Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 15:8
Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused [him] to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
8. against the mother of the young men ] mg. against the mother and the young men who have fallen in battle. If we may accept an emendation of MT. by Du., we shall read mother and suckling.
at noonday ] i.e. at an unexpected time. Cp. Jer 6:4 with note.
anguish ] The word occurs elsewhere only Hos 9:9, where it is rendered by “the city,” the ordinary sense of the Heb. word, but the reading of MT. there is suspected. Dr. (p. 361) suggests, but with hesitation, a root which would give the sense of excitement, or agitation of alarm.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
8, 9. Co. considers the order of clauses to have suffered dislocation. He inserts “Their widows the seas” after “ confounded” ( Jer 15:9), thus improving both sense and inah rhythm.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Translate, I have brought upon them, even upon the mother of the young man, a spoiler etc. The word rendered young man means a picked warrior. The mother has borne a valiant champion; but neither his prowess nor the numerous offspring of the other can avail to save those who gave them birth; war bereaves both alike.
At noonday – i. e., unexpectedly, as armies used to rest at noon (see Jer 6:4 note).
I have caused him … – Rather, I have brought suddenly upon her, the mother of the young warrior, anguish and terrors.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. The mother of the young men] The metropolis or mother city, Jerusalem.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophet speaking in the name of that God who calleth things that are not as if they were, still continueth his style, speaking of things to come as if present. In Jehoiakims time we read of no such plenty of
widows; they were multiplied when the city was besieged and taken in Zedekiahs time to a great number, hyperbolically compared to the sands of the sea. I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noon-day: there is a great variety amongst interpreters as to their sense of this phrase, about which those that are curious may consult the English Annotations upon this verse. By
the spoiler at noon-day is meant Nebuchadnezzar, in the sense of the best interpreters, who came not like a thief, who cometh by night to rob and to spoil, but with an army in the day time: the question only is about those words
against the mother of the young men. The Hebrew word, which our translation renders young men, is which properly signifieth a choice man, or a person chosen, from the Hebrew verb which signifieth to choose; so as it may as well be translated the mother of the chosen, as the mother of the young men. Because young men are looked upon as the choice men, whether for beauty, or strength and ability for any thing, the word often signifies a young man, Deu 32:25; 2Sa 6:1; Psa 148:12; Son 5:15; Isa 23:4; Eze 9:6, and in many other texts. Some will have the sense, (as in our margin,)
against the mother a young man, meaning by the young man Nebuchadnezzar, and by the mother Jerusalem. The Jews are in the Canticles called the daughters of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem which is above is by the apostle called the mother of us all. The Hebrew word is in the singular number; how we translate it young men I understand not. Pagnine translates it electi, the mother of the chosen. I do think that by the mother is meant Jerusalem, and that populi may be understood to electi. Jerusalem was the mother of the Jewish people, or Judea at least, against whom Nebuchadnezzar the spoiler at noon-day was sent; and we know that the Jews were Gods chosen people. I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city: this last clause is yet more obscure than the other; word for word, as it is in the Hebrew, it is, I have caused to fall upon it suddenly, the city and terrors. The word here used commonly signifies a city in Scripture, and is very rarely translated otherwise. Were it not for the adverb suddenly coming between it and city, the sense were plain, and thus, I will cause to fall upon that city terrors; others read it, I will cause him to fall upon it, terrors upon the city. The word sometimes in Scripture signifies enemies, and is so translated, 1Sa 28:16 Psa 139:20; Dan 4:19. In this signification of the word the sense is plain, I will send upon it the enemy and terrors. The learned author of our English Annotations observes it is translated a watcher, Dan 4:13,23, and thinks the sense may be thus, I have caused it to fall upon them suddenly, a watcher that bringeth terrors; to which purpose he tells us the Chaldean forces are compared to watchers, Jer 4:16,17; 5:6.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Their widowsMy people’s(Jer 15:7).
have broughtpropheticalpast: I will bring.
mother of the youngmen“mother” is collective; after the “widows,”He naturally mentions bereavement of their sons (“young men”),brought on the “mothers” by “the spoiler”; it wasowing to the number of men slain that the “widows” were somany [CALVIN]. Others take”mother,” as in 2Sa20:19, of Jerusalem, the metropolis; “I have brought onthem, against the ‘mother,’ a young spoiler,” namely,Nebuchadnezzar, sent by his father, Nabopolassar, to repulse theEgyptian invaders (2Ki 23:29;2Ki 24:1), and occupy Judea. ButJer 15:7 shows the future, notthe past, is referred to; and “widows” being literal,”mother” is probably so, too.
at noondaythe hottestpart of the day, when military operations were usually suspended;thus it means unexpectedly, answering to the parallel,”suddenly”; openly, as others explain it, will notsuit the parallelism (compare Ps91:6).
itEnglish Versionseems to understand by “it” the mother city, and by “him”the “spoiler”; thus “it” will be parallel to”city.” Rather, “I will cause to fall upon them(the ‘mothers’ about to be bereft of their sons) suddenly anguishand terrors.”
the cityrather, from aroot “heat,” anguish, or consternation. So theSeptuagint.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas,…. Their husbands being slain; not in the times of Ahaz, when a hundred and twenty thousand men were slain in one day in Judah, by Pekah the son of Remaliah, 2Ch 28:6, as Kimchi thinks; but in the times of Zedekiah, at the siege of Jerusalem, and the taking of it, and in the Babylonish captivity before predicted. The children of Israel were to be as the sand of the sea, and were very numerous; and here the widows are said to be so too, their husbands, who were numerous, being dead; and this, as it was of the Lord, so it was in his sight, and according to his counsel and will. Mention is made of “seas”, in the plural, number, there being many in or near Judea, as the Red sea, the sea of Galilee, and the Mediterranean sea:
I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler, at noonday; that is he would bring upon the Jews, against the mother of the young men, or mothers of them; for the young men being destroyed by the spoiler, it was against them; a calamity upon them, and a distress unto them, who have generally a tender concern for them. The Targum is,
“against the company of their young men;”
the Jews; or against Jerusalem, the mother city, the metropolis of the nation, full of young men fit for war: or, “against the mother”, that is, Jerusalem, a “young man” e; meaning Nebuchadnezzar, who came against Jerusalem in the first year of his reign; and, as some say, in the eighteenth year of his age; and who came not as a thief in the night, but as a spoiler at noonday; not in a secret insidious manner, but openly and with force of arms making his way through the land to Jerusalem, in defiance of the Jews, and in the face of them:
and I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly; that is, upon the city of Jerusalem: for though he came openly, his march was quick, and he was presently at Jerusalem, and laid siege to it at once:
and terrors upon the city; or, “city and terrors” f; the city was immediately filled with terrors at the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar and his army. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets it, “an army and terrors”, from
1Sa 28:16, the Babylonian monarch, at the head of his army, which spread terrors where he came. Some render the word, from Da 4:13, “a watcher and terrors” g: meaning the Chaldean army, called watchers, Jer 4:16. The Targum is,
“I will bring an army upon them suddenly, and destroy their cities;”
it should be rendered “alienation of mind and terrors”: from the use of the word, , in the Arabic language h.
e “contra metropolin, juvenem”, Junius Tremellius, De Dieu “contra matrem”, Piscator; “super matrem, juvenem”, Cocceius. f “civitatem et terrores”, Montanus; so Schmidt. g “Vigilem, [vel] vigiles et terrores”, Gataker; “vigilias et terrores”, Coeceius. h Ab “alteravit, mutavit et turbavit”, Golius, Castel. Schindler.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He says first, Multiplied have been his widows; because the men had been almost all kined, in battle. If the Prophet is the speaker, the particle לי li, is redundant, but if the words be referred to God, we know that the people were in such a way under the government of God that he calls the widows his, as he calls the children his who were born Israelites. But in this there is no great importance, only that if we consider God to be speaker the sense will be this, “Behold, it is by no means unknown to me how numerous his widows are: as then I am merciful I have not heedlessly and without reason suffered such slaughters among the people.” The Prophet intended to shew that so great was the obstinacy of the Jews that they struggled against all the judgments of God; and it is a proof of dreadful impiety when men rush on heedlessly and pay no attention to any punishments. And this is what the Prophet means when he says that the widows were multiplied. And he adds, More than the sand of the sea This was surely a strange thing; so many slaughters were presented to their view that their great perverseness might become more evident, and yet he says that they were not moved.
What follows must be applied to God, I have made to come to them, on the troop of youths, a waster (135) This is an explanation of the former clause, as though he had said, “The reason why there are so many widows is, because God has destroyed all the men.” As the Jews might have ascribed this to their enemies, God declares that he was the author of all the slaughters which they had suffered. He then shews that these slaughters were not fortuitous as men suppose who think that fortune prevails mostly in war, for they do not ascribe so much to the wisdom and valor of men as to fortune, being ignorant of the Providence of God. Here then God shews that the whole of the flower of the people had been indeed cut off by the swords of enemies, but that the Chaldeans or the Assyrians had not come of their own accord, or by an impulse of their own, but by a hidden impulse, and that of God, who had resolved to punish that irreclaimable people. This then is the reason why God not only speaks of a waster, but also intimates that the enemies were impelled by his influence, and carried on the war as it were under his banner, authority, and guidance.
He says, at mid-day, even when the Jews might have exercised greater watchfulness. But he shews that he was against them, for they were not taken by the craft of their enemies, as had often been the case, nor were they surprised by secret designs, but their enemies attacked them openly and boldly, even at the time when many of their cities were fortified, and the people thought that they had sufficient defences. As the enemies then dared to assail them in the middle of the day, (for such is the meaning of the Hebrew word) and during the clearest light, it was certainly a fuller proof of God’s vengeance; for under such a circumstance the contrivance and counsel of men were not so evident, but the hand of God, which he stretched forth from heaven as it were in an open and visible manner.
He afterwards adds, And I have cast, or caused to fall, upon them suddenly; some say, the city; others, the enemy; and עיר oir, means a city, and sometimes an enemy; but another explanation seems more probable, that God had sent on them a tumult and terrors, for the word עיר, oir, conms from the verb עור, our, which signifies to excite. It may therefore be taken for tumult, and this sense I prefer, for they who render the word city, are constrained to adopt a forced and far-fetched explanation, “To fall have I made suddenly the city,” that is, cities, “upon them.” There is first a change of number, and then, to fall have I made cities, that is, the ruins of cities, upon them, seems an unnatural phrase; but the sense would be most suitable were we to render the word tumult, for what immediately follows is, and terrors Some however render the word בהלות, belut, adverbially suddenly, and consider that the same thing is said twice. He had said just before, “I have cast upon her suddenly;” but now he says, “hastenings.” Such is the version, but not suitable, for the two words עיר oir, and בהלות, belut, are joined together. I therefore give this simple explanation — that the Jews were suddenly smitten with despair because they thought that their enemies were afar off, and that they had to apprehend no danger. Then it is, suddenly have I sent upon them a tumult and terrors (136) He then adds —
(135) This rendering is the Targum; “the mother (and) the youths,” is the Septuagint; “the mother of a youth,” the Vulgate; “both mother and youths,” the Syriac; “the mother and the youths,” the Arabic, Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, and Gataker take the “mother” for the chief city, the metropolis, and consider the “youth,” or “the chosen one,” to be the “waster,” signifying Nebuchadnezzar, — “And I will bring to them, against the mother-city, a chosen one, a waster at mid-day.” So Blayney substantially, only he renders the verb in the past tense. — Ed.
(136) Trembling and haste, ( σπουδην,)” is the version of the Septuagint; “tumult and trembling,” of the Syriac; “terror and trembling,” of the Arabic; the Vulgate retains only the word “terror.” Various have been the explanations of the word עיר, which Calvin renders “tumult,” consistently with the general tenor of the ancient versions. Gataker renders it “watcher;” Blayney, “enemy;” and others “city;” but the most suitable to the passage is “tumult,” or commotion. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) I have brought . . .Better, I have brought upon them, even upon the mother of the young warrior (i.e., upon the woman who rejoices most in her sons heroism), a spoiler at noon-day, i.e., coming, when least expected, at the hour when most armies rested. (See Note on Jer. 6:4.)
I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly . . .Better, I have brought suddenly upon her (the mother of the previous sentence) travail-pangs (as in Isa. 13:8) and dismay. The Aramaic word for the anguish of childbirth is also the Hebrew word for city, and this has misled translators. The LXX. gives the true meaning.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8, 9. This destruction is so sweeping that widows are increased above the sand of the seas mother of the young men Literally, the young man, the word which is so rendered meaning young warrior. The picked warriors have fallen; so that though she has borne seven sons she is now defenceless against the spoiler.
Noonday When one least looks for an attack.
Caused him to fall upon it Rather, I caused to fall upon her (namely, the mother of the young men) anguish and terrors.
Sun is gone down while yet day Betokening violence and calamity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 15:8. I have brought upon them, against the mother of the young men, &c. Houbigant renders this verse in the future, thus, Their widows shall be increased to me above the land of the sea; and upon the mothers, and upon the young men, will I bring down him who spoileth the southern country: I will oppress them with calamity and sudden terror. We may read the latter part, Against the mother a young, or chosen man; a spoiler at noon-day: I have drawn down upon her suddenly an enemy and terrors.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 15:8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused [him] to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
Ver. 8. The widows are increased to me. ] Or, Before me; or, In my sight.
Above the sands of the seas.
A spoiler at noon day.
And terrors upon the city.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
above, &c. Figure of speech Hyperbole.
the sand of the seas. Figure of speech Paroemia.
young men: choice ones, or warriors.
him to fall upon it . . . and terrors upon the city = I have let fall upon her (the mother), suddenly, anguish and terror. To this, one MS. (Harley, 5720, British Museum) adds: “Woe unto us! for the day declineth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out”, as in Ch. Jer 6:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
widows: Isa 3:25, Isa 3:26, Isa 4:1
the mother: etc. or, the mother city a young man spoiling, etc. or, the mother and the young men. a spoiler. Jer 4:16, Jer 5:6, Jer 6:4, Jer 6:5, Luk 21:35
Reciprocal: Exo 22:24 – your wives Lev 26:16 – terror 1Sa 13:5 – as the sand 2Ch 36:17 – he brought Jer 6:26 – for the Jer 15:13 – substance Jer 18:21 – let their wives Jer 48:8 – the spoiler Jer 49:5 – I will Hos 4:5 – and the prophet Hab 1:9 – they shall gather Zep 2:4 – at
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 15:8. Widows are increased is a prediction that more married men would be slain by the enemy thus leaving more widows in the land. Have brought is past tense in form but is a prediction that God will bring a foreign nation upon his people, and that even mothers with young children will not be spared. Spoiler at noonday. The last word should be considered in the light of the word suddenly later on in the verse. An army generally puts forth its greatest exertions when the heat of the day is past. But this rav- ager is going to be so intent on ruining the country that lie will not wait but will attack without, warning.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 15:8. Their widows are increased above the sand of the seas A hyperbolical expression. The prophet still speaks of things to come as if present. In Jehoiakims time we read of no great number of widows, but they were exceedingly multiplied when the city was besieged and taken in Zedekiahs time. I have brought upon them against the mother, &c. Blaney renders this and the next clause, I have brought against their mother a chosen one, spoiling at noon-day; I have caused to fall upon her suddenly an enemy and terrors. By the mother here we are to understand Jerusalem, the mother-city, as she is termed in the margin, against which Nebuchadnezzar, the spoiler, was sent, and who came, not secretly, as a thief by night, but openly, with an army at noon-day. Nebuchadnezzar might be called a chosen one, says Blaney, as being selected by God to be the instrument and executioner of his vengeance. In the margin of our Bibles, is rendered a young man; and this also would very properly characterize the same person. For Josephus (Contra Apion, lib. 1.) cites from Berosus, the Chaldean historian, a passage to the following purport: that Nabopollassar, king of Babylon, hearing that the provinces of Egypt, Clo-Syria, and Phnice had revolted, and being himself infirm through age, sent a part of his forces under his son Nebuchadnezzar, then in the prime of youth, , by whom those provinces were again reduced. This was the expedition said to have been undertaken by him in the third year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, in the course of which, after having first defeated the Egyptian army at Carchemish, he laid siege to Jerusalem, took and plundered it, carrying away much spoil and many captives to Babylon. See Jer 46:2; Dan 1:1-3; 2Ki 24:1.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:8 Their widows {g} are multiplied to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused [him] to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
(g) Because I had slain their husbands.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
So many young men of military age would die that the land would be full of widows who would mourn the deaths of their sons (cf. 2Ch 28:6). This judgment would constitute a setback in the promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants as the sand of the sea (Gen 22:17).