Bible Commentaries
Lange's Commentary: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical
Jeremiah 48
5. Prophecy Against Moab (chap48)
Although Israel had received the command by Moses, not to oppress or make war on the Moabites ( Deuteronomy 2:9), the Moabites on their part acted in a most hostile manner towards Israel, and according to Balaam’s counsel ( Numbers 31:17), did them greater injury by seducing them to idolatry, than they could have done with weapons of war. In consequence of the command given by Moses, the Israelites took possession of none, of the country of the Moabites, but the Arnon, which had formed the boundary line between the Moabites and Ammonites ( Numbers 21:13; Judges 11:18), now formed that between Moab and Reuben ( Deuteronomy 2:36; Joshua 13:9). From this time the history of the relations between Israel and Moab falls into two periods. The first extends from the occupation of the transjordanic country to the subjugation of the Moabites by David ( 2 Samuel 8:2). During this period many struggles took place between the two nations with varying success ( Judges 3:12 sqq.; Judges 3:28 sqq.; 1 Samuel 14:47). The second period embraces the subjection of the Moabites under David and his successors (after the division under the kings of Israel) to their revolt after the death of Ahab ( 2 Kings 1:1; 2 Kings 3:4-5). The third period again is one of hostility with varying success ( 2 Kings 3:6-27; 2 Kings 13:20), but closes with the occupation of the region to the north of the Arnon by the Moabites in consequence of the deportation of the East-jordanic Israelites by Tiglath Pileser ( 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:6; 1 Chronicles 5:26). The fourth period embraces their entire subsequent history. In this the only account we have of wars between the two nations is, that Moabitish troops were sent against Jehoiakim after his revolt from the Chaldeans ( 2 Kings 24:2). Under Zedekiah we see the Moabites in league with Israel against the common enemy, the Chaldeans ( Jeremiah 27:1-3), of which Josephus (Ant. X, 9,7) that records that Nebuchadnezzar in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem subjugated the Ammonites and Moabites. In this fourth period fall the other prophecies against Moab, with the exception of the brief oracle, Amos 2:1-3, viz, those of Isaiah ( Isaiah 15. and16. coll. Isaiah 25) Zephaniah ( Zephaniah 2:8-11), Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 48.), Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 25:8-11).
No-proof is needed that Jeremiah had occasion to direct a prophecy against this old hereditary foe. The account in 2 Kings 24:2 shows that even specially at that time the disposition of the Moabites was hostile to Judah; for this prophecy certainly belongs to the time of Jehoiakim and before the fourth year, the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar not being mentioned. The form of the superscription favors its contemporaneousness with the first prophecy against Egypt ( Jeremiah 46:1-2). Comp. rems. on that passage. —Jeremiah’s object in this prophecy was evidently to reanimate, as it were, the former declarations of similar purport, and comprise them together for the sake of a powerful total effect. From ver29 onwards, there is a constant, more or less free, use of older utterances. Of special importance appeared to our prophet the prophecy of is, itself reproducing an older oracle ( Isaiah 16:13). He makes very extensive use of it, particularly of Jeremiah 48:29-38. Amos also (comp. בְּנֵי־שָׁאוֹן, Jeremiah 48:45, and הַקְרִיוֹת, Jeremiah 48:24; Jeremiah 48:41, with Amos 2:2). Zephaniah (comp. הִגְדִּיל, Jeremiah 48:26; Jeremiah 48:42, with Zephaniah 2:8; Zephaniah 2:10) and even older utterances of the Pentateuch (comp. Jeremiah 48:45-46 with Numbers 21:28-29; Numbers 25:17) have not been left unemployed. Thus the prophecy has not only become very long, but many unevennesses have been produced by the introduction of foreign matters. Movers and Hitzig have thus been misled to assume various interpolations. Graf, however, has satisfactorily rebutted these attacks on the integrity of our text. As regards the structure of the discourse, it consists, according to the peculiarity of Jeremiah’s style, in pictures of various extent, of which we number eleven. The first five are predominantly occupied with the description of the punitive Judgment breaking in upon Moab ( Jeremiah 48:1-25), while the four following ( Jeremiah 48:26-42) have the reasons of this judgment for their subject. The last two pictures ( Jeremiah 48:43-44, and Jeremiah 48:45-46) are related to the two main divisions as supplements, in so far as they contain nothing new, but draw only on two older sources, viz.: 1, a drastic passage by is, which moreover has nothing to do with Moab; 2, some declarations of the book of Numbers referring to Moab. The last verse is a consolatory glance forming a conclusion to the whole.
1. The Description of the Punitive Judgment ( Jeremiah 48:1-25)
1. The Devastation Proceeding from City to City
( Jeremiah 48:1-5.)
1 Against Moab.
Thus saith Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel:
Woe unto Nebo, for it is laid waste!
Confounded and taken is Kiriathaim!
Confounded and broken to pieces is the citadel [Misgab].
2 The glory of Moab is departed.
In Heshbon they have spun evil against her.
“Up! and let us cut her off from being a nation!”1
Thou also, O Madmen, art made mad [feeble]:2
Behind thee cometh the sword.
3 Hark! Crying from Choronaim—
Desolation and great ruin.
4 Broken in pieces is Moab!
They cry aloud towards Zoar.3
5 For the ascent of Luhith is ascended with weeping, with weeping.4
For on the descent of Choronaim are heard the oppressors5 of the cry of woe.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The prophet proclaims destruction to Moab by, as it were, sketching a great picture, in which we not only perceive the abomination of desolation embracing and, as it were, enveloping the whole country, but also distinguish particular points marked by glaring colors. In the enumeration of the cities there is a general progress from north to south.
Against Moab. The superscription leans for support on Jeremiah 46:2. Comp. the introduction to chh46–51.
Jeremiah 48:1. Thus saith … citadel. That the mountain Nebo is not meant, is seen from the verb, both in its sense and form (fem.). The city of Nebo (comp. Jeremiah 48:22; Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:38) was situated, according to the Onomasticon of Jerome, eight Roman miles south of Heshbon, while Mt. Nebo was six miles west of this city. Comp. Raumer, Paläst, S. 265.—Kiriathaim (comp. Jeremiah 48:23; Genesis 14:5; Numbers 32:37; Joshua 13:19; Ezekiel 25:9) is one of the oldest cities of the East-Jordanic district. Burkhardt (Travels in Syria, II, S. 626) found ruins of a place called Et-Taim, half an hour west of Medaba, which, however, does not well harmonize with the statement of Jerome, who places Καριάθα (Koroiatha, Kiriathaim), ten Roman miles west of Medaba. Comp. Raumer, S. 263, 4 et pass.; Herz.R-Enc., VII, S. 710.
The citadel [Misgab]. It is very probable from the context that a definite locality is meant, for otherwise either the citadel of the last mentioned city must be intended, or the citadels of Moab generally. In both cases, however, we should expect the word to have a suffix. Hence the chief fortress of the Moabites, Kir-Moab, or Kir-heres (comp. Jeremiah 48:31; Jeremiah 48:36; Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 16:7; Isaiah 16:11; 2 Kings 3:25) has been correctly understood. No appeal can be made in behalf of this view to Isaiah 25:12, since it is extremely questionable whether a definite locality is there intended. Comp. Drechsler on Isaiah 25:12. On Kir-Moab, comp. Herz.R-Enc. VII:, S. 558 sqq.
Jeremiah 48:2. The glory … the sword. From Jeremiah 48:29-30, we see that the Moabites were inclined to proud self-praise, but we cannot here take the word translated glory in the subjective sense, as the whole strophe has for its subject the destruction of real objects. It is, therefore, here as in Deuteronomy 26:19; Jeremiah 13:11; Jeremiah 51:4, the subject of their glory.—The name of the city Heshbon gives occasion for a play upon words. We translate “spun” after the example of Meier. Heshbon was then in the possession of the Ammonites ( Jeremiah 49:3). On arriving at the boundary the enemy projects his plan of attack. Comp. rems on Jeremiah 48:45. After the deportation of the East-Jordanic tribes by Tiglath-Pileser ( 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26), the Moabites appear to have taken possession of their territory. Hence Isaiah ( Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 16:8-9) mentions Heshbon among the Moabitish cities. The Ammonites must have come subsequently into possession of the city. Comp. Graf, S. 554; Von Raumer, S. 202,289, 270.—A place called Madmen, in Moab, is not expressly mentioned elsewhere, but there seems to be a trace of it in the figure of the dung pit ( Isaiah 25:10), to the choice of which Isaiah may have been occasioned by the existence of such a place, as Joseph Kimchi supposed. Besides a מַדְמֵנָהֹ is mentioned in Benjamin, Isaiah 10:31; a מַדְמַנָּה in Judah, Joshua 15:31; a דִּמְנָה in Zebulon, Joshua 21:35. Hence מַרְמֵן here also is not to be taken as an appellative, as some modern commentators would do, following the LXX, Vulg. and Syr, but as a proper noun.
Jeremiah 48:3-5. Hark … cry of woe. From Choronaim (comp. Isaiah 15:5) a loud cry is heard, and at (he same time the noise of the city falling into ruins. Comp. Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 50:22; Isaiah 59:7; Isaiah 60:18.—Graf has made it very probable that by Moab in Jeremiah 48:14 is to be understood, not the country, but the city ( Numbers 21:28; Isaiah 15:1; Numbers 22:36). The mention of several cities in connection, and the feminine gender of the verb (comp, however, the masculine in Jeremiah 48:11) favor this. I refer also to Numbers 21:15, where עָר alone seems to be given as the name of the city.—The first hemistich of Jeremiah 48:5 is taken almost verbatim from Isaiah 15:5, there being a difference only in the last words. As we have Luhith in is, without any difference in reading, we ore justified in following the Keri, which has the same here. From the other reading (לוּחוֹת= tables, boards) a suitable sense can be wrung only with difficulty. “Est usque hodie vicus inter Areopolin (i.e, Ar-Moab) et Zoarum nomins Luitha,” says Jerome in the Onomasticon. By For the declaration of the preceding verse, that the inhabitants of Ar-Moab cry towards Zoar, is explained, viz., the ascent of Luhith, which is on the road designated, they are seen to ascend weeping.—In the second half of the verse we find a much altered copy of the second half of the verse in Isaiah 15:5. Instead of “in the way of Horonaim” it is in Jeremiah, “in the descent of Horonaim.” The present form of the text appears to me to betray an effort after greater distinctness and closer correspondence to the topography. Hence the ascent of Luhith is opposed to the descent of Horonaim. He who would go from Ar-Moab to Zoar, would have to go down a declivity at Horonaim, and ascend an elevation at Luhith. Similarly Vitringa on Isaiah 15:5, only that he makes Luhith come first after Ar-Moab and Horonaim afterward, which, however, evidently contradicts the connection. In Isaiah it reads “they raise a cry of destruction,” and here it might be objected, how could those who go up by Luhith weep, because they raise a cry at Horonaim? When the ascent of Luhith is taking place, the descent of Horonaim lying in the rear is vacant. Or are the people of Horonaim supposed to have remained behind, when the stream of fugitives passed through from Ar-Moab? How could this stream raise a cry at Horonaim while ascending Luhith? They might, however, he anxious when they heard the oppressors behind them at Horonaim. I therefore think that צָרֵי, which has given the commentators so much trouble, and produced so many curiosities of exegesis, is quite correct. צָר is the oppressor; for צוּר is premere, urgere aliquem hostili modo. The genitive is to be taken in that wider and freer sense, which the construct state so frequently has. The oppressors of the cry of woe are those who cause the cry by their oppressions.
Footnotes
2. Summons to flight, which yet will not secure safety
Jeremiah 48:6-10
6 Flee, save your lives!
But they shall be6 like a forsaken one7 in the wilderness.
7 For on account of thy confidence in thy bungling work8
And in thy treasures shalt thou also be taken,
And Chemosh shall go into captivity,
His priests and his princes together,9
8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city,
And the city shall not be delivered;
The valley also shall perish,
And the plains shall be devastated—as10 Jehovah hath spoken.
9 Give wings11 unto Moab, for it will flee forth.
But its cities shall be desolation
Without any to dwell therein.
10 Cursed be he who doeth Jehovah’s work remissly,
And cursed be he who keepeth back his sword from blood.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
This strophe portrays the destruction threatening Moab by summoning the people to flight, but at the same time distinctly declaring that this would not avail. This summons is made in a double gradation: 1. Moab is simply called upon to flee ( Jeremiah 48:6 a), but it is directly remarked; that Moab would only barely escape and then be recaptured ( Jeremiah 48:6 b–7a), and that in consequence the entire people, idols, priests and princes at their head, would be carried into captivity, while all remaining immovable property would be destroyed ( Jeremiah 48:7 b, 8). 2. The means of flight are offered to Moab in a figure (9a) but, as the second half of the verse briefly intimates, the end will yet be the same, namely, devastation ( Jeremiah 48:9 b). It cannot also possibly be otherwise, for the Lord makes known His fixed resolution to destroy Moab, by threatening remissness or forbearance in the work of destruction with His curse ( Jeremiah 48:10).
Jeremiah 48:6-8. Flee … hath spoken. The call to flee is evidently intended ironically, for the announcement directly follows that the condition of the fugitives will be an extremely wretched one, that they will indeed be again taken.—Like a forsaken one,—like Aroer. Three Aroers are known; in Judah ( 1 Samuel 30:26), in Gad ( Numbers 32:34; Joshua 13:25; Judges 11:33, 2 Samuel 24:5), and in Reuben ( Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12; Deuteronomy 4:18; Joshua 12:2; Joshua 13:9; Judges 11:26). The first cannot possibly be meant. How one of the two others, whether that on the Arnon, or that further to the north, in the vicinity of Rabbath-Ammon, can be called “Aroer in the wilderness,” it is difficult to perceive. For if even on the basis of Isaiah 17:2, the city be supposed to be then destroyed, it is yet strange that a destroyed city should be designated as situated “in the wilderness,” since this expression by no means involves the idea of destruction. Hence I have adopted the alternate reading proposed, which is favored by what follows. Neither a city, nor a tree, nor ruins, can See and be taken, but this may easily happen to one nudatus et desertus in the wilderness. The causal sentence, Jeremiah 48:7, has then the sense: thy flight will no longer procure thee protection, as one forsaken in the desert, finds out, for thou also (like other nations) wilt be taken. And this will be the punishment of Moab for having founded its happiness on false supports.—Chemoah (the Chethibh כִּמִישׁ is perfectly unique) was the national god of the Moabites and Ammonites ( 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13; Judges 11:24). Moab is, therefore, called the people of Chemosh ( Jeremiah 48:46; Numbers 21:29); accordingly here, also, his princes are called princes of Chemosh. The idol goes into captivity when his image is carried away. Comp. Jeremiah 49:8; Amos 1:15; Hosea 10:5-6. The passage Amos 1:15 seems to have been in the prophet’s mind here, as in Jeremiah 49:3.
Jeremiah 48:8 describes the destruction of the immovable property; cities, valleys (all river-valleys in antithesis to elevated plains and mountains), and plains (מִישׁוֹר the plateau of Rabbath-Ammon, south as far as the Arnon. Comp. Deuteronomy 3:10; Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 13:9; Joshua 13:16-17; Joshua 13:21; Joshua 20:8; Raumer, Pal. S. 71ff.)
Jeremiah 48:9. Give wings … therein. In comparison with Jeremiah 48:6 there is evidently a progress here; there it is a mere call to Fight, here the call is to at ford Moab the only still imaginable means for this, viz., wings. The one call is as ironical as the other. There is a strengthening of the irony in the word “for,” which designates the fleeing away as the object not of the speaker, but of Moab. Comp. Isaiah 16:2.—The second half of the verse corresponds as a brief synopsis to all that has been mentioned from Jeremiah 48:6 b to Jeremiah 48:8, as the result of the first summons ( Jeremiah 48:6 a). The expression is as in Jeremiah 46:19; Jeremiah 49:17; Jeremiah 51:43; Jeremiah 4:9, etc.
Jeremiah 48:10. Cursed … from blood. These words are the foil to the foregoing description. On this background the irony appears in its full strength. From these words we perceive what was the true meaning of the summons to flight, and how much more bitter the severity is rendered by these contrasting announcements ( Jeremiah 48:6 b– Jeremiah 48:8; Jeremiah 48:9 b). Moab’s destruction is designated as the work of the Lord, because this is no more than the execution of a decree of judgment pronounced by Him. Comp. Jeremiah 25:31; Jeremiah 46:10; Jeremiah 51:6.—Remissly. Comp. Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 12:27.
Footnotes
3. The Transfusion
Jeremiah 48:11-13
11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth,
And he lay still on his lees,
And was not drawn off from one vessel to another,12
Neither hath he gone into exile:
Therefore hath his taste remained in him,
And his fragrance hath not changed.
12 Therefore behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah,
That I will send unto him tilters, who shall tilt him up
And empty his vessels and dash his dishes in pieces.13
13 And Moab shall be put to shame by Chemosh,
As the house of Israel was put to shame by Bethel, their confidence.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
In a very palpable figure the prophet compares Moab with wine, which has never been drawn off into another cask and has therefore retained its taste and scent unchanged ( Jeremiah 48:11). The Lord will transfuse Moab and cause his old cask to be broken in pieces ( Jeremiah 48:12), and then, like Israel, he will be put to shame by his idols.
Jeremiah 48:11-13. Moab … their confidence. Since the Moabites took the land from the original inhabitants, the Emims ( Deuteronomy 2:10), they had generally remained in quiet possession of it. They had never been carried into captivity, as had been the case with Israel in their stay in Egypt and the deportation of the ten tribes. That this is the meaning of the figure is expressly declared in Jeremiah 48:11, by the words neither hath he gone into exile. It seems to me doubtful whether Jeremiah has reference to Isaiah 25:6; at any rate, on account of the difference in the main thoughts, the reference can be only cursory and verbal. Essentially the same thought, however, is expressed in the same words in Zephaniah 1:12, whence it is probable that Jeremiah had this passage in mind. Four points are distinguished: 1. As a basis the fact that Moab has never been transfused2. The primary consequence that its taste and odor have remained. So far as this refers to the outward status rerum, a great degree of national prosperity is thus designated. In so far, however, as the words refer to the inward habitus, or to their relation to God and connected with this to His people, they express a sense unfavorable to Moab. They declare that Moab has never been thoroughly purified, never been freed from its enmity to the Lord and His people3. As a secondary consequence, it is mentioned, that a time of visitation is impending on Moab, since it cannot possibly be privileged against such a season. The instruments of the visitation are designated, in accordance with the figure in Jeremiah 48:11, as coopers, who are to tilt up the old casks, empty and then break them in pieces4. As the final result it is mentioned that Moab will be put to shame by Chemosh as Israel by Bethel. The long undisturbed quiet was physically considered a benefit to Moab, but spiritually a gracious opportunity which it did not make use of. Hence Moab must become wise, like Israel, by loss and suffering (comp. 1 Kings 12:28-33).
Footnotes
4. THE VANITY OF HUMAN GLORY
Jeremiah 48:14-17
14 How can ye say, we are heroes
And strong men for the war?
15 Desolated is Moab and his cities go up,14
And his best young men go down to the slaughter,
Saith the King, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name.
16 Moab’s destruction is near approaching,
And his calamity hastens on apace.15
17 Bemoan him, all his neighbors,
All ye, who know his name,
Say, how is the mighty stem broken,
The splendid rod!
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
All human glory is turned to shame, whether one glorify himself, as, according to Jeremiah 48:14, Moab had done, to which the destruction of all his warlike power stands in strong contrast ( Jeremiah 48:15), or good friends and neighbors praise us. These may soon and easily find occasion ( Jeremiah 48:16) to turn their song of praise into a lamentation.
Jeremiah 48:14-15. How can … his name. In opposition to Moab’s boastful glorying in his warlike strength, desolation is announced in general and destruction according to a just Nemesis of the main objects of his glorying: the fortified cities, which seemed to rest immovably on their foundations, must fly away in smoke; the strong youths, who aimed high, must go down to slaughter.—Go down, etc. Comp. Isaiah 34:6-7; Jeremiah 50:27; Jeremiah 51:40.—Saith, etc. Comp. Jeremiah 46:18; Jeremiah 51:57.
Jeremiah 48:16-17. Moab’s destruction … splendid rod. So near and certain is the destruction of Moab that his neighbors and friends are called upon to bemoan the overthrow of this power so highly extolled hitherto by themselves.—Bemoan him. Comp. Jeremiah 15:6; Jeremiah 16:5; Jeremiah 22:10.—Neighbors (comp. Jeremiah 46:14; Jeremiah 48:39; Jeremiah 49:5), literally those round about him, therefore most intimately acquainted with him, ye who know his name, being the more distant acquaintances. (Comp. the related expressions in Psalm 87:4; Job 19:13; Job 42:11; Psalm 56:14; Psalm 88:9, 19).—The mighty stem. Comp. Psalm 110:2; Ezekiel 19:12; Ezekiel 19:14.
Footnotes
6. MESSAGE TO THE FUGITIVES ON THE ARNON
Jeremiah 48:18-25
18 Come down from thy glory and seat thyself in the thirsty,16
Thou inhabitant daughter of Dibon!17
For the spoiler of Moab is advancing against thee,
He destroyeth thy strongholds.
19 Place thyself by the wayside and look out,
Thou inhabitress of Aroer;
Ask of the fugitive and her who is escaped!18
Say, What hath been done?19
20 “Moab is confounded, for she is broken down.20
Howl and cry!21
Proclaim it on the Arnon, that Moab is destroyed;
21 And judgment has come on the land of the plain,
On Holon and on Jahazah, and on Mephaath,
22 And on Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
23 And on Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
24 And on Kerioth and Bozrah,
And on all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
25 The horn of Moab is broken off,
And his arm is shattered”—saith Jehovah.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
An animated picture! First some concrete forms of cities are directly addressed: Dibon is to go down, Aroer to question the fugitives ( Jeremiah 48:18-19). The answer of the latter is sad enough. Arrived on the Arnon, where Aroer is situated, and thus on the borders of the mishor, they proclaim that it is at an end with Moab, for all the cities of the northern half of the country are taken ( Jeremiah 48:20-24). From this it follows as the total result, that the power of Moab is broken ( Jeremiah 48:25).
Jeremiah 48:18. Come down … thy strongholds. Isaiah 47:1 was here in the prophet’s mind, “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon.”—On Dibon, which, as we conclude from thy strongholds, was a fortified city and was situate a league north of the Arnon, comp. Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:34; Joshua 13:9; Joshua 13:17; Isaiah 5:2; Raumer, Pal. S. 261.
Jeremiah 48:19. Place thyself … done. To the inhabitants of Aroer, the southern boundary city of the מִישׁוֹר (comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:8) the sad summons is addressed to go out into the street, to spy out (comp. Nahum 2:2) and then to make inquiries from the approaching train of the fugitives.
Jeremiah 48:20-25. Moab … saith Jehovah. These verses contain the answer of the escaped.—Judgment. The choice of the expression is occasioned by the mishor, plain, which signifies not merely plain, but æquitas, justitia. Comp. Psalm 29:11; Psalm 45:7; Psalm 67:5. Judgment is thus to come upon the land, whose name also signifies “land of righteousness.” The cities mentioned afterwards are all in the Mishor. Holon (different from another in Judah, Joshua 15:51) is mentioned here only. Jahaza (Comp. Isaiah 15:4; Numbers 21:23; Joshua 13:18; Judges 11:20) lay, according to Eusebius and Jerome, in the vicinity of Medaba. Comp. Raumer, S. 263.—Mephaath is elsewhere called מֵיפַעַת ( Joshua 13:18) or מֵיפַעַת ( Joshua 21:37; 1 Chronicles 6:64). According to the passages cited from the book of Joshua it belongs to the tribe of Reuben and to the Mishor.—Dibon. Comp. rems on Jeremiah 48:18.—Nebo. Comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:1.—Beth-diblathaim is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. Its position is clear from the statement of Jerome, that Jahaza was situated between Medaba and Diblathaim. (Vid. Onomasticon s. v. Jaffa).—Kiriathaim. Comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:1.—Beth-gamul occurs here only. If Porter is correct in recognizing Bozrah, Kerioth and Beth-gamul in the present ruined cities of the Hauran, Bosra, Kureiyeh and El Jemal, we have here three cities not in Moab, but separated from it by the entire territory of the Ammonites. Comp. Raumer, Pal. S. 251, 2. This hypothesis is, however, improbable, since real Moabitish cities can be shown for Bozrah and Kerioth. See below.—Beth-meon was named in full Beth-baal-meon ( Joshua 13:17); elsewhere Baal-meon ( Numbers 32:38), and is designated among the other places as belonging to the Mishor and to the tribe of Reuben. Comp. Raumer, S. 259,264.—Kerioth. Comp. Jeremiah 48:41 and Amos 2:2. Seetzen found a place on Mt. Attarus (comp. עֲטָרֹת, Numbers 32:34-35) called El-Karriât, which he decidedly regards as Kerioth not Kiriathaim. Comp. Raumer, S. 251, 2.—Bozrah. There is a Bozrah mentioned as in Edom (comp. rems. on Jeremiah 49:13) and one as in the Hauran, but the latter not in the Bible. It was the Bostra of the Romans, the birthplace of Philippus Arabs. Immense ruins still testify to the importance of the city. Comp. Raumer, S. 244. Since, however, a place בֶּצֶר in the Mishor is expressly mentioned ( Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8; Joshua 21:36), and since the LXX. always render this name by Bόσορ, we do not hesitate to recognize בָּצְרָה in this בֶּצֶר.—And on all the cities, etc. From the context it can only be the cities to the north of Aroer which are meant, for according to Jeremiah 48:19 sqq, the fugitives announce to the people of Aroer that both the cities further to the north, and also those more to the south in the vicinity of Aroer were already taken. From this it follows that the whole northern half of the country was in the hands of the enemy, and consequently Moab’s horn and arm (the biblical types of dominion and strength, comp. Psalm 75:5, 11, 1 Samuel 2:31; Psalm 10:15) are broken.
[On the Moabitic stone recently discovered, which confirms many of the names here mentioned, see Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct1870. Andover.—S. R. A.]
II. The Reasons of the Punitive Judgment ( Jeremiah 48:26-42.)
1. Moab’s Pride and his Punishment in General
Jeremiah 48:26-30
26 Make ye him drunken, for against Jehovah hath he magnified himself!
And Moab may wallow22 in his vomit,
And he also may become a derision!
27 Or23 was not Israel a derision24 unto thee,
When he was found25 among the thieves?
Yea, for at each of thy words concerning him thou shookest thyself.
28 Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, ye inhabitants of Moab,
And be as the dove that maketh her nest on the walls of the yawning ravine.
29 We have heard the arrogance of Moab, the very arrogant,26
His loftiness, and his arrogance and his pride and the haughtiness of his heart
30 I know, saith Jehovah, his insolence
And the nothingness of his boastings; nothing have they effected.27
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
To Jeremiah 48:42 the prophet describes specially the judgment of God on the criminal arrogance of Moab, which he manifested particularly towards Israel and Israel’s God. First, generally, ( Jeremiah 48:26-30) the disgraceful fate of a drunken man, who falls into his own vomit ( Jeremiah 48:26), is announced as a just punishment for the scorn, with which they always treated Israel when chastised by his God ( Jeremiah 48:27), and further, the fate of the dove driven into the fearful clefts of the rock ( Jeremiah 48:28) as a punishment for his insolent and false arrogance ( Jeremiah 48:29-30).
Jeremiah 48:26-27. Make ye him … shookest thyself. A man, who is beastly intoxicated, falls into his own vomit, and how does he provoke to its full extent the derisive laughter of the beholder! So shall it be to Moab for his boasting against Jehovah. This making drunk reminds us of the figure of the cup of wrath ( Jeremiah 15:15 coll. Jeremiah 13:13). As there, those who make drunk are those whom the Lord has appointed His agents in executing the punishment.—Magnified himself Comp. Jeremiah 48:42. The expression seems to be taken from Zephaniah 2:8; Zephaniah 2:10, an older prophecy against Moab. Comp. also Joel 2:20.—The objection on the part of Moab that this is too severe a punishment is met with the intimation that Moab had done the same to the Israelites.—When he was found, etc. This is usually also taken as a question. But was not Israel really often caught in thievery and punished for it? Jeremiah expressly affirms this in Jeremiah 2:26. What reason would Moab otherwise have had for scorning Israel? I therefore regard אִם as a particle of time=when, as often as ( Numbers 21:9; Genesis 38:9). It is then thus admitted that Israel had been more than once caught in criminal conduct and punished, but observe that it is said among thieves. In this there is an allusion to the fact that Israel was only seduced by others, and that the principal thieves, to which Moab belonged, were his heathen neighbors.—Yea, for, etc. This is the answer to the question. We supply Yea.—מִדֵּי=pro sufficientia, pro ratione ( Isaiah 66:23; Zechariah 14:16), comp. Jeremiah 31:20. From the latter passage we see also that (בּוֹ) him is to be referred to thy words.—Shookest thyself. This may be shaking of the head (comp. Jeremiah 18:16) or shrugging of the shoulders, but equally in either case is it an expression of scorn.
Jeremiah 48:28. Leave … yawning ravine. The preceding figure was adapted to humble Moab’s national pride, the present relates to his warlike pride. They boasted greatly of their valor in war ( Jeremiah 48:14), and doubtless also of their excellent fortifications (comp. Jeremiah 48:18). They are now told that they will be driven from their bulwarks and into the rocky mountains, there like a wild pigeon to pass a troubled, ever threatened existence.—On the walls. The word is found besides only in Isaiah 7:20, where it undoubtedly signifies beyond. עֵבֶר, however, signifies not merely the side beyond, but the side generally. (Comp. Jeremiah 49:32; 1 Kings 5:4; Exodus 32:15). On the doves in Palestine comp. Herzog, Real-Enc., XV. S. 425.
Jeremiah 48:29-30. We have heard … effected. These two verses are no more than a reproduction, extended by a few additions, of Isaiah 16:6 in accord with Zephaniah 2:10. In this quotation the prophet expresses the thought, which is expected as a foundation to Jeremiah 48:26-28, viz., an answer to the question, whence comes on the one band Moab’s scorn towards Jehovah and His people, on the other, the particularly severe punishment of the same? Answer: to the pride of Moab corresponds both his scorn against Israel and the chastisement, which he receives on the part of Jehovah. Hence the prophet labors by an accumulation of terms to describe the arrogance of the Moabites as surpassing all bounds.
Footnotes
2. MOAB UTTERLY DESTROYED
Jeremiah 48:31-35
31 Therefore I howl over Moab,
And over Moab, the whole of it, I cry.
Over the men of Kir-heres there is sighing.28
32 My tears over Jazer flow even to thee, thou vine of Sibmah:
Thy shoots are gone over the sea,
Even to the sea of Jazer they did reach.
On thy fruit harvest and thy vintage is the spoiler fallen;
33 And joy and gladness is taken from the fruit fields and the land of Moab;
And I cause the wine to fail from the wine presses;
They will not tread with shouting,—
With a shouting that is no shouting.
34 From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh,
Unto Jahaz they raise their voice:
From Zoar to Horonaim, the three year old heifer,29
For even the waters of Nimrim shall be desolations.30
35 And I destroy Moab, saith Jehovah,
Him who ascends31 the high places and burns incense to his gods.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
After the reason and manner of the judgment on Moab have been set forth in general, the latter is now described more in particular. This is done by the prophet’s first expressing ( Jeremiah 48:31 a) what feeling he has in consequence of his knowledge of the destruction threatening all Moab (i.e., no longer merely the northern half as in Jeremiah 48:18-25), and then turns to single places of the whole land, with special emphasis on the destruction which is impending on the vine and fruit culture of Moab ( Jeremiah 48:32-33), as well as the worship of the idols connected therewith ( Jeremiah 48:35).
Jeremiah 48:31. Therefore … there is sighing. This verse begins with a free rendering of Isaiah 16:7. While there the third person is used, here Jeremiah speaks in the first person, being evidently himself shocked by the fearful import of the message which he has to deliver. Comp. Isaiah 15:5; Isaiah 16:9; Isaiah 16:11; Isaiah 21:3 and Drechslerad loc.—In the words, the whole of it, he declares that here he has not merely the northern half of the country, the Mishor, but the whole country in view, mentioning a series of cities from the north to the extreme south ( Jeremiah 48:34).—Over the men, etc. In the original passage it reads “over the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth will ye sigh, deeply troubled.” There is no need of seeking aid from indistinctly written MSS, it being quite in Jeremiah’s manner to substitute for a marked and strange expression, one softer and more usual. He has evidently omitted the concluding words and substituted אֲנְשֵׁי (men) for אֲשִׁישׁי (grapes, raisin-cakes). The second person plural would be in too strong a contrast to the first person in the hemistich, and therefore the third person singular masculine is chosen, which is to be taken in its impersonal sense.
Jeremiah 48:32-33. My tears … no shouting. In Isaiah 16:9 it reads “Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer.” If we take מִבְּכִי of the text in the sense of a comparison the connection in meaning with the original would disappear, and then no good ground for the comparative is apparent. Jaazer, according to the Onomast. (s. v. Azer and Jazer), was15 m. p., Sibmah only live hundred paces from Heshbon. They were, therefore, neighboring towns in a fertile district abounding in fruit and wine. Since then they were thus, as it were, sisters, the centres of agriculture closely connected by solidarity of interest, and the blow which strikes one affects the other also, one is not to be bewailed alone, but both at the same time. This is essentially the meaning of בִבְכַי (in the weeping over Jaazer is contained also that over Sibmah) and of מִבְִכִי (Sibmah participates in the tears which flow over Jaazer).—The district of Salt, in the vicinity of which Jaazer must have been situated (comp. Raumer, S. 262, 3) is still very rich in vines. Comp. Herzog, R-Enc., XVII. S 611.
The elements of the two following sentences also are found in Isaiah 16:8, “branches” only instead of “shoots” and “sea,” being wanting before Jazer. The sea of Jazer may denote only a pond or great basin. That the term may be so used is shown by the “sea” in the temple ( 1 Kings 7:23). “The sea of Jazer was probably some celebrated large pond, like the ponds of Heshbon, in which the water of the Wady (Nahr) Sirach, which springs near by, was collected. Seetzen found some ponds there still.” Delitzsch, Jes, S. 211 [Eng. Tr, p384]. Raumer, Pal, S. 263, Anm. The hypothesis that the repetition of the word sea is based on a scriptural error is therefore unnecessary. The widely extended (even according to Isaiah 16:7-8, over the Dead Sea) wine-culture of Moab is poetically represented under the figure of a single vine. Comp. Drechsler [and Alexander] on Isaiah 16:8.—On thy fruit-harvest, etc. Comp. Jeremiah 40:10; Jeremiah 40:12. Instead of vintage, which suits the connection better, we find in Isaiah 16:9 “harvest,” and instead of spoiler the more forcible but less distinct “shouting.”—And joy, etc., from Isaiah 16:10. Comp. Joel 2:20; 4:15. Carmel (fruit-fields) cannot possibly be a proper noun here. For what occasion had the prophet to make such a spring? In Isaiah 16:10, also stands מִן הַכַּרְמֶל, but there without the following and the land of Moab, and hence evidently in an appellative significance. The prophet would say: joy and gladness having vanished from the vineyards they have departed from the whole country.—And I cause, etc. These words are altered from Isaiah 16:10 b, in a peculiar manner. Instead of they will not tread with shouting, we read in Isaiah “the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses.” The following words contain the justification of the rendering given. It is emphasized that the trending will be altogether without shouting. A shouting will indeed be heard, not, however, such as pertains to the treading of grapes ( Jeremiah 25:30), but another, a warlike shouting. The word is elsewhere only applied to war-cries. Jeremiah 51:14
Jeremiah 48:34. From the cry … be desolations. These words to their voice are taken, with modifications from Isaiah 15:4. The cry of Heshbon, as it is called in Jeremiah, represents at the same time a place, and consequently serves as a terminus a quo. On Heshbon comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:2. Elealeh (now El AI) lies only half an hour from Heshbon. Comp. Numbers 32:37; Isaiah 16:19; Raumer, S. 261. Jahaz (identical with Jahza, Jeremiah 48:21) must, according to Numbers 21:23 have lain to the south east, towards the desert. Zoar (comp. Jeremiah 48:4) and Horonaim ( Jeremiah 48:3) represent the south country of the Moabites. We distinctly meet here the idea of the whole of Moab ( Jeremiah 48:31 in contrast to the limitation, in which Moab is spoken of in Jeremiah 48:18-25. The individual elements are taken from Isaiah 15:5. There Eglath-shalishiyah appears to stand in apposition to Zoar. In the present passage it is as formally co-ordinated with the name Horonaim. Both are possible only if Eglath, etc., is either a place near both the cities in question, or a predicate equally applicable to both. The latter view is favored by the grammatical structure, for in the former case we should expect עַדunto or יְעַד (comp. on Jahaz, Jeremiah 48:21, etc.) In what sense, however, are these cities called Eglath-shalishiyah? Köster (Stud. u. Krit., 1862, I, S. 113ff.) perceives herein a topographical definition. Egla was a Tripolis, and “Egla of the third part” is equivalent to the third part of Egla. Egla is the principal name, Zoar and Horonaim the names of the two other parts. It is however surprising that of this group of cities, which must certainly have been of some importance, we find no trace elsewhere. We should also expect the reverse order. Shalishah-Eglath, and if Egla, Zoar and Horonaim form one city, what is the cry from Zoar to Horonaim to mean? Delitzsch (on Isa. S. 206) [Eng. Tr, p336] attaches himself to Gesenius and his predecessors (Vulg, Targ.) taking the words to signify “juvenca tertii, i.e, anni” = indomita, jugoque non assueta. Yet he does not refer the predicate to Moab (which can be done in Isaiah only with great harshness, and in Jeremiah not at all) but to Zoar “the beautiful, fortified, hitherto unconquered city.” Although the reason why Zoar should be so called is not very transparent, the language compels us to give this exegesis the preference. Whether Horonaim deserved the predicate in the same degree as Zoar is a question of minor importance, for the transference to Horonaim, which is mentioned only one line after in Isaiah 15:5, can be only accidental.—For even, etc. Comp. Isaiah 15:6. If by מֵי נִמְרִים we are to understand Beth-Nimrah, we shall thus be carried into the extreme north-west of the country, not inappropriately to the purport of the strophe. (Comp. the whole, Jeremiah 48:31). The name and character of Beth-Nimrah favor the identity, for this place at the mouth of the Wady Shaib or Shoêb in the plain of the Jordan is still celebrated for its wealth of springs. Comp. Winer, R-W-B, s. v. Bethnimra. Yet it must be confessed, that according to the connection, a place in the South, as the ruined Numêre with the spring Moyet Numêre (Delitzsch, S. 207) [Eng. Tr, p327], might be meant.
Jeremiah 48:35. And I destroy … to his gods. The prophet has Isaiah 15:2; Isaiah 16:12 in mind. What he means by the words מַֽעֲלֵה בָמָה is not perfectly clear. They may mean, who erects the high places, throws them up (Hitzig) or, who offers on the height (literally: offerers of the height), or who ascends to the height; or, finally, the ascending to the height. Each of these renderings has its light and its shadow. In Isaiah 16:12, however, the idea of going up to the sanctuary is expressed. Hence I give those explanations the preference which take מַֽעֲלֵה in the sense of ascending.
3. THE LAMENTATION FOR THE DEAD
Jeremiah 48:36-38
36 Therefore my heart sighs over Moab like flutes,
And my heart sighs like flutes over the men of Kir-heres;
Because the remnant32 of what was gained has perished.
37 For every head is bald, and every beard cut short,
Upon all hands cuttings, and on the loins sackcloth!
38 On all the roofs of Moab and in his streets all is lamentation:33
For I have broken Moab like a vessel
Wherein there is no more pleasure, saith Jehovah.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The prophet Feels his heart to be, as it were, a mourning flute in view of the great loss of Moab ( Jeremiah 48:36) and this all the more that he perceives in Moab itself on every hand lamentation for the dead ( Jeremiah 48:37-38 a). This is also warranted, for the Lord has broken Moab like a vessel which has become worthless ( Jeremiah 48:38 b.)
Jeremiah 48:36. Therefore … perished. This verse is parallel to Jeremiah 48:31. For1, both begin with therefore; 2, in both the object of the utterance of feeling is designated as Moab (hardly Ar Moab Jeremiah 48:4, on account of “whole,” Jeremiah 48:31—and why should Jeremiah have constantly omitted the עַר?) and Kir-heres; in both eases an analogous thought is introduced by the particle "therefore:" there the expression of howling and crying, here the sighing of the heart compared with the tone of a funeral flute. “Therefore" in Jeremiah 48:36 then refers not to the special calamities enumerated immediately before, but to that general description, which we have read in Jeremiah 48:25-30. Moreover here also the single elements of the discourse are taken primarily from Isaiah 15. This employment of foreign property explains much of the unevenness in the arrangement of the sentences. Isaiah 16:11; Isaiah 15:5 are in the prophet’s mind, but he changes the harp, spoken of in Isaiah 21:11 into the flute, as is correctly remarked, because the flute is the instrument used in mourning, and thus conformity is obtained with the funeral customs afterwards described. On the use of the flute in mournings for the dead comp. Matthew 9:23. Joseph.Bell. Jud. III, 9, 5; OvidFast. VI, 656; Herzog, R-Enc, 165364—Because, etc. The words are from Isaiah 15:7, but there they are the object of the following verb (יִשָּאוּם) instead of which we here find perished. The words remnant, etc, must therefore be the subject of the verb, since אָבַד never means “to lose” but only “to be lost, to perish.” The plural of the predicate is explained by the collective meaning of the subject.—[עַל־בֵּן is also here taken from Isaiah 15:7, but it cannot possibly signify “therefore” as it does there. So unless we assume an error there is nothing left but to take it as equivalent to עַל־בֵּן אֲשֶׁר, a meaning which is certainly not proved, since this very passage is adduced as the strongest evidence (comp. Gesen, Thes. pag. 669). A double reason is then given for the mourning of the prophet in Jeremiah 48:36 : 1. a mediate, Jeremiah 48:36 b; 2. an immediate, Jeremiah 48:37-38 a. Whence dost thou know that all is lost ? From the fact that all mourns.
Jeremiah 48:37-38. For every head . . Jehovah. Isaiah 15:2-3 is the original passage. On Bald comp729; Jeremiah 16:6. Instead of cut short (נְרֻעָה) Isaiah has “cut off” (נְדוּעָהcæssa). In the latter passage however the editions vary. Comp. Delitzsch, S205 [Eng. Tr, p325].—Cuttings. Comp. Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5—Sackcloth. Comp. Jeremiah 4:8; Jeremiah 6:26; Joel 1:8.—Roofs. Comp. Isaiah 22:1; Herzog, R-Enc. 16, 5863.—All is lamentation. In Isaiah “everything wails, melting into tears.”—For I have broken,etc. The ground of the facts which cause the lamentation is, that (not chance, or any human or demoniac power, but) Jehovah has broken Moab. In like a vessel, etc., Jeremiah quotes himself, 2228.
Footnotes
4. Pride comes before a Fall
Jeremiah 48:39-42
39 How is she broken! How do they howl!
How has Moab turned the back shamefully!
And Moab shall become a derision
And a horror to all his neighbors.
40 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold like an eagle he flies,
And spreads his wings over Moab.
41 Taken are the cities,34
And the fortresses captured,35
And the heart of the heroes of Moab in that day
Shall be like the heart of a parturient woman.36
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a nation,
For against Jehovah hath he magnified himself.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
With Jeremiah 48:38 the quotations from Isaiah 15. and16. cease; the beginning of Jeremiah 48:39 reminds us of the beginning of Jeremiah 48:31; Jeremiah 48:26; Jeremiah 48:39; Jeremiah 48:41 are evidently closely related, reproducing, as it were, the fundamental thought of Jeremiah 48:26-27 that Moab is to become a derision, because he has magnified himself against the Lord. I therefore take Jeremiah 48:39-41 as one strophe. This begins with an exclamation; how is Moab broken, given up to shameful flight, and thus become an object of ridicule and horror ( Jeremiah 48:39)! This effect corresponds exactly to the cause, for a powerful enemy, comparable to a powerful eagle, is to come upon Moab ( Jeremiah 48:40). In consequence the fortified places are taken, the courage of all the warriors broken ( Jeremiah 48:41), and Moab stricken from the roll of nations. This is his punishment for having magnified himself against Jehovah.
Jeremiah 48:39. How is she … his neighbors. Moab is here again conceived of as feminine. Comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:20. Since this passage was generally in the prophet’s mind, הַתַּה also must be taken in the meaning which it has there, viz., of being broken. (Comp. Isaiah 7:8). The first result of this being broken is howling. We however take הֵילילוּ as 3 d pers. perf, since the imperative here, as afterwards in בּוֹשׁ, does not suit the connection. The further consequence is shameful flight (בּוֹשׁ to be regarded as in the accusative. Comp. Micah 1:11). From all this it follows lastly that Moab is become two things, a derision ( Jeremiah 48:26-27) and a terror ( Jeremiah 17:17) to all his neighbors.
Jeremiah 48:40. For thus saith … over Moab.—For is argumentative. The effect corresponds to the cause. The choice of figures is founded on Deuteronomy 28:49, where the people of Israel are assured in case of apostasy of severe judgment, to be executed by a nation coming from afar. Lamentations 4:13 also there was an echo of this passage. It is possible that Isaiah 46:11 was in the mind of the prophet, even as this present passage lay before the prophet. Ezekiel, when in Jeremiah 17:3 he used the same figure of Nebuchadnezzar. Who the eagle is here the prophet does not say. If what we have said in the introduction concerning the date of composition of this and the contemporary prophecies against the Nations is correct, the present passage is in so far dissimilar to Jeremiah 46:18 in that there Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned just before ( Jeremiah 48:13). Here the non-mention is due to the circumstance that the prophet did not yet know who was the chosen instrument for the execution of the judgment.—And spreads, etc. Here also a passage from Deuteronomy ( Jeremiah 32:11) seems to have hovered before the prophet’s mind. This however applies only to the expression, for here the spreading of wings is intended in an exactly opposite sense. Comp. also Job 39:26. A repetition of this passage and of the following verse is found in Jeremiah 49:22.
Jeremiah 48:41-42. Taken … magnified himself. The prophet here passes into the literal style of discourse.—From being, etc. Comp Jeremiah 48:2 and Isaiah 7:8—For against Jehovah, etc. This points back to Jeremiah 48:26, and here as there is to be regarded as a reminiscence from Zephaniah 2:8; Zephaniah 2:10. The prophet here brings to a close that part of his prophecy, which has the pride of Moab especially for its object.
Footnotes
III. Two Appendices with a Concluding Word ( Jeremiah 48:43-47)
1. Application to Moab of a passage from Isaiah
Jeremiah 48:43-44
43 Terror37 and ditch [pit] and trap38 on thee,
Thou inhabitant of Moab,39 saith Jehovah.
44 He that fleeth40 from the terror shall fall into the ditch,
And he that riseth from the ditch shall be taken in the trap;
For I bring upon them, upon Moab,41
The year of their punishment, saith Jehovah.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Application of a passage from Isaiah ( Isaiah 24:17-18). That Jeremiah is the original here, and at most took the remote analogy of Amos 5:19 for his model, appears to me an entirely unwarranted assertion. This pithy drastic play upon words corresponds as much more to the Old Testament master of such word-play, is, as it is contrary to the softer and more fluent style of our prophet. In addition it is inconceivable that at the close of his discourse, where he has evidently already exhausted himself and has for some time been speaking only in quotations, he should suddenly make such a pithy original utterance. Comp. Delitzsch in Drechsler’sComm. zu Jes. III, S. 405, 6, and in his own Comm. on is, S. 271 [Eng. Tr, pp431, 2].
Footnotes
2. THE TESTIMONY OF THE BOOK OF NUMBERS CONCERNING MOAB, AND CONCLUDING WORD
Jeremiah 48:45-47
45 In the shade of Heshbon the fugitives stand powerless;42
For fire43 goes forth from Heshbon,
And came from the midst of Sihon,
And it devoured the side of Moab
And the crown (of the head) of the sons of tumult.44
46 Woe unto thee, Moab!
Destroyed is the people of Chemosh,
For thy sons are led away into prison,
And thy daughters into captivity.45
47 And I turn the captivity of Moab at the end of days, saith Jehovah.
—Thus far the judgment on Moab.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
With the exception of Jeremiah 48:45 a, the verses are a free reproduction of Numbers 21:28-29; Numbers 24:17. The prophet who already in the previous context has brought into use old prophecies against Moab, does the same here with some passages of the book of Numbers. It is only natural that Jeremiah should not leave unemployed those ancient utterances occasioned by the first conflict between Israel and Moab. This use is evidently the main intention, and no emphasis is therefore to be laid on the less strict connection of the words with the previous context, and with each other. Graf has, therefore, rightly rejected the hypothesis of Movers and Hitzig, that these verses are a later gloss.
Jeremiah 48:45-46. In the shade … captivity. As the passage to be used speaks of a going forth of the fire from Heshbon upon the Moabites ( Numbers 21:28), the Moabites must be represented as having come into the district of Heshbon. This is done by assuming a flight of the Moabites in that direction (doubtless also with a reference to “he that fleeth,” Jeremiah 48:44). It has indeed been correctly remarked that as the enemy is approaching from the north, the flight could not be towards Heshbon (comp. rems. on Jeremiah 48:19 sqq.), but all that concerns the prophet is to show that the ancient sentence will be verified anew in this judgment on Moab. It is assuredly not his meaning that this will take place literally in the form chosen by him (for which Isaiah 30:2-3, also was, perhaps, in his mind). Jeremiah 48:45 a is thus a mere connecting clause, of which the expressions are not to be emphasized.—Powerless declares that the fugitives, who for protection had betaken themselves to the shade of Heshbon, receive from thence no strength but the contrary. The following בִּי which is also taken from Numbers 21:28, need not then be taken in an adversative sense (but).—From the midst of Sihon. In Numbers 21:28 it reads, “from the city of Sihon.” Heshbon is called in Numbers 21:26 the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites. Owing to the omission of city here, I would neither alter the text with J. D. Michaelis, Ewald and Meier (בבית for בבין) so as to read, from the house of Sihon, nor with Graf, conceive an ideal presence of Sihon (with reference to Genesis 49:10), but as in Jeremiah 48:4, and more frequently according to Graf, Moab stands for Ar-Moab, and elsewhere usually Shechem for city of Shechem ( Genesis 33:18), so here also the name of Lord of the city stands for the city itself. The sense of from the midst, is that fire breaks forth from between the openings of the city (i.e., the gates of the walls and towers).—The side of Moab. Numbers 24:17, “and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the borders of Moab.” As here the subject is a staff which smites, the borders can mean only the sides of the body. Accordingly in this passage also it is more natural to think of the side (Meier) as burnt or roasted by the fire, than the end of the beard [Henderson; corner of the beard], which would inflict no material injury.—And the crown, etc. Numbers 24:17, “and destroy all the children of Sheth,” Sheth has also the meaning of tumult. The children of tumult are homines tumultuosi. The designation corresponds on the one hand to the arrogant character of the Moabites mentioned in vers, 26–30, and on the other hand there seems to be an allusion to Amos 2:2, where it reads “and Moab shall die with tumult.”—Woe unto thee, etc., from Numbers 21:29. Moab is called the people of Chemosh (comp. Jeremiah 48:7) as Israel the people of Jehovah ( Numbers 11:29; Numbers 17:6 Judges 5:11).—For thy sons, etc., Numbers 21:29 : he gives his sons up as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity. It is apparent that the original is softened down. Comp. Genesis 12:15.
Jeremiah 48:47. And I turn … on Moab.—Close of the chapter. Comp. Jeremiah 46:26; Jeremiah 49:6; Jeremiah 49:39.—I turn. Comp. Jeremiah 30:3; Jeremiah 30:18; Jeremiah 33:7; Jeremiah 33:11.—At the end of days. Comp. rems. on Jeremiah 23:20. The expression points to that final period in which the heathen also will be converted to the God of Israel. Comp. Jeremiah 3:17; Isaiah 24:13-16; Isaiah 25:6; Haggai 2:7.—Thus far the judgment. Comp. Jeremiah 48:21; Jeremiah 51:64. With the exception of the latter passage (on which comp. the exeg. rems.) this formula is not found in Jeremiah. It appears to be a later addition.
Footnotes
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. “Because the destruction of the Moabites is of no service to us except for penitence, we must note well what particular sins are specified, of which they were guilty, and for which such heavy punishments were heaped upon them, viz.; 1. Disdain, in that they gave no one a good word, were unfriendly and only blustered and boasted with every one, Psalm 52:3 (1). 2. Confidence in their fortifications, in their power, money and riches, 2 Chronicles 32:8; Isaiah 40:6. 3. Security, all being prosperous and peaceful, which was the sin of their sister Sodom, Ezekiel 16:49; Zephaniah 2:9. 4. Talking great things, and thrasonic self-praise. But although Goliath was such a mighty fellow he had yet to bite the grass, 1 Samuel 17:50. 5. Pride and Arrogance. These never do well, but act with violence and injustice. By violence, injustice and avarice, however, a kingdom passes from one people to another, Sirach 10, 8.” Cramer.
2. On Jeremiah 48:10. “His verb is duo peccata severissime prohibentur. 1. negligentia in operibus vocationis, cui oppositum cap. 39 Sirach 2. misericordia intempestiva ( 2 Timothy 4:2).” Förster.
3. On Jeremiah 48:10, Est ex ore Dei maledictus et impius est hic Qui Domini curat corde dolosus opus.
(MS. marginal note in my copy of the Cramer Bible).
4. On Jeremiah 48:10. God glorifies Himself in such judgments over the malignant and proud powers of the world. He who knows Him is also made strong, so as to see the world perish and yet be able to sing praises to God thereat.” Diedrich.
5. On Jeremiah 48:11. “Moab retained its old character; being far from the traffic of the great world it was well pleased to keep to itself. Yet things cannot continue thus in this world forever, every family and every nation is at some time rudely terrified from its rest, for what is peculiar, natural or national is not in itself the good. This comes here only through conflict and tribulation, and by God’s word among men. One’s own way is full of idolatry, and all idols will in like manner come to shame: the golden calf of the Israelites certainly first, but afterwards Kamosh.” Diedrich.
6. On Jeremiah 48:11. “Hic notetur, quod hac allegoria Jeremiæ nefarie et fanatice abusus circa annum Christi 1664 quidam Martinus Steinbach, vector vinarius sive doliarius Selecestadiensis, qui se esse dictitavit spiritum sanctum incarnatum uti Christus filius incarnatus Esther, hæreseos suæ fundamentum statuens hoc præsens Jeremiæ dictum. Cumque sibi asseclas fecisset circiter viginti ex plebe, obiit et se post mortem appariturum splendors luminis affirmavit. Vide Theatr. Zwingeri Vol. V, L. 4, F. 1328” Förster.
7. On Jeremiah 48:26-27. Proud men rejoice with malicious pleasure when they can treat one, whom they do not like, as a caught thief. But it may happen to them that notwithstanding their age, rank and high dignity, they may yet fall in a truly beastly manner into that which they have themselves vomited, and thus become a laughing stock to the street gamins.
8. On Jeremiah 48:39. “It also comes about that the natural man hangs his head, and at this time believers commonly look up and raise their heads, because their redemption draweth nigh.” Zinzendorf.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. “How many are still like the Moabites? For how many are there of those who depend on their power and violence, their fortified cities and buildings, riches, money and property, and set all their hope and confidence thereupon! How many are there of those who, when they have been some time at peace, become secure and think there is no more trouble from the rising to the setting of the sun! How many of those who rely on their own strength and say, let the enemy come, they area match for him! How many who, when they surpass others in bodily and mental gifts or in perishable goods, become proud and despise, ridicule and treat badly their inferiors, as if they had found such among thieves, as God the Lord here says! Not to mention that even the dear God is not exempted. For although all good and perfect gifts come only from above, from the Father of light ( James 1:17), yet many will not acknowledge this, but ascribe them to their own wisdom and skill, do not thank God for them, and thus make themselves and the outward means, by which they obtain one and another thing, the idol which they serve.” Bibl. Summarien, Halle, 1848.
2. On Jeremiah 48:10. Remissness in the work of the Lord. 1. Wherein it consists (in not doing or doing ill that which is commanded. Comp. Saul in 1 Samuel15, and doing that which is forbidden). 2. Its causes (Selfishness, Pride, Unbelief, Cowardice, Indolence, worldly interests). 3. Its punishment (to be cursed).
[Jeremy Taylor: 1. He that serves God with the body, without the soul, serves God deceitfully2. He that serves God with the soul, without the body, when both can be conjoined, doth the work of the Lord deceitfully3. They are deceitful in the Lord’s work that reserve one faculty for sin, or one sin for themselves, or one action to please their appetite and many for religion4. And they who think God sufficiently served with abstaining from evil, and converse not in the acquisition and pursuit of holy charity and religion.—S. R. A.]
3. On Jeremiah 48:42. The world’s boldness towards God. 1. Whereon it is supported (on the one hand on the real [material] powers apparently standing at its behest alone; on the other hand, on the apparent powerlessness of God’s servants, who have only truth and right on their side). 2. What its end will be (Destruction, or termination of national existence). [Cowles: “If all the historians who record the ultimate extinction of nations were inspired of God to give the true reasons of their fall, we should often meet this testimony, ‘Perished of national pride, producing contempt of God and of fundamental morality.’ ”—S. R. A.]
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