And I saw (κα ειδον). As in ; . The vision unfolds without anything being said about opening the book and reading from it. In a more vivid and dramatic fashion the Lamb breaks the seals one by one and reveals the contents and the symbolism. The first four seals have a common note from one of the four ζωα and the appearance of a horse. No effort will be made here to interpret these seals as referring to persons or historical events in the past, present, or future, but simply to relate the symbolism to the other symbols in the book. It is possible that there is some allusion here to the symbolism in the so-called "Little Apocalypse" of ; ; . The imagery of the four horses is similar to that in ;  (cf. ; ; ). In the Old Testament the horse is often the emblem of war (; ; ; ). "Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the wind" (Vincent).

When the Lamb opened (οτε ηνοιξεν το αρνιον). First aorist active indicative of ανοιγω. This same phrase recurs in rhythmical order at the opening of each seal (; ; ; ; ; ) till the last (), where we have οταν ηνοιξεν (οταν rather than οτε calling particular attention to it).

One (μιαν). Probably used here as an ordinal (the first) as in . See Robertson, Grammar, p. 671f.

Of (εκ). This use of εκ with the ablative in the partitive sense is common in the Apocalypse, as twice in this verse (εκ των, etc.). So ενος εκ των (one of the four living creatures) is "the first of," etc.

In a voice of thunder (εν φωνη βροντης). Old word used of John and James () and elsewhere in N.T. only  and a dozen times in the Apocalypse.

Come (Ερχου). Present middle imperative of ερχομα, but with exclamatory force (not strictly linear). The command is not addressed to the Lamb nor to John (the correct text omits κα ιδε "and see") as in ; , but to one of the four horsemen each time. Swete takes it as a call to Christ because ερχου is so used in ; , but that is not conclusive.