Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 49:3
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his princes together.
3. Howl, O Heshbon ] Heshbon was a Moabite city (Jer 48:2; Jer 48:34; Jer 48:45), and an Ammonite Ai is otherwise unknown. Hence conjectural emendations are ( a) to read (with Co.) for “Heshbon” Ammon (i.e. its inhabitants), and for “Ai” the city, or ( b) emending “Ai” as in ( a), to read for “Heshbon” (with a considerable change of the word in MT.) the palace (Du.). Neither ( a) nor ( b) however is quite satisfactory.
among the fences ] The Heb. means walls, such as enclose sheepfolds. Probably it needs emendation, and Gi., Du. and Co. all recognise that what we expect is something indicative of mourning. Co.’s conjecture makes the least change in MT., viz. in mourning attire.
Malcam shall go, etc.] See Jer 48:7 and cp. Amo 1:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ai – Not the town on the west of the Jordan Jos 7:2; a place not mentioned elsewhere. For Ai some read Ar.
Hedges – Fields were not divided by hedges until recent times; the term probably means the walls which enclose the vineyards Num 22:24.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Run to and fro by the hedges] It is supposed that this may refer to the women making lamentations for the dead, that were in general buried by the walls of their gardens; but others think that it refers to the smaller cities or villages, called here the daughters of Rabbah, the metropolis; the inhabitants of which are exhorted to seek safety somewhere else, as none can be expected from them, now that the enemy is at hand.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Heshbon was formerly a city of the Amorites, of whom Sihon was king, who resided here (but it appears by Jer 49:26 that it was taken from Moab); it is probable that it was at this time a city of Moab: the prophet calls to them to howl
for Ai a city of the Ammonites, not the same mentioned Jos 7:2, for that was on the other side of Jordan. It is uncertain whether by the
daughters of Rabbah be to be understood other lesser cities, or the younger women that inhabited Rabbah: he calls to them all to mourn; and for all the indications or signs of mourning, such as girding with sackcloth, running up and down, like persons distracted, by the hedges, where they might be hidden, and not so easily seen. For they shall all go together into captivity; their Melcom, which may signify their idol to whom they gave that name, or their
king, or else their supreme magistrate, with their
priests and nobles, all orders of persons.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Heshbon . . . AiNebuchadnezzar,coming from the north, first attacked Ammon, then its brother andneighbor, Moab. As Ai of Ammon had already suffered destruction,Heshbon of Moab being near it might well fear the same fate.
hedgesTheir citiesbeing destroyed, the outcasts have no place of shelter save behindthe “hedges” of vineyards and gardens; or else theenclosures of their villages.
their kingMelchom, theidol, as the mention of “his priests” shows (compare Jer48:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Howl, O Heshbon,…. Which was a city of Moab, though it formerly belonged to the Amorites; see Jer 48:2; it was upon the border of Ammon, and near to Ai, now destroyed; and therefore is called upon to howl and lament, because its destruction also was near at hand, and might be expected; hence Kimchi gathers, that the Ammonites were destroyed before the Moabites: but some have thought that Heshbon was a double city, divided by a river, which ran through it; and that that city which was on one side of the river belonged to Moab, and that on the other side to Ammon:
for Ai is spoiled; not that which was near Jericho in the land of Canaan, but a city in the land of Ammon, thought to be the Gaia of Ptolemy; this seems to be the first city in the country of Ammon that Nebuchadnezzar would lay waste:
cry, ye daughters of Rabbah; the royal city before mentioned;
[See comments on Jer 49:2]; either the inhabitants of it, particularly the women, especially the younger women, who would be in the utmost distress on hearing the enemy was so near them, and what had befallen Ai; or the villages about Rabbah, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, as the Targum,
“the inhabitants of the villages of Rabbah:”
gird ye with sackcloth; as a token of calamity and mourning for it, as was usual:
lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand of the enclosures or fences of villages, like those of gardens, fields, and folds, in distinction from walls of cities, and fortified places; but rather it signifies the hedges in the fields, whither, being drove from their habitations, they would seek unto for shelter, and run about among them for safety, lamenting their unhappy case:
for their king shall go into captivity; be taken and carried captive; either their principal governor; or rather Milcom their god, since it follows:
[and] his priests and his princes together; both such as offered sacrifices to him, and attended on and supported his worship: the same is said of Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, Jer 48:7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet now triumphs, as it were, over the land of Ammon, and, according to his accustomed manner, as we have before seen; for had the prophets spoken without metaphors, and simply narrated the things treated of by them, their words would have been frigid and inefficient, and would not have penetrated into the hearts of men. This, then, is the reason why the prophets adopted an elevated style, and adorned with grandeur their prophecies; for they never, like rhetoricians, affected eloquence, but necessity so urged them, that they represented to the eyes those things which they could not otherwise form a conception of in their minds. On this subject we have spoken often already; but I am again constrained briefly to touch on it, because those who are not well acquainted with Scripture, and do not understand the design of the Holy Spirit, may think that words only are here poured forth. But when we duly weigh what I have said, then we shall readily acknowledge that the Prophet did not, without reason, enlarge on what he had previously said.
Howl, thou Heshbon, he says, for Ai is laid waste These were two neighboring cities: hence he exhorts Heshbon to howl on seeing the overthrow of another city. He then adds, Cry, or cry aloud, ye daughters of Rabbah He again repeats what he had before touched upon as to the city Rabbah. Gird yourselves, he says, with sackcloth, or put on sackcloth. He does not here exhort the citizens of Rabbah to repentance, but he speaks according to the customs of the people, as it has been stated elsewhere. Sackcloth was, indeed, a symbol of penitence; when the miserable wished humbly to flee to God’s mercy, and to confess their sins, they put on sackcloth. But the unbelieving imitated the faithful without discretion or judgment. Hence it was, that they scattered ashes on their heads, that without any reason they put on sackcloth. What was then commonly done is now mentioned by Jeremiah; Put on sackcloth, he says, lament and run here and there by the fences
He afterwards adds in the third person, for gone is their king into captivity. He expressed this, that the Israelites might know, that though that kingdom flourished for a time, yet the day of which the Prophet had spoken would come, when the condition of the Ammonites would be nothing better than that of the Israelites; whose king, as it was known, had been driven into exile, together with the priests and princes. The Prophet now denounces the same punishment on the Ammonites, that not only their king would be driven into another land, as a captive, but also their princes and their priests. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled.Heshbon has appeared in Jer. 48:2; Jer. 48:45, as connected with the fortunes of Moab, but it was strictly an Ammonite city. The Ai here is obviously not the city near Jericho of Jos. 8:28, and unless we assume an error in the text (Ai for Ar= city), we must infer the existence of a Trans-jordanic city of the same name.
Run to and fro by the hedges.Hedges, in the English sense of the word, have never been common in the East, and the word here denotes either the palings round the sheep-folds, or the walls round the vineyards of the villages that are described as the daughters of Rabbah. The word is never used for the walls of a city, but appears in Num. 22:24; Num. 32:16; Num. 32:24; Num. 32:36 in the sense of sheep-folds.
Their king shall go into captivity.Better, as before, Melcom. As in Jer. 48:7, the captivity of the national deity with his priests (the fact that they are named is decisive as to the meaning) involves the captivity of the people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Heshbon was formerly the residence of Sihon, king of the Amorites, but it seems at this time to have been in possession of the Ammonites. No city Ai is known to have been in this region, and there is serious, but certainly no insuperable, difficulty in this fact. Some conjectures of change in the text have been made, but they should not be entertained. We have no list of Ammonite cities, and so no presumption against the existence of such a city arises from our ignorance.
Hedges Some understand sheep-folds, but this is an undue limitation of the original word. Enclosures, embracing sheep-folds, vineyards, etc., are meant.
Their king Margin. Melcom, the name of their tutelar divinity. That this is right the mention of his priests almost demonstrates.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 49:3. Howl, O Heshbon That is, “When Ai, a city of Ammon, is destroyed, it is time for Heshbon, the chief city of Moab, to lament her danger.” The author of the Observations remarks, that the phrase, Run to and fro by the hedges, should rather be understood and rendered, Runby the garden-walls. Their places of burial in the east are without their cities, as well as their gardens; and consequently their going to them must often be by the garden-walls. The ancient warriors of distinction who were slain in battle, were wont to be carried to the sepulchres of their fathers, as appears from the cases of Josiah, Ahab, and Asahel; and they often go, to weep over the graves of those whom they would honour, especially at first; Observations which, put together, sufficiently account for this passage. See p. 221.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 49:3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his princes together.
Ver. 3. Howl, O Heshbon. ] A city of the Gadites, but seized upon, it seemeth, first by the Ammonites, and then by the Moabites. Jer 48:2 ; Jer 48:24-25
For Ai is spoiled.
And run to and fro by the hedges.
For their king.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Heshbon. Compare Jer 48:2.
Ai. An Ammonite town, not yet identified.
cry = cry sadly.
hedges = fences.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Howl: Jer 48:20, Jer 51:8, Isa 13:6, Isa 14:31, Isa 15:2, Isa 16:7, Isa 23:1, Isa 23:6, Jam 5:1
gird: Jer 4:8, Jer 6:26, Jer 48:37, Isa 32:11, Isa 32:12
run: Job 30:3-7, Isa 15:2
their king: or, Melcom, Jer 49:1, 1Ki 11:5, 1Ki 11:33, 2Ki 23:13, Milcom, Zep 1:5, Malcham
shall go: Jer 46:25, Jer 48:7, Amo 1:15
Reciprocal: 1Ch 20:1 – Rabbah Isa 3:24 – a girding
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 49:3. This Ai is not the one so well known in Israelite history, but was one near Heshbon and belonging to the Ammonites, It was doomed along with other Ammonite cities to feel the weight of Gods wrath. King go into captivity means a condition in which the leading men of the nation would be temporarily subdued, not that the nation as a body would he taken into another country.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 49:3. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled This Ai must be a different city from that taken by Joshua, chap. 8., which lay on the west side of Jordan. Grotius mentions another city, called Gaia by Ptolemy; which, being near Heshbon, the destruction of it was matter of concern to the neighbouring city. Lament, and run to and fro by the hedges Try to hide yourselves in the thickets, and remove from one place to another, for fear of being discovered. But by , here rendered hedges, Blaney thinks, are meant, those fences or enclosures round the lesser towns, which served to secure them against thieves and robbers, but were not dignified with the name of walls, capable of resisting the attack of a regular enemy. The psalmist, he supposes, distinguishes these from the fortifications of cities, Psa 89:40, terming the former , his fences, and the latter , his strong holds, or walled fortresses. According to this interpretation, therefore, the prophet here foretels that the inhabitants of the lesser towns should run to and fro, like persons distracted with fear, within their enclosures, not daring to step beyond them, lest they should fall in with the enemy, whose approach they dreaded. For their king Or, Milcom, their idol; shall go into captivity, and his priests and princes together Here the same is said of Milcom, says Blaney, as was of Chemosh, chap. Jer 48:7, which shows that the word is properly used as the name of the Ammonitish idol.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Ammonites, in their chief cities, would mourn over the destruction of their other towns. Heshbon was normally a Moabite city, but at certain periods the Ammonites occupied it. This "Ai" must have been an Ammonite town; it could not be the Ai near Bethel in Cisjordan. The enemy would take images of Malcam into captivity, along with the idol’s priests and the princes of the nation (cf. Jer 46:25; Jer 48:7). If we should translate "Malcam" in this verse, the meaning becomes: the enemy would take "their king" into captivity along with his priests and princes.