Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
His body also was like the beryl - There is a very striking resemblance between the description here given and that of the Saviour as he appeared to John in Patmos, Revelation 1:13-16. See the notes at that passage. It contains, however, no description of the appearance of the body. "Beryl" is "a mineral of great hardness, occurring in green and bluish-green six-sided prisms. It is identical with the emerald, except that the latter has a purer and richer color. " - Dana, in Webster' s Dictionary. The Hebrew word used here is ׁׁ tarshı̂ysh "Tarshish, Tartessus," and properly refers to a country supposed to be on the south of Spain, a place where this mineral was probably found. This was situated between the mouths of the river Baetis, or Guadalquivir, and was a flourishing mart of the Phoenicians, Genesis 10:4; Psalms 72:10; Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:6, Isaiah 23:10, ... - Gesenius. The name was given to this gem because it was brought from that place. The true meaning of the word, as applied to a gem, is supposed to be the chrysolite, that is, the topaz of the moderns. "Tarshish, the chrysolite," says Rosenmuller ("Mineralogy and Botany of the Bible," pp. 38, 39), "is a crystal-line precious stone of the quartz kind, of a glassy fracture. The prevailing color is yellowish-green, and pistachio-green of every variety and degree of shade, but always with a yellow and gold luster. It is completely diaphanous, and has a strong double refraction. Most commonly the chrysolite is found solid and in grains, or in angular pieces. The Hebrew word "Tarshish" denotes the south of Spain, the Tartessus of the Greeks and Romans, a place to which the Phoenicians traded even in the earliest ages. Probably the Phoenicians first brought the chrysolite from Spain to Syria, and it was on that account called Tarshish stone."
And his face as the appearance of lightning - Bright, shining. In Revelation 1:16 it is, "And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." See the notes at that passage.
And his eyes as lamps of fire - Keen, penetrating. So in Revelation 1:14 : "His eyes were as a flame of fire."
And his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass - So in Revelation 1:15 : "And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace." See the notes at that passage. The meaning is, that they were bright - like burnished metal. The Hebrew here is, "like the eye of brass;" then, as the word eye comes to denote the "face or countenance," the meaning is, "like the face or appearance of brass." Complete Exodus 10:5, Exodus 10:15; Numbers 22:5, Numbers 22:11. It is easy to conceive of the appearance which one would make whose arms and feet resembled burnished brass.
And the voice of his words like the voice a multitude - A multitude of people - loud and strong. So in Revelation 1:15 : "And his voice as the sound of many waters."
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Isaiah 33:3
Isaiah 60:5
Daniel 3:28
Daniel 10:9
Revelation 1:14
Revelation 1:15
Revelation 1:15
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