_The word of the Lord against the Philistines_ “Among the other nations, who were doomed to suffer by the hostilities of Nebuchadnezzar, the Philistines are enumerated, Jeremiah 25:20; and the calamities foretold in this present chapter most probably befell them during the long siege of Tyre, when t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, waters rise out of the north_ Waters sometimes signify multitudes of people and nations, Revelation 17:15; sometimes great and threatening calamities, Psalms 69:1, these waters mean both. By the _north_, in this prophecy, the country of the Chaldeans is intended, from whence it is here fore... [ Continue Reading ]
_To cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper_, &c. The siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar was an action famous in the histories of that age, the siege lasting thirteen years. Zidon was partaker of the same fate with Tyre, both in prosperity and adversity: see Isaiah 23:2; Isaiah 23:4. And her destruct... [ Continue Reading ]
_Baldness is come upon Gaza; how long wilt thou cut thyself_, &c. Under great calamities, and for the loss of any near kindred, it was usual for men to express their grief by shaving their heads, and cutting their flesh. Instead of _Ashkelon is cut off_, &c., Blaney reads, _Ashkelon is put to silenc... [ Continue Reading ]
_O thou sword of the Lord_ By the _sword of the Lord_, war is here intended, with which, as a great instrument of calamity and destruction, God punishes the crimes of his enemies, and pleads the cause of his people. Some have understood the prophet as speaking in the words of the Philistines, compla... [ Continue Reading ]