Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 2:23
How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
23. If we may assume that this utterance relates to the time before Josiah’s reforms, the people could not deny that their worship at the high places included observances outside those belonging to Jehovah. They maintained, however, that it was to Him and not to the Baals, that their service was all the time actually rendered. The prophet here replies that in adopting heathen rites they ipso facto, whatever intention they might plead, rendered their worship abhorrent to the God of Israel.
Baalim ] The Hebrew plural. See on Jer 2:8.
the valley ] The valley of Hinnom; see on Jer 7:31. It was devoted under idolatrous kings to impure sacrifices and human offerings to Molech, who no doubt was one of the gods called collectively Baalim. (Cp. Jer 7:31 f., Jer 19:5, Jer 32:35.) The valley was defiled by Josiah in order that such sacrifices might cease, and here dead bodies of men and animals were cast. From the Hebrew word in a Greek dress ( Gehenna) comes one of the names for the place of future punishment, of which this valley was considered by the later Jews a symbol, and which some of them believed to contain the entrance to hell.
dromedary ] better, as mg. young camel. The Hebrew denotes a female that has not yet had a foal.
traversing ] (lit. entangling) running quickly hither and thither in the eagerness of her passion, crossing and recrossing her own course. So Israel runs now here now there, ever in search of a fresh object of devotion, and forsaking her lawful Spouse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In their defense of themselves (compare Jer 2:35), the people probably appealed to the maintenance of the daily sacrifice, and the Mosaic ritual: and even more confidently perhaps to Josiahs splendid restoration of the temple, and to the suppression of the open worship of Baal. All such pleas availed little as long as the rites of Moloch were still privately practiced.
Thy way in the valley – i. e., of Hinnom (see 2Ki 23:10 note). From the time of Ahaz it had been the seat of the worship of Moloch, and the prophet more than once identifies Moloch with Baal. Way is put metaphorically for conduct, doings.
Traversing – Interlacing her ways. The word describes the tangled mazes of the dromedarys course, as she runs here and there in the heat of her passion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jer 2:23-30
How canst thou say, I am not polluted.
Self-vindicating sinners reproved
I. The self-vindicating ways of sinners.
1. Direct denial (Gen 4:9).
2. Vain excuse (1Sa 15:13-15).
3. Hypocritical palliation (Gen 3:11-13).
II. God substantiates His charge against His offending people.
1. By an appeal to fact.
2. By a most apt comparison.
Dromedary and wild ass, when seeking their mate, are so bent upon attainment of desire, that efforts to catch them are vain; no one will weary himself with so fruitless a labour. But when their time of pregnancy has advanced, they fall comparatively an easy prey to the pursuer. So, to little purpose that you are followed with invitations and entreaties: you will not hear the voice of the charmer, etc. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
Know what thou hast done.
What hast thou Done?
Look at thy life in the light of–
1. Gods Divine purpose.
2. Your social position, and the circumstances by which you have been surrounded.
3. The responsibilities of the domestic relationship.
4. Your relationship to the best and tenderest of fathers.
5. The tender dealings of the Holy Spirit.
6. Your relationship with Him who, because He loved you, was content to hang upon the Cross. (W. H. M. H. Aitken, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. See thy way in the valley] The valley of Hinnom, where they offered their own children to Moloch, an idol of the Ammonites.
A swift dromedary traversing her ways] Dr. Blayney translates, “A fleet dromedary that hath taken to company with her.”
Dr. Dahler rather paraphrases, thus: –
Semblable a une dromedaire en chaleur,
Qui court d’une tote a l’autre.
“Like to a dromedary in her desire for the male,
Which runs hither and thither.”
This is an energetic comparison; and shows the unbridled attachment of those bad people to idolatry, and the abominable practices by which it was usually accompanied.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
How canst thou say? with what face canst thou go about to excuse thyself, or deny what is so evident, and so truly charged upon thee? Jer 2:20.
I have not gone after Baalim: the word is plural, as comprehensive of all their idols, Hos 11:2, and is a name usually given to several of them, as Baal-zebub, 2Ki 1:16, and Baal-peor, Num 25:3, and therefore their worshipping of many. Because they had the temple and sacrifices, &c., they still persuaded themselves that they worshipped the true God, though they joined their idolatries with it; as the papists though they make use of idols in worship, yet would not be accounted idolaters.
Thy way; the filthiness thou hast left behind thee, whereby thou mayst be traced, where thou leftest, as it were, thy footsteps, and monuments of thy frequent idolatries.
Thy way in the valley; thy frequent course in the valleys, whether of Hinnom, where they burnt their childrens bones in sacrifice, Jer 7:31, or in any valleys where thou hast been frequent in thy idolatries; it seems to be thus largely taken.
Know what thou hast done; look on and consider thy ways, as Jer 2:19.
Thou art a swift dromedary; or, thou art as, &c.; or, O dromedary, a beast much used by carriers in Arabia, being rife there. See on Isa 60:6.
Traversing; a metaphor taken from creatures that are hunted, that keep no direct path; alluding to the nature of the she dromedary, which in gendering time runs capering this way, and crossing that way, making many vagaries to find out sometimes one male, sometimes another, without any rule or order; setting forth hereby the disposition of this people, that were so mad upon their idols, that they ran sometimes after this, and sometimes after that, called wandering, Jer 2:20, and that with great eagerness, fitly termed traversing, much like the description of a whore, Pro 7:11,12; the word being no where found but here, and being derived from a word that signifies a shoe-latchet, If any be curious, let the learned consult Synop. Critic., and the English reader the English Annotations on the place.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. (Pr30:12).
Baalimplural, toexpress manifold excellency: compare Elohim.
seeconsider.
the valleynamely, ofHinnom, or Tophet, south and east of Jerusalem: rendered infamous bythe human sacrifices to Moloch in it (compare Jer 19:2;Jer 19:6; Jer 19:13;Jer 19:14; Jer 32:35;see on Isa 30:33).
thou artomit. The substantive that follows in this verse (and alsothat in Jer 2:24) is inapposition with the preceding “thou.”
dromedaryrather, a”young she-camel.”
traversingliterally,”enfolding”; making its ways complicated bywandering hither and thither, lusting after the male. Compare as tothe Jews’ spiritual lust, Hos 2:6;Hos 2:7.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How canst thou say, I am not polluted,…. No man can say this; for all are defiled with sin; but this was the cast and complexion of these people in all ages; they were a generation of men that were pure in their own eyes, but were not cleansed from their filthiness; they fancied that their ceremonial washings and sacrifices cleansed them from moral impurities, when those only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh; still their iniquity remained marked before the Lord; they acted the part of the adulterous woman in Pr 30:20 to whom they are compared in the context; and, therefore, as wondering at their impudence, they having a whore’s forehead, this question is put, how and with what face they could affirm this, and what follows:
I have not gone after Baalim? or, “the Baalim”; the idols of the people, as the Targum interprets it; for there were many Baals, as Baalzephon, Baalpeor, Baalzebub, and others:
see thy way in the valley; where idols were set up and worshipped; or through which the way lay, as Kimchi observes, to the hills and mountains where idolatry was frequently committed; perhaps no particular valley is meant, but any in which idols were worshipped, or which they passed through to the worshipping of them; though the Targum interprets it of the valley in which they dwelt, over against Baalpeor, so Jarchi and Abarbinel, when they worshipped that idol; and seems to design the valley of Shittim, Nu 25:1, but rather, if any particular valley is intended, the valley of Hinnom seems to bid fair for it; and to this it may be the Septuagint version has respect, rendering it , “in the sepulchre of the multitude”; multitudes being burnt and buried here:
know what thou hast done; in the valley, especially in the valley of Hinnom, where they caused their children to pass through the fire to Molech:
thou art a swift dromedary. The Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it a young camel; and so the word in the Arabic language signifies; and the epithet “swift” better agrees with that than with the dromedary. Curtius z makes mention of dromedary camels of great swiftness; but it may be this is to be understood, not of its swiftness in running, but of its impetuous lust, as Calvin observes; and, indeed, each of these creatures are very libidinous; and therefore these people are compared to them; [See comments on Mic 1:13], it follows:
traversing her ways; running about here and there after the male, burning with lust, sometimes one way, and sometimes another; and so these people sometimes run after one idol, and sometimes another, and followed a multitude of them. The Targum renders it, “which corrupts or depraves her ways”. De Dieu observes, that the word , in the Ethiopic language, signifies “the evening”; and so may intend walking in the evening, in the dark, rather than in the light; which, as it is the way of dromedaries, and almost of all beasts, so of harlots, to whom these people are likened; and he further observes, that, in the Arabic language, it signifies to make common, which agrees with adulterous persons, as these were in a spiritual sense. The word is only used in this place, and is deduced from, or has some relation to, the word , which signifies a “shoelatchet”, Ge 14:23 as Jarchi and Kimchi observe; and may denote, as the shoe is bound and fastened with the latchet, the binding of her ways to her heart, as the former suggests, the strengthening and confirming of her in her evil ways, and her constant persisting therein; but the first sense of running here and there through lust is best; and is approved by Bynaeus a and by Buxtorf b.
z (Curtius) L. 5. c. 2. a De Calceis Heb. l. 1. c. 7. sect. 4. b Lex. Heb. rad. .
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jeremiah goes on here with his reproof, and dissipates the clouds of hypocrites, under which they thought themselves to be sufficiently concealed: for hypocrites, when they allege their fallacious pretences, think themselves already hidden from the eyes of God and from the judgment of all men. Hence the Prophet here sharply condemns this supine self — security, and says, How darest thou to boast that thou art not polluted? How darest thou to say, that thou hast not walked after Baalim? that is, after strange gods. I have already said, that by this word were meant inferior gods: for though the Jews acknowledged one Supreme Being, yet they sought for themselves patrons; and hence arose, as it is usual, a great number of gods. The superstitious never lapsed into that degree of impiety and madness, but that they ever confessed that there is some supreme Deity; but they added some inferior gods. And thus they had their Baalim and patrons, like the Papists, who call their patrons saints, for they dare not in their delusions to call them gods. Such was the sophistry of the Jews.
How then, he says, canst thou excuse thyself, and say, that thou hast not walked after Baalim? See, he adds, thy ways, see what thou hast done in the valley, and know at length that thou hast been like a swift dromedary The Prophet could not have fully expressed the furious passions which then raged in the Jews without comparing them to dromedaries: and as he addresses the people in the feminine gender, the female dromedary is mentioned. I consider that she is called swift, not only on account of the celerity of her course, but on account of her impetuous lust, as we shall presently see.
Now this passage teaches us, that the people had become so hardened, that they insolently rejected all reproofs given them by the prophets. Their impiety was openly manifest, and yet they ever dared to allege excuses, for the purpose of shewing that the prophets unjustly condemned them. Nor are we to wonder that such contumacy prevailed in that ancient people, since at this day we find that the Papists, with no less perverseness, resist the clear light of truth. For however gross and shameful their idolatry appears, they yet think that they evade the charge by merely saying, that their statues and images are not idols, and that the people of Israel were, indeed, condemned for inventing statues for themselves, but that they did this, because they were prone to superstition. Hence they cry against us, and say, that the worship which prevails among them is unjustly calumniated. We see, and even children know, that under the Papacy every kind of superstition prevails; and yet they seek to appear innocent, and free from every blame. The same was the case formerly: and as the temple continued, and the people offered sacrifices there, and as some kind of religion remained, whenever the prophets reproved the impious corruptions, which were blended with and vitiated the pure worship of God, and which were called adulteries, as they everywhere declare, “What!” they said, “Do we not worship God?” This very perverseness is what the Prophet now condemns by saying, How darest thou to say, I am not polluted, I have not walked after Baalim? So the Papists say at this day, “Do we not believe in one God? Have we devised for ourselves various gods? Yet they rob God of all his power, and dishonor him in a thousand ways: and at the same time they assert against us, with a meretricious mouth and an iron front, that they worship the one true God. (54) The case was exactly the same with the Jews: but the Prophet here proves their boasting to be vain and grossly false, See, he says, thy ways in the valley; see what thou, a swift dromedary, hast done As they could not be overcome by reasons, their willfulness being so great, the Prophet compares them to wild animals: “Ye are,” he says, “like lascivious dromedaries, which are so carried away by lust, that they forget everything while pursuing their own courses.” It follows —
(54) “The Jews, it seems,” says Loath, “had found out distinctions, whereby to reconcile the worship of the true God with those religious rites which they paid to the deities of the heathen, called here Baalim. These, they pretended, were only inferior demons or spirits, or the souls of men departed, and might be worshipped in subordination to the supreme God.” Scott adds to this quotation this just remark, “This, and nothing better, can the Papists urge in excuse of their manifest idolatry in worshipping saints and angels” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) How canst thou say . . .?The prophet hears, as it were, the voice of the accused criminal, with its plea of not guilty. Had not the worship of Jehovah been restored by Josiah? Had he not, acting on Hilkiahs counsels, suppressed Baal-worship (2Ki. 23:4-5; 2Ch. 34:4)? The answer to such pleas is to point to the rites that were still practised openly or in secret. In the valley of Ben-Hinnom, which Josiah had defiled (2Ki. 23:10), the horrid ritual of Molech (Lev. 18:21; Lev. 20:2) was still in use (Jer. 7:31), reviving, we may believe, on the death of Josiah; and this, though not actually the worship of Baal, was at least as evil, and probably, in the confluence of many forms of worship which marked the last days of the monarchy of Judah, was closely associated and practically identified with it, both by the prophet and the people (Jer. 19:5; Jer. 32:35).
A swift dromedary.Better, she-camel, the Hebrew word not pointing to any specific difference. The words paint with an almost terrible vividness the eager, restless state of the daughter of Zion in its harlot-like lust for the false gods of the heathen. The female camel, in the uncontrollable violence of its brute passion, moving to and fro with panting eagernessthat was now the fit image for her who had once been the betrothed of Jehovah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23, 24. I am not polluted New and most significant imagery is employed to illustrate the insane lust of idolatry. The reckless greed of the people for the excitements of the false worship is figured by the swift dromedary traversing her ways, and the wild ass running herself weary in her heat.
Thy way in the valley Is probably an allusion to the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to the south of Jerusalem, where the rites of Moloch were celebrated, and which had become infamous as the place where human sacrifices were offered. It was fitly a type of hell and its ever-burning fire.
Swift dromedary Rather, camel-filly. The adjective suggests the animal heat which is the main feature of the comparison. “Traversing” that is, crossing, or interweaving; a graphic picture of urgent, unregulated haste.
Wild ass Emblem of unbridled licentiousness. See Job 24:5; Job 39:5.
Snuffeth up wind occasion her month All these terms point to the one feature of the comparison the passionate heat of the animal.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 1029
SELF-VINDICATING SINNERS REPROVED
Jer 2:23-24. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley; know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure: in her occasion who can turn her away? All they that seek her will not weary themselves: in her month they shall find her.
IN estimating our state before God, we ought to mark the circumstances under which our sins are committed, and the aggravations of our guilt in that particular view. It is in this light that our iniquities are viewed by God. The mercies we have received from him; the resolutions which, under a sense of those mercies, we have formed; the degree in which we have degenerated; all these things are marked by God, and form an accumulation of wickedness far exceeding that of any individual acts [Note: ver. 2022.]. But there is one evil which enhances our guilt beyond every other that can be named; and that is, a self-justifying spirit, and a denial of the accusations which God, in his word, and by his ministers, brings against us. That I may guard you against this, which is so pre-eminently offensive to the Divine Majesty, I will set before you,
I.
The self-vindicating ways of sinners
Ministers are commanded to shew the house of Israel their transgressions and their sins. And it might be supposed, that, when mens iniquities are so visible and undeniable, they would fall under the accusation, and humble themselves before God. But they, for the most part, justify themselves against the charge that is brought against them: some,
1.
In a way of direct denial
[A remarkable instance of this we have in Cain. After he had murdered his brother Abel, the Lord came to him, and said, Where is Abel, thy brother? and he said, I know not: am I my brothers keeper? [Note: Gen 4:9.] What astonishing effrontery was here? Yet is it precisely such as we see generally exhibited by those around us. We ask them, in Gods holy name, Why they live as without God in the world, and without any just concern about their eternal interests? But they deny the charge; They do not neglect God: they do not disregard their own souls: they do not cast Gods word behind them, and pour contempt on all the wonders of redeeming love. Though their wickedness is as manifest as was that of the worshippers of Baal, they will still say, I am not polluted; I have not gone after Baalim ]
2.
In a way of vain excuse
[Of this we see a striking example in Saul. He had been commanded to destroy the Amalekites, and every thing that appertained unto them; and when Samuel came to him, he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What meaneth, then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? Then Saul, unable to deny the fact that he had spared the best of the prey, excused himself: They, the people, have brought them from the Amalekites, having spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God: and the rest we have utterly destroyed [Note: 1Sa 15:13-15.]. Thus, when men cannot deny their wickedness, they will excuse it: They have done nothing but what was sanctioned by custom; or, They have only followed those impulses of nature which they were not able to withstand. It is probable that the idolaters in my text did not mean to deny that they shewed some respect to their molten images; but only to say, that it was not to the images themselves, or to Baal, that they paid their homage; but to Jehovah, as represented by them. Such are the refuges of papists at this day, in all their idolatrous worship: and such the vain excuses of all the votaries of this world.]
3.
In a way of hypocritical palliation
[Here we must go back to our first parents, when interrogated respecting their eating of the forbidden fruit. The man cast the blame upon his wife; or rather upon God himself, who had given her to him: The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. The woman, in like manner, shifted the blame from herself, and cast it on the serpent: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat [Note: Gen 3:11-13.]. So sinners of every description find something to palliate their guilt; The faults they have committed have not been of an enormous kind: the commissions have been but rare: they have not injured any one: they have had no evil intention: their hearts have been good, though their actions have not been altogether so correct. But God seeth not as man seeth: man looketh on the outward appearance: but God seeth the heart.]
But men cannot deceive God; as will be seen by,
II.
The charge which God brings against them
However we may justify ourselves, God will reprove us, and set before us the things that we have done [Note: Psa 50:21.]. In the passage before us, he substantiates his charge against his offending people,
1.
By an appeal to fact
[See thy way in the valley: know what thou hast done. In the valleys, as well as in the hills, thine idolatries obtrude themselves upon the notice of the whole world: they are not discovered by secret search [Note: ver. 24.]: they do not even affect concealment. And may we not say to you also, See your ways in the valleys? Look at your whole lives: what are they but one continued scene of rebellion against God? Trace your conduct, from your youth up: what have you done, but love and serve the creature more than the Creator? and yet you will say, We have not gone after Baalim. What is idolatry if this be not? and how can you provoke God to jealousy more than by the very conduct which you have pursued from your earliest youth? Look at your very religion: what has it been, but a mere form, without any vital power; a shadow, without any substance? It is not by occasional slips that you have fallen, but by one entire uninterrupted course of conduct, Who amongst you will deny this? What excuses can you find for this? What palliations can such criminal proceedings admit of?]
2.
By a most apt comparison
[The dromedary and the wild ass, when seeking their mate, are so bent upon the attainment of their desires, that all efforts to catch them are in vain: and no one will weary himself with so fruitless a labour. But, when their time of pregnancy has advanced, they fall comparatively an easy prey to the pursuer. And it is but to little purpose that we follow you with invitations, entreaties, expostulations, warnings: you will not hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. It is perfectly surprising to see how little effect is produced on the minds of the generality by all the labours of the most faithful ministers. There is occasion for the same complaint in every age, and every place: Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Let your own consciences testify whether the representation here given be not just and true.]
There is a time, however, when we may hope to prevail: and in the hope that it may have arrived, we will, in a word of application, now address ourselves unto you
[Happy, happy would it be, if you began at last to be weary and heavy-laden with your sins! This is the time that God looketh for: and it is the time that we look for also, in the hope that we may prevail upon you to return unto your God. Verily, we may ask with confidence, What fruit have ye had of the things whereof ye are now ashamed? What, but disappointment and misery and death? O, then, return unto Him from whom ye have deeply revolted And what does God require of you, in order to your acceptance with him? He says, Only acknowledge thine iniquity [Note: Jer 3:13.]. So, then, say I also; and know, that if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ burthened with your sins, he will speedily and most assuredly give you rest. Whilst you cover your sins, you cannot prosper: but if you confess and forsake them, you will have mercy [Note: Pro 28:13.] Hear the beloved Apostle: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [Note: 1Jn 1:8-9.]. Receive this testimony, and act upon it; so your iniquities, how great or numerous soever they have been, shall not be your ruin [Note: Eze 18:30. Here the fulness and sufficiency of Christ may be set forth to advantage.] ]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
Ver. 23. How canst thou say, I am not polluted? ] q.d., With what face? but that sin hath woaded an impudence in thy face.
I have not gone after Baalim.
See thy way in the valley.
Thou art a swift dromedary.
a De Nat. Deor.
b Sol et homo generant hominem.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I have not gone. Some codices, with four early printed editions (one in margin), Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac, read, “and I have not gone”, &c.
Baalim = lords. Used here for false gods generally, including Moloch. Compare Jer 7:31; Jer 19:5; where Moloch is called Baal.
traversing = entangling.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
How canst: Jer 2:34, Jer 2:35, Gen 3:12, Gen 3:13, 1Sa 15:13, 1Sa 15:14, Psa 36:2, Pro 28:13, Pro 30:12, Pro 30:20, Luk 10:29, Rom 3:19, 1Jo 1:8-10, Rev 3:17, Rev 3:18
see: Jer 3:2, Psa 50:21, Eze 16:1-63, Eze 23:1-49
valley: Jer 7:31, Isa 57:5, Isa 57:6
thou art a swift: or, O swift, Est 8:16
Reciprocal: Jdg 2:11 – and served Baalim 2Sa 11:12 – General 2Sa 14:32 – if there 2Ch 17:3 – sought Est 8:10 – young dromedaries Psa 32:5 – have Pro 16:2 – the ways Jer 2:29 – will ye plead Jer 2:33 – Why Jer 2:36 – gaddest Jer 3:1 – but thou hast Jer 14:10 – have they Jer 31:22 – How Eze 16:25 – at every Hos 2:13 – she went Hos 12:8 – they Mat 22:12 – And he was Mat 25:44 – when Joh 14:9 – how
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 2:23. Sometimes a person will deny an accusation when the evidence of his guilt is displayed in full sight. Israel denied the guilt of Idolatry but the Lord pointed to signs of guilt that were unmistakable. Baal was one of the heathen gods that was also worshiped by the people of Israel. For more information on this word see the comments at Jdg 2:11-13 in volume 1 of this Commentary. Way is from a word that Strong defines, “A course of life or mode Of action,” and the Lord is pointing an accusing finger to the actions of Israel in the valley. This word is from gay which Strong defines, A gorge (from its lofty sides; hence narrow, but not a gully or winter torrent).” From this definition it may be seen the word refers to a dry depression In the earth that can be used for human activities. The conduct to which this verse refers is that of idolatrous sacrifices which the Israelites offered in this place. Incidentally, the name of one particular valley is the source of the word Gehenna, one of the words translated “hell” in the New Testament. It will be well to give the reader some Information from the lexicons on this interesting but much-perverted word. “The name Geenna . . , the narrow valley skirling Jerusalem on the south, running down from the west into the valley of Jehoshaphat, under Mount Zion. Here the ancient Israelites established the idolatrous worship of Moloch, to whom they burned infants in sacrifice; 2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31-32; Jer 32:35; compare Jer 2:23 [our present verse]; Jer 19:6; Jer 19:13.” Robinson’s Greek Lexicon, Gehenna, properly the valley of Hin- nom, south of Jerusalem, once celebrated for the horrid worship of Moloch, and afterwards polluted with every species of filth, as well as the carcasses of animals, and dead bodies of malefactors: to consume which, in order to avert the pestilence such a mass of corruption would occasion, constant fires were keDt burning; hence, hell, the fires of Tartarus, the place of punishment in Hades. Mat 5:22; Mat 5:29-30.”-Greenfield, With such practices as here described, and they being conducted so near the very capita] of the nation. It was foolish for the people of Israel to deny their guilt of idolatry. Traversing means to travel or move hack and forth, going over the same spots again and again. Comparing Israel to a dromedary (a young camel) is to indicate the greater activities in the practice of idolatry since a younger animal would be likely to be more energetic. In the beginning of this paragraph the reference was to Baalim, while the above quotations from the lexicon refer to Moloch. That is the name of another heathen god, but the various false gods were so much alike, and the services offered to them had so many principles in common, that a person guilty of devotion to one was Justly charged with devotion to the other.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 2:23-24. How canst thou say, I am not polluted? With what face canst thou go about to excuse thyself, or deny what is so evident, and so truly charged upon thee? see Jer 2:20. I have not gone after Baalim The word is plural, because meant to comprehend all their idols; being a name usually given to several of them, as Baal-peor, Num 25:3; Baal-zebub, 2Ki 1:16. Because they had the temple, and sacrifices offered therein, &c., they still persuaded themselves that they worshipped the true God, though they joined their idolatries with his worship. Thus the Papists, though they make use of idols in their worship, yet pretend they are not idolaters. See thy way in the valley Whether of Hinnom, (where they burned their children in sacrifice,) or in any valleys where thou hast been frequent in thy idolatries. Know what thou hast done Look on, and consider thy ways. Thou art a swift dromedary, traversing her ways Or, as a swift dromedary. The prophet compares their fondness for a variety of idols to the eagerness with which, in the time of breeding, the swift dromedaries are wont to traverse the plain, and run to and fro in every direction. And the impossibility of restraining one of those fleet animals, when hurried away by the impetuous call of nature, is represented as a parallel to that unbridled lust and eagerness with which the people of Judah ran after the gratification of their passion for idolatry, called spiritual whoredom. Blaney. A wild ass Or, as a wild ass; used to the wilderness Another similitude, for the more lively description of the same thing. That snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure This should rather be rendered, When she snuffeth up the wind in her lust; meaning the time when the female asses seek the males by the wind, smelling them afar off. In her occasion When she is desirous of the male; who can turn her away? She bears down all opposition. All that seek her will not weary themselves They will not bestow their labour in vain, but will let her take her course, and wait their time and opportunity for taking her. In her month they shall find her Hebrew, , which Blaney renders, when her heat is over; or, in her renewal, deriving the noun from the verb , to renew. That is, says he, when the heat is abated, and she begins to come about again to the same state as before the fit came on. The LXX. seem so to have understood it: , when she is humbled, they shall find her. And perhaps it was designed to insinuate to the Jews, by way of reproach, that they were less governable than even the brute beast, which, after having followed the bent of appetite for a little time, would cool again, and return quietly home to her owners: but the idolatrous fit in them seemed never to abate, nor to suffer the people to return to their duty. Or else it may mean, that when their affairs took a new turn, and became adverse, then would be the time when, being humbled, they would again have recourse to the true God who alone could save them. The expression, in her month, is explained in the margin of our ancient Bible to mean, when she is with foal, an interpretation which many commentators follow. Thus Henry: They that seek her will have a little patience till she is big with young, heavy, and unwieldy; and then they shall find her, and she cannot outrun them. And he thus applies it: The time will come when the most fierce will be tamed, and the most wanton will be manageable: when distress and anguish come upon them, then their ears will be open to discipline; that is the month in which you may find them. Psa 141:5-6.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not {h} gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift {i} dromedary traversing her ways;
(h) Meaning that hypocrites deny that they worship the idols, but that they honour God in them, and therefore they call their doings God’s service.
(i) He compares the idolaters to these beasts, because they never cease running to and fro: for both valleys and hills are full of their idolatry.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Neither could Israel deny that she had gone after Canaanite idols, though the people tried to. The Judahites worshipped Baal and Molech in the Hinnom Valley just south of Jerusalem (cf. Jer 7:31-32; 2Ki 23:10). All Judah had to do was examine her experiences, and she would see that she was all tangled up, like a young camel that got tangled up in its ropes from thrashing around where it did not belong.