Post
Summary
Posts were couriers or runners who carried royal messages and dispatches throughout the ancient kingdoms, particularly in Persia and Israel.
☩Ancient Postal System
Posts (Hebrew rats, 'runners') were originally members of the royal guard who were chosen to carry royal letters and dispatches throughout the kingdom. In Persia, they were mounted on the swiftest horses and had the right to commandeer men or animals to expedite their progress. Cyrus organized couriers at regular intervals on all high-roads with houses for their reception, creating a relay system that operated day and night regardless of weather.
☩Biblical Examples
Hezekiah used posts to carry his invitation to the Passover throughout Israel and Judah. King Ahasuerus employed mounted couriers on swift horses to distribute his decrees, first Haman's edict against the Jews and later Mordecai's counter-decree permitting Jewish self-defense. Job compared the swiftness of his passing days to a post: 'My days are swifter than a post: they flee away.'
Related Verses47 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Post," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Post," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Post," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Post," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 5.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Post," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).