SEV Biblia, Chapter 6:6
Y oí una voz en medio de los cuatro animales, que decía: Un cheniz de trigo por un denario, y tres chenizes de cebada por un denario; y no hagas dao al vino, ni al aceite.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:6
Verse 6. A measure of wheat for a penny] The chaenix here mentioned was a measure of dry things; and although the capacity is not exactly known, yet it is generally agreed that it contained as much as one man could consume in a day; and a penny, the Roman denarius, was the ordinary pay of a labourer. So it appears that in this scarcity each might be able to obtain a bare subsistence by his daily labour; but a man could not, in such cases, provide for a family. Three measures of barley] This seems to have been the proportion of value between the wheat and the barley. Barley was allowed to afford a poor aliment, and was given to the Roman soldiers instead of wheat, by way of punishment.
Hurt not the oil and the wine.] Be sparing of these: use them not as delicacies, but for necessity; because neither the vines nor the olives will be productive.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say , etc.] Not the voice of Agabus to the Apostle Paul, ( Acts 11:28); but rather of Christ, who was in the midst of them, ( Revelation 5:6); the Ethiopic version adds, as the voice of an eagle: a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny ; Choenix, the measure here used, signifies as much as was sufficient for a man for one day, as a penny was the usual hire of a labourer for a day, ( Matthew 20:2); so a choenix of corn was allowed to each man in Xerxes's army for a day, according to Herodotus f172 ; the same quantity for a day was given by the Romans to their shepherds and servants, and is generally said to be about two pounds; according to Agricola it was two pounds and a quarter f173 . This measure was very different; the Attic choenix was a measure that held three pounds, the Italic choenix four pounds, and the military choenix five pounds, and answers to the Hebrew Kab f174 ; and in the Septuagint version of ( Ezekiel 45:10,11); it answers to the Bath; and some make it to be the fourth part of a bushel, and others half a bushel f175 ; the first account of its being about two pounds, and the allowance of a man for a day, seems best to agree with this place: so that this phrase expresses such a scarcity, as that a man's daily wages would be but just enough to buy himself bread, without any thing to eat with it; and when he would have nothing left for clothes, and other things, nor anything for his wife and children: and [see] that thou hurt not the oil and wine ; signifying that this scarcity should fall not upon the superfluities, such as oil and wine, which may be spared, and men can live without; but upon the necessities of life, particularly bread: some render the words, and be not unjust in the oil and wine; and so think they refer to the laws of the Roman emperors, in relation to wine and oil, and to the just execution of them, that there might be plenty of them; and others understand them in an allegorical sense, of the principal doctrines of the Gospel, comparable to oil and wine, and which Christ takes care of, that they shall not be hurt and destroyed by heretics and false teachers, even when they prevail the most, and bring on a famine of the word, and when the church is blackened and darkened with them; and indeed these may much better be applied to the Gospel, than, as they are by the Jews, to the law; who frequently say that the law is called oil, and speak of hrwt l hnyy , the wine of the law f177 :
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - Christ, the Lamb, opens the first seal: observe what appeared. A ride on a white horse. By the going forth of this white horse, a time of peace, or the early progress of the Christian religion, seems to be intended; its going forth in purity, at the time when its heavenl Founder sent his apostles to teach all nations, adding, Lo! I am with you alway, even to the end of the world. The Divine religion goes ou crowned, having the Divine favour resting upon it, armed spirituall against its foes, and destined to be victorious in the end. On openin the second seal, a red horse appeared; this signifies desolatin judgments. The sword of war and persecution is a dreadful judgment; i takes away peace from the earth, one of the greatest blessings; and me who should love one another, and help one another, are set upon killin one another. Such scenes also followed the pure age of earl Christianity, when, neglectful of charity and the bond of peace, the Christian leaders, divided among themselves, appealed to the sword, an entangled themselves in guilt. On opening the third seal, a black hors appeared; a colour denoting mourning and woe, darkness and ignorance He that sat on it had a yoke in his hand. Attempts were made to put yoke of superstitious observances on the disciples. As the stream of Christianity flowed further from its pure fountain, it became more an more corrupt. During the progress of this black horse, the necessarie of life should be at excessive prices, and the more costly thing should not be hurt. According to prophetic language, these article signified that food of religious knowledge, by which the souls of me are sustained unto everlasting life; such we are invited to buy, Is 55:1. But when the dark clouds of ignorance and superstition, denote by the black horse, spread over the Christian world, the knowledge an practice of true religion became scarce. When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word i more so. Upon opening the fourth seal, another horse appeared, of pale colour. The rider was Death, the king of terrors. The attendants or followers of this king of terrors, hell, a state of eternal miser to all who die in their sins; and in times of general destruction multitudes go down unprepared into the pit. The period of the fourt seal is one of great slaughter and devastation, destroying whatever ma tend to make life happy, making ravages on the spiritual lives of men Thus the mystery of iniquity was completed, and its power extended bot over the lives and consciences of men. The exact times of these fou seals cannot be ascertained, for the changes were gradual. God gav them power, that is, those instruments of his anger, or thos judgments: all public calamities are at his command; they only go fort when God sends them, and no further than he permits.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 ηκουσα 191 5656 φωνην 5456 εν 1722 μεσω 3319 των 3588 τεσσαρων 5064 ζωων 2226 λεγουσαν 3004 5723 χοινιξ 5518 σιτου 4621 δηναριου 1220 και 2532 τρεις 5140 χοινικες 5518 κριθης 2915 δηναριου 1220 και 2532 το 3588 ελαιον 1637 και 2532 τον 3588 οινον 3631 μη 3361 αδικησης 91 5661
Vincent's NT Word Studies
6. Measure (coinix). 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 (coinikav) 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.
For a penny (dhnariou). See on Matt. xx. 2.
