To the north of the Moabites lay the country of the Ammonites, a closely allied nation Genesis 19:37 who claimed that the land assigned to the tribe of Gad had originally belonged to them Judges 11:13. They seem to have been far less civilized than the Moabites, and possessed but one stronghold, Rab... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH ISRAEL NO SONS? - i. e., the Ammonites in seizing Gilead have acted as if the country had no rightful owner. The sons of Israel were to return from captivity, and the land was their hereditary property. THEIR KING - Milcom (and in Jeremiah 49:3), see the margin. The Ammonite god stands for the... [ Continue Reading ]
RABBAH - i. e., the “great city.” See 2 Samuel 12:27 note for a distinction between Rabbah, the citadel, and the town itself, lying below upon the Jabbok. DAUGHTERS - i. e., unwalled villages (and in Jeremiah 49:3). SHALL ISRAEL BE HEIR ... - i. e., “shall be victor over his victors;” compare Mica... [ Continue Reading ]
AI - Not the town on the west of the Jordan Joshua 7:2; a place not mentioned elsewhere. For Ai some read Ar. HEDGES - Fields were not divided by hedges until recent times; the term probably means the walls which enclose the vineyards Numbers 22:24.... [ Continue Reading ]
THY FLOWING VALLEY - The (fertile) valley in which Rabbah was situated. The Septuagint again has: “in the valleys of the Anakim,” as in Jeremiah 47:5 (see the note).... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY MAN RIGHT FORTH - The Ammonites will live in terror of the tribes which rove in the neighborhood, and at the slightest alarm will flee straight away without resistance.... [ Continue Reading ]
In 1 Macc. 5:6, 7, the Ammonites appear again as a powerful nation.... [ Continue Reading ]
Edom stretched along the south of Judah from the border of Moab on the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean and the Arabian deserts, and held the same relation to Judah which Moab held toward the kingdom of Israel. Although expressly reserved from attack by Moses Deuteronomy 2:5, a long feud caused the Edo... [ Continue Reading ]
Though the superscription is confined to Damascus, the prophecy relates to the whole of Aram, called by us Syria, which was divided into two parts, the northern, of which Hamath was the capital, and the southeastern, belonging to Damascus. HAMATH IS CONFOUNDED - Or, is ashamed. For Hamath see Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
AND TURNETH - Omit and. The original is a rapid sequence of unconnected sentences. “Damascus is unnerved; she turned to flee, and a trembling seized her; anguish and writhings took hold of her etc.”... [ Continue Reading ]
An exclamation of sorrow wrung from the prophet at the thought of the people of Damascus remaining to be slaughtered. The words my joy express the prophet’s own sympathy. The praise of Damascus for beauty has been universal from the days of Naaman 2 Kings 5:12, to those of recent travelers.... [ Continue Reading ]
See the marginal reference and 1 Kings 11:14 note.... [ Continue Reading ]
Hazor, derived from a word signifying an unwalled village, is a general appellative of those Arab tribes who were partially settled, while Kedar signifies the Bedawin, who used only tents. Some think that Hazor is another way of spelling Jetor, i. e., Ituraea, whose inhabitants, with the Kedarenes,... [ Continue Reading ]
CURTAINS - The hangings of the tents. FEAR IS ON EVERY SIDE - Magor-missabib (see Jeremiah 6:25 note); a cry, indicating the panic which followed the unexpected onset of the enemy.... [ Continue Reading ]
A PURPOSE AGAINST YOU - Others read “against them” (the wealthy nation, Jeremiah 49:31).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WEALTHY NATION - Or, a nation at rest, living securely and in confidence. WHICH DWELL ALONE - They dwell alone, i. e., have neither alliances with other nations, nor contact by commerce.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEM ... CORNERS - Or, those who clip the corners of their beards (compare Jeremiah 9:26).... [ Continue Reading ]
DRAGONS - i. e., jackals.... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAINST ELAM - Or, concerning Elam. This country, better known as Susiana, is the modern Chuzistan, and lies on the east of Chaldaea, from which it is separated by the Tigris. In the cuneiform inscriptions we find the Elamites on friendly terms with Babylon. The suggestion therefore that they served... [ Continue Reading ]
The bow was the national weapon of Elam, and therefore the “chief of their might,” that on which their strength in war depended.... [ Continue Reading ]
In a whirlwind violent gales seem to blow from every quarter, and whatever is exposed to their fury they scatter over the whole country. With similar violence the whole nation of Elam shall be dispersed far and wide.... [ Continue Reading ]
Literally, king and princes. Elam will lose its independence, and henceforward have no native ruler with his attendant officers.... [ Continue Reading ]
ELAM - Elam was subject to Babylon Daniel 8:2, and its capital Shushan a favorite residence of the Persian kings Esther 1:2. Of its subsequent fate we know little; the Elamites continued to exist, and members of their nation were present at Pentecost among those chosen to represent the Gentile world... [ Continue Reading ]