Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 31:22
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
22. How long wilt thou go hither and thither ] How long wilt thou hesitate to return? A sign follows, in order to induce Israel to complete her reconciliation with her offended God.
backsliding ] lit. back-turning, i.e. recusant, apostate.
the Lord hath created, etc.] No explanation that has been given of the latter part of the v. is quite satisfactory. But the sense clearly is that in some way the natural order of things shall be reversed. The best interpretation is perhaps that it shall be the bride that shall court her husband, i.e. “instead of shyly keeping aloof or worse (as hitherto), Israel, Jehovah’s bride, shall with eager affection press around her divine husband” (Cheyne). Another explanation is that such is the Lord’s condescension towards Israel, that He will for her glory allow the natural order to be reversed, and deign to accept protection (of His Temple, services, honour, etc.) at her hands. For this sense of cherishing, protecting, as belonging to the Heb. verb of the clause, we may compare Deu 32:10, “He (the Lord) led him (Israel) about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye”; and Psa 32:10, “He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.” Some commentators, by a very slight change in the Heb. vocalisation, obtain the rendering, a woman shall be turned into a man, i.e. shall be given the courage of a man, so that all fear and hesitation on her part may be at an end.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 22. A woman shall compass a man] nekebah tesobeb gaber, “A weak woman shall compass or circumvent a strong man.” This place has given much trouble to Biblical critics. By many Christian writers it is considered a prophecy of the miraculous conception of the holy virgin; but as I am sure no such meaning is in the words, nor in the context, so I am satisfied no such meaning can be fairly brought out of them. Houbigant thinks there is a small error in the text, i.e., teshobeb, shall return, and not tesobeb, shall compass. This reading is found in two of Kennicott’s MSS., and he contends that the passage should be read, “The wife shall return to her husband;” alluding to the conversion of the Jewish people, called above a backsliding daughter. This makes a good sense; but I do not see why this should be called a new thing in the earth. After all, I think it likely that the Jews in their present distressed circumstances are represented under the similitude of a weak defenseless female nekebah; and the Chaldeans under that of a fierce strong man, gaber, who had prevailed over and oppressed this weak woman. But, notwithstanding the disparity between them, God would cause the woman – the weak defenseless Jews, to compass – to overcome, the strong man – the powerful Babylonians. And this the prophet says would be a new thing in the land; for in such a case the lame would take the prey. The context favours both these meanings. Dr. Blayney gives a sense very near to this: “A weak woman shall repulse a strong or mighty man.” It is most likely a proverbial expression.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That the Jews are here meant by the
backsliding daughter is out of question; but what going about is here intended is not so plain. Some interpret it of their running after idols; some, of their seeking help from foreign nations, instead of applying themselves unto God; others, of their wandering up and down in captivity. But the greater difficulty is about this
new thing, which the Lord saith he will
create in the new earth, a woman compassing a man; some by women understanding feeble persons that should prevail against strong men. But the two interpretations of this difficult passage, which seem most reasonably to contend for preference, are,
1. The interpretation of those who think it contains a promise both of the Jewish church in its time, and of the gospel church after the Jewish churchs period, prevailing, over all its enemies, whether temporal or spiritual; though, considering the paucity of the churchs members, with the multitude of its enemies, and their power, it seemed as strange a thing as for a woman to prevail against a strong and mighty man. This the learned author of the English Annotations judgeth the true and genuine sense of these words.
2. Others interpret this woman to be the Virgin Mary, who was to enclose in her womb the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom the converted Jews were to adhere; which sense neither Mr. Calvin nor our learned English Annotator approve of. But it being the received sense of very many interpreters, it is fit we should hear their reasons, which are,
1. They urge the particle for God, they say, here gives the reason why the Jews should desire to return into the country of Judea, because the Messias was to be born there.
2. They urge the term created, the body of Christ being not begotten by man, but created by God, though of the flesh of the Virgin.
3. They say this indeed was a new thing. It was a new thing for a virgin to become a mother, still remaining a virgin, and to be the mother of him who was God blessed for ever, though not the mother of the Divine nature; for so Christ answered the type of Melchisedec, without father as man, without mother as God.
4. All other encompassings of a man they say were as well out of Judea as in it, this was in Judea only.
5. The word translated woman in Scripture they say always signifies a particular individual woman, which could be no other than the Virgin.
6. They say the whole context refers to benefits coming by Christ, therefore he must certainly be the man here intended.
7. They urge that this prophecy follows Jer 31:15, which, Mat 2:8, is applied by the evangelist to Herods murder of the infants upon the birth of Christ. But on the other side it is objected,
1. That the verb is never used in Scripture to signify such an encompassing.
2. That the word translated a man, signifying a strong man, doth not properly agree to an infant in the mothers belly. But it is again replied,
1. That this is not the only word in Scripture that is but once read in the same sense.
2. That the Word signifieth any encompassing, and may be properly applied to the Virgins womb encompassing an infant. And for the word translated man, they say it is applied to a new-born infant, Job 3:3; Isa 9:6; that it is applied to God, Deu 10:17, and to Christ, Zec 13:7, compared with Mat 26:31. In a matter wherein so many learned men are divided, it is enough for me to give their opinions and reasons, leaving my reader to his own judgment, in a matter wherein neither his faith nor holiness are much concerned; for the question is not concerning the thing, whether Christ was encompassed in the womb of a woman, which is plain enough from other scriptures, but only whether that be the sense of the phrase here.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. go aboutnamely, afterhuman helps (Jer 2:18; Jer 2:23;Jer 2:36). Why not returnimmediately to me? MAURERtranslates, as in So 5:6, “Howlong wilt thou withdraw thyself?” Let thy pastbackslidings suffice thee now that a new era approaches. WhatGod finds fault with in them is, that they looked hither andthither, leaning on contingencies, instead of at once trustingthe word of God, which promised their restoration. To assure them ofthis, God promises to create a new thing in their land, A womanshall compass a man. CALVINexplains this: Israel, who is feeble as a woman, shall be superior tothe warlike Chaldeans; the captives shall reduce their captors tocaptivity. HENGSTENBERGmakes the “woman” the Jewish Church, and the “man”Jehovah, her husband, whose love she will again seek (Hos 2:6;Hos 2:7). MAURER,A woman shall protect (De 32:10,Margin; Ps 32:10) aman, that is, You need fear no foes in returning, for all thingsshall be so peaceful that a woman would be able to take man’spart, and act as his protector. But the Christian fathers(Augustine, c.) almost unanimously interpreted it of the VirginMary compassing Christ in her womb. This view is favored:(1)By the connection it gives a reason why the exiles should desire areturn to their country, namely, because Christ was conceived there.(2) The word “created” implies a divine power put forth inthe creation of a body in the Virgin’s womb by the Holy Ghost for thesecond Adam, such as was exerted in creating the first Adam (Luk 1:35;Heb 10:5). (3) The phrase, “anew thing,” something unprecedented; a man whose like hadnever existed before, at once God and man; a mother out of theordinary course of nature, at once mother and virgin. Anextraordinary mode of generation; one conceived by the Holy Ghostwithout man. (4) The specification “in the land” (not”earth,” as English Version), namely, of Judah,where probably Christ was conceived, in Hebron (compareLuk 1:39; Luk 1:42;Luk 1:44; Jos 21:11)or else in Nazareth, “in the territory” of Israel,to whom Jer 31:5; Jer 31:6;Jer 31:15; Jer 31:18;Jer 31:21 refer; His birthwas at Beth-lehem (Mic 5:2;Mat 2:5; Mat 2:6).As the place of His nativity, and of His being reared (Mt2:23), and of His preaching (Hag 2:7;Mal 3:1), are specified, so it islikely the Holy Spirit designated the place of His being conceived.(5) The Hebrew for “woman” implies an individual,as the Virgin Mary, rather than a collection of persons. (6)The restoration of Israel is grounded on God’s covenant in Christ,to whom, therefore, allusion is naturally made as the foundation ofIsrael’s hope (compare Isa 7:14).The Virgin Mary’s conception of Messiah in the womb answers tothe “Virgin of Israel” (therefore so called, Jer31:21), that is, Israel and her sons at their final restoration,receiving Jesus as Messiah (Zec12:10). (7) The reference to the conception of the childMessiah accords with the mention of the massacre of “children”referred to in Jer 31:15(compare Mt 2:17). (8) TheHebrew for “man” is properly “mighty man,”a term applied to God (De10:17); and to Christ (Zec13:7; compare Psa 45:3;Isa 9:6) [CALOVIUS].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter?…. From place to, place, from country to country, from one kingdom to another, as the Jews do to this day; and not return unto the Lord, and David their king, and to their own country? Or, “how long wilt thou be foolish” a? in backsliding from the Lord; in slighting the written word; neglecting the promises and prophecies, the exhortations, cautions, and instructions therein given; in adhering to and extolling the traditions of the elders, even above the Scriptures; in pertinaciously rejecting the Messiah, next prophesied of; all which folly the Jews are still guilty of, and continue in. So the word signifies in the Arabic language b;
for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man; a mighty one, a mighty man, the man Jehovah’s fellow; conceived, contained, and encompassed, in the womb of the virgin, the woman, whose seed he was to be of, and of whom he was: this was a “new”, unheard of, extraordinary thing, a “creation”, a work of almighty power! the human nature of Christ was formed and prepared by the power of the Holy Ghost, without the help of man; and this now is mentioned as an argument and an encouragement to the Jews to return to their own land, since the Messiah is born there of a virgin, as it was foretold he should. This seems to be the true and genuine sense of the words, and other senses weak and impertinent; as when they are made to refer to the heroic spirit in some women superior to men; to the unusual practice of women suing to men for marriage; and to the people of Israel returning to the Lord from their apostasy. So the Targum,
“for, behold, the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth and the people of the house of Israel have given themselves up to the law.”
And very foreign are the senses which some Christian interpreters give of this passage; as when they interpret it of the Jews conquering and oppressing their enemies; or of the Jewish church seeking after God, her husband, when separated from him; or of the Christian church, though weak, resisting her mighty persecutors by her confession of faith, and overcoming them; or of the church under the New Testament embracing Christ; which indeed is preferable to the other, and especially to that Popish one of the eucharist containing the body of Christ c; but the true sense is what is before given: and even some of the Jewish doctors themselves have acknowledged, that the Messiah is here intended. In an ancient d book of theirs, on mention of these words, it is added,
“this shall be in the time of the Messiah, which will be on the sixth day;”
that is, the sixth millennium And elsewhere e “a woman shall compass a man”; says R. Hona, in the name of R. Ame, this is the King Messiah. So says R. Joshua ben Levi f,
“he, that is, God, heals with the same he wounds; so will you find in Israel, they sinned by a virgin, and were punished in virgins, Eze 23:1; so he comforts them by a virgin, according to Jer 31:21; “turn again, O virgin of Israel”, &c. “a woman shall compass a man”. R Huna, in the name of R. Idi and R. Joshua, said, that this man is the King Messiah, of whom it is said, Ps 2:7, “this day have I begotten thee” g.”
a “quamdiu fatua eris?” Majus apud Stockium, p. 358. b “mente laboravit, stultus fuit”, Golius, col. 653. “et dementer, more fatui egit”, Camus & Giggeius apud Castel. col. 1289. Arab. “fatuatus, nugatus fuit, ineptiit”, Schindler, col. 603. c Vid. Erlmanni, “novum omnium novorum”, &c. ad Jer. xxxi. 22. in Thesaur. Dissert. Theolog. Philolog. tom 1. p. 851. d Zohar in Gen. tom. 13. 4. e In Abarbinel. Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 37. 4. f Apud Moses Hadarsan in Gen. c. 41. Vid. Galatin. de Arcanis Cath. Ver. l. 7. c. 14. p. 52, 526. g See my book of the “Prophecies of the Messiah”, &c. p. 100, 101.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As the Prophet had promised a return to the people, he now reproves especially the Israelites, who looked here and there, and never could acquiesce in the word of God alone: for it is a common thing with almost all the unbelieving, that they torment themselves, and, as it were, designedly contrive for themselves many inquietudes. Since then the Israelites were looking forward to what might happen, and could not entertain any hope as to their return, except when some appearance of hope was presented to them, the Prophet now on this account reproves them.
He first calls the people disobedient or rebellions, for they had often been terrified by threatenings, and God had also offered them the hope of pardon. As they had been perverse whenever God spared them, and as they had also rejected all his promises, the Prophet does not without reason call them disobedient or rebellious. And by circuits or wanderings, he means those vain speculations with which the unbelieving are wont to weary themselves; for the word means properly to go around. We may indeed take it in the sense of wandering, and it is the same thing: but as I have said, the Prophet most fitly gives the name of circuits to those crooked and tortuous speculations in which the unbelieving indulged. And there seems to be understood a contrast between the straight way set before theIn by God, and those circuitous courses in which miserable men entangle themselves, when they do not follow God, but are led astray by their own vain devices. Isaiah also makes use of the same similitude, for he says, that the people were carried away by their own inventions, so that they fruitlessly wearied themselves, because they did not proceed in the straight way. (Isa 57:10) (43)
We may hence deduce a useful doctrine, — that we are always within the boundary of safety, when we obey God and walk in the way set before us in his word; but that as soon as we turn aside from the right way, we are only drawn here and there through windings and strayings, so that our labor is at last useless and even ruinous.
We now then understand the meaning of the Prophet: as the unbelief of the people was, as it were, a sealed door, so that they did not receive God’s promises as to their liberation and return, his purpose here was to correct this evil, and to reprove the Israelites for wandering and being disobedient.
He afterwards adds, For behold Jehovah will create — literally, has created; but the past tense is here to be taken for the future; and it serves to shew the certainty of a thing when he uses the past tense, as though he was speaking of a thing already done: Jehovah then has created a new thing He intimates that the Israelites acted foolishly in estimating the promise of deliverance according to their own judgment of things, and the state of things as it appeared to them; for he says that the favor promised them would be wonderful, for this is what he means by a new thing, as though he had said, “Ye indeed judge, according to your usual manner, of what God promises to you, as to your return, but it will be a miracle; act not then perversely, by regarding the favor of God as the common order of nature, for God will surpass everything that is usual among men.”
It ought also to be observed, that what Jeremiah said of the redemption of the people is to be extended to the eternal salvation of the Church; for God in a wonderful manner raises the dead, defends and preserves his Church, and succors her in her troubles. Whenever then the Scripture speaks of the state of the Church, we ought to ascend above the world, and above our own conceptions, and to realize the miracle which is hid from us.
Now follows the miracle, A woman shall surround a ‘man Christians, almost with one consent, explain this of the virgin Mary; and the “new thing,” leads them to this opinion, and probably, also, they were anxious to lay hold on whatever might seem to refer to the mystery of our salvation. They, therefore, say that the new thing of which the Prophet speaks is the virgin carrying the infant Christ in her womb, and that he is called man, because he was full of divine power, though he increased according to the flesh in stature, wisdom, and strength. All this is deservedly laughed at by the Jews; yet they themselves, as I think, do not rightly understand the meaning of the Prophet. They apply it to the people of Israel, because they were like a woman divorced from her husband. They then say, “A woman shall embrace a man after having been alienated from him, and prostituted herself to many adulterers.” The Jews seem to think that they give the meaning of the Prophet; but I think otherwise, for there is here a comparison made between a woman and a man, which they do not consider. For the Prophet does not speak here simply of a man, but of a strong man; for the word גבר geber, means a man who is brave or courageous. When, therefore, he compares a woman to a man, I doubt not but the Prophet means that the Israelites, who were like women, without strength, were destitute of any means of help; but then he says, that they would be superior in strength to their enemies, whose power filled the whole world with terror. We, indeed, know what sort of monarchy Babylon was when the Jews were led into exile. If then we consider what the Jews at that time were, we must say that they were like weak women, while their enemies were strong and warlike: A woman then shall surround a man (44)
The word סבב, sebab, means not to embrace, but oftentimes to besiege; and it is taken in many places of Scripture in a bad sense, “Enemies have surrounded me.” When, therefore, a siege is mentioned, the Scripture uses this word. It is then the same as though the Prophet had said, “Women shall bring men into such straits that they shall hold them captive.” (45) But he uses the singular number, as though he had said, “One woman shall be superior to many men, or each Jew shall exceed in valor a Chaldean; so the Jews shall gain the upper hand, though the strength of their enemies be great and terrible.” This is what I regard as the meaning of the Prophet; and justly does he set forth this as a wonderful thing, for it, was a sort of revolution in the world when God thus raised up his servants, so that they who had enslaved them should become far unequal to them. It follows, —
(43) The verb, rendered “going about,” only occurs here in Hithpael, and once in Kal, Son 5:6; where it means to “withdraw,” or recede, or turn aside. And this sense of withdrawing is what is given to it here both by the Sept., the Targ., and the Syr.; but it is the withdrawing from accepting the return offered. We may give this version, —
How long wilt thou decline, (i.e., to return,) O daughter of the restoration?
She had been before exhorted to return in the previous verse: she is now blamed for her unwillingness, which seems to have arisen from fear, and a sense of weakness. Then comes in most appropriately what follows, if interpreted according to the explanation of Calvin. The verb שב, the root of, השובבה, means more frequently to turn to, to return, than to turn away, to apostatize. — Ed
(44) Whatever may be the meaning of this clause, it cannot certainly be applied to the miraculous conception of our Saviour, and for this plain reason, as Blayney observes, that the only thing the passage announces, if viewed in this light, is this, — that a woman shall conceive a male child, which is nothing new, but a common event; for the word here for “woman,” is not what signifies a virgin, but what designates only the sex; it means properly a female as distinguished from a male. Henry, as well as Blayney and Adam Clarke, agree materially with Calvin, as to the meaning of this sentence. — Ed.
(45) The principal objection to this interpretation has been, that it was not by overcoming their enemies by force of arms that the Jews returned. The answer to this is, that this is a sort of proverbial expression, intimating that the weakest would prevail over the strongest. Besides, though the Jews returned by virtue of the edict of the king of Persia, yet they had many and strong enemies to oppose them. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) How long wilt thou go about . . .?The word describes the restless pacing to and fro of impatient, unsatisfied desire. The backsliding daughteri.e., the adulterous yet now penitent wifeis described, like Gomer in the parable or history of Hos. 2:7, as hesitating between her lovers and her husband.
A woman shall compass a man.The verse is obscure, and has received very different interpretations. It will be well to begin our inquiry with the meaning which the translators attached to it. On this point the following quotation from Shakespeare is decisive :
If I can check my erring love, I will;
If not, to compass her Ill use my skill.
Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 4.
To compass is to woo and win. And this gives, it is believed, the true meaning. The Hebrew verb (which presents a striking assonance with the word for backsliding) means literally to go round about, and this (as in Psa. 26:6; Psa. 32:7; Psa. 32:10) as an act of reverential tenderness and love. In the normal order of mans life, the bridegroom woos the bride. In the spiritual relationship which the prophet has in view, this shall be inverted, and Israel, the erring but repentant wife, shall woo her Divine husband. The history of Gomer in Hos. 2:14-20 again presents a striking parallel. A like inversion of the normal order is indicated, though with a different meaning, in Isa. 4:1, where the seven women might be said to compass the one man. It may be noticed that the words used express the contrast of the two sexes in the strongest possible form. A female shall compass (i.e., woo) a male, possibly as emphasising the fact that what the prophet describes was an exception to the normal order, not of human society only, but of the whole animal society. By some interpreters (Ewald) the words are rendered a woman shall be turned into a man; meaning that the weak shall be made strong, as a kind of contrast to the opposite kind of transformation in Jer. 30:6; but this gives a far less satisfactory meaning, and the same may be said of such translations as the woman shall protect the man, and a woman shall put a man to flight. The notion that the words can in even the remotest degree be connected with the mystery of the Incarnation belongs to the region of dreams, and not of realities; and, lacking as it does the support of even any allusive reference to it in the New Testament, can only be regarded, in spite of the authority of the many Fathers and divines who have adopted it, as the outgrowth of a devout but uncritical imagination. The word used for woman, indeed, absolutely excludes the idea of the virgin-birth.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. A woman shall compass a man Numerous explanations of these unusual words have been given; as “The woman shall be changed to a man,” ( Ewald;) “The woman shall court the man,” ( Hitzig;) “The woman shall keep close to the man,” ( Hengstenberg;) “The woman shall turn the man to herself,” ( Nagelsbach;) “The woman shall protect the man,” ( Gesenius, et al.,) etc. But neither one of them perfectly suits the connexion, and most of them are lexically indefensible. The new thing is, that the woman (Israel) shall compass the man (Jehovah;) that is, embrace him lovingly and trustfully. This is “new” in that it is an intimacy of union surpassing the former times. Such is Jehovah’s condescension, that Israel is permitted to do what Christ forbade to Mary Magdalene when he said, “Touch me not.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 31:22. How long, &c. How long wilt thou turn backward, or be a backslider, O rebellious daughter? Houbigant. In which words, says he, the Jews are described in their present state, refusing assent to the Gospel, though they confess that they have erred in interpreting the prophets and promises of God. The next clause is understood by many of the best Christian writers of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary; nor, say they, will it be thought that such a prophesy concerning the conception of Christ is here inserted abruptly, if it be considered that as the coming of the Messiah is the foundation of all the promises both of the first and second covenant; so it contains the most powerful argument to persuade men to obedience; and that covenant of which Christ was to be the mediator, is plainly foretold and described in the 31st and following verses of this chapter.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 31:22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
Ver. 22. How long will thou go about? ] Hunting after human helps, and – refusing to set thy heart on the right straight way Jer 31:21 – fetch a compass, to thy loss of time and labour.
O thou backsliding daughter.
For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth.
A woman shall compass a man.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
go about: i.e. in order to elude by withdrawing. Elsewhere only in Son 5:6.
new thing. The interpretation must satisfy this condition.
in the earth = in the land. This is another condition.
A woman = A spouse: i.e. Israel shall turn and cleave to the Mighty One. See Gen 1:27; Gen 5:2; Gen 6:19; Gen 7:3, Gen 7:9, Gen 7:16. Lev 3:1, Lev 3:6; Lev 4:28; Lev 5:6, &c. Here, the virgin of Israel.
compass = turn about [so as to return to and seek the favour of] the man. A “new thing”for a woman to become the suitor. See Jer 31:14 and Deu 24:4. Hos 2:19, &c. Hebrew. sabab, to turn about, used in Psa 26:6, “so will I compass Thine altar”, not go round it, but keep close to it. Compare Psa 7:7. (Jon 2:5, “closed me round”). Instead of “going about”, wandering (first line), the virgin of Israel will seek, and cleave close to the Mighty One, even Jehovah, as a girdle cleaves to a man.
a man = a mighty one. Hebrew. geber. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 31:22. For the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
Here is a prophecy of the birth of Immanuel, God with us, born of a woman by the supernatural power of the Holy Ghost. Mary was indeed blessed among women, and we rejoice in that Man who was thus miraculously born to be the Saviour, Christ the Lord.
Jer 31:23-30. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
There are good times in store for Israel; Jerusalem shall then be the habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.
Jer 31:26. Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
Jeremiah woke up with a pleasant impression of his vision upon him, and well he might, for was there ever a more blessed one than that of which we have just read?
Jer 31:27-28. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.
All the ingenuity of heaven seems to be taxed to bless believers; and just as man sought out many inventions for evil, God in his infinite love and mercy seeks out many inventions for the good of his people.
Jer 31:29-30. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
We live under a personal dispensation, there is no such thing as hereditary godliness or salvation by proxy. Every man must for himself repent, and for himself believe. Vain and foolish is the idea that, because we have had Christian parents, therefore we also are Christians.
Jer 31:31-32. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD.
What bliss it is to know about this new covenant! Let us notice its tenor.
Jer 31:33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;-
Not on the tables of stone, not on the walls of the church, but I will write it in their hearts; –
Jer 31:33. And will be their God, and they shall be my people.
You may have heard it said that Christ will not leave his people, but that his people may leave him; but in this promise the second contingency is provided for as well as the first.
Jer 31:34-37. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD, If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
What a God of infinite mercy he is!
This exposition consisted of readings from Lam 3:1-33; and Jer 31:22-37
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
How: Jer 2:18, Jer 2:23, Jer 2:36, Jer 4:14, Jer 13:27, Hos 8:5
backsliding: Jer 3:6, Jer 3:8, Jer 3:11, Jer 3:12, Jer 3:14, Jer 3:22, Jer 7:24, Jer 8:4-6, Jer 14:7, Jer 49:4, Hos 4:16, Hos 11:7, Hos 14:4, Zec 7:11
created: Num 16:30
A woman: [Strong’s H5347], literally “A female (‘one who is only a woman, not a wife, namely a virgin,’ says Cocceius) shall encompass a man,” or a male child. Comp. Job 3:3. Which, together with the addition of a new creation, may well be understood to denote the miraculous conception. Hence the Jews have applied it determinately to the Messiah. In Berashith Rabba (Parash 89) it is said, that as God punished Israel in a virgin, so would he also heal; and in Midrash Tillim, on Psa 2:1-12, R. Huna, in the name of R. Idi, speaking of the sufferings of the Messiah, says, that when his hour is come, God shall say, “I must create him with a new creation; and so he saith, This day I have begotten thee.” Gen 3:15, Isa 7:14, Mat 1:21, Luk 1:34, Luk 1:35, Gal 4:4
Reciprocal: Lev 4:28 – a kid Deu 4:23 – lest ye forget Psa 98:1 – for he Ecc 1:9 – and there Isa 9:6 – his name Isa 43:19 – I will do Isa 45:8 – I the Lord Zec 1:16 – I am Mat 1:20 – that Luk 1:27 – General Act 3:19 – when 1Ti 2:15 – she Heb 10:5 – but Rev 12:5 – she
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 31:22. At verse 15 we observe the prophet extending his vision to the time of Christ for a few sentences, then resuming his line concerning ancient Israel: he is doing the same thing in this verse. He speaks in re-assuring terras to his dejected people by promising that a very important event was to happen tn their home land, which was that a woman shall compass a man. This evidently referred to the virgin conception and birth of Christ. It might be asked if this clause could not be said of all conceptions. There is a special fact in the case of Mary and Christ. Man is from OGBEB and Strong defines it, A valiant man or warrior.” This gives to the word a peculiar meaning that could apply especially to Christ. According to Joh 8:58 Jesus existed before he was conceived by Mary, and also according to Luke 10; Luke 18 he w-as a. powerful being before he left Heaven. Hence we can understand that when Mary received him into her body she really did compass a man, a valiant man as the lexicon has tt.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 31:22. How long wilt thou go about Or, go out of the right way, or follow thine own imaginations, O thou backsliding daughter Thou that didst formerly revolt from thy sovereign Lord, and decline from his worship and service, going after idols, and seeking help from foreign nations, instead of applying to him for it; and who now seemest to loiter when God calls thee to return homeward out of a strange country. The expression is often used of Israel, or the ten tribes: see Jer 3:6-12 : and of Judah and Israel together, ibid., Jer 31:14; Jer 31:22; both being comprehended under the title of the virgin of Israel, in the foregoing verse. For the Lord hath created, or doth create, a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man It is difficult to say, with any certainty, what this obscure passage means. Several ancient Jews expounded it of the Messiah, and most Christian interpreters understand it of the miraculous conception of the child Jesus in the womb of the virgin. Taking the words in this sense they properly import, as Lowth justly observes, a new creation, and such as is the immediate work of God. And that such a prophecy concerning the conception of Christ may not be thought to come in here abruptly, it is to be observed, that as the coming of the Messiah is the foundation of the promises, both of the first and second covenant; so it contains the most powerful arguments to persuade men to obedience: and the covenant, of which Christ was to be the Mediator is plainly foretold and described in the 31st and three following verses of this chapter. Blaney, however, thinks the original words, , cannot by any construction be brought to imply any such thing as the miraculous conception above mentioned. Admitting, he says, that the word may signify shall encompass, or, comprehend in the womb, and that , instead of an adult, or, strong man, (which the word generally means,)
may also signify a male child; yet the words, all taken together, still import no more than that a woman shall conceive, or contain, a male child: but this is nothing new or extraordinary, and therefore I presume it not the sense intended. Being of opinion that the word, which we translate compass, or encompass, may signify to cause to turn about, or repulse, he renders the clause, A woman shall put to the rout a strong man, judging it to be a proverbial form of speech, denoting, The weaker shall prevail over the stronger, an expression equivalent to, one shall chase a thousand. Now this, says he, it must be confessed, is in itself new and unusual, and contrary to the ordinary course of nature; and accordingly it is ascribed to the interposing power of God, who is said therein to create a new thing, or, in other words, to work a miracle. Interpreting the passage in this sense, he explains its connection with the context as follows: The virgin of Israel is exhorted not to turn aside, or decline the invitation given her to return, as she might, perhaps, be disposed to do through dread of the power of enemies, who would oppose her deliverance. For her encouragement she is told, that she had no reason to be apprehensive of the superior strength of any enemies, since God would work a miracle in her favour, and enable her, though apparently weak, to overcome and prevail against all their opposition. By an interpretation nearly allied to this, many understand the passage as being a promise that the Jewish Church in its time, and afterward the gospel church, should prevail over all its enemies; though comparing the fewness and weakness of the churchs members with the multitude of her enemies, and the greatness of their power, it seemed as strange a thing as for a woman to prevail against a strong and mighty man.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31:22 How long wilt thou wander about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created {d} a new thing in the earth, A woman shall encompass a man.
(d) Because their deliverance from Babylon was a figure of their deliverance from sin, he shows how this would be procured that is, by Jesus Christ, whom a woman would conceive and bear in her womb. Which is a strange thing in earth, because he would be born of a virgin without man or he means that Jerusalem which was like a barren woman in her captivity would be fruitful as she that is joined in marriage and whom God blesses with children.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Israel had wandered from the Lord long enough, as a wayward daughter. He would bring a new thing to pass, namely, Israel’s repentance and return to the land. The last line of this verse may have been a popular proverb describing something very unusual and unexpected. Some interpreters, following the early church father Jerome, have taken it as a prophecy about Mary’s conception of Jesus, but this seems unlikely. Others view it as simply a figure expressing security, here of Israel’s security back in the land. Perhaps the expression points to something amazing and hard to believe that would happen without being explicit about what it would be. Still other interpreters believe the woman represents Israel and the man Yahweh, the point being that the woman who had formerly departed from her Husband would cling to Him in the future (cf. Jer 2:20-21; Hosea 1-3). [Note: E.g., ibid., 2:29-31.] I prefer this view. Another view is that the woman, Israel, will become aggressive and will cling to and overpower warriors among the nations who will oppose her. [Note: Wiersbe, p. 123. See Feinberg, p. 571, and idem, "Jeremiah 31:22: Proverb, Promise, or Prophecy?" Bibliotheca Sacra 123:492 (October 1996): 315-24, and 124:493 (January 1967):16-21, for further discussion.]
"Two things are ’new,’ which have not been seen before in the land: (1) Faithless Israel, who is called a whore in chap. 3, will be taken back by God, even though such a thing is never done (Jer 3:1-2). (2) Mourning will be turned to joy." [Note: Scalise, p. 123.]