Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 46:23
They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
23. though ] better, as mg. for.
they are more ] i.e. the enemy.
the locusts ] See on Joe 1:4, C.B. (Driver).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Or, They have cut down her forest, saith Yahweh, for it is impenetrable, i. e., just as a pathless forest must be cleared to assist agriculture and the passage to and fro of men, so must the false worship and the material prosperity of Egypt be overthrown.
Grasshoppers – The invading host advances as multitudinous as the locusts which consume the whole vegetation of the land on which they alight.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. They shall cut down her forest] Supposed to mean her cities, of which Egypt had no fewer than one thousand and twenty.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Egypt is compared to a forest, either for the multitude of cities or of people in that country; and to a thick forest, because as it is a hard thing to make ones way through a forest, so it was judged as hard for an enemy to make his way into that country: in human probability Egypt could not be searched, yet (saith God) the Chaldeans shall cut down this forest, and it shall be no more to them than for hewers of wood, with tools fitted for the purpose, to make their way through a forest. For the army of the Chaldeans shall be as numerous as the inhabitants of Egypt, more than the grasshoppers, which come in such troops as in a short time they devour every green herb in a place.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. her forest (Isa10:34).
though it cannot besearchedThey cut down her forest, dense and unsearchable(Job 5:9; Job 9:10;Job 36:26) as it may seem:referring to the thickly set cities of Egypt, which were at that timea thousand and twenty. The Hebrew particle is properly, “for,””because.”
becausethe reason whythe Chaldeans shall be able to cut down so dense a forest of citiesas Egypt: they themselves are countless in numbers.
grasshopperslocusts(Jud 6:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord,…. The land of Egypt, compared to a forest, for the multitude of its cities and towns, and the inhabitants of them; which should be destroyed by the Chaldeans, as a forest is cut down by hewers of wood; the metaphor is here continued. The Targum interprets this of the princes of Egypt, and the destruction of them;
though it cannot be searched; either the forest of Egypt, which was so thick of trees; that is, the land was so full of towns and cities, that they could not be searched and numbered; and though the way through it seemed impassable, yet was made passable by the hewers of wood: or its destruction would be so general, “that it cannot be searched” o; or found out, where this forest was, where those trees grew, not one of them standing: or else this is to be understood of the Chaldean army, which was so great, that it could not be numbered:
because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable; which creatures come in large numbers, and eat up every green tree and herb; and so the Chaldean army, being alike numerous, would easily cut down the trees of this forest, though they were so many.
o “ut non investigetur”, Calvin.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He goes on here with the same subject. He indeed uses the past tense, but we know that this was commonly done by the Prophets. He compares the people of Egypt to a forest, as he had said that individual men would be like trees: They have then cut down, that is, they shall cut down its forest, saith Jehovah For the sake of confirmation he ascribes the words to God; as though he had said, that he predicted nothing but what God had determined to do. His object then was to remove every doubt; because the Jews might on the one hand have refused to believe this prophecy on considering the power of Egypt; and the Egyptians on the other might have disregarded these threatenings, confiding in their own strength. Hence the Prophet introduces God as the speaker, as though he had said, “This decree cannot be revoked, because God hath spoken.”
And he says, that they had multiplied more than locusts, so there could be no number I have omitted one previous sentence, It shall not be searched. As the particle כי, k i, is read twice, some think that both clauses refer to the Chal-deans. Others read, “It shall not be numbered;” but the verb חקר, chekor, properly means to inquire, to investigate; and the sentence may be thus suitably rendered, “That the forest may not be investigated.” Yet another meaning has been more approved, that the Chaldeans shall not be numbered. If this view be received, there is a Change of number, for it immediately follows, “They shall multiply,” רבו, rebu; and then, there shall not be a number to them, להם , laem. But what I stated in the first place, as it appears to me, does not ill suit the passage, that is, that there would be no investigation of the forest of Egypt, that is, of the people; for when a forest is cut down, it appears a naked plain, nor can the place of any tree be pointed out. As to the general meaning, there is not much difference. The Prophet, in short, means, that the slaughter, of which he prophecies, would be so great, that Egypt would be reduced to a waste, because the Chaldeans would come with a numerous army: and he sets up this number in opposition to the Egyptian forces, that they might know that their enemies would be far superior to them. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
23. Cut down her forest These Chaldean wood choppers will do this, though it be most dense, (referring to this land thickly set with cities and filled with the products of material prosperity,) for they, like the grasshoppers, are innumerable.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 46:23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
Ver. 23. They shall cut down her forest, ] i.e., Her many cities. Herodotus telleth of one thousand and twenty cities that were in the land of Egypt in the days of King Amasis.
Because they are more than the grasshoppers.
a Lib. ii.; Diodor., lib. i. cap. 31.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
searched = reconnoitred.
grasshoppers = locusts.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
cut: Isa 10:18, Eze 20:46
because: Jdg 6:5, Jdg 7:12, Joe 2:25, Rev 9:2-10
Reciprocal: Psa 74:5 – General Isa 10:34 – cut down Jer 51:14 – as with Jer 51:27 – cause
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 46:23. The Babylonians will cut down the forests of Egypt at the time Of the invasion. Though it cannot be searched means the forest was supposed to be too great to be destroyed, yet God would enable the Babylonians to cut it down. They means the men of the invading army will be like a swarm of grasshoppers and they will cut down the trees as grasshoppers would consume a field of grass.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
46:23 They shall cut down {u} her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are more than the
(x) grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
(u) That is, they will slay the great and mighty men of power.
(x) That is, Nebuchadnezzar’s army.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The innumerable enemy soldiers would cut down all the trees to use in their warfare against the Egyptians. Their coming would resemble an invasion of locusts.