_Thus saith the Lord, Howl ye_, &c. The prophet addresses the inhabitants of Egypt. _Wo worth the day_ Ah! the day: alas! what sad times are approaching. _Even the day of the Lord_ The time of God's vengeance, wherein he will manifest his sore displeasure against Egypt and its allies; _a cloudy day_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia_ The names in Hebrew are _Cush, Phut_, and _Lud_, which are mentioned together as the Egyptian allies, Jeremiah 46:9. _Cush_ probably signifies _Ethiopia_ here, being joined with _Phut_ and _Lud_, which were nations of Africa. _And all the mingled people_ All their me... [ Continue Reading ]
_They also that uphold Egypt shall fall_ By this seems to be meant the governors of the several provinces, those who are called _the stay of the tribes thereof, Isaiah 19:13_; that is, of the several _Nomi_, or districts of Egypt. _From the tower of Syene shall they fall_ This should rather be rende... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will make the multitude of Egypt to cease_ I will diminish the number of its inhabitants. _I will make the rivers dry_ The fertility of Egypt depending on the rise and overflowing of the Nile, the meaning of the metaphor is, I will destroy the plenty, prosperity, and strength of Egypt. _And sell... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will also destroy the idols_ Idolatry being one of the principal things for which God visits the infidel nations, he would take particular vengeance upon the idols, thereby showing how much he is superior to them in power. Cambysis, the successor of Cyrus, destroyed the idols of Egypt. _I will ca... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will make Pathros desolate_ That is, _Thebais; and will set fire in Zoan_ Or, Tanis, one of the ancient cities in Egypt, and the metropolis of the kingdom in Moses's time: see Psalms 78:12; Psalms 78:43. _I will execute judgments in No_ Called _the multitude of No_, or _Hamon-no_, in the next ver... [ Continue Reading ]
_The young men of Aven_, &c. _Aven_ is the same with _On_, mentioned Genesis 41:45, in aftertimes called Heliopolis, as the margin here explains it, because of a temple or image there dedicated to the sun: see notes on Isaiah 19:18; Jeremiah 43:13. The word is so translated both here and Genesis 41:... [ Continue Reading ]
_It came to pass in the eleventh year_, &c. It seems this prophecy was delivered soon after the Egyptian army had marched out of Egypt to relieve Jerusalem when besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, but had returned without effecting any thing, (see notes on Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 37:7,) and some months befo... [ Continue Reading ]