Jeremiah 46

Jer 46:1-28.

THE

PROPHECIES,

FORTY-SIXTH THROUGH

FIFTY-SECOND

CHAPTERS,

REFER TO

FOREIGN

PEOPLES.

He begins with Egypt, being the country to which he had been removed.

The forty-sixth chapter contains two prophecies concerning it: the

discomfiture of Pharaoh-necho at Carchemish by Nebuchadnezzar, and the

long subsequent conquest of Egypt by the same king; also the

preservation of the Jews

(Jer 46:27, 28).

1. General heading of the next six chapters of prophecies concerning

the Gentiles; the prophecies are arranged according to nations, not by

the dates.

2. Inscription of the first prophecy.

Pharaoh-necho--He, when going against Carchemish (Cercusium, near

the Euphrates), encountered Josiah, king of Judah

(the ally of Assyria), at Megiddo, and slew him there

(2Ki 23:29;

2Ch 35:20-24);

but he was four years subsequently overcome at Carchemish, by

Nebuchadnezzar, as is foretold here; and lost all the territory which

had been subject to the Pharaohs west of the Euphrates, and between it

and the Nile. The prediction would mitigate the Jews' grief for Josiah,

and show his death was not to be unavenged

(2Ki 24:7).

He is famed as having fitted out a fleet of discovery from the Red Sea,

which doubled the Cape of Good Hope and returned to Egypt by the

Mediterranean.

3. Derisive summons to battle. With all your mighty preparation for

the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, when ye come to the encounter, ye shall

be "dismayed"

(Jer 46:5).

Your mighty threats shall end in nothing.

buckler--smaller, and carried by the light-armed cavalry.

shield--of larger size, and carried by the heavily armed infantry.

4. Harness the horses--namely, to the war chariots, for which Egypt

was famed

(Ex 14:7; 15:4).

get up, ye horsemen--get up into the chariots. MAURER, because of the parallel "horses," translates,

"Mount the steeds." But it is rather describing the successive

steps in equipping the war chariots; first harness the horses to

them, then let the horsemen mount them.

brigandines--cuirasses, or coats of mail.

5. (See on

Jer 46:3).

The language of astonishment, that an army so well equipped should be

driven back in "dismay." The prophet sees this in prophetic vision.

fled apace--literally, "fled a flight," that is, flee precipitately.

look not back--They do not even dare to look back at their pursuers.

6. Let not--equivalent to the strongest negation. Let not any of

the Egyptian warriors think to escape by swiftness or by might.

toward the north--that is, in respect to Egypt or Judea. In the

northward region, by the Euphrates (see

Jer 46:2).

7. as a flood--

(Jer 47:2;

Isa 8:7, 8;

Da 11:22).

The figure is appropriate in addressing Egyptians, as the Nile, their

great river, yearly overspreads their lands with a turbid, muddy flood.

So their army, swelling with arrogance, shall overspread the region

south of Euphrates; but it, like the Nile, shall retreat as fast as it

advanced.

8. Answer to the question in

Jer 46:7.

waters . . . moved like the rivers--The rise of the Nile is gentle;

but at the mouth it, unlike most rivers, is much agitated, owing to the

sandbanks impeding its course, and so it rushes into the sea like a

cataract.

9. Ironical exhortation, as in

Jer 46:3.

The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from

animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary

soldiers.

Ethiopians--Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia.

Libyans--Phut, Mauritania, west of Egypt (compare

Ge 10:6).

shield--The Libyans borrowed from Egypt the use of the long shield

extending to the feet

[XENOPHON, Cyropædia, 6 and 7].

Lydians--not the Lydians west of Asia Minor

(Ge 10:22;

Eze 30:5),

but the Ludim, an African nation descended from Egypt (Mizraim)

(Ge 10:13;

Eze 30:5;

Na 3:9).

handle and bend the bow--The employment of two verbs expresses

the manner of bending the bow, namely, the foot being pressed on the

center, and the hands holding the ends of it.

10. vengeance--for the slaughter of Josiah

(2Ki 23:29).

sword shall devour . . . be . . . drunk--poetical personification

(De 32:42).

a sacrifice--

(Isa 34:6;

Eze 39:17).

The slaughter of the Egyptians is represented as a sacrifice to satiate

His righteous vengeance.

11. Gilead . . . balm--(See on

Jer 8:22);

namely, for curing the wounds; but no medicine will avail, so desperate

shall be the slaughter.

virgin--Egypt is so called on account of her effeminate luxury, and

as having never yet been brought under foreign yoke.

thou shalt not be cured--literally, "there shall be no cure for thee"

(Jer 30:13;

Eze 30:21).

Not that the kingdom of Egypt should cease to exist, but it should not

recover its former strength; the blow should be irretrievable.

12. mighty . . . stumbled against . . . mighty . . . fallen both

together--Their very multitude shall prove an impediment in their

confused flight, one treading on the other.

13-26. Prophecy of the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which

took place sixteen years after the taking of Jerusalem. Having spent

thirteen years in the siege of Tyre, and having obtained nothing for his

pains, he is promised by God Egypt for his reward in humbling Tyre

(Eze 29:17-20; 30:1-31:18).

The intestine commotions between Amasis and Pharaoh-hophra prepared his

way (compare Note, see on

Isa 19:1,

&c.).

14. Declare . . . publish--as if giving sentence from a tribunal.

Migdol . . . Noph . . . Tahpanhes--east, south, and north. He mentions

the three other quarters, but omits the west, because the Chaldeans did

not advance thither. These cities, too, were the best known to the

Jews, as being in their direction.

sword shall devour round about thee--namely, the Syrians, Jews,

Moabites, and Ammonites (see on

Jer 48:1).

The exhortation is ironical, as in

Jer 46:4, 9.

15. thy valiant men--manuscripts, the Septuagint, and

Vulgate read, "thy valiant one," Apis, the bull-shaped Egyptian

idol worshipped at Noph or Memphis. The contrast thus is between the

palpable impotence of the idol and the might attributed to it by

the worshippers. The Hebrew term, "strong," or "valiant," is

applied to bulls

(Ps 22:12).

Cambyses in his invasion of Egypt destroyed the sacred bull.

drive them--(Compare

Jer 46:5).

The Hebrew word is used of a sweeping rain

(Pr 28:3).

16. He--Jehovah.

made many to fall--literally, "multiplied the faller," that is,

fallers.

one fell upon another--

(Jer 46:6, 12):

even before the enemy strikes them

(Le 26:37).

let us go again to our own people--the language of the confederates

and mercenaries, exhorting one another to desert the Egyptian standard,

and return to their respective homes

(Jer 46:9, 21).

from the oppressing sword--from the cruel sword, namely, of the

Chaldeans (compare

Jer 25:38).

17. there--in their own country severally, the foreign soldiers

(Jer 46:16)

cry, "Pharaoh is," &c.

but a noise--He threatens great things, but when the need arises, he

does nothing. His threats are mere "noise" (compare

1Co 13:1).

MAURER translates, "is ruined," literally

(in appropriate abruptness of language), "Pharaoh, king . . .

ruin." The context favors English Version. His vauntings

of what he would do when the time of battle should come have proved to

be empty sounds; he hath passed the time appointed (namely, for

battle with the Chaldeans).

18. As the mountains Tabor and Carmel tower high above the other

hills of Palestine, so Nebuchadnezzar

(Jer 46:26)

when he comes shall prove himself superior to all his foes. Carmel

forms a bold promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean. Tabor is

the higher of the two; therefore it is said to be "among the

mountains"; and Carmel "by the sea."

the King . . . Lord of hosts--

(Jer 48:15);

in contrast to "Pharaoh king of Egypt . . . but a noise"

(Jer 46:17).

God the true "King . . . the Lord of hosts,"

shall cause Nebuchadnezzar to come. Whereas Pharaoh shall not come to

battle at the time appointed, notwithstanding his boasts,

Nebuchadnezzar shall come according to the prediction of the

King, who has all hosts in His power, however ye

Egyptians may despise the prediction.

19. furnish thyself--literally, "make for thyself vessels" (namely,

to contain food and other necessaries for the journey) for captivity.

daughter--so in

Jer 46:11.

dwelling in Egypt--that is, the inhabitants of Egypt, the

Egyptians, represented as the daughter of Egypt

(Jer 48:18;

2Ki 19:21).

"Dwelling" implies that they thought themselves to be securely fixed in

their habitations beyond the reach of invasion.

20. heifer--wanton, like a fat, untamed heifer

(Ho 10:11).

Appropriate to Egypt, where Apis was worshipped under the form of a fair

bull marked with spots.

destruction--that is, a destroyer: Nebuchadnezzar. Vulgate translates, "a goader," answering to the metaphor, "one who will

goad the heifer" and tame her. The Arabic idiom favors this

[ROSENMULLER].

cometh . . . cometh--The repetition implies, it cometh surely and

quickly

(Ps 96:13).

out of the north--(See on

Jer 1:14;

Jer 47:2).

21. Translate, "Also her hired men (mercenary soldiers,

Jer 46:9, 16),

who are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, even they also are

turned back," that is, shall turn their backs to flee. The same image,

"heifer . . . bullocks"

(Jer 46:20, 21),

is applied to Egypt's foreign mercenaries, as to herself.

Pampered with the luxuries of Egypt, they become as enervated for

battle as the natives themselves.

22. The cry of Egypt when invaded shall be like the hissing of a

serpent roused by the woodcutters from its lair. No longer shall she

loudly roar like a heifer, but with a low murmur of fear, as a serpent

hissing.

with axes--the Scythian mode of armor. The Chaldeans shall come with

such confidence as if not about to have to fight with soldiers, but

merely to cut down trees offering no resistance.

23. her forest--

(Isa 10:34).

though it cannot be searched--They cut down her forest, dense and

unsearchable

(Job 5:9; 9:10; 36:26)

as it may seem: referring to the thickly set cities of Egypt, which

were at that time a thousand and twenty. The Hebrew particle is

properly, "for," "because."

because--the reason why the Chaldeans shall be able to cut down so

dense a forest of cities as Egypt: they themselves are countless in

numbers.

grasshoppers--locusts

(Jud 6:5).

25. multitude--Hebrew, "Amon"

(Na 3:8,

Margin, "No-Ammon"), the same as Thebes or Diospolis in Upper

Egypt, where Jupiter Ammon had his famous temple. In English

Version, "multitude" answers to "populous No"

(Na 3:8;

Eze 30:15).

The reference to "their gods" which follows, makes the

translation more likely, "Ammon of No," that is, No and her idol

Ammon; so the Chaldee Version. So called either from Ham, the

son of Noah; or, the "nourisher," as the word means.

their kings--the kings of the nations in league with Egypt.

26. afterward . . . inhabited--Under Cyrus forty years after the

conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, it threw off the Babylonian yoke

but has never regained its former prowess

(Jer 46:11;

Eze 29:11-15).

27, 28. Repeated from

Jer 30:10, 11.

When the Church (and literal Israel) might seem utterly consumed, there

still remains hidden hope, because God, as it were, raises His people

from the dead

(Ro 11:15).

Whereas the godless "nations" are consumed even though they survive, as

are the Egyptians after their overthrow; because they are radically

accursed and doomed [CALVIN].