Jeremiah 47:2

Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. WATERS RISE UP OUT OF THE NORTH - (). The Chaldeans from the north are compared to the overwhelming waters of their own Euphrates. The smiting of Gaza was to be only the prelude of a greater disaster to the Philistines. Nebuzaradan was left by Nebuchadnezzer, after he had taken Jerusalem, to subdue the rest of the adjoining cities and country....

The Prophet, no doubt, wished to remind the Jews that it would only be a prelude when Gaza was plundered, and that a far more grievous punishment was impending over that ungodly nation, which had done so many wrongs to God’s people. For if Gaza had suffered only that loss, the Jews might have complained of their lot, as those ungodly men who had acted so wickedly and in so many ways provoked God’s vengeance, had lightly suffered. They might then have objected and said, “What can this mean? God has indeed lightly smitten Gaza; but we would thus willingly redeem our lives: as those who wish to avoid shipwreck cast forth their goods into the sea, and whatever precious thing they may have; so we, if life only be given us, are prepared to part with all our property.” The Jews then might have thus deplored their lot. Hence the Prophet says, that something more grievous awaited that city. “When...

Verse Jeremiah 47:2. _WATERS RISE UP OUT OF THE NORTH_] _Waters_ is a common prophetic image for a _multitude of people_. The _north_ here, as in other places of this prophecy, means _Chaldea_....

WATERS RISE UP - A metaphor for the assembling of an army (compare the marginal references). OUT OF THE NORTH - The Chaldaean army must cross the Euphrates at Carchemish. AN OVERFLOWING FLOOD - Or, “torrent.” To understand the metaphors of the Bible we must keep the natural phenomena of the country in mind. In Palestine rivers are torrents, dashing furiously along in the rainy seasons, and dry, or nearly so, in the summer. ALL THAT IS THEREIN - The marginal rendering contrasts the wealth of Egypt, which forms its fullness, and the inhabitants....

PROPHECY ON THE PHILISTINES. EXPOSITION It is clear from the contents of the prophecy (and the inference is thoroughly confirmed by its position) that it was written after the battle of Carchemish, with reference to the dreaded northern foe—Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The prophecy against Egypt precedes, because Egypt was by far the most important of the nations threatened by the advance of Nebuchadnezzar. But chronologically and geographically, it ought rather to have been placed at the end of the series, for Palestine had to be conquered before a design upon Egypt could have a reasonable chance of success. The commentators have given themselves much unnecessary trouble with the heading in Jeremiah 47:1, which assigns the date of the prophecy to a period prior (as it would seem) to the battle of

THUS SAITH THE LORD, BEHOLD, WATERS RISE UP OUT OF THE NORTH,.... Meaning an army of men, which should come in great numbers, and with great force and rapidity, like an overflowing flood. So the Targum, "behold, people shall come from the north;'' that is, from Chaldea, which lay north of Palestine: AND SHALL BE AN OVERFLOWING FLOOD, AND SHALL OVERFLOW THE LAND, AND ALL THAT IS THEREIN; or, "the fulness of it" u; the land of the Philistines, and carry off the men and cattle, and all the riches thereof; THE CITY, AND THEM THAT DWELL THEREIN; not any particular or single city, as Gaza; but the several cities of Palestine, and the inhabitants of them: THEN THE MEN SHALL CRY, AND ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND SHALL HOWL; not being able to do anything else; not to defend themselves, their families, and property; and seeing nothing but ruin and destruction before their eyes. u ומלוא

CHAPTER 47 Concerning the Philistines This brief chapter is concerning the inhabitants of the borderland of Canaan, called Philistia. This announced judgment was fulfilled a short time after it was spoken by the prophet....

JEREMIAH 47. PHILISTIA. Instead of Jeremiah 47:1, LXX has simply On the Philistines, which is probably original. The waters rising from the north (Jeremiah 47:2) would suggest Babylon, not Egypt, as the foe; the editorial reference to Egypt in 1 might be suggested (wrongly) by Jeremiah 47:5. Pharaoh is supposed to have smitten Gaza (Cadytis, Herod. ii. 159) in 608. The devastating waters (Isaiah 8:7 f.) of an overflowing wady flood the land (Jeremiah 47:2); the terror of the enemy's approach breaks even the closest bonds of affection ...

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos._ WATERS. The symbol of the Chaldean armies. THE NORTH. Compare Jeremiah 46:20. MEN. Hebrew. _adam_....

The Prophecy regarding Philistia 2. _waters rise up_ In Jeremiah 46:8 the same figure was used for an army. Cp. Isaiah 8:7 (on which Co. thinks this _v_. to be based), where the Assyrian army is likened to the floods of the Euphrates. _an overflowing stream_ a river suddenly swelling up through the effect of the winter rains; a frequent occurrence in Palestine. _and the men … shall howl_ Co. rejects this part of the _v_. both as over-passing the proper limits of the metre, and suggesting a universal judgement, which would be, according to him, a later conception....