Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 46:13
The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come [and] smite the land of Egypt.
13 26. See introd. note to the ch. and summary. Gi. rejects as later all that follows Jer 46:12 as involving repetitions, looseness of structure, and vagueness in style, criticisms which (see note on Jer 46:2-12) he also brings to bear on the earlier part of the ch. Co. on the other hand fully accepts this later portion. Even if it be genuine, we cannot be certain of the date. It may belong to the fourth year of Jehoiakim, or to Jeremiah’s residence in Egypt, when (see Jer 43:8-13) the Babylonian invader was expected. See further on Jer 46:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A new prophecy, foretelling the successful invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, has been appended to the hymn of triumph, because they both relate to the same kingdom. This prophecy was probably spoken in Egypt to warn the Jews there, that the country which they were so obstinately determined to make their refuge would share the fate of their native land.
How … should come – Or, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. How Nebuchadrezzar – should come and smite the land of Egypt.] See on Jer 44:29; Jer 44:30. This was after Amasis had driven Pharaoh-necho into Upper Egypt. See Jer 44:30.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A revelation different from the former in this, that the former only foretold the overthrow of the king of Egypt in a particular battle in Carchemish near Euphrates, of which we read that the thing was done, 2Ki 24:7. This foretells the king of Babylons overrunning all the land of Egypt, and was not fulfilled till some years after Zedekiah was carried away captive, but prophesied of Jer 43:10; 44:30, to come to pass in the time of Pharaoh-hophra, as we heard before, and more largely foretold by the prophet Ezekiel, Eze 29; Eze 30; Eze 32, to happen after the overthrow of Tyrus, Eze 29:18,19.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13-26. Prophecy of the invasionof Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which took place sixteen years after thetaking of Jerusalem. Having spent thirteen years in the siege ofTyre, and having obtained nothing for his pains, he is promised byGod Egypt for his reward in humbling Tyre (Eze 29:17-20;Eze 30:1-31). The intestinecommotions between Amasis and Pharaoh-hophra prepared his way(compare Note, see on Isa 19:1,&c.).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet,…. This is a new and distinct prophecy from the former, though concerning Egypt as that; but in this they differ; the former prophecy respects only the overthrow of the Egyptian army at a certain place; this latter the general destruction of the land; and was fulfilled some years after the other; Jarchi says, according to their chronicles g, in the twenty seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign:
how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come; or, “concerning the coming h of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon”,
to smite the land of Egypt; who was to come, and did come, out of his country, into the land of Egypt, to smite the inhabitants of it with the sword, take their cities, plunder them of their substance, and make them tributary to him.
g Seder Olam Rabba, c. 26. p. 77. h “de venturo Nebuchadretzare”, Junius Tremellius “de adventu Nebuchadretsaris”, Calvin, Munster, Piscator; “de veniendo”, Vatablus, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The second prophecy regarding Egypt, with a message for Israel attached to it, was uttered after the preceding. This is evident even from the superscription, Jer 46:13: “The word which Jahveh spake to Jeremiah the prophet of the coming of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt.” The formula, “The word which,” etc., agrees with that in Jer 50:1; and , in contrast with , the word usually met with in headings, perhaps means that this prophecy, like that concerning Babylon, was not uttered in public by Jeremiah, but only written down. is used in reference to the coming of Nebuchadrezzar to smite the land. Graf puts down this heading as an addition, not made till a late edition of the prophecies was brought out, and even then added through a mistake on the part of the compiler. In support of this, he urges that the announcement in Jer 46:14-26 does not form an independent prophecy, but merely constitutes the second portion of the description given in Jer 46:3-12 of the defeat of the Egyptians. But the ground assigned for this view, viz., that if this prophecy formed a separate and distinct piece, written at another time, then Jeremiah would have predicted the conquest of the other countries, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, etc., in consequence of the battle of Carchemish; and as regards Egypt, would have contented himself with a triumphal song over its fall – which is in itself unlikely: this argument is utterly null. It has no meaning whatever; for Jer 46:3-12 contain, not a triumphal song over a defeat that had already taken place, but a prophecy regarding the defeat about to take place. To this the prophet added a second prophecy, in which he once more announces beforehand to Egypt that it shall be conquered. In this way, more is foretold regarding Egypt than the neighbouring countries, because Egypt was of much greater consequence, in relation to the theocracy, than Philistia, Moab, etc. According to the superscription, this second prophecy refers to the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar. According to Jer 37:5, this did not take place so long as Zedekiah was king; and according to Jer 43:8., it was foretold by Jeremiah, after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Jews were fleeing to Egypt after the murder of Gedaliah. From this, one might conclude, with Ngelsbach, that the piece now before us is contemporaneous with Jer 43:8. But this inference is not a valid one. The threat uttered in Jer 43:8. of a conquest to befall Egypt had a special occasion of its own, and we cannot well regard it in any other light than as a repetition of the prophecy now before us, for the Jews; for its contents seem to show that it was composed not long after that in Jer 46:3-12, or soon after the defeat of the Egyptians at Carchemish. This address also falls into two strophes, Jer 46:14-19 and Jer 46:20-26, while Jer 46:27, Jer 46:28 form an additional message for Israel. The line of thought is this: Egypt may arm herself as she chooses, but her power shall fall, and her auxiliaries shall flee (Jer 46:14-16). Pharaoh’s fall is certain; the enemy shall come in force, and turn all Egypt into a desert (Jer 46:17-19). The destroyer comes from the north, the mercenaries flee, and the enemy hews down countless hosts of men like trees in a forest (Jer 46:20-23). Egypt will be given into the hand of the people out of the north; for Jahveh will punish gods, princes, and people, and deliver up Egypt to the king of Babylon. But afterwards, Egypt will again be inhabited as it was before (Jer 46:24-26). On the other hand, Israel need fear nothing, for their God will lead them back out of their captivity (Jer 46:27, Jer 46:28).
Jer 46:14 “Tell ye it in Egypt, and make it to be heard in Migdol, and make it be heard in Noph and Tahpanhes: say, Stand firm, and prepare thee; for the sword hath devoured around thee. Jer 46:15. Why hath thy strong one been swept away? he stood not, for Jahveh pushed him down. Jer 46:16. He made many stumble, yea, one fell on another; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from before the oppressing sword. Jer 46:17. They cried there, Pharaoh the king of Egypt is undone; he hath let the appointed time pass. Jer 46:18. As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jahveh of hosts, Surely as Tabor among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, shall he come. Jer 46:19. Prepare thee things for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt: for Noph will become a desolation, and be destroyed by fire, without an inhabitant.”
Like the last prophecy, this one also begins with the summons to arms (Jer 46:14), in order to prepare the way for the description given immediately afterwards of the defeat (Jer 46:15.). The summons to make the proclamation is addressed to some persons not named, who are to announce through the country, particularly in the frontier towns and in the northern capital of Egypt, that the foe, in his devastating career, has advanced to the borders of the land. This is evident from the clause which states the reason: “The sword hath devoured what lay round thee.” Regarding Migdol, i.e., Magdolos, and Tahpanhes, i.e., Daphne, the two frontier towns in the north, and Noph, i.e., Memphis, the northern capital of the kingdom, see on Jer 2:16 and 54:1. , to take up one’s position for the fight; cf. Jer 46:4. , “thy surroundings,” are the frontier countries, but especially those on the north, – Judah, Philistia, Edom, – since the enemy comes from the north. However, we cannot with certainty infer from this, that by that time the kingdom of Judah had already fallen, and Jerusalem been laid waste. Immediately after Necho had been vanquished at the Euphrates, Nebuchadnezzar marched after the fugitive foe, pursuing him as far as the borders of Egypt; hence we read, in 2Ki 24:7, “The king of Egypt went no more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates.” Even at that time, in the fourth and fifth years of Jehoiakim, it could be said, “His sword hath devoured the countries contiguous to Egypt.” And Nebuchadnezzar was prevented on that occasion from advancing farther, and penetrating into Egypt itself, only by hearing of his father’s death at Babylon, in consequence of which he was compelled to return to Babylon as speedily as possible, for the purpose of assuming the reins of government, and to let his army with the prisoners follow him at their leisure (Berosus in Josephus, contra Ap. i. 19).
Jer 46:15 The prophet in spirit looks on the power of Egypt as already broken. This is shown by the question of astonishment, , which has been variously rendered. .deredn e r ylsuo i rav neeb sa , “strong ones,” is used in Jer 8:16; Jer 47:3, and Jer 50:11, of stallions, but elsewhere as an epithet of bulls, especially the strong bulls of Bashan; see on Jer 8:16. In the present passage the reference may be to the mighty men of war, who do not maintain their position (Chald. and most of the old interpreters); the verb in the singular forms no sufficient objection to this view, the irregularity being due to the fact that the verb precedes its subject see Ewald, 316, t; Gesenius, 147]. It is more difficult to combine with this the singulars of the verbs and which follow; these, and especially the suffix in the singular, appear to indicate that really refers to a noun in the singular. But the form of this noun seems against such a view; for the words adduced in support of the position that singular nouns sometimes assume plural suffixes, are insufficient for the purpose: thus, , Psa 9:15, and , Eze 35:11, are plainly nouns in the singular. And in support of the averment that, in pausal forms with Segol, the is a mere mater lectionis , only , Pro 6:1, can be adduced: the other instances brought forward by Hitzig fail to establish his position. For , Deu 28:48, may be plural; , Gen 16:5, is far from being a case in point, for the preposition often takes plural suffixes; and even in the case of , Psa 16:10, the is marked in the Qeri as superfluous; most codices, too, rather give the form . But even in the verse now before us, many codices, according to Kennicott and de Rossi, read , so that the word should perhaps be taken as a singular. The singulars, however, which occur in the following clauses do not form conclusive proofs of this, since they may be taken in a distributive sense; and more generally the address often suddenly changes from the plural to the singular. In connection with the possibility of taking as a singular, the paraphrase of the lxx deserves mention and consideration, , to which a gloss adds But we cannot agree with Kennicott, J. D. Michaelis, Ewald, Hitzig, Graf, and Ngelsbach, in holding this as certainly the correct rendering; nor can we give to the sense of “bull,” for this meaning is not made out for the singular simply because the plural is used of strong bulls: this holds especially in Jeremiah, who constantly applies the plural to strong steeds. Still less ground is there for appealing to the fact that Jahveh is repeatedly called or , Gen 49:24, Isa 1:24; Isa 39:1-8:26 etc.; for this epithet of Jahveh (who shows Himself in or towards Israel as the Mighty One) cannot be applied to the helpless images of Apis. In Psa 68:31, means “strong ones” – bulls as emblems of kings. If the word be used here with such a reference, it may be singular or plural. In the former case it would mean the king; in the latter, the king with his princes and magnates. Against the application of the word to the images of Apis, there is the fact that Apis, a symbol of Osiris, was neither the only nor the chief god of Egypt, but was worshipped nowhere except in Memphis (Herodotus, ii. 153); hence it was not suited to be the representative of the gods or the power of Egypt, as the context of the present passage requires.
Jer 46:16 As the mighty one of Egypt does not stand, but is thrust down by God, so Jahveh makes many stumble and fall over one another, so that the strangers return to their own home in order to escape the violence of the sword. The subject of is indefinite; the speakers, however, are not merely the hired soldiers or mercenaries (Jer 46:11), or the allied nations (Eze 30:5), but strangers generally, who had been living in Egypt partly for the sake of commerce, partly for other reasons (Hitzig, Graf). As to , see on Jer 25:38.
Jer 46:17-19 In Jer 46:17, “they cry there” is not to be referred to those who fled to their native land; the subject is undefined, and “there” refers to the place where one falls over the other, viz., Egypt. “There they cry, ‘Pharaoh the king of Egypt is , desolation, destruction, ruin:’ ” for this meaning, cf. Jer 25:31; Psa 40:3; the signification “noise, bustle,” is unsuitable here.
(Note: The word has been read by the lxx and the Vulgate as if it had been , , nomen; accordingly the lxx render, (or e’d); Vulgate, vocate nomen Pharaonis regis Aegypti: Tumultum adduxit tempus . This reading is preferred by J. D. Michaelis, Ewald, Hitzig, and Graf, with this difference, that Hitzig and Graf take only as a name. Hence Ewald translates, “They call Pharaoh’s name ‘Noise-which-a-wink-can-hush.’ ” This rendering is decidedly false, for nowhere has the sense of “wink, nod,” not even in Jdg 20:38, where it means an agreement made. For the reading instead of there are no sufficient grounds, although such passages as Jer 20:3 and Isa 30:7 may be adduced in support of the idea obtained by such a change in the word. The translation of the lxx is merely a reproduction of the Hebrew words by Greek letters, and shows that the translator did not know how to interpret them. The Vulgate rendering, tumultum adduxit tempus , is also devoid of meaning. Moreover, these translators have read as the imperative ; if we reject this reading, as all moderns do, then we may also lay no weight on instead of . Besides, the meaning is not materially affected by this reading, for the giving of a name to a person merely expresses what he is or will be.)
The meaning of also is disputed; it is quite inadmissible, however, to join the words with , as Ewald does, for the purpose of making out a name. No suitable meaning can be extracted from them. Neither nor can be the subject of ; the translation given by Schnurrer, “devastation that goes beyond all bounds,” is still more arbitrary than that of Ewald given in the note. Since the Hiphil is never used except with a transitive meaning, the subject can be none else than Pharaoh; and the words must be intended to give the reason for this becoming a desolation: they are thus to be rendered, “he has allowed to pass by,” not “the precise place,” as Rosenmller explains it (“he did not stop in his flight at the place where the army could be gathered again, on the return”), but “the precise time.” The reference, however, is not to the suitable time for action, for self-defence and for driving off the enemy (Grotius, C. B. Michaelis, Maurer, Umbreit), because the word does not mean suitable, convenient time, but appointed time. As Hitzig rightly perceived, the time meant is that within which the desolation might still be averted, and after which the judgment of God fell on him (Isa 10:25; Isa 30:18), – the time of grace which God had vouchsafed to him, so that Nebuchadnezzar did not at once, after the victory at Carchemish, invade and conquer Egypt. Pharaoh let this time pass by; because, instead of seeing in that defeat a judgment from God, he provoked the anger of Nebuchadnezzar by his repeated attacks on the Chaldean power, and brought on the invasion of Egypt by the king of Babylon (see above, p. 354). – In Jer 46:18. there is laid down a more positive foundation for the threat uttered in Jer 46:17. With an oath, the Lord announces the coming of the destroyer into Egypt. Like Tabor, which overtops all the mountains round about, and like Carmel, which looks out over the sea as if it were a watch-tower, so will he come, viz., he from whom proceeds the devastation of Egypt, the king of Babylon. the power of Nebuchadnezzar, in respect of its overshadowing all other kings, forms the point of comparison. Tabor has the form of a truncated cone. Its height is given at 1805 feet above the level of the sea, or 1350 from the surface of the plain below; it far surpasses in height all the hills in the vicinity, ad affords a wide prospect on every side; cf. Robinson’s Phys. Geogr. of Palestine, p. 26f. Carmel stretches out in the form of a long ridge more than three miles wide, till it terminates on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, as a bold, lofty promontory, which rises in an imposing manner at least 500 feet above the sea; cf. Robinson, p. 26f. Then the inhabitants of Egypt will be driven into exile. .e , “vessels of wandering;” outfit for an exile, as in Eze 12:3. “Daughter of Egypt” is not a personification of the country, whose inhabitants are the people, but of the population, which is viewed as the daughter of the country; it stands in apposition to , like , Jer 46:11. For Noph, i.e., Memphis, the capital, is laid waste and burned, so as to lose its inhabitants. With Jer 46:20 begins the second strophe, in which the fate impending on Egypt is still more plainly predicted.
Jer 46:20-26
“Egypt is a very beautiful young heifer; a gadfly from the north comes – comes. Jer 46:21. Her mercenaries, too, in her midst, are like fatted calves; for they also turn their backs, they flee together: they do not stand, for the day of her destruction is some on her, the time of her visitation. Jer 46:22. Its sound is like [that of] the serpent [as it] goes; for they go with an army, and come against her with axes, like hewers of trees. Jer 46:23. They cut down her forest, saith Jahveh, for it is not to be searched; for they are more numerous than locusts, and they cannot be numbered. Jer 46:24. The daughter of Egypt is disgraced; she is given into the hand of the people of the north. Jer 46:25. Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, saith, Behold, I will visit Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, her gods, and her kings; Pharaoh, and all those who trust in him. Jer 46:26. And I will give them into the hand of those who seek their life, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; but afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith Jahveh.”
Jer 46:21 The mercenaries, also, of the daughter of Egypt, well fed, like fatted calves, betake themselves to flight. are “mercenaries,” as distinguished from the allies mentioned in Jer 46:9. It was Carians and Ionians through whom Psammetichus attained the supremacy over all Egypt: these had settled down in of their own, between Bubastis and Pelusium, on both banks of the eastern arm of the Nile (Herodotus, ii. 152, 154), and were very well cared for, since the king relied on them (Herod. ii. 152, 163). Hence the comparison with fatted calves, which, moreover, are co-ordinated with the subject, as is shown by the resumption of the subject in . stands in the middle of the sentence, with an asseverative meaning: “Yea, these also turn their back, they flee together, do not stand; for the day of their destruction is come.” “The day of their destruction” is used as in Jer 18:17. On “the time of their visitation” (which stands in apposition to the preceding expression (cf. Jer 11:23; Jer 23:12: it is not an accusative of time (Graf), for this always expresses the idea of continuance during a space of time.
Jer 46:22-23 In Jer 46:22, Jer 46:23, the annihilation of the power of Egypt is portrayed under another figure. A difficult expression is , “her (viz., that of the daughter of Egypt) voice is like (the voice of) the serpent (which) goes.” must be taken as part of a relative sentence, since this verb is nowhere used of a voice or sound; hence it cannot be so joined here. Ewald, following the of the lxx, would read , “hissing,” instead of , and translates, “it makes a noise like the hissing serpent.” He more fully defines the meaning thus: “Even though Egypt were hidden like a serpent in a thicket, yet it would be heard in its flight, like a nasty serpent hissing fiercely, while it hurries away from the axe of the wood-cutter.” But, apart from the arbitrary change of into (the former word is used in Gen 3:14 of the going, i.e., crawling, of a serpent), Ewald puts into the words an idea altogether foreign to them. The nasty, fierce hissing of the serpent that is forced to flee, is quite unsuitable; for there is no further mention made of the flight of the Egyptians, but Egypt is hewn down like a forest by woodcutters. Moreover, as Graf has already well remarked, Egypt is not compared to a serpent, but only its voice to the voice or hiss of a serpent. For signifies, not merely the voice, but any sound, even the rustling and rattling of leaves (cf. Gen 3:8; Lev 26:36; 2Sa 5:24); hence it may denote the noise caused by a serpent crawling on its belly in the thicket. The comparison, as Graf has correctly observed, is like that in Isa 29:4. There it is the daughter of Zion, but here it is the daughter of Egypt that lies on the ground, deeply humbled; weeping softly and moaning, making a sound like that of a serpent in a moss among fallen leaves, fleeing before the woodcutters.
(Note: The old translators have quite misunderstood these words, and attempted to apply them, each one according to his own fancy, to the enemy. Thus the lxx translate: ( ) , ( for ) , … Chald.: vox collisionis armorum eorum est sicut vox serpentum repentium ; and similarly the Syriac. The Vulgate is: vox ejus quasi aeris ( for ) sonabit, quoniam cum exercitu properabunt et cum securibus venient . The translator of the Vulgate has thus read , and referred the suffix to , which he renders stimulator. Luther follows the Vulgate: “Sie faren daher, das der Harnisch brasselt, und kommen mit Heeres Krafft .” Hitzig also seeks to change the text, after the lxx, turning into , and into . But this alteration disturbs the order of the sentence. Not only in Jer 46:20 and Jer 46:21, but also in Jer 46:23, Jer 46:24, the first clause always treats of Egypt, and what befalls her is only stated in the clauses which follow: so is it in Jer 46:22. Thus the alteration made affords a very trivial result, viz., that the enemy advancing on Egypt march through the very sandy desert between Gaza and Egypt, and make slow progress, like serpents, because they wade through the sand; so that they make their appearance suddenly and unexpectedly.)
Thus she lies on the ground, for the enemy comes in force, with axes like woodcutters, to hew down the forest of men in Egypt. The mention of the axes is occasioned by the comparison of the foe to woodcutters; we are not to think of battle-axes as weapons of the Massagetae, Scythians, Persians, and other nations (Herodotus, i. 215, iv. 70, vii. 64; Xenophon, Cyroped. i. 2, 9). Axes here form the type of murderous weapons generally. On the comparison of a multitude of people to a forest, cf. Jer 21:14; Isa 10:18., Isa 10:33. The clause is referred by L. de Dieu, J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Ngelsbach, etc., to the wood, “for it cannot be explored or penetrated;” thus a road must be made in order to get through it. However, the question is not about the enemy going or marching through Egypt, but about the destruction of Egypt and her powers. Rosenmller and Graf, with Raschi, are more correct in referring the clause to the hostile army, “for it cannot be investigated,” i.e., it is impossible to learn the number of them. It is no great objection to this interpretation that the verb occurs in the singular: this must be retained as it is, since it is not the individual enemies that cannot be searched out, but it is the number of the whole army that cannot be reckoned. On the employment of in the Niphal in connection with the impossibility of counting a multitude, cf. 1Ki 7:47, and the expression in Job 5:9; Job 9:10; 36:36. The clauses which follow, and conclude Jer 46:23, explain the thought further: “more numerous than grasshoppers,” i.e., innumerable.
Jer 46:24-26 In Jer 46:24. the result of the overthrow of Egypt, which has hitherto been set forth in figurative language, is stated in words which describe the exact realities: Egypt will be given up to ignominy, delivered into the power of a people from the north, i.e., the Chaldeans. The Lord of hosts, the Almighty God of Israel, punishes it for its sins. He visits, i.e., punishes, Amon of No, the chief idol of Egypt; Pharaoh, and the land, with all its gods and its kings, and with Pharaoh, all those who place their trust in his power. Words are accumulated for the purpose of showing that the judgment will be one which shall befall the whole land, together with its gods, its rulers, and its inhabitants. First of all is mentioned Amon of No, as in Eze 30:14. is an abbreviation of , i.e., dwelling of Amon, the sacred name of the royal city in Upper Egypt, famous in antiquity, which the Greeks called , or , or it is supposed, after the vulgar Egyptian name Tapet or Tape (Throne or Seat); see on Nah 3:8. Amon – in Greek (Herodotus, ii. 42), (Plutarch, de Is. Ch. 9), (Jamblichus, de myst. 5, 8) – was a sun-god (Amon-R), probably a symbol of the sun as it appears in the spring, in the sign of the Ram; hence he was represented with rams’ horns. By the Greeks he was compared to Jupiter, or Zeus, and named Jupiter Ammon. The chief seat of his worship was Thebes, where he had a temple, with a numerous learned priesthood and a famous oracle (cf. Strabo, xvii. 1. 43; Justin. xi. 11), which Cambyses destroyed (Diodorus, Siculus, Fragm. Lib. x.). Under the expression “kings of Egypt” we are not to include governors or vassal-kings, but all the kings who ever ruled Egypt; for in the judgment now falling on Egypt, all the kings it ever had, together with all its gods, are punished. In the last part of the verse the name of Pharaoh is once more given, for the purpose of attaching to it the words “and all who trust in him;” these are intended for the Jews who expected help from Egypt. The punishment consists in their being all given into the hand of their enemies, namely ( explic.) into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar and his servants. This defeat, however, is not to be the end of the Egyptian kingdom. The threat of judgment concludes, in Jer 46:26, with a promise for the future. “Afterwards, it shall be inhabited, as in the days of yore.” is used in a neuter sense, as in Jer 17:6; Jer 33:16, etc. Since this verb also signifies to settle down, be encamped (Num 24:2), and to lie quiet, to rest, or keep oneself quiet, inactive (Jdg 5:17; Pro 7:11), Hitzig and Graf, with Kimchi, give the explanation: “because the power of Egypt shall be broken, it will keep quiet, and remain at home in its own country, instead of marching forth and fighting other nations, as it has lately begun again to do (Jer 46:7) after centuries of peace.” But although, in support of this view, we are pointed to Eze 29:13, where the restoration of Egypt is predicted, with the further remark, “it will be an abject kingdom,” yet this idea is not contained in the words of our verse. To render by “to keep quiet, be inactive,” does not suit the words “as in the days of old.” In former days, Egypt was neither inactive nor remained at home in peace in its own land. From the remotest antiquity, the Pharaohs made wars, and sought to enlarge their dominions by conquest. Add to this, that we must view the concluding portion of this prophecy in a manner analogous to the closing thought of the prophecies regarding Moab (Jer 48:47), Ammon (Jer 49:6), and Elam (Jer 49:39), where the turning of the captivity in the last times is given in prospect to these nations, and “afterwards,” in Jer 49:6, alternates with “in the latter days” found in Jer 48:47 and Jer 49:39. From this it follows that, in the verse now before us also, it is not the future in general, but the last time, i.e., the Messianic future, that is pointed out; hence does not express the peaceful condition of the land, but its being inhabited, in contrast with its depopulation in the immediate future, in consequence of its inhabitants being killed or carried away. On the fulfilment of this threatening, see p. 351ff.
Jer 46:27-28 A promise for Israel. – Jer 46:27. “But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, nor be dismayed: for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be at rest and secure, and no one shall make him afraid. Jer 46:28. Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, saith Jahveh, for I am with thee; for I will make complete destruction of all the nations whither I have driven thee, but of thee will I not make complete destruction: yet I will correct thee in a proper manner, and I will not leave thee wholly unpunished.” These verses certainly form no integral portion of the prophecy, but an epilogue; yet they are closely connected with the preceding, and are occasioned by the declaration in Jer 46:26, that the Lord, when He visits Pharaoh, shall also visit all those who trust in Him. This word, which is directed to Judah, might be understood to declare that it is Judah chiefly which will share the fate of Egypt. In order to prevent such a misconception, Jeremiah adds a word for Israel, which shows how the true Israel has another destiny to hope for. Their deliverer is Jahveh, their God, who certainly punishes them for their sins, gives them up to the power of the heathen, but will also gather them gain after their dispersion, and then grant them uninterrupted prosperity. This promise of salvation at the close of the announcement of judgment on Egypt is similar to the promise of salvation for Israel inserted in the threat of judgment against Babylon, Jer 50:4-7 and Jer 50:19, Jer 50:20, Jer 51:5-6, Jer 51:10, Jer 51:35-36, Jer 51:45-46, Jer 51:50; and this similarity furnishes a proof in behalf of the genuineness of the verse, which is denied by modern critics. For, although what Ngelsbach remarks is quite correct, viz., that the fall of the kingdom of Babylon, through its conquest by Cyrus, directly brought about the deliverance of Israel, while the same cannot be said regarding the conquest of Egypt, yet even Egypt had a much greater importance, in relation to Judah, than the smaller neighbouring nations, against which the oracles in Jer 47-49 are directed; hence there is no ground for the inference that, because there is nothing said in these three chapters of such a connection between Egypt and Israel, it did not really exist. But when Ngelsbach further asks, “How does this agree with the fact that Jeremiah, on other occasions, while in Egypt, utters only the strongest threats against the Israelites – Jer 42-44?” – there is the ready answer, that the expressions in Jer 42-44 do not apply to the whole covenant people, but only to the rabble of Judah that was ripe for the sentence of destruction, that had fled to Egypt against the will of God. What Hitzig and Graf have further urged in another place against the genuineness of the verses now before us, is scarcely worth mention. The assertion that the verses do not accord with the time of the foregoing prophecy, and rather presuppose the exile, can have weight only with those who priori deny that the prophet could make any prediction. But if Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, distinctly announces not merely the carrying away of Judah to Babylon, but also fixes the duration of the exile at seventy years, then he might well speak at the same time, or later, of the restoration of Israel from their captivity.
But there are two other considerations which support the genuineness of these verses: (1) The fact that Hitzig and Graf are obliged to confess it remains a problem how they came to form a part of the oracle against Egypt. The attempt made by the former writer to solve this problem partly rests on the assumption, already refuted by Graf, that the verses were written by the second Isaiah (on this point, see our remarks at p. 263, note), and partly on a combination of results obtained by criticism, in which even their author has little confidence. But (2) we must also bear in mind the nature of the verses in question. They form a repetition of what we find in Jer 30:10-11, and a repetition, too, quite in the style of Jeremiah, who makes variations in expression. Thus here, in Jer 46:27, is omitted after , perhaps simply because Jer 46:26 concludes with ; again, in Jer 46:20, is repeated with , which is wanting in Jer 30:11. On the other hand, in Jer 30:11, and in Jer 30:11, have been dropped; (Jer 30:11) has been exchanged for . Hence Hitzig has taken the text here to be the better and the original one; and on this he founds the supposition that the verses were first placed here in the text, and were only afterwards, and from this passage, inserted in Jer 30:10-11, where, however, they stand in the best connection, and even for that reason could not be a gloss inserted there. Such are some of the contradictions in which critical scepticism involves itself. We have already given an explanation of these verses under Jer 30.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Judgment of Egypt. | B. C. 608. |
12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together. 13 The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. 15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them. 16 He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath passed the time appointed. 18 As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. 19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north. 21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. 22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. 23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: 26 And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD. 27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
In these verses we have,
I. Confusion and terror spoken to Egypt. The accomplishment of the prediction in the former part of the chapter disabled the Egyptians from making any attempts upon other nations; for what could they do when their army was routed? But still they remained strong at home, and none of their neighbours durst make any attempts upon them. Though the kings of Egypt came no more out of their land (2 Kings xxiv. 7), yet they kept safe and easy in their land; and what would they desire more than peaceably to enjoy their own? One would think all men should be content to do this, and not covet to invade their neighbours. But the measure of Egypt’s iniquity is full, and now they shall not long enjoy their own; those that encroached on others shall not be themselves encroached on. The scope of the prophecy here is to show how the king of Babylon should shortly come and smite the land of Egypt, and bring the war into their own bosoms which they had formerly carried into his borders, v. 13. This was fulfilled by the same hand with the former, even Nebuchadnezzar’s, but many years after, twenty at least, and probably the prediction of it was long after the former prediction, and perhaps much about the same time with that other prediction of the same event which we had ch. xliii. 10.
1. Here is the alarm of war sounded in Egypt, to their great amazement (v. 14), notice given to the country that the enemy is approaching, the sword is devouring round about in the neighbouring countries, and therefore it is time for the Egyptians to put themselves in a posture of defence, to prepare for war, that they may give the enemy a warm reception. This must be proclaimed in all parts of Egypt, particularly in Migdol, Noph, and Tahpanhes, because in these places especially the Jewish refugees, or fugitives rather, had planted themselves, in contempt of God’s command (ch. xliv. 1), and let them hear what a sorry shelter Egypt is likely to be to them.
2. The retreat hereupon of the forces of other nations which the Egyptians had in their pay is here foretold. Some considerable number of those troops, it is probable, were posted upon the frontiers to guard them, where they were beaten off by the invaders and put to flights. Then were the valiant men swept away (v. 15) as with a sweeping rain (it is the word that is used Prov. xxviii. 3); they can none of them stand their ground, because the Lord drives them from their respective posts; he drives them by his terrors; he drives them by enabling the Chaldeans to drive them. It is not possible that those should fix whom the wrath of God chases. He it was (v. 16) that made many to fall, yea, when their day shall come to fall, the enemy needs not throw them down, they shall fall one upon another, every man shall be a stumbling-block to his fellow, to his follower; nay, if God please, they shall be made to fall upon one another, they shall be made to fall upon one another, every man’s sword shall be against his fellow. Her hired men, the troops Egypt has in he service, are indeed in the midst of her like fatted bullocks, lusty men, able bodied and high spirited, who were likely for action and promised to make their part good against the enemy; but they are turned back; their hearts failed them, and, instead of fighting, they have fled away together. How could they withstand their fate when the day of their calamity had come, the day in which God will visit them in wrath? Some think they are compared to fatted bullocks for their luxury; they had wantoned in pleasures, so that they were very unfit for hardships, and therefore turned back and could not stand. In this consternation, (1.) They all made homeward towards their own country (v. 16): They said, “Arise, and let us go again to our own people, where we may be safe from the oppressing sword of the Chaldeans, that bears down all before it.” In times of exigence little confidence is to be put in mercenary troops, that fight purely for pay, and have no interest in theirs whom they fight for. (2.) They exclaimed vehemently against Pharaoh, to whose cowardice or bad management, it is probably, their defeat was owing. When he posted them there upon the borders of his country it is probably that he told them he would within such a time come himself with a gallant army of his own subjects to support them; but he failed them, and, when the enemy advanced, they found they had none to back them, so that they were perfectly abandoned to the fury of the invaders. No marvel then that they quitted their post and deserted the service, crying out, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise (v. 17); he can hector, and talk big of the mighty things he would do, but that is all; he brings nothing to pass. All his promises to those in alliance with him, or that are employed for him, vanish into smoke. He brings not the succours he engaged to bring, or not till it is too late: He has passed the time appointed; he did not keep his word, nor keep his day, and therefore they bid him farewell, they will never serve under him any more. Note, Those that make most noise in any business are frequently but a noise. Great talkers are little doers.
3. The formidable power of the Chaldean army is here described as bearing down all before it. The King of kings, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and before whom the mightiest kings on earth, though gods to us, are but as grasshoppers, he hath said it, he hath sworn it, As I live, saith this king, as Tabor overtops the mountains and Carmel overlooks the sea, so shall the king of Babylon overpower all the force of Egypt, such a command shall he have, such a sway shall he bear, v. 18. He and his army shall come against Egypt with axes, as hewers of wood (v. 22), and the Egyptians shall be no more able to resist them than the tree is to resist the man that comes with an axe to cut it down; so that Egypt shall be felled as a forest is by the hewers of wood, which (if there by many of them, and those well provided with instruments for the purpose) will be done in a little time. Egypt is very populous, full of towns and cities, like a forest, the trees of which cannot be searched or numbered, and very rich, full of hidden treasures, many of which will escape the searching eye of the Chaldean soldiers; but they shall make a great spoil in the country, for they are more than the locusts, that come in vast swarms and overrun a country, devouring every green thing (Joe 1:6; Joe 1:7), so shall the Chaldeans do, for they are innumerable. Note, The Lord of hosts hath numberless hosts at his command.
4. The desolation of Egypt hereby is foretold, and the waste that should be made of that rich country. Egypt is now like a very fair heifer, or calf (v. 20), fat and shining, and not accustomed to the yoke of subjection, wanton as a heifer that is well fed, and very sportful. Some think here is an allusion to Apis, the bull or calf which the Egyptians worshipped, from whom the children of Israel learned to worship the golden calf. Egypt is as fair as a goddess, and adores herself, but destruction comes; cutting up comes (so some read it); it comes out of the north; thence the Chaldean soldiers shall come, as so many butchers or sacrificers, to kill and cut up this fair heifer. (1.) The Egyptians shall be brought down, shall be tamed, and their tune changed: The daughters of Egypt shall be confounded (v. 24), shall be filled with astonishment. Their voice shall go like a serpent, that is, it shall be very low and submissive; they shall not low like a fair heifer, that makes a great noise, but hiss out of their holes like serpents. They shall not dare to make loud complaints of the cruelty of the conquerors, but vent their griefs in silent murmurs. They shall not now, as they used to do, answer roughly, but, with the poor, use entreaties and beg for their lives. (2.) They shall be carried away prisoners into their enemy’s land (v. 19): “O thou daughter! dwelling securely and delicately in Egypt, that fruitful pleasant country, do not think this will last always, but furnish thyself to go into captivity; instead of rich clothes, which will but tempt the enemy to strip thee, get plain and warm clothes; instead of fine shoes, provide strong ones; and inure thyself to hardship, that thou mayest bear it the better.” Note, It concerns us, among all our preparations, to prepare for trouble. We provide for the entertainment of our friends, let us not neglect to provide for the entertainment of our enemies, nor among all our furniture omit furniture for captivity. The Egyptians must prepare to flee; for their cities shall be evacuated. Noph particularly shall be desolate, without an inhabitant, so general shall the slaughter and the captivity be. There are some penalties which, we say, the king and the multitude are exempted from, but here even these are obnoxious: The multitude of No shall be punished: it is called populous No, Nah. iii. 8. Though hand join in hand, yet they shall not escape; nor can any think to go off in the crowd. Be they ever so many, they shall find God will be too many for them. Their kings and all their petty princes shall fall; and their gods too (Jer 43:12; Jer 43:13), their idols and their great men. Those which they call their tutelar deities shall be no protection to them. Pharaoh shall be brought down, and all those that trust in him (v. 25), particularly the Jews that came to sojourn in his country, trusting in him rather than in God. All these shall be delivered into the hands of the northern nations (v. 24), into the hand not only of Nebuchadnezzar that mighty potentate, but into the hands of his servants, according to the curse on Ham’s posterity, of which the Egyptians were, that they should be the servants of servants. These seek their lives, and into their hands they shall be delivered.
5. An intimation is given that in process of time Egypt shall recover itself again (v. 26): Afterwards it shall be inhabited, shall be peopled again, whereas by this destruction it was almost dispeopled. Ezekiel foretels that this should be at the end of forty years, Ezek. xxix. 13. See what changes the nations of the earth are subject to, how they are emptied and increased again; and let not nations that prosper be secure, nor those that for the present are in thraldom despair.
II. Comfort and peace are here spoken to the Israel of God, Jer 46:27; Jer 46:28. Some understand it of those whom the king of Egypt had carried into captivity with Jehoahaz, but we read not of any that were carried away captives with him; it may therefore rather refer to the captives in Babylon, whom God had mercy in store for, or, more generally, to all the people of God, designed for their encouragement in the most difficult times, when the judgments of God are abroad among the nations. We had these words of comfort before, Jer 30:10; Jer 30:11. 1. Let the wicked of the earth tremble, they have cause for it; but fear not thou, O my servant Jacob! and be not dismayed, O Israel! and again, Fear thou not, O Jacob! God would not have his people to be a timorous people. 2. The wicked of the earth shall be put away like dross, not be looked after any more; but God’s people, in order to their being saved, shall be found out and gathered though they be far off, shall be redeemed though they be held fast in captivity, and shall return. 3. The wicked is like the troubled sea when it cannot rest; they flee when none pursues. But Jacob, being at home in God, shall be at rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid; for what time he is afraid he has a God to trust to. 4. The wicked God beholds afar off; but, wherever thou art, O Jacob! I am with thee, a very present help. 5. A full end shall be made of the nations that oppressed God’s Israel, as Egypt and Babylon; but mercy shall be kept in store for the Israel of God: they shall be corrected, but not cast off; the correction shall be in measure, in respect of degree and continuance. Nations have their periods; the Jewish nation itself has come to an end as a nation; but the gospel church, God’s spiritual Israel, still continues, and will to the end of time; in that this promise is to have its full accomplishment, that, though God correct it, he will never make a full end of it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 13-19: THE BABYLONIAN CONQUEST OF EGYPT
1. Jeremiah left no doubt as to the identity of the force that would humble Egypt; it would be led by Nebuchadnezzar, whose service God would use for the punishment of the nation. (vs. 13).
2. A call has gone forth, in vs. 14, for the land of Egypt to stand up in resistance against the invading forces, (comp. 2Sa 23:12).
3. But the morale of the nation is crushed because Apis, her sacred bull, to whom she attributed her strength, has been thrust down by Jehovah, (vs. 15; comp. Psa 22:12).
4. The hired mercenaries of Egypt were so confounded and routed by the Lord that they were ready to flee to the lands of their own nativity, (vs. 16).
5. Pharaoh is characterized by Jeremiah as a noisy, loudmouthed braggart – “King Bombast!” (NEB) – who idly permitted time and opportunity to pass him by, when he might have averted disaster upon both himself and the nation, (vs. 17).
6. The great King, whose name is “Jehovah of hosts”, announces the coming of one (Nebuchadnezzar) who will tower above his contemporaries like Tabor and Carmel above the surrounding hills, (vs. 18).
7. Thus, the Egyptians may as well prepare such things as will be for their comfort on the long journey into exile, (vs. 19; comp. Isa 20:4).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
The former prophecy was respecting the slaughter of the Egyptian army, when Pharaoh came to assist the Assyrians, with whom he was then confederate. But this prophecy extends farther; for Jeremiah declares that the Egyptians themselves would have their turn; for we know even from other Prophets, that punishment had been denounced on them, (and Ezekiel pursues this subject through many chapters,) because they had, by their allurements, deceived the people of God. And God punished them not only for the evils by which they had themselves provoked his wrath, but because they had corrupted the Jews and confirmed them more and more in their obstinacy.
We now then perceive the design of the Prophet: the meaning is, that God, after having executed his judgment on the Israelites and the Jews, would become also the judge of the Egyptians and of other nations. We must further observe, that this prophecy was announced before the city was taken. At the time, then, that the Egyptians were secure, and that the Jews, relying on their aid, thought themselves safe from the violence of Nebuchadnezzar, it was then that this prophecy was delivered. But we see again, that the order of time is not observed as to these prophecies; for he had spoken of the slaughter of the army, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. And it is probable, though the time is not pointed out here, that the destruction of Egypt had then been predicted; for before Jeremiah began to discharge his prophetic office, Isaiah had spoken against Egypt. Ezekiel, also, when an exile in Chaldea, at the same time confirmed the prophecies of Jeremiah, and said many more things against Egypt. We must however remark, that Jeremiah had not once only prophesied of the ruin of Egypt; for after he was forcibly led there, he confirmed, as we have before seen, what he had said previously.
Jeremiah then had predicted what we read here many years before the taking of the city. But as the Jews disregarded what he had said before, he again confirmed it, when he was in Egypt, though it was not without great danger to his life, for he spared neither the king nor the nation.
He then says, that the word came to him respecting the coming of Nebuchadnezzar to smite the land of Egypt Hitherto he has spoken of the punishment which God inflicted on the Egyptians, beyond their own kingdom, on the bank of the Euphrates; but, now he records the punishment of Egypt itself, when Nebuchadnezzar not only went to meet the Egyptians, to drive them from his own borders, but when he made an irruption into their kingdom, and plundered many cities, and so afflicted the whole kingdom, that the Egyptian king afterwards reigned only, as it were, by his permission. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A. The Certainty of Invasion Jer. 46:13-19
TRANSLATION
(13) The word which the LORD spake unto Jeremiah concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar and his smiting of the land of Egypt. (14) Declare in Egypt and publish in Migdol, Memphis and Tahpanhes. Say: Stand forth and prepare yourself; for a sword has devoured round about you. (15) Why did Apis flee, your bull not stand? Because the LORD did drive him. (16) He made many to stumble, yes, they fell upon each other. And they said, Come let us flee unto our people, unto the land of our birth because of the sword of the oppressor. (17) They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is a noise. He has caused the appointed time to pass by. (18) I sware (oracle of the king, the LORD of hosts is His name) that like Tabor among the mountains and Carmel in the sea he shall come. (19) prepare for yourself vessels of exile, O inhabitress, daughter of Egypt; for Memphis shall be a desolation, burned without inhabitant.
COMMENTS
The poem opens with Jeremiah urging that an alarm be sounded in the border towns of Egypt that they might prepare to meet the foe (Jer. 46:14). Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes[374] have been previously mentioned in the book (cf. Jer. 2:16; Jer. 43:7-9), To these cities the Jews had fled after the death of Gedaliah (Jer. 44:1 ff.). Jeremiah had previously warned these Jews of the coming invasion and had predicted that they would perish in the slaughter.
[374] Ezekiel too predicted conflict in Tahpanhes (Eze. 30:18). But Ezekiel seems to be speaking of the Egyptian campaign of the Persian king Cambyses II who conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.
Jer. 46:15 as it is translated in the King James Version is somewhat misleading. Instead of valiant men (KJV) or strong ones (ASV) probably here the translation should be singular: Why has your strong one been swept away?[375] The reference is to Apis, the sacred bull, one of the high gods of the land of Egypt.[376] The mighty one of Egypt cannot stand before the armies of the Mighty One of Israel. Apis shall be thrust down (ASV margin). men the Lord brings Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt he shall demonstrate His superiority to the gods of Egypt. Not only does the Lord thrust down Apis, He causes many of the soldiers of Egypt to fall in battle. The Egyptian troops are thrown into confusion. They stumble over one another in their haste to flee the scene of battle. Jeremiah hears the mercenaries urging one another: Arise, let us go again to our own people and the land of our birth (Jer. 46:16). Being devoid of patriotic feeling, it is natural that these hired soldiers should flee from the doomed country. In their respective countries these mercenaries report the ruin of Egypt and heap ridicule upon Pharaoh. Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a noise, they say. Pharaoh is nothing but a noisy braggart who makes big boasts and promises but cannot make them good. He passed the appointed time. Some take this expression to mean that Pharaoh has let his hour of opportunity go by. That is to say he makes elaborate preparations but never capitalizes upon the opportunity. Another view is that Pharaoh has passed the time appointed in which the Lord commanded him to surrender to Babylon (cf. Jer. 25:14-19). Still another view is that Pharaoh had let the time elapse within which he was called upon by God to reform. The grace period was over. While all of these views of the phrase have something to be said in their behalf, in the opinion of this writer the standard commentaries have really missed the point. The idea here is that every nation has its appointed time for glory and power. That appointed time for Egypt was passed. With this interpretation agrees the apostle Paul when he says that God has appointed the times and seasons of the nations (Act. 17:26). Egypts appointed time has come to an end. Therefore, the Lord swears by an oath that the coming of Nebuchadnezzar is sure and certain. No one shall be able to withstand him for he is the appointed instrument of the Lord. As surely as Mt. Tabor and Mt. Carmel tower over the surrounding landscape in Palestine, so Nebuchadnezzar will tower over Egypt in overpowering splendor and majesty (Jer. 46:18). In view of the certainty of the coming invasion, Jeremiah urges the inhabitants of Egypt to prepare themselves for captivity for their capital city, Noph (Memphis) shall be laid waste (Jer. 46:19).
[375] The Hebrew noun is actually plural but at least three other grammatical features of the verse point to a singular reading. Sixty-five Hebrew manuscripts, the Septuagint and Vulgate translations also reflect a singular reading of the noun.
[376] Just as the Lord is called the Mighty One of Jacob or the Mighty One of Israel (Gen. 49:24; Isa. 1:24; Isa. 49:26 etc.) so in Egypt Apis was called the mighty or strong one.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
II. THE SECOND ORACLE CONCERNING EGYPT Jer. 46:13-26
The second poem concerning Egypt points to an invasion of that land by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 46:13). It is impossible to ascertain the date of this oracle. It could be assigned to almost any period subsequent to Carchemish and prior to the Babylonian invasion of Egypt in 568567 B.C. The general tone of the prophecy seems to point to a period somewhat later than the preceding oracle describes. This oracle seems to reflect a more intimate acquaintance with the land of Egypt (see Jer. 46:14; Jer. 46:25). Probably, therefore, this oracle should be assigned to the period of the prophets sojourn in Egypt.
This poem also is divided into two stanzas. In Jer. 46:16-19 Jeremiah emphasizes the certainty of invasion and in Jer. 46:20-26 he emphasizes the consequences of the invasion. To this oracle is appended a promise to the Judean captives (Jer. 46:27-28).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(13) The word that the Lord spake . . .The opening words clearly point to this as a distinct prophecy from the preceding, pointing to subsequent events, and it was probably delivered much later, possibly in connexion with Jer. 43:10, and placed where it is as belonging to the series of predictions which had Egypt as their subject.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Not be cured The blow is irreparable. PROPHECY AGAINST EGYPT, Jer 46:13-26.
13. Here begins the second prophecy of Egypt. Like the former, it is poetic in form, but differs in that the scene of it is laid in Egypt, and not on the distant Euphrates.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
B). Oracle Concerning Nebuchadrezzar’s Later Penetration Into Egypt Which Will Not However Be Terminal ( Jer 46:13-26 ).
This prophecy here has in mind a much later excursion of Nebuchadrezzar against Egypt (568/7 BC), no doubt angered by Egypt’s constant interference in Palestine. It was not so much a full-scale invasion, as a massive punitive expedition, and it is confirmed by a fragmentary Babylonian inscription.
Nebuchadrezzar threatened the Egyptian border a number of times. He had advanced on Egypt after Carchemish (605/4 BC), but had had to return to Babylon on the death of his father so as to secure his own position. In 604 BC he advanced on Ashkelon (Jer 47:7), something which must have caused tremors in Egypt. He had again advanced with a large army in 601 BC only to fight an indecisive battle on the Egyptian borders with heavy losses on both sides, something which demonstrated the renewed strength of the Egyptians. As a result of the heavy losses on both sides, Nebuchadrezzar withdrew to Babylon in order to regroup, and henceforth Egypt kept to its borders and was left alone (2Ki 24:7). This situation altered when the Egyptian army advanced to provide assistance to Zedekiah in 587 BC, something from which it hastily turned back when it was faced with the Babylonian forces. Whether there was a battle we do not know, but it was certainly an indication of renewed Egyptian interest in Palestine, and of activities which were anti-Babylon. Thus Nebuchadrezzar’s final action against Egypt which is now described was probably in response to later renewed Egyptian activity. It is referred to by Jeremiah in Jer 43:8-13.
Jer 46:13
‘The word that YHWH spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon would come and smite the land of Egypt.’
As previously noted the reference is to Nebuchadrezzar’s later foray on Egypt. The Jews felt safe in Egypt under the protecting hand of Pharaoh. It probably seemed incredible to them that anyone would invade Egypt. But it would happen in accordance with ‘the word of YHWH’.
Jer 46:14
‘Declare you in Egypt, and publish in Migdol,
And publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes,
Say you, “Stand forth, and prepare yourself,
For the sword has devoured round about you.”
The call goes out to the northern cities of Egypt which had received the Jewish refugees (see Jer 44:1 – Noph = Memphis) to prepare for a coming invasion, and for much slaughter. The border defences would prove insufficient to hold back the Babylonians, and they were to experience Nebuchadrezzar’s punitive measures in full as all the areas around them were devastated.
For Migdol see Jer 44:1. For Memphis and Tahpanhes see Jer 2:16; Jer 44:1. What Memphis and Tahpanhes had done to Judah would now rebound on themselves, and because Judah had chosen to settle among them they would have their part in it.
Jer 46:15-17
‘Why are your strong ones swept away?
They stood not, because YHWH drove them.”
He made many to stumble,
Yes, they fell one upon another,
And they said, “Arise, and let us go again to our own people,
And to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
They cried there, “Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise,
He has let the appointed time pass by.”
Once again YHWH’s sovereignty over all nations, even the greatest, is emphasised. The Egyptian mercenaries would find themselves unable to resist the Babylonian invaders. Their most powerful forces would be swept away. And why would this be? It would be because YHWH was on the side of the Babylonians, and was thus forcing the Egyptian mercenaries to flee. The reason that they would not be able to stand would be because it would be YHWH Himself Who drove them onwards, and to such good effect that they would stumble on their way and would even fall over one another in their desire to escape. In consequence they would decide to cease being mercenaries and would return to the countries from which they had come, to their birthplace, to Cush, Put and Lud (Jer 46:9), in order to escape ‘the oppressing sword’.
And as they fled they would mouth their disdain of the one whom they had served as mercenaries, declaring Pharaoh to be but a boaster, ‘a noise’, one who boasted about his own greatness and made claims and promises that he could not fulfil.
‘Why are your strong ones swept away?’ Literally, ‘why is your strong bull swept away?’ This may have in mind reference to the Egyptian bull-god Aphis, as the one to whom the armies of Egypt looked. Herodotus tells us of the slaughter of the sacred bull by Cambyses. But it may simply be seeing the Egyptian mercenary army as being like a strong bull. The two possibilities are not necessarily exclusive.
‘He has let the appointed time pass by.’ In other words, he has let slip his opportunity, he has failed to deliver at the right time, he has proved inept. Perhaps we are to see in this an indication that his failure was due to a missed opportunity at a time when, had he acted, the army of Babylon could have been defeated. Some see it as a reference to his failure to call on the gods of Egypt sufficiently at an appointed festival. But as the whole point behind this prophecy is that the gods of Egypt are nothings who cannot deliver Egypt and can be disregarded, it is unlikely. The point is that all is in the hands of YHWH. It is a reminder that our times are in His hands.
Jer 46:18
“As I live,” the word of the King,
Whose name is YHWH of hosts,
“Surely like Tabor among the mountains,
And like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.”
The Babylonians are also seen as being at YHWH’s disposal. All happens because YHWH is the living God, the Lord of ‘all the Hosts in the world’. YHWH is not just ‘a noise’ like Pharaoh (who was also acclaimed a god). He is the all-powerful living God. Thus all this happens because YHWH is ‘the living God’ and has determined that Nebuchadrezzar will stand out with such prominence that his coming will be unmistakable. Tabor was a prominent eminence in an otherwise flat plain at the east end of the Plain of Jezreel (rising 588 metres/1843 feet above sea level), whilst Carmel was a prominence on the coast of a similar kind (at its highest point 530 metres/1740 feet). Whilst they were by no means the highest mountains in the land they were distinctive and stood out because they were high prominences in what was otherwise flat plain, and not just one among a range of mountains.
Jer 46:19
“O you daughter who dwells in Egypt,
Make preparations for yourself to go into captivity,
For Memphis will become a desolation,
And will be burnt up, without inhabitant.”
The coming devastation of Memphis is emphasised, and the people of Israel/Judah who have taken refuge there and feel totally secure because they ‘dwell in Egypt’ are warned that they have found no safe haven. They are even now to prepare themselves to go into captivity, into exile. Their flight to Egypt will have proved a failure. Memphis will provide no long term security. For reference to Memphis see Jer 2:16; Jer 44:1; Hos 9:6; Isa 19:13; Eze 30:13; Eze 30:16.
The picture of a burning city bereft of inhabitants is a common one, indicating utter devastation. Here Memphis will be the subject of Nebuchadrezzar’s wrath. The city will be systematically burned and its surviving inhabitants will flee or be taken captive.
“O you daughter who dwells in Egypt.” Compare here Jer 4:11; Jer 8:11; Jer 14:17. There is disdain at the thought of YHWH’s daughter being found seeking refuge in Egypt. Rather they should have sought refuge in YHWH and have obeyed His instructions. But they have rather chosen to look to another who can only fail them. Others, however, see ‘daughter’ as referring to the Egyptians. Compare Jer 46:11 and Jer 46:24
Jer 46:20-21
“Egypt is a very fair heifer,
A fly out of the north is come, it is come.”
Also her mercenaries in the midst of her,
Are like calves of the stall,
For they also are turned back,
They are fled away together, they did not stand,
For the day of their calamity is come upon them,
The time of their visitation.”
In likening Egypt to a beautiful heifer Aphis the bull god may again have been in mind, although here a heifer because she has calves. She is seen as a heifer admired by all, contentedly pasturing, along with her calves (the mercenaries), secure in her loveliness. But then, out of the north, along comes the gadfly (the word means one which nips) buzzing around and biting her, causing her and her calves great distress. It is an apt picture of a punitive invasion. And the consequence is that both heifer and calves flee, maddened by the gadfly, unable to cope with what is coming. Compare here Isa 7:18. Note again the idea that it is because it is YHWH’s ‘time’. YHWH is in control of the nations. He controls the history of the world.
46. 22-24
“Their (the Egyptians) sound will go like the (hiss of the) serpent,
For they (the Babylonians) will march with a host,
And come against her with axes,
As hewers of wood.
They will cut down her forest, the word of YHWH,
Though it cannot be explored (i.e. it is dense),
Because they are more than the locusts,
And are innumerable.
The daughter of Egypt will be put to shame (violated),
She will be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.”
The idea behind this picture comes from the experience of woodmen called on to cut down a forest. As they advance to do so snakes will often rear their heads and hiss, but they can then do no more to stem the advance and they thus disappear into the undergrowth.
In the same way at the approach of the Babylonians to cut down their trees in order to make weapons of war, the Egyptians will hiss like the serpent, making a show of resistance before gliding away in flight. For the Babylonians will arrive in large numbers, axes in hand, and will cut down their forest refuge, even though it is so large and dense that it cannot be explored. And this in accordance with the prophetic word of YHWH. What had appeared to be impenetrable will simply be removed. And they will be able to do this because they are more innumerable than a swarm of locusts. All would have been familiar with swarms of locusts, arriving in huge numbers to eat up the land. And just as the locusts ate up the vegetation and trees, so would the Babylonian armies eat up the Egyptian forests in order to turn them into weapons of war.
The picture then changes to that of the people of Egypt as being like a violated woman, who is sexually exposed. Babylon will come and shamefully rape her. She will no longer be a virgin daughter (compare Jer 46:11). She will have been shamefully abused.
Jer 46:25-26
‘YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, says,
“Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh,
And Egypt, with her gods, and her kings,
Even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him,
And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives,
And into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,
And into the hand of his servants,
And afterwards it will be inhabited,
As in the days of old,
The word of YHWH.’
The gods of Egypt, including Pharaoh, are included in the judgment. The great god Amon of Thebes (No) will be helpless to do anything, and will be punished along with Pharaoh and all the other gods and goddesses, and all who trust in them. Egypt will be delivered into the hands of their attackers, into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar and his chief officers. But it is not to be a final end. For Egypt will once more be restored, and inhabited as it was of yore. And this in accordance with the prophetic word of YHWH (neum YHWH). For such a future hope for Egypt see Isa 19:21-25; Eze 29:13-16.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Second Prophecy Against Egypt
v. 13. The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah, the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, should come and smite the land of Egypt, v. 14. Declare ye in Egypt, v. 15. Why are thy valiant men swept away? v. 16. He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another, v. 17. They did cry there, v. 18. As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, v. 19. O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, v. 20. Egypt is like a very fair heifer, v. 21. Also her hired men, v. 22. The voice thereof, v. 23. They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched, v. 24. The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the North, v. 25. The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith, Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, v. 26. and I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; and afterward, v. 27. But fear not thou, O My servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel, v. 28. Fear thou not, O Jacob, My servant, saith the Lord, for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
3. The Second Prophecy Against Egypt
Jer 46:13-26
With an Appendix, Jer 46:27-28
13The word that the Lord [Jehovah] spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how [concerning the coming of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, should come and [to] smite the land of Egypt.
14Proclaim ye it in Egypt and publish it in Migdol,
Publish it also in Noph and Tahpanhes.
Say ye, Stand fast15 and prepare thyself;16
For the sword hath devoured thy neighbors.
15Wherefore is thy bull17 dragged away?
He stood not, for Jehovah thrust him away
16He causeth many to totter;
One also falleth upon another:
And they say, Up! let us return to our own people,
And to the land of our birth, from the murderous sword.
17There they cry:18 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is lost;19
He hath lost the time through neglect!
18As truly as I live, saith the king,
Jehovah Zebaoth is his Name;
As Tabor among the mountains,
And as Carmel by the sea, shall he come.
Make thyself preparations [apparatus] for journeying,
Thou inhabitant, daughter of Egypt;
19For Noph shall become a wilderness,
And destroyed without an inhabitant.
20A finely formed heifer is Egypt;
A gad-fly20 from the north is coming, is coming.21
21Her hirelings also in her midst are like fatted calves
For they also turn and flee away together.
They stand not, for the day of their destruction is come upon them,
The time of their visitation.
22Her sound22 goeth like the sound of serpents;
For with power they advance,
And are come to her with axes as hewers of wood.
23They have cut down her forest, saith Jehovah.
For it is not to be searched;
For they are many, more than the locusts,
And of them there is no number.
24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Delivered into the hand of a people from the North.
25Saith Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel,
Behold, I visit the Amon of No,
And Pharaoh and Egypt, and its gods and its kings,
And Pharaoh and those that trust in him.
26And I give them into the hand of those that seek their lives,
And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
And into the hand of his servants:
And afterwards it shall be inhabited23
As in the days of old, saith Jehovah.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
This prophecy cannot be regarded as an immediate contemporaneous continuation of the previous one. 1. The title announces it as an independent passage. There is not the slightest ground for regarding this as a later addition, for it contains nothing which Jeremiah could not himself have written. 2. In Jer 46:26 Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned by name. Jeremiah never does this before the battle of Carchemish. As now we must assign the passage Jer 46:1-12 to the period immediately before that battle, it follows that the present passage must have originated at a later period. 3. If the superscription in Jer 46:13 expresses nothing with regard to the time of composition, but only states the main purport of the passage, it is yet clear that a prophecy concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar more probably originated at a time in which Jeremiah demonstrably expected this coming than at a time of which we have no trace that the prophet cherished this expectation. The prophet does not express the definite expectation that Nebuchadnezzar will come to Egypt, before Jer 43:8-13. Previously, indeed, we have a general declaration, that Egypt will succumb to him (Jer 15:19; Jer 46:11-12). but none purporting that he will himself enter the country. It is therefore much more probable that this passage is contemporaneous with Jer 43:8-13 than that it belongs to the time of Jer 46:8-12. The reason, which Graf urges against this hypothesis, that Jeremiah there prophesies the conquest of Moab, Edom, Ammon, etc., in consequence of the battle of Carchemish, but with respect to Egypt, had contented himself with a song of triumph over its defeat, is not of weight; for evidently Egypt is the most important of all the countries, against which chh. 4649 contain prophecies. It is hence no matter of surprise, if we have two prophecies against it, of which the first (Jer 46:3-12) treats of the defeat and destruction of Egypt in general (Jer 46:11-12), the second specially of the latter.
This prophecy, like the preceding one, evidently consists of two halves. In the first the Egyptian cities are summoned to equip themselves against the approaching enemy (Jer 46:14); then the thought is expressed, that all, which is great in Egypt, Apis (Jer 46:15) the foreign auxiliaries (Jer 46:16), Pharaoh (Jer 46:17) must bow before the greatness of the Chaldean prince, who approaches like Tabor among the mountains and Carmel in the sea, in order to carry away the Egyptians into captivity (Jer 46:18-19). In the second half the quantitative conception seems to prevail. Egypt is a fair, fat cow, but a gad-fly from the North brings destruction to it (Jer 46:20). Their mercenaries also, who are here compared to fatted calves, flee (Jer 46:21). Egypt is further compared to a forest, in which stand innumerable trees. Yet there is only a hissing like a snako in a thicket, while the enemies proceed to cut down the trees (Jer 46:22-23). Finally it is proclaimed in blunt words, without a figure, that Egypt with its gods, its kings, and all who trust in them, must be given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, but that a time will come, in which Egypt will be inhabited as quietly and undisturbed as of old (Jer 46:24-26). The two halves are distinguished thus: 1. The Egyptian power is described from its intensive and qualitative, in the second from its intensive or quantitative side. 2. The first half closes with the prospect of exile, the second with a consolatory outlook into a distant but happy future.
Jer 46:13. The word Egypt. The superscription is of the larger kind, but in the form which occurs besides only in Jer 45:1 and Jer 50:1. It is indubitable that such a superscription introduces a specifically new passage. The only question is, Who composed this, the prophet himself or a later writer, who had no right to do it? No reasons can be urged against its composition by the prophet, either general or special. The form , both alone and with a second infinitive depending on it, is very common in Jeremiah; it is found more frequently in him than in any other book of the Old Testament. (Comp. Jer 36:5; Jer 40:4; Jer 41:17; Jer 42:15; Jer 42:17; Jer 42:22; Jer 44:12; Jer 48:16). also after a verb. dicendi is Jeremian. Comp. Jer 28:8-9.
Jer 46:14. Proclaim thy neighbors. Egypt is alarmed, before all the boundary-cities. On Migdol, Noph and Tahpanhes, comp. rems. on Jer 2:16; Jer 44:1.Immediate preparations are necessary, since the surrounding countries, the neighbors, have already been devastated by the hostile sword. Comp. Jer 21:14; Jer 48:17; Jer 48:39; Jer 49:5.
Jer 46:15-19. Wherefore without an inhabitant. The three heads of Egypt are Apis, the army consisting of foreigners, and the king. The overthrow of this triad is here described. With respect to the form it is noteworthy that the transition is made with the same turn from the summons to prepare and the description of the defeat as in Jer 46:5.The Apis, which had hitherto in divine majesty enjoyed most undisturbed existence in his temple, is now dragged away like a common ox to the slaughter, and can make no resistance, for it is Jehovah who thrusts him on, as it were, from behind. Num 35:20; Eze 34:21. It is Jehovah, likewise, who causes great defeat among those upon whom the power of Egypt in war depended. Since the time of Psammetichus foreign mercenaries (25:20; Eze 30:5) composed the main strength of the Egyptian forces. (Comp. Duncker, I., S. 922); but they are unable to resist the enemy whom God sends against them. They therefore flee to their homes.Falleth upon another. Comp. Jer 29:9; Jer 29:26.Murderous sword. Comp. rems. on Jer 25:38.The king himself finally, whom the Egyptians adored as an incarnation of the deity (comp. Duncker, I., S. 150, The Egyptians went further in their exaltation of their rulers than any other nation, even according divine worship to their despots) becomes an object of ridicule.Lost the time. These words signify that he has allowed the time to pass by. What time? The gracious respite appointed by Jehovah? Not impossibly. The prophet then places the confession in the mouth of the Egyptians, that they have not followed the advice given them in Jer 25:15 coll. Jer 27:8. In contrast to this humiliation of the Egyptian king the prophet exalts (verse 18) the greatness of the true king, the King of all kings, the Lord of hosts, Jehovah, and that of His chosen servant and instrument (Jer 25:9; Jer 27:6), the king of Babylon. Jehovah, who is called king also in Jer 48:15; Jer 51:57, swears solemnly by Himself (Jer 22:5; Jer 22:24; Jer 44:26), that he, who is not indeed here mentioned by name, but is plainly recognized from the connection, viz. the king of Babylon, will on his expedition to the other kings be as Tabor to the mountains rising to the north of it (comp. Raumer, Pal. S. 37) and will present himself as Carmel seen from the sea, for this looks like a watch-tower westward over the Mediterranean (Raumer, S. 45). In such circumstances should it fare better with Egypt than with Judah? No, the former also cannot escape captivity. He is therefore called upon to prepare himself for this. (comp. Eze 12:3 sqq.) are a very necessary equipment, such as exiles are allowed to take with them. As the capital of Judah was not spared, so the capital of Egypt, Memphis, shall be destroyed (comp. Jer 2:15).
Jer 46:20-23. A finely formed heifer no number. In a new double picture Egypts destruction is here portrayed. These pictures refer, as already remarked, more to the extent and quantity of the Egyptian forces, the first setting forth their volume, the second their numerical strength. Accordingly Egypt is first compared to a state-cow, which is of course to be regarded as well kept. We are involuntarily reminded of Pharaohs fat kine in Gen 41:18. is moreover a young cow, but one which has attained its full vigor, for it may be three years old (Jer 48:34; Isa 15:5; Gen 15:9), give milk (Isa 7:21-22), be already trained (Hos 10:11), draw the plough (Jdg 14:18), but also may still rejoice in the untamed wildness of its life (Jer 31:18).This cow is to be attacked by a gad-fly coming from the north, from whence Jeremiah is accustomed to see the Chaldeans coming (comp. Jer 1:14, etc). [Blayney and Wordsworth find here a probable allusion to the legend of Io, who was transformed into a heifer, and driven by a gad-fly into Egypt, where she was worshipped as Isis. Comp Virg. Georg., III., 147; Ovid, Metam. Lib., I.S. R. A.]
The double is coming portrays the vehemence of the assault. Comp. Eze 7:6; Psa 96:13. The same fulness and breadth are seen in the well-kept mercenaries as in Egypt itself. (Comp. Herod., II. 158; Duncker, I., S. 922). They are fatted calves, and consequently lazy, as is seen in their fleeing instead of fighting.Turn. Comp. rems. on Jer 46:5.Day of destruction. Comp. Deu 32:35; Jer 18:17.Time of visitation. Comp. Jer 10:15; Jer 50:27.In a second picture it is described how the forces of the Egyptians, though so great in number, are overcome. Egypt is in this behalf compared to a forest, which serves for the abode of a serpent. The serpent has retired into a thicket. It is only heard to hiss. Thus the ancient power of Egypt, which led Ezekiel to compare it to a crocodile (Jer 29:3; Jer 32:2), as come to an end. It is only a serpent hissing with impotent rage in a thicket. It no longer attacks nor bites, for it is afraid. There is also reason for this. For the enemies rush upon it with power (, comp. Zec 4:6); they come upon it with axes (comp. Jer 49:9) as hewers of wood. Whether this figure is occasioned by the circumstance that the Persians, Massagetes, and Scythians made use of battle-axes, as Graf supposes, or whether it has no connection with this, must be left undecided.
Jer 46:23. With their axes the enemies hew down the forest, i.e. they kill the warriors, destroy the fortifications and supplies. This forest is not to be otherwise come at, for it is unsearchable, impenetrable. A thin forest may be taken possession of by going through it, but a thick, impenetrable one must be cut down tree by tree. The enemies can do this, for they are more numerous than the locusts.Not to be searched() I would not refer to the enemies, 1. on account of the sing number; 2. because then the same thought would be expressed three times.In the following context the thought of Egypts subjugation is expressed without a figure.
Jer 46:24-26. The daughter saith Jehovah.Put to shame. Comp. Jer 2:26; Jer 6:15; Jer 48:1; Jer 50:2, etc.The God of Israel, who is more powerful than the gods of the Egyptians, declares that He will visit the Amon of No (the highest deity of the Egyptians, comp. Herzog, R.-Enc. I., S. 286, which had its seat in Thebes, hence called , Nah 3:8; comp. 1b. X., S. 392), Pharaoh and the land itself, and further all the other kings (i.e. those entitled to be so) and gods, and finally Pharaoh and the entire mass of those who trust in him as a god. (Comp. rems on Jer 46:17). The style is here very broad and verbose, in order to express the completeness of the destruction. All these shall fall into the hands of those who seek their life (comp. rems, on Jer 44:30), and be given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar and his servants.And afterwards, etc. If we compare on the one hand Jer 46:19, and on the other passages like Jer 48:47; Jer 49:6; Jer 49:39, it appears in the highest degree probable, that here at the close a favorable prospect, is to be opened up to the Egyptians. In the days of old, ancient Thebes, of which no one knows when it was built, was peaceful, unassailed and prosperous. A remembrancer of this condition can be understood only as a word of blessed promise.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
It is acknowledged that these words stand in the original and suitable connection in Jeremiah 30, as well as that they are not necessary to Jeremiah 46, and would not be missed if they were omitted. Still it may be said that every injury befalling the enemies of the theocracy is a corroboration of the latter, and that it cannot be unsuitable also to express in words this mutual relation founded in the nature of the case, the two going constantly hand in hand in chh. 50, 51. (Comp. Jer 50:4-6; Jer 50:17-19; Jer 50:28; Jer 50:33; Jer 51:5-6; Jer 51:10; Jer 51:35; Jer 51:45; Jer 51:50). But the overthrow of the Babylonian kingdom by Cyrus bore the deliverance of Judah immediately in its womb. This can be said of the conquest of Egypt no more than of that of the other small nations against which chh. 4749 are directed. Hence in these three chapters there is no trace of that mutual relation. Why then just here? And how does it agree with the fact that elsewhere in Egypt Jeremiah pronounces only the severest threatenings against the Israelites (chh. 4244)? There is much then that is opposed to the genuineness of the passage, while on the other hand it is easy to suppose that a later seer saw fit to oppose this light to the former shadow. Moreover, as we have said, the words are not absolutely unsuitable here, and we cannot therefore deny the possibility, that Jeremiah, who, as is well known, is very fond of quoting himself, himself felt the need of causing the light of Israel to shine brightly on the dark background of their ancient enemy, Egypt.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Frster states four reasons why the prophets had to proclaim judgment on the heathen nations also. The first is : it is to be known that the prosperity of the heathen is not lasting, but that heathendom has no basis of true prosperity. The second reason is : the pious are not to fear that the heathen will get the upper hand and suppress the church. The third is : Gods people are to guard against forming alliances with the heathen and trusting in their help. The fourth is : a conclusion is to be drawn a minori ad majus: if God does not spare the heathen who are deprived of His light, how much less will He spare His people, if they despise the light of His word.
2. Jeremiahs God is also the Lord of all the heathen and makes their destinies. They find it so according to their words and especially their posture towards the chosen people Israel. They haste to their destruction, for one nation only is eternal; this, however, is the nation which has been passed through a thousand sieves and in comparison with others is no nation. That which is in Israel, as in other nations, passes away, and only that which it has above other nations remains eternal. Jeremiah prophesies most against Egypt, Moab and Babylon, in which the wealth, the jealous, scoffing manner of the mean world, and the cavalier spirit of great states is rebuked. He who rightly understands this sees here not sermons addressed to generations long since passed away, but to the natural humanity streaming through this world, as it is continually presented with new names and yet always with the same carnal impulses and based on the same unreason. To him, who thus understands Jeremiah, he is again alive, and the Jewish legend is fulfilled, that Jeremiah must come again before the Messianic kingdom can bloom up again in glory. Yea, let Jeremiah rise truly for thee to mourn, and Christ, with the hosannas of His eternal hosts of disciples, will not longer be hidden from thee, and in Him thou wilt have all things. Diedrich.
3. On Jer 46:6. The race is not to the swift. Ecc 9:11. Therefore let not the strong man glory in his strength. Jer 9:22. Also are horses and chariots and such like things of no avail: for to those who have not God on their side, all is lost. Cramer.
4. On Jer 46:10. God may long delay His reckoning. This Pharaoh-necho had killed the pious Josiah, conquered his son Jehoahaz and laid the land of Judah under tribute. But guilt rusts not, however old, and though God comes slowly He comes surely. Cramer.
5. On Jer 46:10. Although the ungodly go free for a long time and rejoice with timbrel and harp and are glad with pipes and spend their days in wealth (Job 21:12), yet he lets them go free like sheep for the slaughter, and spares them for the day of slaughter (Jer 12:3). Cramer.
6. On Jer 46:25. Bonum confidere in Domino et non in principibus (Psalms 146). When their help is most needed they lie down and die. Frster.
7. On Jer 46:27-28. When God turns things upside down and takes care that neither root nor branch remains, His little flock must be preserved. The punishments which redound to the destruction of the ungodly redound to the amelioration of the godly. For from these He takes the eternal punishment, and the temporal must also redound to their advantage, but the ungodly drink it to the dregs. Cramer.
Footnotes:
[15]Jer 46:14. comp. Jer 46:4.
[16]Jer 46:14. . Comp. Eze 38:7. It is a direct causative Hiphil: make preparation, equipment for thyself. Naegelsb. Gr., 69, 1,. Anm. 2.
[17]Jer 46:15.Jeremiah uses the plural elsewhere only in the meaning of strong horses (Jer 8:16; Jer 47:3; Jer 50:11). But neither this meaning nor that of strong men, heroes suits the connection. For apart from (besides here in Pro 28:3 only) which as a foregoing predicate may certainly stand in the singular, the singulars and show that is to be taken as singular. Then, however, nothing is more natural than, with the LXX., to think of the Apis. This is the LXX. translation: ; . both in the singular and plural is frequently used for bulls: Isa 34:7; Psa 22:13; Psa 50:13; Psa 68:31. But who but Apis is the bull of Egypt? The plural suffix has been explained as an abnormal pausal pronunciation (comp. Psa 9:15; Eze 35:11 [Gen 16:5; 1Ki 15:19] which Graf adduces, does not belong here), comp. Olsh., 39, c, Anm.; 131, k, but this is unnecessary. (observe that Jehovah also is called or , Isa 1:24; Isa 49:26, etc.) stands in the plural as a name of God, according to the analogy of , , ,, which again themselves follow the analogy of . Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 61, 2, Anm.; Olsh., 122, g; Gesen., 108, 2, Anm., b.
[18]Jer 46:17. . LXX., Vulg., Syr., and after them many modern commentators read these words (comp. Jer 20:3; Isa. 8:3; 20:7), but, as it appears to me, unnecessarily. The nominative of is not the auxiliaries, and need not be referred to their home. It may very well be referred to the place where Apis was maltreated, and the warriors were killed, thus generally to the place of the previously described defeat. It might even be referred to the time, for has also a temporal signification. Comp. Psa 14:5; Psa 53:6; Job 35:12; Hos 2:17; Jer 1:9. The subject of may be an indefinite number:they call. Comp. Jer 3:16-17; Naegelsb. Gr., 101, 2, a.
[19]Jer 46:17.The meaning of is strepitus, tumultus (Isa 5:14; Isa 13:14; Jer 25:31; Jer 48:45; Jer 51:55, etc.). With the idea of tumult and confusion is connected that of destruction and ruin (comp. , Psa 40:3). The word would then be used as abstr. pro concreto: Pharaoh is ruin, i.e., ruined, (Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 59, 1) and there is no need to read with Maurer. We know not why the prophet chose this particular word, but there is probably an allusion in it to some Egyptian word unknown to us. Why Pharaoh is ruined the prophet proceeds to tell us. is the appointed season (Gen 1:14; Gen 17:21; Gen 21:2, etc.) of passing over a time is quite usual (comp. ex. gr., Jer 8:20; Job 30:15).
[20]Jer 46:20.. The word occurs here only. The root signifies to pinch, press together (of the eyes Pro 6:13; Pro 10:11; 35:19, of the lips Pro 16:30) then to pinch off (Job 33:6). is then pinching, pinching off, or that which pinches. The old translations are vacillating: LXX. ; Chald. populi interfectores; Syr. exercitus; Vulg. stimulator. Attaching himself to the last Rosenmueller translates stimulus; Cocceius, Schultens, Eichhorn, Hitzig, Graf, Meier, gad-fly [Bremse], comparing the Arabic quarasa, pupugit (pulex), quris, insectum cimici simile, or quirs, a kind of small fly. Much more unsuitably Ewald adduces quarsh, and understands by it a great, fearful monster. The meaning excidium, which the Rabbis, Gesenius, Umbreit and others attribute to the word, does not correspond very exactly to the specific radical signification. Following this and the Arabic analogies I regard the meaning gad-fly as correct, which suits the connection admirably. Comp. Exo 23:28; Deu 1:44; Deu 7:20; Isa 7:18; Psa 118:12. [Blayney translates breeze though he admits the radical meaning and the Arabic analogies: Noyes has destruction as the A. V., Neumann, Fuerst, etc.S. R. A.]
[21]Jer 46:20.The reading in the LXX., Chald., Syr., Arab., and many codd. of Kennicott and De Rossi is only a weak correction.
[22]Jer 46:22.I do not approve of the reading followed by the ancient translators and by Hitzig. refers to Egypt. The feminine suffix (comp. ver.21) is to be referred, if not to , yet to (Jer 46:19). The construction of the sentence is as Jer 1:9; Nah 2:5. Comp. Naegelsb. Gr., 65, 3, Ann. There is, it is true, no passage in which is used expressly of the voice; but why may not the voice be described as- going? Psa 73:9 is at least related. If we take as a relative sentence (like a serpent, which goes) the expression is very feeble, and the meaning creeps, which Graf substitutes, either declares nothing, or must have an artificial meaning to it.
[23]Jer 46:26. is used here in the neutral sense, as in Isa 13:20; Jer 17:6; Jer 17:25; Jer 30:18; Jer 1:13.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
If the Reader will compare scripture with scripture, which is always the most profitable way of reading the word of God; he will find, that what Jeremiah is here engaged in, Isaiah had been before him, and Ezekiel had no less the same commission. Isa 66:14 ; Eze 30 ; Eze 39 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 46:13 The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come [and] smite the land of Egypt.
Ver. 13. The word that the Lord spake. ] Another prophecy, but against Egypt also. God had yet a further quarrel to that country for the death of good Josiah; their delivering up Uriah, God’s faithful servant, to the sword of Jehoiakim; their idolatry, pride, perfidy, &c.
How Nebuchadnezzar should come and smite the land of Egypt.] In the twentieth-fifth year of his reign, as Jeremiah also had set forth by a sign. Jer 44:30
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 46:13-24
13This is the message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:
14Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the sword has devoured those around you.’
15Why have your mighty ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the LORD has thrust them down.
16They have repeatedly stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18As I live, declares the King
Whose name is the LORD of hosts,
Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains,
Or like Carmel by the sea.
19Make your baggage ready for exile,
O daughter dwelling in Egypt,
For Memphis will become a desolation;
It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants.
20Egypt is a pretty heifer,
But a horsefly is coming from the north-it is coming!
21Also her mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened calves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23They have cut down her forest, declares the LORD;
Surely it will no more be found,
Even though they are now more numerous than locusts
And are without number.
24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Given over to the power of the people of the north.
Jer 46:13-26 As Jer 46:1-2 describes the battle at Carchemish in Syria in 605 B.C., Jer 46:13-26 describes a later invasion of Egypt itself.
Jer 46:14 All of these locations are mentioned in Jer 44:1 as places where the doomed Judeans were living.
Jer 46:15
NASB,
PESHITTAbecome prostrate
NKJV, JPSOAswept away
NRSV, NJB
REB, LXXApis (Haf) fled
TEVApis fallen
There are several translation issues with this verse.
1. mighty ones (BDB 7) can refer to
a. soldiers (NIV, NET Bible)
b. the Egyptian bull god (LXX, NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 234)
2. the VERB is SINGULAR, the NOUN PLURAL. The LXX divides the VERB () into two words ( ) which means Hap (Apis) has fled. The UBS Text Project supports this division by giving it a B rating (p. 293).
3. The defeat of the Egyptian soldiers or bull god (possibly a reference to Pharaoh as the incarnation of Egypt’s gods) is attributed to YHWH (line 2).
Jer 46:16
NASBThey have repeatedly stumbled
NKJV, JPSOAHe made many fall
NRSVYour multitude stumbled and fell
TEVYour soldiers have stumbled and fallen
NJBhe has caused many to fall
LXXyour multitude was weak and fell
REBthe rabble of Egypt stumble and fall
PESHITTAMultitudes of them are fallen
The MT has he made many stumble (Hiphil PERFECT and Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE, both MASCULINE SINGULAR). The he is YHWH from Jer 46:15. Some translations assume it is a collective reference to the Egyptian army.
Jer 46:17
NASB, NKJV,
NETa big noise
NRSV, LXXbraggart
NJBMuch-noise
REBBombast
PESHITTAPharaoh the Lame. . .the troublemaker
The Hebrew word (BDB 981, KB 1370 II) means
1. roar of water (i.e., battle) – Isa 17:12; Jer 48:45; Jer 51:55; Amo 2:2; Hos 10:14
2. uproar of battle – Psa 74:23; Isa 17:12-13; Isa 25:5
3. festival uproar – Isa 5:14
It is used here as a possible play on Pharaoh’s name or a ridicule of his military appearing and then disappearing (Jer 37:5).
Jer 46:18 the King
Whose name is the LORD of hosts YHWH, the covenant Deity, has always been king (cf. 1Sa 8:7). The Judean kings (cf. Gen 49:10) from the line of Jesse/David (cf. 2 Samuel 7) have only served as earthly representatives of Him.
The opening phrase, As I live, functions in two ways.
1. a word play on the Hebrew VERB to be and YHWH (i.e., the ever-living, only-living Deity)
2. it is an idiom introducing an oath. An oath by YHWH in His name is a powerful promise that His words will come to be.
Mount Tabor. . .Mount Carmel These are metaphors of the topological features that dominate a landscape. They are used here as metaphors of overwhelming power (i.e., the Babylonian army against the Egyptian army).
Jer 46:19
NASB, LXXIt will even be burned down
NKJV, TEV,
REBa ruin
NJB, JPSOA,
PESHITTAdesolate
The Hebrew VERB (BDB 428, KB 429, Niphal PERFECT) means to kindle or to burn (cf. Jer 2:15; Jer 11:16; Jer 17:27; Jer 21:14; Jer 43:12; Jer 49:2; Jer 49:27; Jer 50:32; Jer 51:30; Jer 51:58), but it is also used of ruin or waste (cf. Jer 4:7; Jer 9:11).
Jer 46:21-23 her mercenaries They are mentioned in Jer 46:9. Even these experienced, hired soldiers act like defenseless, pampered calves! They all flee (cf. Jer 46:5) in the face of Nebuchadnezzar’s army (horsefly of Jer 46:20), as do the Egyptian soldiers, symbolized as a slithering snake in Jer 46:22.
Notice the different metaphors used to describe Babylon’s army.
1. woodcutters with axes
2. more numerous than locusts
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 46:13-19
Jer 46:13-17
BABYLON TO PUNISH EGYPT
The word that Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand forth, and prepare thee; for the sword hath devoured round about thee. Why are thy strong ones swept away? they stood not, because Jehovah did drive them. He made many to stumble, yea, they fell one upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he hath let the appointed time pass by.
Why are thy strong ones swept away? …
(Jer 46:15). This statement seems to challenge Egypt to accept the reason for her terrible defeat at Carchemish, namely, the type of troops upon which the Pharaohs depended for their military operations, the mercenaries. Note that the soldiers of Pharaoh are here represented as saying, let us return to the land of our nativity, which was not Egypt at all, but the various places from which the mercenaries had been recruited.
“The punishment (invasion?) of Egypt promised here in Jer 46:13 ff, came after their defeat at Carchemish, but the exact circumstances have not been determined. Some believe it refers to the Babylonian pursuit of the Egyptians after Carchemish (605 B.C.). A second view argues that it occurred in 601 B.C., when, according to the Babylonian Chronicle, Nebuchadnezzar and Necho fought inconclusively at the Egyptian border. A third option favors 568-567 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. It is possible that the statement was not made in connection with any particular historical event.”
We fully agree with the last sentence in the above quotation. Did not Nebuchadnezzar “punish” Egypt in all of those instances? Certainly.
Pharaoh. is but a noise; he hath let the appointed time pass by …..
(Jer 46:17) These critical words spoken against Pharaoh were probably by his mercenary soldiers. Whoever used such words, their meaning is variously given: King Bombast (the New English Bible), Much-noise-but-he-lets-the-chance-slip-by, (the Jerusalem Bible), Loudmouth (Harrison).
The meaning of such derogatory names was that: “Pharaoh was a mere empty sound, and that he had allowed the allotted years of prosperity, which, as Herodotus testified, he had enjoyed at the beginning of his reign, to pass by, and having misused them, nothing then remained but his min.”
Jer 46:18-19
A LEADER LIKE TABOR AND CARMEL TO EMERGE
As I live, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. O thou daughter that dwellest in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
He shall tower above…
(Jer 46:18). This speaks of Nebuchadnezzar. Mount Tabor, though not as high as Mount Hermon, was very prominent by reason of its dramatic elevation above the surrounding area. Carmel was that great coastal mountain that jutted out into the Mediterranean sea and was a noted landmark in Israel.
Memphis shall become a desolation. without inhabitant …..
(Jer 46:19). Here is predictive prophecy at its best. Even if the radical critics could prove that Jeremiah wrote after the event of some of the things he predicted (which, of course, they cannot do), what can they do with a word like this? Memphis indeed became a desolation. By the times of Alexander the Great it was no longer an important place; and to-day, it is known throughout the world as the great cemetery.
The Certainty of Invasion Jer 46:13-19
The poem opens with Jeremiah urging that an alarm be sounded in the border towns of Egypt that they might prepare to meet the foe (Jer 46:14). Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes have been previously mentioned in the book (cf. Jer 2:16; Jer 43:7-9), Ezekiel too predicted conflict in Tahpanhes (Eze 30:18). But Ezekiel seems to be speaking of the Egyptian campaign of the Persian king Cambyses II who conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. To these cities the Jews had fled after the death of Gedaliah (Jer 44:1 ff.). Jeremiah had previously warned these Jews of the coming invasion and had predicted that they would perish in the slaughter.
Jer 46:15 as it is translated in the King James Version is somewhat misleading. Instead of valiant men (KJV) or strong ones (ASV) probably here the translation should be singular: Why has your strong one been swept away?” The Hebrew noun is actually plural but at least three other grammatical features of the verse point to a singular reading. Sixty-five Hebrew manuscripts, the Septuagint and Vulgate translations also reflect a singular reading of the noun. The reference is to Apis, the sacred bull, one of the high gods of the land of Egypt. Just as the Lord is called the Mighty One of Jacob or the Mighty One of Israel (Gen 49:24; Isa 1:24; Isa 49:26 etc.) so in Egypt Apis was called the mighty or strong one. The mighty one of Egypt cannot stand before the armies of the Mighty One of Israel. Apis shall be thrust down (ASV margin). men the Lord brings Nebuchadnezzar against Egypt he shall demonstrate His superiority to the gods of Egypt. Not only does the Lord thrust down Apis, He causes many of the soldiers of Egypt to fall in battle. The Egyptian troops are thrown into confusion. They stumble over one another in their haste to flee the scene of battle. Jeremiah hears the mercenaries urging one another: Arise, let us go again to our own people and the land of our birth (Jer 46:16). Being devoid of patriotic feeling, it is natural that these hired soldiers should flee from the doomed country. In their respective countries these mercenaries report the ruin of Egypt and heap ridicule upon Pharaoh. Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a noise, they say. Pharaoh is nothing but a noisy braggart who makes big boasts and promises but cannot make them good. He passed the appointed time. Some take this expression to mean that Pharaoh has let his hour of opportunity go by. That is to say he makes elaborate preparations but never capitalizes upon the opportunity. Another view is that Pharaoh has passed the time appointed in which the Lord commanded him to surrender to Babylon (cf. Jer 25:14-19). Still another view is that Pharaoh had let the time elapse within which he was called upon by God to reform. The grace period was over. While all of these views of the phrase have something to be said in their behalf, in the opinion of this writer the standard commentaries have really missed the point. The idea here is that every nation has its appointed time for glory and power. That appointed time for Egypt was passed. With this interpretation agrees the apostle Paul when he says that God has appointed the times and seasons of the nations (Act 17:26). Egypts appointed time has come to an end. Therefore, the Lord swears by an oath that the coming of Nebuchadnezzar is sure and certain. No one shall be able to withstand him for he is the appointed instrument of the Lord. As surely as Mt. Tabor and Mt. Carmel tower over the surrounding landscape in Palestine, so Nebuchadnezzar will tower over Egypt in overpowering splendor and majesty (Jer 46:18). In view of the certainty of the coming invasion, Jeremiah urges the inhabitants of Egypt to prepare themselves for captivity for their capital city, Noph (Memphis) shall be laid waste (Jer 46:19).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Cir am 3398, bc 606
Nebuchadrezzar: Jer 43:10-13, Jer 44:30, Isa 19:1-25, Isa 29:1 – Isa 32:20
Reciprocal: Jer 25:19 – Pharaoh Jer 47:2 – then the Eze 29:8 – I will Eze 32:11 – The sword Zec 9:8 – because of him that passeth by
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 46:13. This verse repeats the prediction previously made against Egypt, and names the particular man of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) who was to be the ruler there at the time. For the historical fulfillment of that prediction see at chapter 43: 8-13.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 46:13. The word that the Lord spake, &c. Here begins the second prophecy against Egypt, the exact time of the delivery of which we have no means of ascertaining; but the desolation foretold in it is undoubtedly the same with that predicted by Ezekiel, chaps. 29., 30., 31., 32. And this came to pass in the twenty-seventh year of Jehoiachins captivity, that is, the sixteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, as may be collected from Eze 29:17, where Nebuchadnezzars army is spoken of as having at that time suffered a great deal at the siege of Tyre; on which account the spoils of Egypt are promised them for their wages and indemnification: and the promise was accordingly made good that same year. Jos. Ant., lib. 10. cap. 9.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. Egypt’s defeat in Egypt 46:13-24
Shortly after the battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon for his coronation. His father Nabopolassar had died in August of 605 B.C. Almost immediately, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Palestine with his army to subdue Canaan. From there he moved southwest against Egypt, about 568-567 B.C.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
This is a title verse describing the prophecy about Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt that follows.