Jeremiah 46 - Introduction
_JEREMIAH PROPHESIETH THE OVERTHROW OF PHARAOH'S ARMY AT EUPHRATES, AND THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY NEBUCHADREZZAR: HE COMFORTETH JACOB IN THEIR CHASTISEMENT._ _Before Christ 606._... [ Continue Reading ]
_JEREMIAH PROPHESIETH THE OVERTHROW OF PHARAOH'S ARMY AT EUPHRATES, AND THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY NEBUCHADREZZAR: HE COMFORTETH JACOB IN THEIR CHASTISEMENT._ _Before Christ 606._... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD, &C.— This title belongs to the five following Chapter s, and refers to the general denunciation of God's judgments upon the countries round about Judaea. These prophesies are evidently arranged out of the order of time; but those who collected the writings of Jeremiah judged proper, as it... [ Continue Reading ]
PHARAOH-NECHO— This prince is remarkable for his attempt to join the Nile to the Red Sea, by cutting a canal from one to the other; though they are above one hundred and eighteen English miles asunder; but after the loss of one hundred and twenty thousand workmen, he was obliged to desist. His first... [ Continue Reading ]
LET NOT THE SWIFT FLEE AWAY— The words imply that it was God's command that none of the Egyptian army should escape. The river Euphrates was northward of Judaea: so Babylon is described as lying northward, being situate upon that river. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 10: cap. 7.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO IS THIS, &C.— The prophet speaks of Necho, and represents the grand preparations which he made to go to the succour of Carchemish. He flattered himself that nothing was capable of resisting the force of his arms. Jeremiah compares him to the inundations of the Nile, and this figure is very frequ... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THIS IS THE DAY OF THE LORD— That is, as it follows, _the day of his vengeance;_ hence _the day of the Lord_ is used in the New Testament to signify the day of judgment: the same phrase of _a sacrifice in the north country,_ (Bozrah) is used by Isaiah, ch. Jeremiah 34:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
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 w... [ Continue Reading ]
THY SHAME— _Thy disgrace._... [ Continue Reading ]
NOPH—TAHPANHES— That is to say, _Memphis —Daphne._... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY ARE THY VALIANT MEN SWEPT AWAY— _Why is the valiant one swept away? He could not stand because the Lord drove him._ The prophet speaks of Pharaoh-necho. Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE MADE MANY TO FALL— _The number of those who fall is increased; lo, each one meets his neighbor, and says, Arise, let us return,_ &c. Houbigant. See chap. Jeremiah 25:38.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY DID CRY THERE, &C.— _They cried there to Pharaoh, king of Egypt; the storm or shock has already passed the appointed time._ Houbigant. See Isaiah 10:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
SURELY, &C.— _Surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come._ Or, _as sure as that Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, it shall come to pass._ The first sense seems preferable: Houbigant explains it thus: "As much as Tabor overtops all other mo... [ Continue Reading ]
EGYPT IS LIKE A VERY FAIR HEIFER— _Egypt is a fair and elegant heifer: the drivers shall come upon her from the north:_ Jeremiah 46:21. _For her hired men, who in the midst of her were like fatted bullocks, have turned back, and fled away._ Houbigant. The prophet delights in that kind of imagery whi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VOICE THEREOF SHALL GO LIKE A SERPENT— _Her voice hisses like a serpent;_ alluding to a wounded serpent, whence the similitude is taken. The LXX make use of the word συριξοντος _sibilantis._ The Chaldee, Vulgate, and other versions have it, shall _sound like brass;_ wherein it is thought by some... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL PUNISH THE MULTITUDE OF NO— _I will punish Ammon of No._ Ezekiel calls it, _Haman No;_ and Nahum calls it _No-Amon._ The name is generally thought to be derived from _Jupiter Ammon,_ whose temple was in this city: supposed to be the same which profane authors call Thebes, celebrated in Homer'... [ Continue Reading ]
FEAR NOT THOU, &C.— The preservation of the Jews through so many ages, and the total destruction of their enemies, are wonderful events; and are made still more wonderful by being signified beforehand by the Spirit of prophesy, as particularly in the passage before us. Their preservation is really o... [ Continue Reading ]