Jeremiah 49:4

Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come unto me? THY FLOWING VALLEY - rather, 'thy valley shall flow'-namely, with the blood of the slain; in sad contrast to their "valleys" in which they had heretofore "gloried," and which flowed with milk and honey (Grotius). Or else as margin, 'shall flow away.' O BACKSLIDING DAUGHTER - apostate from Yahweh, the God of their father Lot, to Moloch. THAT TRUSTED IN HER TREASURES - her resources for resisting the foe (). WHO SHALL COME UNTO THEE? Who can come unto thee (, "Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?")...

As the minds of men continually vacillate, because they do not sufficiently consider the infinite power of God, the Prophet, that he might remove all obstacles which might have rendered his prophecy doubtful, now declares that the Ammonites gloried in vain in their valleys. Some understand by valleys a fertile land, well watered. But the Prophet, as I think, refers rather to fortified places. He then says, that they in vain _gloried in their deep valleys_; as they were surrounded with mountains, so they thought that they could not be approached. He derides this vain confidence, _Why_, he says, _dost thou glory in thy valleys_, or, profundities? _Flown down has thy valley. _By saying, that the _valley_, or depth, had flown down, he alludes to its situation: for when any one considers a region situated among mountains, the land appears as flowing, like a river gliding between its banks. It...

Verse Jeremiah 49:4. _WHEREFORE GLORIEST THOU_] Though thy valleys be fruitful, yet glory not in them. Though thou have much political and military power, do not trust in them, nor in the multitude of thy cities; a stronger than thou is coming against thee....

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)....

EXPOSITION On Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar and Hazer, and Elam. JEREMIAH 49:1 The violence of the Ammonites shall be severely punished. JEREMIAH 49:1 HATH ISRAEL NO SONS! The violent seizure, perpetrated before his eyes, of parts of the sacred territory, forces the indignant question from the prophet, "How can these things be?" It was so on a former occasion (see Jeremiah 2:14), and it is so again, now that the Ammonites are occupying the land of the Gadites. True, the present generation has lost its property, but the next is the heir to all its rights and privileges. THEIR KING; rather, _their King—_the

WHEREFORE GLORIEST THOU IN THE VALLEYS,.... Of which there were many in the country of Ammon, fruitful and well watered, which were situated by the rivers of Arnon and Jabbok, the borders of this country, and in which was the plain of the vineyards; see Judges 11:13; and indeed the whole country was a vale. For, as Josephus c says, the country both of the Moabites and Ammonites were in the valley of Syria, or Coelesyria; that is, hollow Syria, so called from its lying low, or in a valley; for this country lay between the mountains Libanus and Antilibanus, as Strabo d says, and brought forth a large increase; in this they gloried, in the produce of these valleys, in the grass, corn, and vines, that grew upon them, and the flocks that fed there; but now should have no occasion to glory, all being swept away by the enemy: THY FLOWING VALLEY, or, "thy valley flows

CHAPTER 49 Concerning Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Elam _ 1. Concerning the Ammonites (Jeremiah 49:1) _ 2. Concerning Edom (Jeremiah 49:7) 3. Concerning Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23) 4. Concerning Kedar and Hazor (Jeremiah 49:28) 5. Against Elam (Jeremiah 49:34) Ammon was the younger brother of Moab, and, like the Moabites, the Ammonites were a wicked people, though they had no cities like Moab, but were restless wanderers; they were also the enemies of Israel. The predic

AMMON. The Ammonite territory lay eastward of part of that assigned to Gad, between Heshbon and the river Jabbok; the Ammonites appear to have occupied the territory of Gad after the deportation of its inhabitants in 734 (2 Kings 15:29). Why has Milcom seized the land of Gad as his inheritance (1 _mg._ 2)_ ?_ As a penalty, there shall be war against Rabbah (the chief city of Ammon, at the upper sources of the Jabbok), and it shall become a desolate mound, its dependent cities (daughters, Numbers 21:25) being burnt. Let there be mourning for the coming exile of the Ammonites (Jeremiah 49:3). Rabbah's pride in her site and in her wealth is rebuked ...

WHEREFORE... ? WHO... ? Figure of speech _Erotesis._ THY FLOWING VALLEY. thy valley flowing [with blood]. TRUSTED. confided. Hebrew. _bat_. _h_. App-69. SAYING. Some codices, with three early printed editions, read "she who is saying in her heart"....

_Wherefore … flowing valley_ mg. (scarcely possible), _Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys? thy valley floweth away_. Rabbah was on a broad tableland about 2700 feet above the sea, but it was surrounded by hills, so that it could be described as in a vale. "Thy flowing valley" is, however, a strange expression, and in the Hebrew looks like a somewhat corrupted dittography of the previous letters, a conjecture to which the LXX lend a certain amount of support. _backsliding_ Cp. in Jeremiah 31:22, referring, however, there to Ephraim. In the case of a heathen people it is less appropriate. Du. suggests an emendation, which gives the sense of _arrogant_....