post (ruts, "to run," ratsim, "runners"): The "runners" formed the royal guard (1Sa 22:17; 1Ki 14:27; 2Ki 11:4,13; see GUARD). From them were chosen the couriers who carried royal letters and dispatches throughout the kingdom (2Ch 30:6,10; Es 3:13,15; Jer 51:31). In the Persian service they were mounted on the swiftest horses (Es 8:10,14; compare Xenophon, Cyrop. viii.6,17; Herodotus viii.98). They had the right to command the service of either men or animals in order to expedite their progress (compare Mt 5:41; Mr 15:21, "compel," "impress").
Used in Job 9:25 and the King James Version The Wisdom of Solomon 5:9 (aggelia, the Revised Version (British and American) "message") of the swift passage of time.
See also HOUSE, II, 1, (4), (7).
M. O. Evans