Jeremiah 46:11

Go up into Gilead, &c.— The practice of physic was one of the chief arts in Egypt, wherein every distinct distemper had its peculiar physician, who confined himself to the study and care of that alone; so that every family in the city must needs swarm with the faculty. It was this circumstance for which the Egyptian nation was peculiarly distinguished, not only by the earliest Greek writers, but likewise by the holy prophets. This passage is remarkable; the prophet foretelling the overthrow of Pharaoh's army at the Euphrates, describes Egypt by this characteristic of her skill in medicine; In vain shalt thou use many medicines. Gilead was famous for producing the celebrated balm of that name. In allusion to the practice of going thither for relief in dangerous cases, the prophet ironically advises the Egyptians to have recourse to this sovereign remedy, importing that all their methods of escaping the impending destruction would be in vain. See Div. Legat. vol. 3: and Lowth.