Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 48:18
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strongholds.
18. thou daughter that dwellest (mg. art seated) in Dibon ] meaning, inhabitants of Dibon See on Jer 4:11.
Dibon ] now Diban (the “Moabite stone” was found there in 1868) stands on two hills. Hence the expression “come down” in the text. It is four miles N. of the Arnon, and thirteen E. of the Dead Sea, and is described as now a dreary and featureless ruin.
sit in thirst ] The words are apparently corrupt, but it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory emendation; perhaps sit in mire or filth.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Sit in thirst – Jeremiah draws a picture of the conquered inhabitants, collected outside the walls, waiting for their captors to march them away to the slave mart. The enemy occupied with plundering the houses of Dibon thinks little of the hunger and thirst of his prisoners.
Strong holds – The remains of the fortifications of Dibon are still visible.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. That dost inhabit Dibon] This was anciently a city of the Reubenites, afterwards inhabited by the Moabites, about two leagues north of the river Arnon, and about six to the east of the Dead Sea.-Dahler.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of this
Dibon we read Num 21:30. It was a land for cattle, Num 32:3. Both Dibon, and Aroer, and Ataroth were built by-the children of Gad, to whose lot it fell, Num 32:34, as also to the Reubenites in part, Jos 13 17. It should seem that the Moabites were now come into the possession of it, either by conquest, or upon the Assyrians taking the ten tribes.
Sit in thirst; it was a place well watered (otherwise it had not been fit for cattle); God threateneth that she should be
in thirst, that is, driven into some dry, barren countries.
For the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds; for the king of Babylon, whom God had appointed to spoil all Moab, shall destroy thee also, and thy strong holds shall not secure thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. (Isa47:1).
dost inhabitnow sosecurely settled as if in a lasting habitation.
thirstDibon, beingsituated on the Arnon, abounded in water (Isa15:9). In sad contrast with this, and with her “glory”in general, she shall be reduced not only to shame, but to the wantof the commonest necessaries (“thirst”) in the aridwilderness (Jer 48:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon,…. A city in Moab;
[See comments on Isa 15:2]. The Targum is,
“O kingdom of the congregation of Dibon;”
but this was not a kingdom of itself, though a principal city in the kingdom of Moab:
come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; in a dry and thirsty land; in want of all the necessaries of life; in captivity; who before abounded with all good things, inhabiting a well watered and fruitful soil; see Isa 15:9; but now called to quit all their former glory and happiness, their fulness and felicity, and submit to the greatest straits and difficulties:
for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strong holds; the king of Babylon and his army, who spoiled the other cities of Moab; he should come against this also, and take it, and demolish its fortifications, by reason of which it thought itself secure; but these should not be able to protect it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Jer 48:18-25 is further described the downfall of this strong and glorious power. The inhabitants if Dibon are to come down from their glory and sit in misery; those of Aroer are to ask the fugitives what has happened, that they may learn that the whole table-land on to the Arnon has been taken by the enemy; and they are to howl over the calamity. The idea presented in Jer 48:18 is an imitation of that in Isa 47:1, “Come down, O daughter of Babylon, sit in the dust;” but is intensified by the addition of , and is changed into (the Kethib has evidently been written by mistake for , the Qeri). elsewhere means “thirst;” but “sit down in the thirst” would be too strange an expression; hence must here have the meaning of , Isa 44:3, “the thirsty arid land:” thus it remains a question whether we should point the word , or take as another form of , as sa , fo mro is of , Eze 23:19. There is no sufficient reason why Hitzig and Ewald should give the word a meaning foreign to it, from the Arabic or Syriac. Dibon lay about four miles north from the Arnon, at the foot of a mountain, in a very beautiful plain, where, under the name of Dibn, many traces of walls, and a well by the wayside, hewn out of the rock, are still to be found (Seetzen, i. S. 409f.). Hence it must have been well provided with water, even though we should be obliged to understand by “the water of Dimon” (Dibon), which Isaiah mentions (Isa 15:9), the river Arnon, which is about three miles off. The command to “sit down in an arid land” thus forms a suitable figure, representing the humiliation and devastation of Dibon. That the city was fortified, is evident from the mention of the fortifications in the last clause. , as in Jer 46:19. Aroer was situated on the north bank of the Arnon ( Mojeb), where its ruins still remain, under the old name Ar’ir (Burckhardt, p. 372). It was a frontier town, between the kingdom of Sihon (afterwards the territory of the Israelites) and the possession of the Moabites (Deu 2:36; Deu 3:12; Deu 4:48; Jos 12:2; Jos 13:9, Jos 13:16). But after the Moabites had regained the northern portion of their original territory, it lay in the midst of the land. The fugitives here represented as passing by are endeavouring, by crossing the Arnon, to escape from the enemy advancing from the north, and subduing the country before them. means fugitives of every kind. The co-ordination of the same word or synonymous terms in the masc. and fem. serves to generalize the idea; see on Isa 3:1, and Ewald, 172, c. In the tone is retracted through the influence of the distinctive accent; the form is participial. The question, “What has happened?” is answered in Jer 48:20. , “for (= certainly) it is broken down.” The Kethib must not be changed. Moab is addressed: with is introduced the summons, addressed to individuals, to proclaim at the Arnon the calamity that has befallen the country to the north of that river.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here the Prophet turns to address the city Dibon, which was renowned among that people. The mode of speaking is well known; he calls the people of the city the daughter of Dibon; and he calls the daughter an inhabitant, because the Moabites, as it has been said, ever rested in safety and quietness in their own habitations, for no one disturbed them. It is, then, the same as though he had said, “Ye who have hitherto been in a quiet state, descend now from your glory, and dwell in thirst. ” (10) By thirst he means the want of all things. Thirst is set in opposition to glory; but it is more than if the Prophet had mentioned disgrace or poverty; for there are many who are otherwise oppressed by want, and yet find fountains or streams; but when there is no drop of water to quench thirst, it is an extreme misery.
We hence see that the Prophet exaggerates the punishment of the Moabites, when he says that the citizens of Dibon would sit in thirst, because, he says, ascended against thee has the waster, (11) and the destroyer of thy fortresses. We may hence conclude that the city was on all sides fortified, so that it thought its defences sufficient to keep off enemies. But the Prophet derides this presumption, because the Chaldeans would come to pull down and destroy all these strongholds. It follows —
(10) The verb “dwell” favors the idea adopted by some, that צמא means here a dry or thirsty land. – Ed
(11) עלה here, as in Jer 48:15, is a participle, and so the verb which follows. The “waster” is represented as then on his way, —
For the waster of Moab is ascending against thee, The destroyer of thy fortresses.
—
Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
D. Complete Degradation Jer. 48:18-28
TRANSLATION
(18) Go down from your glory! Sit in thirst, O delicate daughter of Dibon; for the destroyer of Moab has gone up against you; he will destroy your fortifications. (19) Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitress of Aroer! Ask the fleeing man and the fugitive woman, What has happened? (20) Moab is put to shame for it is dismayed! Howl and cry out! Declare in Arnon that Moab is plundered. (21) Judgment has come upon the land of the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah, Mephaath, (22) Dibon, Nebo, Bethdiblathaim (23) Kiriathaim, Bethgamul, Beth-meon, (24) Kerioth, Bozrah and upon all the cities of the land of Moab both far and near. (25) The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken (oracle of the LORD). Moab shall wallow in his own vomit and he also shall be an object of derision. (27) Was not Israel an object of derision to you? Was he found among thieves so that as often as you spoke of him you wagged the head? (28) Forsake the cities and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab, and he like the dove that makes her nest on the far sides of a gorge.
COMMENTS
Even Dibon, the highly honored royal city (cf. 2Ki. 3:4-5), will be disgraced in the coming calamity. Dibon, personified as a delicate damsel, is bidden by the prophet to descend from her glory and sit in thirst i.e., in the dust. Why this ignominy and shame for the proud city built on two hills? The mighty strongholds of Moab are destroyed by the invader (Jer. 48:18). The inhabitants of Aroer spot the fugitives from the north coming down the Kings Highway which passed through Dibon and Aroer and ask them what has happened (Jer. 48:19). In anguished cries the refugees reply: Moab is confounded; Moab is shattered! Jeremiah urges the inhabitants of Moab to howl and cry i.e., take up a lamentation for their land. He urges the fugitives and inhabitants of Aroer to spread the word that Moab has been destroyed (Jer. 48:20) and that the judgment of God has come upon the land. City after city has fallen (Jer. 48:21-24).[388] The horn of Moab (symbol of power) is cut off and the arm (symbol of authority) has been broken (Jer. 48:25).
[388] The location of most of the cities in these verses is uncertain. Several of them are named in the famous Moabite Stone which was found at Dibon in 1868.
The divine command has been issued: Moab must drink the wine of Gods wrath. Like a drunken man, Moab reels and totters, vomits and then falls into his own filth. Neighboring nations who observe Moab in this helpless and debased condition will make that nation the object of derision. But is this not exactly the attitude which Moab had toward Israel? From the very beginning of their dealings with one another the Moabites had treated the Israelites with the same contempt which one has for a thief caught in the act of stealing (Jer. 48:27). As often as the name Israel was mentioned the Moabites would wag their heads (ASV)[389] in a gesture of contempt (cf. Mat. 27:39). By so despising the people of God the Moabites had in effect magnified themselves against the Lord (Jer. 48:26). Because of the impending judgment Moab is advised to seek refuge where the dove or wild pigeon makes its nest in the inaccessible rocky crevices of the mountains (Jer. 48:28).
[389] The rendering of the KJV is: thou skippedst for joy. The ASV rendering is preferred by most commentators.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(18) Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon.Dibon is mentioned among the cities of Moab in Num. 21:30; Isa. 15:2, and as rebuilt by the Gadites in Num. 33:45. It is prominent in the Moabite Stone inscription as a royal city. In the distribution of the conquered territory it fell to the lot of Reuben (Jos. 13:7; Jos. 13:9), but must afterwards have been retaken by Moab. The strongholds indicate a fortress. In Isa. 15:9 it appears under the form of Dimon, and is there described as abounding in water, the site being probably on the north bank of the Arnon. This last feature gives point to the words of the prophet here. Its waters will not save its inhabitants from the thirst which falls on those who are dragged as captives into exile.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon Literally, thou that dost inhabit, daughter of Dibon. “Daughter” may be the subject or object of the verb.
Sit in thirst In the desert-land, in contrast with her accustomed place near the Arnon in a beautiful plain, where to this day there is a well by the wayside hewn out of the rock.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 48:18. And sit in thirst Dibon was a village in Moab famous for its waters. The prophet foretels that the inhabitants of it should be obliged to seek refuge in the desert, in dry and sandy places. See Isa 15:9. Houbigant renders it, And sit in disgrace. The places mentioned in the following verses were cities and towns of Moab.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 48:18 Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strong holds.
Ver. 18. And sit in thirst, ] i.e., In want of all things.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Dibon. Now Dhiban. Ruins north of the river Arnon. Compare Jer 48:22.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 48:18-28
Jer 48:18-20
DEVASTATION AND DERISION
O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against thee, he hath destroyed thy strongholds. O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth; say, What hath been done? Moab is put to shame; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
Come down. sit in thirst …..
(Jer 48:18). The thought here is the same as that of Isa 47:1-5, in which Babylon was spoken of as a deposed queen, coming down from a throne to sit on the ground.
Dibon…
(Jer 48:18) … Aroer … (Jer 48:19) … the Arnon … (Jer 48:20). Dibon, the same as modern Diban, was located four miles north of the Arnon river and twelve or thirteen miles east of the Dead Sea. The Moabite Stone was found there in 1868. Aroer was situated southwest of Dibon and was the southernmost city of Sihon. There were two other cities of the same name, mentioned in Num 32:34, and in 1Sa 30:28. The Arnon emptied into the east side of the Dead Sea opposite Engedi, and marked the boundary between Ammon on the north and Moab on the south.
Jer 48:21-25
And judgment is come upon the plain country, upon Holon, and upon Jahzah, and upon Mephaath, and upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, and upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, and upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith Jehovah.
The horn of Moab is cut off…
(Jer 48:25). Like a bull with his horns cut off and no longer able to fight, or like a boxer with a broken arm, the helplessness of Moab before her enemies is thus metaphorically represented.
All the cities of Moab, far or near…
(Jer 48:24). Eleven of these cities are mentioned in this paragraph.
Holon. Mephaath …..
Neither of these cities has ever been identified.
Dibon. Nebo …..
See above comments on these.
Jahaz…
This name occurs in several forms. It was the scene of Israel’s triumph over Sihon (Num 21:23; Deu 2:32). The Moabite Stone reports that Israel possessed the town for awhile; but the city was in the hands of Moab in the times of Jeremiah F18
Beth-diblathaim. Beth-gamul … Beth-meon …..
Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary lists all of these (pp. 87,91). The first of these means, The house of two fig cakes, very probably a reference to some pagan shrine where the price of admission to their sacred licentiousness was two fig cakes. The place is identified as Almon-diblathaim.
The second was a Moabite town east of the Jordan river; and the meaning of the name, according to Jamieson was, “The city of camels.”
The third name is the contraction of a longer term, Beth-Baal-Meon. It was a Moabite town evidently connected with the worship of Baal.
Kerioth…
(Jer 48:24). This was, apparently, at one time the capital city of Moab, for the king evidently lived there when Amos gave his prophecy (Amo 2:2). It should not be confused with the city having the same name in southern Judah. Some identify it with Ar, the ancient capital of Moab. It was the location of a principal sanctuary of Chemosh.
Bozrah…
(Jer 48:24). This Moabite city has not been certainly identified. Some equate it with Bezer, one of the cities of refuge, located fifteen miles east of the place where the Jordan enters the Dead Sea. It is not the same as the Edomite city of Bozrah.
Jer 48:26-28
Make ye him drunken; for he magnified himself against Jehovah: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for as often as thou speakest of him, thou waggest the head. O ye inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that maketh her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
The long hatred between various divisions of the Semitic people is in some ways a mystery. Lot, the ancestor of the Moabites, was a true friend and kinsman of Abraham; but the Moabites, Lot’s descendants, are here represented as continual enemies of Israel who spoke contemptuously of them at all times. This was one of the reasons for God’s wrath. The prophecy here admonishes the people to hide, if they can, from their forthcoming devastation.
Complete Degradation Jer 48:18-28
Even Dibon, the highly honored royal city (cf. 2Ki 3:4-5), will be disgraced in the coming calamity. Dibon, personified as a delicate damsel, is bidden by the prophet to descend from her glory and sit in thirst i.e., in the dust. Why this ignominy and shame for the proud city built on two hills? The mighty strongholds of Moab are destroyed by the invader (Jer 48:18). The inhabitants of Aroer spot the fugitives from the north coming down the Kings Highway which passed through Dibon and Aroer and ask them what has happened (Jer 48:19). In anguished cries the refugees reply: Moab is confounded; Moab is shattered! Jeremiah urges the inhabitants of Moab to howl and cry i.e., take up a lamentation for their land. He urges the fugitives and inhabitants of Aroer to spread the word that Moab has been destroyed (Jer 48:20) and that the judgment of God has come upon the land. City after city has fallen (Jer 48:21-24). The location of most of the cities in these verses is uncertain. Several of them are named in the famous Moabite Stone which was found at Dibon in 1868. The horn of Moab (symbol of power) is cut off and the arm (symbol of authority) has been broken (Jer 48:25).
The divine command has been issued: Moab must drink the wine of Gods wrath. Like a drunken man, Moab reels and totters, vomits and then falls into his own filth. Neighboring nations who observe Moab in this helpless and debased condition will make that nation the object of derision. But is this not exactly the attitude which Moab had toward Israel? From the very beginning of their dealings with one another the Moabites had treated the Israelites with the same contempt which one has for a thief caught in the act of stealing (Jer 48:27). As often as the name Israel was mentioned the Moabites would wag their heads (ASV) in a gesture of contempt (cf. Mat 27:39). The rendering of the KJV is: thou skippedst for joy. The ASV rendering is preferred by most commentators. By so despising the people of God the Moabites had in effect magnified themselves against the Lord (Jer 48:26). Because of the impending judgment Moab is advised to seek refuge where the dove or wild pigeon makes its nest in the inaccessible rocky crevices of the mountains (Jer 48:28).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
daughter: Jer 46:18, Jer 46:19, Isa 47:1
Dibon: Jer 48:22, Num 21:30, Num 32:3, Jos 13:17, Isa 15:2
and sit: Gen 21:16, Exo 17:3, Jdg 15:18, Isa 5:13, Eze 19:13
the spoiler: Jer 48:8
Reciprocal: Num 33:46 – Dibongad Jos 6:21 – utterly Jos 13:9 – all the plain Isa 16:4 – for Jer 48:32 – the spoiler Dan 5:20 – deposed Amo 8:13 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 48:18. Daughter is a figurative name for a country and Dtion was one of the cities of that country. The Moabites were proud and independent and had exalted themselves over the glory of this city. Come down from thy glory is a prediction that the Moabites would be taken down from that self-constructed pinnacle of glory and he made to sit in thirst which means they would be brought to want.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 48:18-25. Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon Thou that art exalted in pride, and rendered effeminate through luxury: Dibon being one of the chief cities of Moab; come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst Submit to a mean condition, wherein thou shalt feel the want of all the conveniences of life. The Hebrew language expresses a barren land, which yields no sustenance by a thirsty ground, Psa 63:2; Isa 35:7; Eze 19:13. O inhabitant of Aroer A town in the borders of Moab; stand by the way and espy, &c. The prophet describes the great concern and fear that were upon them, which made them hearken to every little report that was stirring. Howl and cry There will be just cause for a general lamentation. Judgment is come upon the plain country, &c. The inhabitants of the low grounds have suffered the punishment they deserved. The horn of Moab is cut off The authority and power of Moab are taken away. This is a metaphorical expression, taken from horned beasts, whose power to defend themselves, and injure other creatures, lies chiefly in their horns. And his arm is broken His strength is exhausted, the arm of man being the instrument whereby he chiefly discovers his strength.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3. The catastrophe of Moab 48:18-28
Jeremiah next focused attention on the catastrophe coming on Moab’s cities.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The prophet called the residents of Dibon to humble themselves because the destroyer would ruin their strongholds. Archaeologists discovered the Moabite Stone at Dibon in 1868.