Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 47:2
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
2 7. The Prophecy regarding Philistia
2. waters rise up ] In Jer 46:8 the same figure was used for an army. Cp. Isa 8:7 (on which Co. thinks this v. to be based), where the Assyrian army is likened to the floods of the Euphrates.
an overflowing stream ] a river suddenly swelling up through the effect of the winter rains; a frequent occurrence in Palestine.
and the men shall howl ] Co. rejects this part of the v. both as over-passing the proper limits of the metre, and suggesting a universal judgement, which would be, according to him, a later conception.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Waters rise up – A metaphor for the assembling of an army (compare the marginal references).
Out of the north – The Chaldaean army must cross the Euphrates at Carchemish.
An overflowing flood – Or, torrent. To understand the metaphors of the Bible we must keep the natural phenomena of the country in mind. In Palestine rivers are torrents, dashing furiously along in the rainy seasons, and dry, or nearly so, in the summer.
All that is therein – The marginal rendering contrasts the wealth of Egypt, which forms its fullness, and the inhabitants.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Waters rise up out of the north] Waters is a common prophetic image for a multitude of people. The north here, as in other places of this prophecy, means Chaldea.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Calamities and afflictions are often in Scripture set out under the notion of waters; and as the miseries of Egypt were set out by the overflowings of their great river Nilus, so the calamities of the Philistines are expressed by the overflowings of the great river Euphrates; these miseries coming upon them by the Chaldeans, which were a northern people, their waters are said to
rise up out of the north. It is said to be an
overflowing flood that should
overflow the land, because it was to be a sweeping judgment, which like a flood should carry all before it, which should produce amongst the inhabitants of Gaza a great howling and lamentation.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. waters (Isa8:7). The Chaldeans from the north are compared to theoverwhelming waters of their own Euphrates. The smiting of Gaza wasto be only the prelude of a greater disaster to the Philistines.Nebuzara-dan was left by Nebuchadnezzar, after he had takenJerusalem, to subdue the rest of the adjoining cities and country.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thus saith the Lord, behold, waters rise up out of the north,…. Meaning an army of men, which should come in great numbers, and with great force and rapidity, like an overflowing flood. So the Targum,
“behold, people shall come from the north;”
that is, from Chaldea, which lay north of Palestine:
and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; or, “the fulness of it” u; the land of the Philistines, and carry off the men and cattle, and all the riches thereof;
the city, and them that dwell therein; not any particular or single city, as Gaza; but the several cities of Palestine, and the inhabitants of them:
then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl; not being able to do anything else; not to defend themselves, their families, and property; and seeing nothing but ruin and destruction before their eyes.
u “et plenitudinem ejus”, Schmidt, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, waters shall rise up out of the north, and shall become an inundating stream, and they shall inundate the land and its fulness, cities and those who dwell in them; and men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. Jer 47:3. Because of the sound of the trampling of the hoofs of his strong horses, because of the din of his chariots, the noise of his wheels, fathers to not look back to their children from weakness of hands; Jer 47:4. Because of the day that cometh to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Zidon every one remaining as a helper; for Jahveh destroyeth the Philistines, the remnant of the coast of Caphtor. Jer 47:5. Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is destroyed, the rest of their plain. How long wilt thou cut thyself? Jer 47:6. O sword of Jahveh, how long wilt thou not rest? Draw thyself back into thy sheath; rest, and be still. Jer 47:7. How canst thou be quiet, when Jahveh hath commanded thee? Against Ashkelon and against the sea-coast, there hath He appointed it.”
The address opens with a figure. The hostile army that is to devastate Philistia is represented as a stream of water, breaking forth from the north, and swelling to an overflowing winter-torrent, that inundates the country ad cities with their inhabitants. The figure is often used: cf. Jer 46:7-8, where the Egyptian host is compared to the waves of the Nile; and Isa 8:7, where the Assyrian army is likened to the floods of the Euphrates. The simile is applied here in another way. The figure is taken from a strong spring of water, coming forth in streams out of the ground, in the north, and swelling to an overflowing winter-torrent, that pours out its floods over Philistia, laying it waste. “From the north” is used here as in Jer 46:20, and points back to Jer 1:13-14. “An inundating stream” is here employed as in Isa 30:20; “earth and its fulness, a city and those who dwell in it,” as in Isa 8:16. In Jer 47:3 follows the application of the figure. It is a martial host that overflows the land, and with its mighty noise puts the inhabitants in such terror that they think only of a hasty flight; even fathers do not turn back to save their children. . . , Syriac s e at , incedere , gradi , hence probably the stamping of hoofs. , strong horses, as in Jer 8:16. , instead of the construct state, has perhaps been chosen only for the sake of introducing a variation; cf. Ewald, 290, a. , to turn the back, as in Jer 46:5. “Slackness of hands,” i.e., utter loss of courage through terror; cf. Jer 6:24 (the form only occurs here). In Jer 47:4 the deeper source of fear is mentioned; “because of the day,” i.e., because the day has come to destroy all the Philistines, namely, the day of the judgment determined by the Lord; cf. Jer 46:10. “In order to destroy every remnant helping Tyre and Zidon.” are the Philistines, who could afford help to the Phoenicians in the struggle against the Chaldean power. This implies that the Phoenicians also shall perish without any one to help them. This indirect mention of the Phoenicians appears striking, but it is to be explained partly on the ground that Jeremiah has uttered special prophecies only against the chief enemies of Judah, and partly also perhaps from the historical relations, i.e., from the fact that the Philistines might have afforded help to the Phoenicians in the struggles against the great powers of the world. Hitzig unnecessarily seeks to take as the object, and to expunge as a gloss. The objections which he raises against the construction are groundless, as is shown by such passages as Jer 44:7; Isa 14:22; 1Ki 14:10, etc. “The remaining helper” is the expression used, because the other nations that could help the Egyptians, viz., the Syrians and Phoenicians, had already succumbed to the Chaldean power. The destruction will be so great as this, because it is Jahveh who destroys the Philistines, the remnant of the coast of Caphtor. According to Amo 9:7; Deu 2:23, the Philistines came from Caphtor; hence can only mean “what still remains of the people of Philistia who come from the coat of Caphtor,” like “the remnant of the Philistines” in Amo 1:8. Opinions are divided as to Caphtor. The prevailing view is that of Lakemacher, that Caphtor is the name of the island of Crete; but for this there are no tenable grounds: see on Zep 2:5; and Delitzsch on Genesis, S. 248, Aufl. 4. Dietrich (in Merx’ Archiv. i. S. 313ff.) and Ebers ( Aegypten u. die Bcher Moses, i. S. 130ff.) agree in thinking that Caphtor is the shore of the Delta, but they explain the name differently. Dietrich derives it from the Egyptian Kah – pet – Hor (district of Hor), which he takes to be the environs of the city of Buto, and the lake called after it (the modern Burlos), not far from the Sebennytic mouth of the Nile; Ebers, following the tablet of Canopus, in which the Egyptian name Kfa ( Kaf) is given as that of Phoenicia, derives the name from Kaf-t-ur, i.e., the great Kefa, as the ancient seat of the Phoenicians on the shore of the Delta must have been called. But both explanations are still very doubtful, though there is no question about the migration of the Philistines from Egypt into Canaan.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Prophet, no doubt, wished to remind the Jews that it would only be a prelude when Gaza was plundered, and that a far more grievous punishment was impending over that ungodly nation, which had done so many wrongs to God’s people. For if Gaza had suffered only that loss, the Jews might have complained of their lot, as those ungodly men who had acted so wickedly and in so many ways provoked God’s vengeance, had lightly suffered. They might then have objected and said, “What can this mean? God has indeed lightly smitten Gaza; but we would thus willingly redeem our lives: as those who wish to avoid shipwreck cast forth their goods into the sea, and whatever precious thing they may have; so we, if life only be given us, are prepared to part with all our property.” The Jews then might have thus deplored their lot. Hence the Prophet says, that something more grievous awaited that city.
“
When ye see Gaza plundered,” he says, “think not that this is the last judgment of God; for, behold, waters shall rise from the north, that is, the Chaldeans shall complete the work of executing God’s vengeance; the Egyptians shall only plunder the wealth of the city, which will be endurable; but at length the Chaldeans will come to exercise boundless cruelty, and they shall be like a flood, and shall overwhelm Gaza, so as utterly to destroy it.” We now, then, see what the Prophet meant: there is implied a comparison between the plunder effected by the Egyptians and the final ruin brought on it by the Chaldeans.
The rising or ascending of waters is evidently a metaphorical expression. He adds that they would be an overflowing torrent, that is, the waters would be like an inundating river; and they will inundate the land. He speaks of the land of the Philistines, where this city was. They will inundate, he says, the land and its fullness Fullness is taken in Hebrew for opulence or wealth; trees, corn, and animals are called the fullness of the land; for when the land brings forth no corn and no fruits, when it breeds no animals, it is deemed naked and empty. As then God clothes the land with such ornaments, the land is said to be full, when it abounds in those productions with which God enriches it. he afterwards speaks of men, the city, he says; he speaks not now of the city Gaza, but of the whole country; then the singular number is to be taken here for the plural. At length he says, Cry shall men, and howl shall all the inhabitants of the land The number as to the verbs is here changed, but there is no ambiguity in the meaning. And by these words the Prophet intimates, that a most grievous punishment would be inflicted on the Philistines, so that they would not only cry for sorrow, but even howl. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A. The Overflowing Stream Jer. 47:2-4
Borrowing a figure used earlier by Isaiah (Isa. 8:7) Jeremiah describes the conqueror of the Philistine as an overflowing flood. The prophet sees the waters slowly rising in the north, gradually swelling, and then sweeping southward like a torrential stream which carries ruin and destruction along its course. That mighty river shall overflow all the land of the Philistine (Jer. 47:2). Jeremiah can hear the shrieks, screams and howls of despair mingled with the sounds of the prancing steeds and rumbling chariots and grinding wheels of the Chaldean forces. The fathers are so terrified that they abandon their wives and children to the on-rushing enemy (Jer. 47:3). The day of ruin has come to Philistia. No Philistine will be able to go to the aid of Tyre and Sidon and those cities as well will taste the wrath of the invincible conqueror.[380] Those who inhabited Philistia in the days of Jeremiah are only the remnant of the original invaders from Caphtor, the island of Crete. The Philistine had already suffered greatly in wars with Egypt and Assyria. Now the remnant of that once proud people will again suffer judgment at the hands of the God of Israel (Jer. 47:4).
[380] Eze. 26:1-21; Eze. 27:1-36 describes at length the humiliation of the two proud commercial cities of Phoenicia.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(2) Behold, waters rise up out of the north.The reference to the north indicates that the invasion which the prophet contemplates is that of Nebuchadnezzar, not of Pharaoh-necho. For the metaphor of the overflowing river see Jer. 46:7; Isa. 8:7. For the land and all that is therein read, as in the margin, the land and the fulness thereof.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Waters rise up The comparison of a hostile army to an inundating flood spreading devastation over the land is repeatedly used. See Jer 46:7-8; Isa 8:7, etc. This flood is said to come out of the north, because all those Eastern peoples enter Palestine, Philistia, and Egypt from the north.
All that is therein The margin is better, all the fulness thereof, meaning not the people, but the fruits of the earth and the wealth of its inhabitants.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 47:2. Behold, waters rise up out of the north “Behold the army of Nebuchadrezzar, which, bursting forth like a deluge, shall cover the land of the Philistines.” See the 7th and 8th verses of the last chapter.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 47:2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
Ver. 2. Behold, waters rise up out of the north. ] The Chaldean, as a mighty torrent, shall overflow the whole country, and bury all as it were in one universal grave of waters, as once at the deluge. So Isa 8:7 . This seemeth to have been done somewhat before Egypt was destroyed, when Moab, Ammon, and Syria, and therein Palestine, drank of the same cup.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 47:2-7
2Thus says the LORD:
Behold, waters are going to rise from the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And overflow the land and all its fullness,
The city and those who live in it;
And the men will cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,
The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the limpness of their hands,
4On account of the day that is coming
To destroy all the Philistines,
To cut off from Tyre and Sidon
Every ally that is left;
For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has been ruined.
O remnant of their valley,
How long will you gash yourself?
6Ah, sword of the LORD,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Be at rest and stay still.
7How can it be quiet,
When the LORD has given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast-
There He has assigned it.
Jer 47:2 waters. . .from the north The invasion of Babylon into Palestine has been characterized by several metaphors.
1. overflowing boiling pot pouring south (cf. Jer 1:13-14)
2. biting fly from the north (cf. Jer 46:20)
3. here as a flooding river (Egypt is often described as the flooding Nile)
The imagery of an invading nation as an overflowing river is common in the OT.
1. Assyria – Isa 8:8-9
2. Egypt – Jer 46:7-8; Amo 8:8; Amo 9:5
Jer 47:2-3 This describes the actions of the Philistines.
1. the men cry out, Jer 47:2 e
2. every inhabitant of the land will wail, Jer 47:2 f
3. fathers have not turned back for their children, Jer 47:3 c
4. their hands are limp, Jer 47:3 d
What has terrified them?
1. the noise of the galloping hooves of his stallions, Jer 47:3 a
2. the tumult of his chariots, Jer 47:3 b
Jer 47:4 All of the small nations on the Mediterranean coast (the only possible land route from Mesopotamia to Egypt because of the desert in between) will be invaded and defeated.
The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor The Philistines were from Caphtor (cf. Deu 2:23; Amo 9:7). However, Caphtor here may be a general reference to all the islands of the eastern Mediterranean.
Jer 47:5 There were five independent city-states which made up Philistia.
1. Gaza
2. Ashkelon
3. Ashdad
4. Gath
5. Ekron
NASB, NKJV,
JPSOAO remnant of their valley
NRSVO remnant of their power
NJByou who remain in the valley
LXX, RSVthe remaining Enakim (i.e., Anakites, cf. Jos 11:22)
REBthe remnant of the Philistine power
The NASB reflects the MT. The NRSV and REB assume a different root found in Ugaritic (AB, p. 310). The LXX is an emendation about the giants found at Gaza, Gath, and Ashdad in Jos 11:22. The REB assumes that Ashkelon was the only remaining undefeated Philistine city-state.
SPECIAL TOPIC: Terms Used for Tall/powerful Warriors or People Groups
gash yourself This was part of
1. their idol worship (see Special Topic: Fertility Worship of the Ancient Near East )
2. their mourning rites (see Special Topic: Grieving Rites )
Because of the parallelism with Jer 47:5 a, probably #2 is correct.
Jer 47:6 This verse addresses the personified sword of YHWH (cf. Jer 12:12; Isa 34:6; Amo 9:4).
The question is asked (apparently by those being conquered) how long will it
1. not be quieted
2. withdraw into its sheath
3. be at rest
4. stay still
The last three are IMPERATIVES!
Jer 47:7 Jer 47:7 is an answer to the question of Jer 47:6 (i.e., LXX text). There is no rest for YHWH’s sword because the conquest of Palestine by Babylon is His will (i.e., He has assured it, BDB 416, KB 419, Qal PERFECT). YHWH is in charge of world history! He now uses Babylon, as He previously used Assyria and will use Persia in the future, to accomplish His purposes.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos.
waters. The symbol of the Chaldean armies.
the north. Compare Jer 46:20.
men. Hebrew ‘adam.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
waters: Jer 46:7, Jer 46:8, Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8, Isa 28:17, Isa 59:19, Dan 11:22, Amo 9:5, Amo 9:6, Nah 1:8, Rev 12:15, Rev 12:16, Rev 17:1, Rev 17:15
out of: Jer 1:14, Jer 46:6, Jer 46:20
all that is therein: Heb. the fulness thereof, Jer 8:16, *marg. Psa 24:1, Psa 50:12, Psa 96:11, Psa 98:7, 1Co 10:26, 1Co 10:28
then the: Jer 46:13, Jer 48:3-5, Jer 48:39, Isa 15:2-5, Isa 15:8, Isa 22:1, Isa 22:4, Isa 22:5, Zep 1:10, Zep 1:11, Jam 5:1
Reciprocal: Isa 28:18 – when Jer 18:22 – a cry Eze 30:2 – Howl
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 47:2. Waters and flood in figurative language refers to great times of trouble. The application here is to the calamities that were to overthrow the land of the Philistines.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 47:2-3. Behold, waters rise out of the north Waters sometimes signify multitudes of people and nations, Rev 17:15; sometimes great and threatening calamities, Psa 69:1, these waters mean both. By the north, in this prophecy, the country of the Chaldeans is intended, from whence it is here foretold an army should come and overflow the land like a deluge, spreading devastation and destruction everywhere. At the noise of the stamping, &c. The word , here rendered stamping, occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Scriptures. The LXX. render it, , impetus, force, rushing along: the Syriac and Chaldee, by words that respectively denote a progressive motion. But Grotius, says Blaney, seems to have expressed it most happily, who has rendered , a quadrupedante sono: having in view, no doubt, that line of Virgil, n. 8:596.
Quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.
We may therefore render it, At the galloping sound, or, at the sound of the galloping, of the hoofs of his strong horses Hebrew, , of his mighty ones; namely, horses. At the rushing of his chariots, the rumbling of his wheels Blaney unites these two particulars in one, and reads, At the rattling of the multitude of his wheels as he drove along. The fathers shall not look back to their children To provide for their safety, or so much as to see what becomes of them; for feebleness of hands Their bodily vigour being dissolved, or relaxed, through the impression made by fear on their minds, which shall be such as to incapacitate them from exerting their strength to any efficacious purpose.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
47:2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise out of the {b} north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is in it; the city, and them that dwell in it: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
(b) He means the army of the Chaldeans, Isa 8:7-8 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
An invader from the north would sweep in like a flood and overwhelm the land and Gaza. Everyone would bewail this situation. After the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., the likely invader would have been Babylon, but this oracle may date from before that battle.