INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 48 This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Moab, and of the mourning that should be for it; and not only its destruction in general is predicted, but particular places are mentioned, on which it should fall, Jeremiah 48:1; the causes of which were their confi... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAINST MOAB THUS SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL,.... The prophecy concerning Moab is introduced with these epithets of God, partly to observe that the God of Israel was the only true God, in opposition to the gods of Moab, and other nations; and partly to point out his omnipotence, bein... [ Continue Reading ]
[THERE SHALL BE] NO MORE PRAISE OF MOAB,.... It shall be no more commended for a rich, populous, and fruitful country, being now laid waste; though the next phrase, IN HESHBON, or "concerning Heshbon" b, should be read in connection with this; and then the sense is, there shall be none any more in... [ Continue Reading ]
A VOICE OF CRYING [SHALL BE] FROM HORONAIM,.... Another city of Moab. The word is of the dual number; and, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, there were two Horons, the upper and the lower; of this place Isaiah 15:5; this also should be destroyed; and so a cry of the inhabitants of it should be hea... [ Continue Reading ]
MOAB IS DESTROYED,.... Either the whole nation in general; so the Targum, "the kingdom of Moab is broken;'' and so Abarbinel; or a city so called, which some take to be the city Areopolis. Jerom g says, that Moab is a city of Arabia, now called Areopolis; and which also has the name of Rabbathmoab... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IN THE GOING UP OF LUHITH CONTINUAL WEEPING SHALL GO UP,.... This is another city, which was built on a high hill, which had a considerable ascent to it, whither those that escaped from Horonaim might flee for safety; but as they went up the hill would weep bitterly, and all the way they went, b... [ Continue Reading ]
FLEE, SAVE YOUR LIVES,.... These are either the words of the Moabites, their cry of destruction mentioned in the latter part of Jeremiah 48:5; who, seeing nothing but ruin before their eyes, advise one another to flee in all haste, and save their lives if possible, since nothing else could be saved... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR BECAUSE THOU HAST TRUSTED IN THY WORKS,.... The strong works and fortifications they had made about their cities, and so thought themselves safe in them; which is the sense of the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and those that follow them. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of their cattl... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SPOILER SHALL COME UPON EVERY CITY,.... That is, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and his army. The Targum is, the spoilers, who came against and took every city of Moab, and wasted them. Josephus n makes particular mention of Nebuchadnezzar subduing the Ammonites and Moabites: AND NO CITY S... [ Continue Reading ]
GIVE WINGS UNTO MOAB THAT IT MAY FLEE AND GET AWAY,.... That is, give wings to the inhabitants of Moab; signifying that they were in great danger, and there was no probability of escaping it, unless they had the wings of a swift bird, or were as swift as such, and even that would not do; though perh... [ Continue Reading ]
CURSED [BE] HE THAT DOETH THE WORK OF THE LORD DECEITFULLY,.... Which is said with respect to the Chaldeans, who were enjoined to destroy the Moabites; which is called the work of the Lord, because he had given them a commission to do it; and which was to be done by them, not by halves, or in a remi... [ Continue Reading ]
MOAB HATH BEEN AT EASE FROM HIS YOUTH,.... Lived in great peace and prosperity from the time they became a kingdom; being very little disturbed with wars by their neighbours, or very rarely; so that they were in very prosperous and flourishing circumstances, which occasioned that pride and haughtine... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE, BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD,.... This being their case, they should not continue in it; a change would be made, and that in a very short time, as there was; for, according to Josephus p, it was about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem that the Moabites were subdued by... [ Continue Reading ]
AND MOAB SHALL BE ASHAMED OF CHEMOSH,.... His idol; see Jeremiah 48:7; of his worship of him, prayers to him, and confidence in him; he not being able to save him from the destruction of the Chaldeans, and being carried captive by them; he himself also going into captivity: AS THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW SAY YE, WE [ARE] MIGHTY AND STRONG MEN FOR THE WAR?] The Moabites were proud, haughty, and arrogant; boasted much of their strength and valour; of the strength of their bodies, and fitness for war, and skill in it; and of the strength of their fortified cities; and thought themselves a match for... [ Continue Reading ]
MOAB IS SPOILED,.... The whole country is ruined; which is spoken of as present, though future, after the manner of prophecy, because of the certainty of it: AND GONE UP [OUT OF] HER CITIES; the inhabitants of Moab were gone up out of their cities, either through fear and flight; or through force,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CALAMITY OF MOAB [IS] NEAR TO COME,.... As it did come within live years after the destruction of Jerusalem, as observed on Jeremiah 48:12; out of Josephus: AND HIS AFFLICTION HASTETH FAST: or, "his evil" z the evil of punishment for his sin; his utter destruction. z רעתו "malum ejus", V. L.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL YE THAT ARE ABOUT HIM, BEMOAN HIM,.... The neighbouring nations, such as the Ammonites, and others, are called upon to condole the sad case of Moab; all upon the borders of the country of Moab, either within them or without them: AND ALL YE THAT KNOW HIS NAME; not only that had heard of his fam... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU DAUGHTER THAT DOST INHABIT DIBON,.... A city in Moab; Isaiah 15:2. The Targum is, "O kingdom of the congregation of Dibon;'' but this was not a kingdom of itself, though a principal city in the kingdom of Moab: COME DOWN FROM [THY] GLORY, AND SIT IN THIRST; in a dry and thirsty land; in wan... [ Continue Reading ]
O INHABITANT OF AROER,.... Another city that belonged to Moab, situated on the border of it towards Ammon, near the river Arnon; Isaiah 17:2; STAND BY THE WAY, AND ESPY; get to the road side where travellers pass, and look out for them: ASK HIM THAT FLEETH, AND HER THAT ESCAPETH; whether man or w... [ Continue Reading ]
MOAB IS CONFOUNDED, FOR IT IS BROKEN DOWN,.... This is the answer returned, by those that had escaped and were fleeing, to those who inquired of them; who report that the whole country of Moab was in the utmost confusion and consternation; not being able to stand before the enemy, who broke down and... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JUDGMENT IS COME UPON THE PLAIN COUNTRY,.... Of Moab, which was for the most part such, especially that which lay near Arnon; the judgment of God's vengeance, punishment for sin, by the hand of the Chaldeans. The Targum is, "they that execute vengeance are come:'' UPON HOLON; a city of Moab; o... [ Continue Reading ]
AND UPON DIBON,.... Whose destruction by this time was come upon it, as suggested, Jeremiah 48:18; AND UPON NEBO: of which see Jeremiah 48:1; AND UPON BETHDIBLATHAIM: the same with Almondiblathaim in Numbers 33:46 and Diblath in Ezekiel 6:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND UPON KIRJATHAIM,.... Of which see Jeremiah 48:1; AND UPON BETHGAMUL; this is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture; supposed by Grotius to be the Maccala of Ptolemy, put for Camala: AND UPON BETHMEON: of which see Isaiah 15:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND UPON KERIOTH,.... Which once belonged to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:25; from this place Judas Iscariot is by some thought to have his name; as if it was "Ish Kerioth", "a man of Kerioth". Grotius takes it to be the Goiratha of Ptolemy: AND UPON BOZRAH; not in Idumea, but in Moab; the same wi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HORN OF MOAB IS CUT OFF,.... The kingdom of Moab, high and strong, his power and strength, by which he defended himself, and offended others, as a beast with his horns; his powerful kingdom, and the glory of it: AND HIS ARM IS BROKEN, SAITH THE LORD; so that he cannot hold a sword, or manage an... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE YE HIM DRUNKEN,.... Not with wine, but with the cup of divine wrath; with the vengeance of God; with sore judgments, afflictions, and calamities; give him his fill of them, till he is quite intoxicated with them, and has lost his senses, and is brought to madness and distraction, and reels, and... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR WAS NOT ISRAEL A DERISION UNTO THEE?.... In the time of his calamity, when the ten tribes were carried captive by the Assyrians some years ago; and of late the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin by the Chaldeans; the Moabites rejoiced at this, which they ought not to have done, upon the common pri... [ Continue Reading ]
O YE THAT DWELL IN MOAB, LEAVE THE CITIES, AND DWELL IN THE ROCK,.... Signifying hereby that they would not be in safety in their strongest and most fortified cities, which would be besieged by the enemy, and taken; and therefore are advised to leave them, and flee to the rocks and mountains, that i... [ Continue Reading ]
WE HAVE HEARD THE PRIDE OF MOAB,.... Israel, and all the nations round about, had heard of this, and seen or heard of many instances of it; the thing was notorious; according to Kimchi, it is the prophet that here speaks in the name of the nations; but it seems best to understand it of the Lord hims... [ Continue Reading ]
I KNOW HIS WRATH, SAITH THE LORD,.... Against the Jews, and other nations; what he has threatened to do unto them, and would do if not restrained: BUT [IT SHALL] NOT [BE] SO; as he has devised in his mind, and threatened in his wrath; all his swelling thoughts and big words shall come to nothing:... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE WILL I HOWL FOR MOAB,.... The prophet, being as a man affected with the miseries of a people very wicked, and so deserving of them; though indeed by this he does not so much design to express the affections of his own heart, as to show what reason the Moabites would have to howl for the ca... [ Continue Reading ]
O VINE OF SIBMAH, I WILL WEEP FOR THEE WITH THE WEEPING OF JAZER,.... Sibmah was a city in the land of Moab abounding with vines, but now should be destroyed; and Jazer another city in the same country, which was destroyed before the other; and therefore its destruction should be lamented and wept o... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JOY AND GLADNESS IS TAKEN FROM THE PLENTIFUL FIELD,.... Or, from Carmel k; not Mount Carmel in the land of Israel; for the prophecy is of Moab; though that reached to Sibmah; but here it signifies any fruitful place, like Carmel, where were good pasturage, corn, and fruit bearing trees, which pr... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THE CRY OF HESHBON [EVEN] UNTO ELEALEH,.... Two cities in the land of Moab; of which see Isaiah 15:4. Heshbon being destroyed, a cry was made by the inhabitants of it, which either reached from thence to Elealeh; or the destruction being carried on to that city, the cry was continued there: [A... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER I WILL CAUSE TO CEASE IN MOAB, SAITH THE LORD, HIM THAT OFFERETH IN THE HIGH PLACES,.... A burnt offering there; that is, the priest, who shall be taken and carried captive, Jeremiah 48:7; even everyone of them; so that there will not be one left to otter sacrifice: AND HIM THAT BURNETH IN... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE MY HEART SHALL SOUND FOR MOAB LIKE PIPES,.... That are sounded on mournful occasions, as at funerals, and the like; see Matthew 9:23. This the prophet said, as Kimchi observes, in the person of the people, the inhabitants of Moab; whose hearts would yearn and sound for the calamities of th... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR EVERY HEAD [SHALL BE] BALD, AND EVERY BEARD CLIPPED,.... Men, in times of mourning, used to pluck off the hairs of their head till they made them bald, and shaved their beards; which, as Kimchi says, were the glory of their faces; see Isaiah 15:2; UPON ALL THE HANDS SHALL BE CUTTINGS: it was us... [ Continue Reading ]
[THERE SHALL BE] LAMENTATION GENERALLY,.... Or, "all of it [is] mourning" n; the whole country of Moab is in mourning; or all is full of mourning; all persons, places, and things, express nothing but mourning; go where you will, it is to be seen: UPON ALL THE HOUSE TOPS OF MOAB, AND IN THE STREETS... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL HOWL, [SAYING], HOW IS IT BROKEN DOWN?.... Or, "how is it broken" or "thrown into consternation p? they howl"; that is, they howl out these words, or, while they are howling, say, how is Kirheres or Moab broken all to pieces; their strength, power, and glory; their cities, and their might... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THUS SAITH THE LORD, BEHOLD, HE SHALL FLY AS AN EAGLE,.... The enemy, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with his army; who is compared to an eagle for his strength, swiftness, and greediness after the prey: AND SHALL SPREAD HIS WINGS OVER MOAB; as an eagle spreads its wings, which are very large,... [ Continue Reading ]
KERIOTH IS TAKEN,.... The name of a city in Moab, as in Jeremiah 48:24; so Jarchi, and others; but Kimchi and Abarbinel observe, that it may be taken for an appellative, and be rendered "the cities"; everyone of the cities of Moab, which were as easily and quickly taken as one city; these may inten... [ Continue Reading ]
AND MOAB SHALL BE DESTROYED FROM [BEING] A PEOPLE,.... For some time, not always; since the captivity of Moab is promised to be returned, Jeremiah 48:47; or from being such a people as they had been, enjoying so much ease, wealth, power, and prosperity. Abarbinel takes it to be a comparative, and re... [ Continue Reading ]
FEAR, AND THE PIT, AND THE SNARE, [SHALL BE] UPON THEE,.... A proverbial expression, showing, that if they escaped one danger, or sore judgment, they should fall into another and greater: the words seem to be taken from Isaiah 24:17; Isaiah 24:17; O INHABITANT OF MOAB, SAITH THE LORD; what in the... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT FLEETH FROM THE FEAR,.... From terrible enemies he is afraid of, and dares not face them, but flees, in order to escape them: SHALL FALL INTO THE PIT; into some misfortune or another: AND HE THAT GETTETH OUT OF THE PIT SHALL BE TAKEN IN THE SNARE; laid by the enemy for him, and so shall fa... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY THAT FLED STOOD UNDER THE SHADOW OF HESHBON, BECAUSE OF THE FORCE,.... Heshbon was a strong city in the land of Moab, to which many of the Moabites betook themselves in this time of their calamity; thinking they should be sheltered, under the protection of it, from the fury of the Chaldean army... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE BE UNTO THEE, O MOAB! THE PEOPLE OF CHEMOSH PERISHETH,.... The inhabitants of Moab, who worshipped the idol Chemosh; of which see Jeremiah 48:7; and so called his people, as Israel were called the people of the Lord; now these, notwithstanding their idol, whom they worshipped, and in whom they t... [ Continue Reading ]
YET WILL I BRING AGAIN THE CAPTIVITY OF MOAB IN THE LATTER DAY, SAITH THE LORD,.... Some think this is added, not so much for the sake of Moab as of the Jews, to assure them of their return from captivity, as had been promised them, since this would be the case even of Moab. It had a literal accompl... [ Continue Reading ]