Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
And he had (kai exwn). This use of the participle in place of eixen (imperfect) is like that in Revelation 4:7 f.; Revelation 12:2; Revelation 19:12; Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:14, a Semitic idiom (Charles), or as if katabainwn (nominative) had preceded in place of katabainonta.
A little book (biblaridion). A diminutive of biblarion (papyri), itself a diminutive of biblion (Revelation 5:1) and perhaps in contrast with it, a rare form in Hermas and Revelation 10:2, Revelation 10:9-10. In Revelation 10:8 Tischendorf reads biblidarion, diminutive of biblidion (Aristophanes) instead of biblion (Westcott and Hort). The contents of this little book are found in Revelation 11:1-13.
Open (hnewgmenon). See Ezekiel 2:9 f. Perfect (triple reduplication) passive participle of anoigw, in contrast to the closed book in Revelation 5:1. There also we have epi (upon) thn decian (the right hand), for it was a large roll, but here the little open roll is held in the hand (en th xeiri), apparently the left hand (verse Revelation 10:5).
He set (eqhken). First aorist active indicative of tiqhmi. The size of the angel is colossal, for he bestrides both land and sea. Apparently there is no special point in the right foot (ton poda ton decion) being on the sea (epi thv qalasshv) and the left (ton euwnumon) upon the land (epi thv ghv). It makes a bold and graphic picture.
As a lion roareth (wsper lewn mukatai). Only instance of wsper in the Apocalypse, but wv in the same sense several times. Present middle indicative of mukaomai, an old onomatopoetic word from mu or moo (the sound which a cow utters), common for the lowing and bellowing of cattle, Latin mugire, but in Theocritus for the roaring of a lion as here, though in I Peter 5:8 we have wruomai. Homer uses mukaomai for the clangour of the shield and Aristophanes for thunder. It occurs here alone in the N.T. It does not mean that what the angel said was unintelligible, only loud. Cf. Revelation 1:10; Revelation 5:2, Revelation 5:12; Revelation 6:10; Revelation 7:2, Revelation 7:10, etc.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Revelation 10:2:
Revelation 5:1
Revelation 10:2
Revelation 10:5
Revelation 10:8
Revelation 12:2
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