The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle,[1][2] but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate.

Barley, which was the coarser food, was obtainable at one third of the price, which would allow a man to feed a family, though with difficulty.

A season of great scarcity is therefore predicted, though in his wrath God remembers mercy (cf.

Psalm 104:14, 15, "That he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart;" and Joel 1:10, "The corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth").

Wordsworth interprets, "The prohibition to the rider, 'Hurt not thou the oil and the wine,' is a restraint on the evil design of the rider, who would injure the spiritual oil and wine, that is, the means of grace, which had been typified under those symbols in ancient prophecy (Psalm 23:4, 5), and also by the words and acts of Christ, the good Samaritan, pouring in oil and wine into the wounds of the traveller, representing human nature, lying in the road."