. For example: they cook them and dress them in oil; or, having dried them, they pulverize them, and, when other food is scarce, make bread of the meal. The Bedouins pack them with salt in close masses, which they carry in their leather sacks. From these they cut slices as they may need them. It is singular that even learned men have suffered themselves to hesitate about understanding these passages of the literal locust, when the fact that these are eaten by the Orientals is so abundantly proved by the concurrent testimony of travelers.

One of them says they are brought to market on strings in all the cities of Arabia, and that he saw an Arab on Mount Sumara who had collected a sackful of them. They are prepared in different ways. An Arab in Egypt, of whom he requested that he would immediately eat locusts in his presence, threw 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 them and eat them with salt. The Arabs in the kingdom of Morocco boil the locusts; and the Bedouins 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.

They are never served up as a dish, but every one takes a handful of them when hungry" (Un. Bib. Dic.). Burckhardt, one of the most trustworthy of travelers, says: "All the Bedouins of Arabia and the inhabitants of towns in Nejd and Hedjaz are accustomed to eat locusts." "I have seen at Medina and Tayf locust-shops, where these animals were sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are only eaten by the poorest beggars The Land and the Book, ii. 107). "Locusts," says Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, ii. 108), "are not eaten in Syria by any but the Bedouin on the extreme frontiers, and it is always spoken of as an inferior article of food, and regarded by most with disgust and loathing tolerated only by the very poorest people. John the Baptist, however, was of this class either from necessity or election." It is remarkable that not only in respect to his food, but also in other respects, the peculiarities in John's mode of life have their counterparts in the present habits of the same class of persons. "The coat or mantle of camel's hair is seen still on the shoulders of the Arab who escorts the traveler through the desert, or of the shepherd who tends his flocks on the hills of Judea or in the valley of the Jordan. It is made of the thin, coarse hair of the camel, and not of the fine hair, which is manufactured into a species of rich cloth. I was told that both kinds of raiment are made on a large scale at Nablus, the ancient Shechem. The 'leathern girdle' may be seen around the body of the common laborer, when fully dressed, almost anywhere; whereas men of wealth take special pride in displaying a rich sash of silk or some other costly fabric" (Hackett's Illustrations of Scripture, p. 104).

Wild honey - This was probably the honey that he found in the rocks of the wilderness. Palestine was often called the land flowing with milk and honey, Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Exo 13:5. Bees were kept with great care, and great numbers of them abounded in the fissures of trees and the clefts of rocks. "Bees abound there still, not only wild, but hived, as with us. I saw a great number of hives in the old castle near the Pools of Solomon; several, also, at Deburieh, at the foot of Tabor: and again at Mejdel, the Magdala of the New Testament, on the Lake of Tiberias. Maundrell says that he saw 'bees very industrious about the blossoms' between Jericho and the Dead Sea, which must have been within the limits of the very 'desert' in which John 'did eat locusts and wild honey'" (Hackett's Illustrations of Scripture, p. 104). There is also a species of honey called wild honey, or wood honey (Sa1 14:27, margin), or honeydew, produced by certain little insects, and deposited on the leaves of trees, and flowing from them in great quantities to the ground. See Sa1 14:24-27. This is said to be produced still in Arabia, and perhaps it was this which John lived upon.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
John had his raiment of camels' hair - Coarse and rough, suiting his character and doctrine. A leathern girdle - Like Elijah, in whose spirit and power he came. His food was locusts and wild honey - Locusts are ranked among clean meats, Lev 11:22. But these were not always to be had. So in default of those, he fed on wild honey.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
His raiment of camel's hair - A sort of coarse or rough covering, which, it appears, was common to the prophets, Zac 13:4. In such a garment we find Elijah clothed, Kg2 1:8. And as John had been designed under the name of this prophet, Mal 4:5, whose spirit and qualifications he was to possess, Luk 1:17, he took the same habit and lived in the same state of self-denial. His meat was locusts - Ακριδες. Ακρις may either signify the insect called the locust, which still makes a part of the food in the land of Judea; or the top of a plant. Many eminent commentators are of the latter opinion; but the first is the most likely. The Saxon translator has grasshoppers. Wild honey - Such as he got in the rocks and hollows of trees, and which abounded in Judea: see Sa1 14:26. It is most likely that the dried locusts, which are an article of food in Asiatic countries to the present day, were fried in the honey, or compounded in some manner with it. The Gospel according to the Hebrews, as quoted by Epiphanius, seems to have taken a similar view of the subject, as it adds here to the text, Ου η γευσις ην του μαννα, ως εγκρις εν ελαιω. And its taste was like manna, as a sweet cake baked in oil.

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²⁵ And all they of the land [0776] came [0935] to a wood [03293]; and there was honey [01706] upon [06440] the ground [07704].
²⁶ And when the people [05971] were come [0935] into the wood [03293], behold, the honey [01706] dropped [01982]; but no man put [05381] his hand [03027] to his mouth [06310]: for the people [05971] feared [03372] the oath [07621].

²² Even these of them ye may eat [0398]; the locust [0697] after his kind [04327], and the bald locust [05556] after his kind [04327], and the beetle [02728] after his kind [04327], and the grasshopper [02284] after his kind [04327].

⁴ And it shall come to pass in that day [03117], that the prophets [05030] shall be ashamed [0954] every one [0376] of his vision [02384], when he hath prophesied [05012]; neither shall they wear [03847] a rough [08181] garment [0155] to deceive [03584]:

⁸ And they answered [0559] him, He was an hairy [08181] man [01167] [0376], and girt [0247] with a girdle [0232] of leather [05785] about his loins [04975]. And he said [0559], It is Elijah [0452] the Tishbite [08664].

²⁴ And the men [0376] of Israel [03478] were distressed [05065] that day [03117]: for Saul [07586] had adjured [0422] the people [05971], saying [0559], Cursed [0779] be the man [0376] that eateth [0398] any food [03899] until evening [06153], that I may be avenged [05358] on mine enemies [0341]. So none of the people [05971] tasted [02938] any food [03899].
²⁵ And all they of the land [0776] came [0935] to a wood [03293]; and there was honey [01706] upon [06440] the ground [07704].
²⁶ And when the people [05971] were come [0935] into the wood [03293], behold, the honey [01706] dropped [01982]; but no man put [05381] his hand [03027] to his mouth [06310]: for the people [05971] feared [03372] the oath [07621].
²⁷ But Jonathan [03129] heard [08085] not when his father [01] charged [07650] the people [05971] with the oath [07650]: wherefore he put forth [07971] the end [07097] of the rod [04294] that was in his hand [03027], and dipped [02881] it in an honeycomb [03295] [01706], and put [07725] his hand [03027] to his mouth [06310]; and his eyes [05869] were enlightened [0215].

²⁷ But Jonathan [03129] heard [08085] not when his father [01] charged [07650] the people [05971] with the oath [07650]: wherefore he put forth [07971] the end [07097] of the rod [04294] that was in his hand [03027], and dipped [02881] it in an honeycomb [03295] [01706], and put [07725] his hand [03027] to his mouth [06310]; and his eyes [05869] were enlightened [0215].

⁵ And it shall be when the LORD [03068] shall bring [0935] thee into the land [0776] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983], which he sware [07650] unto thy fathers [01] to give [05414] thee, a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706], that thou shalt keep [05647] this service [05656] in this month [02320].

¹⁷ And I have said [0559], I will bring [05927] you up out of the affliction [06040] of Egypt [04714] unto the land [0776] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Perizzites [06522], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983], unto a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706].

⁸ And I am come down [03381] to deliver [05337] them out of the hand [03027] of the Egyptians [04714], and to bring [05927] them up out of that land [0776] unto a good [02896] land [0776] and a large [07342], unto a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706]; unto the place [04725] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Perizzites [06522], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983].

⁴ And your spoil [07998] shall be gathered [0622] like the gathering [0625] of the caterpiller [02625]: as the running to and fro [04944] of locusts [01357] shall he run [08264] upon them.
⁵ The LORD [03068] is exalted [07682]; for he dwelleth [07931] on high [04791]: he hath filled [04390] Zion [06726] with judgment [04941] and righteousness [06666].

⁴ That which the palmerworm [01501] hath left [03499] hath the locust [0697] eaten [0398]; and that which the locust [0697] hath left [03499] hath the cankerworm [03218] eaten [0398]; and that which the cankerworm [03218] hath left [03499] hath the caterpiller [02625] eaten [0398].

²⁶ And when the people [05971] were come [0935] into the wood [03293], behold, the honey [01706] dropped [01982]; but no man put [05381] his hand [03027] to his mouth [06310]: for the people [05971] feared [03372] the oath [07621].

¹⁷ And [2532] he [846] shall go [4281] before [1799] him [846] in [1722] the spirit [4151] and [2532] power [1411] of Elias [2243], to turn [1994] the hearts [2588] of the fathers [3962] to [1909] the children [5043], and [2532] the disobedient [545] to [1722] the wisdom [5428] of the just [1342]; to make ready [2090] a people [2992] prepared [2680] for the Lord [2962].

⁵ Behold, I will send [07971] you Elijah [0452] the prophet [05030] before [06440] the coming [0935] of the great [01419] and dreadful [03372] day [03117] of the LORD [03068]: