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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 49:34

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The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

34. Elam ] now (approximately) Chuzistan, a country E. of the southern portion of Babylonia.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

34 39 (= LXX. Chs. Jer 25:14 to Jer 26:1.). Prophecy against Elam

Here, as elsewhere in the group, the genuineness of this section is largely questioned. Even Rothstein, who is a decidedly conservative critic on the whole, rejects it. Co. on the other hand maintains that there is in it a Jeremianic kernel, expanded later. Gi. assigns its date to the time when Babylon had been overthrown by Persia. Sayce (HDB. I. 676) thinks that it has reference to the conquest of Anzan (one of the two ruling cities in Elam) by Teispes the Persian, the ancestor of Cyrus. Peake points out that the date assigned to it in Jer 49:34, as differing from that prefixed to the group (Jer 46:1-2), is itself in support of its genuineness, while the change in the situation in the course of the eight years (between the fourth year of Jehoiakim and the accession of Zedekiah [b.c. 604 597]) would naturally bring about a much greater interest in Elam, which, though distant from Palestine, was not by any means so far from Babylon and those who had meantime been deported there with Jehoiachin.

The section may be summarized thus. Elam’s bow shall be broken. She shall be scattered in flight among all nations, and pursued by Divine wrath till she is consumed, while Jehovah shall rule supreme in Elam. Yet in the end she shall return.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Against Elam – Or, concerning Elam. This country, better known as Susiana, is the modern Chuzistan, and lies on the east of Chaldaea, from which it is separated by the Tigris. In the cuneiform inscriptions we find the Elamites on friendly terms with Babylon. The suggestion therefore that they served as auxiliaries in the Chaldaean army in the expedition against Judah is not improbable. It was in the first year of Zedekiah that this prophecy was written, and thus it is a little prior to the prophecies against Babylon Jer 51:59, which immediately follow. The words, the Elam, appear in the Septuagint in Jer 25:14, followed by this prophecy, while in Jer 26:1 we find, In the beginning of the reign of king Zedekiah there was this word about Elam, followed in Jer 49:2 by the prophecy (Jer. 46 of the Hebrew) against Egypt. This is a proof simply of the confusion which existed in the Egyptian transcripts of the prophecies relating to the nations.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 34. THE WORD – AGAINST ELAM] Another new head of prophecy. As this was delivered in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, it can have no natural nor historical connexion with the other prophecies in this various chapter. Some think that by Elam Persia is always meant; but this is not at all likely. It was a part of the Babylonian empire in the time of Daniel, (Da 8:2,) and is most probably what is called Elymais by the Greeks. This, with Susiana, Nebuchadnezzar subdued, and took from Astyages, king of Media.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Elam was the son of Shem, Gen 10:22, his posterity were called Elamites; these were the Persians, as is most probable, though some judge that the Persians were at too great a distance from the Jews to be the people meant here, but we read of no other Elam in Scripture but in Persia, Dan 8:2; and though they were indeed at a great distance, yet it is probable that Nebuchadnezzar, having conquered the Assyrians, might also make some inroads into Persia, the emperor of which afterward conquered Babylon. This prophecy being in the first year of Zedekiah must needs be long before the thing was done, for it was ten years before the king of Babylon took Jerusalem.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

34. Elampart of Susiana, westof Persia proper, but used to designate Persia in general. Elamproper, or Elymais, nearer Judea than Persia, is probably here meant;it had helped Nebuchadnezzar against Judea; hence its punishment. Itmay have been idolatrous, whereas Persia proper was mainlymonotheistic.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

The word of the Lord that came unto Jeremiah the prophet against Elam,…. The Persians, as it is commonly understood, who descended from Elam the son of Shem, Ge 10:22; according to Josephus w; but rather the country of Elymais is here designed; which, though in the times of Cyrus, was added to, and made a part of, the Persian empire, yet was a country distinct both from Persia and Media; and as such is spoken of by Pliny x; though as near unto Persia, and bordering on Media; according to Stephanus y, the Elymaites were a country that belonged to the Assyrians; and so Strabo a places the Elymaeans in Aturia or Assyria; and it seems very manifest that Elam served under Sennacherib, king of Assyria, when he besieged Jerusalem,

Isa 22:6; and afterwards fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and became subject to him, which is the calamity here threatened them; for certain it is, that, in Belshazzar’s time, Shushan in Elam was the royal seat of the kings of Babylon, Da 8:2; now this prophecy against Elam was delivered out

in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah; perhaps in the first year of his reign, ten or eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem; how long before it had its accomplishment is not certain:

saying: as follows:

w Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 4. x Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 25, 26, 27. y De urbibus apud Cocceium in loc. a Geograph. l. 16. in principio, 507.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Concerning Elam. – By the title (on the form of which, cf. Jer 46:1; Jer 47:1, and Jer 14:1), the utterance regarding Elam is placed “in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah;” hence it was published later than the prophecies in Jer 48 and in 49:1-33, and not long before the prophecy regarding Babylon in Jer 50. Elam, a Shemitic people in Elymais, the Persian province of Susiana (the modern Husistn), which, except in Gen 14:1, only appears in history when it had no longer a Shemitic but an Aryan language (see on Gen 10:22 and Dan 8:2), is mentioned in Isa 22:6 as serving in the Assyrian army, and in Isa 21:6 as being, together with Madai (the Medes), the executors of judgment against Babylon. That Elam still belonged, in the time of Esarhaddon, to the kingdom of Assyria, follows from Ezr 4:9, where Elamites are mentioned among the colonists whom this Assyrian king transplanted into the depopulated kingdom of the ten tribes. But whether Elam, after the revolt of Media, also made itself independent of Assyria, or remained subject to this kingdom till it fell, we have no historical data to determine. The same must be said regarding the question whether, after the fall of Nineveh and the destruction of the Assyrian kingdom by the united armies of Nabopolassar from Babylon and Cyaxares from Media, Elam was incorporated with the Median or the Babylonian kingdom; for nothing more specific has been transmitted to us regarding the division of the conquered kingdom among the two victors. Judging from its geographical situation, we must probably come to the conclusion that Elam fell to the lot of the Medes. Seeing that there is an utter want, in other respects, of facts regarding the earlier history of Elam, neither can a historical occasion be made out for this prophecy. The supposition of Ewald, “that the wild and warlike Elamites (Isa 22:6) had shortly before taken part with the Chaldeans as their allies in the deposition of Jehoiachin and the first great exile of the people, and had therein shown themselves particularly cruel,” has no support of any kind, either in the contents of the prophecy or in the time when it was composed. The prophecy itself contains not the slightest indication of any hostility on the part of the Elamites towards Judah; nor is anything proved regarding this by the fact that the chastisement is not said to proceed from Nebuchadnezzar, but directly from Jahveh, since, in the oracles concerning Philistia, Edom, and Damascus also, Nebuchadnezzar is not mentioned, but Jahveh is named as the one who destroys these peoples and burns up their cities; cf. Jer 47:4; Jer 49:10, Jer 49:13., 27. Add to this, that the assumption of Elamites being in Nebuchadnezzar’s army is devoid of historic probability, since Elam, as has already been stated, hardly belonged to the Chaldean kingdom.

(Note: No valid reason has been adduced for calling in question the statement in the title regarding the time when this prophecy was composed; yet this has been done by Movers, Hitzig, and Ngelsbach. “That the lxx have given the heading twice, the first time briefly, and then fully at the end of the piece, merely shows that two different readings have now been combined in it” (Ewald). And Ngelsbach has yet to bring proof of the assurance given us when he says, “I consider it quite impossible that Jeremiah, in the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign, should have thought of any other than Nebuchadnezzar as the instrument to be employed in executing judgment, or that he should even have left this matter in suspenso.” If Jeremiah, as a prophet of the Lord, does not announce, as the word of Jahveh, mere human conjectures regarding the future, but only what the Spirit of the Lord suggested to him, neither could he set forth his own conjectures regarding the question by whom God the Lord was to scatter the Elamites to the four winds, but must leave it in suspenso, if the Spirit of the Lord had revealed nothing to him regarding it.)

Jer 49:35

“Thus saith Jahveh of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief part of their strength. Jer 49:36. And I will bring upon Elam four winds from the four ends of the heaven, and I will scatter them towards all these winds; and there shall be no nation where the scattered ones of Elam shall not come. Jer 49:37. And I will make Elam terrified before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; and I will bring on them evil, the heat of my wrath, saith Jahveh; and I will send after them the sword, until I consume them. Jer 49:38. And I will place my throne in Elam, and will destroy thence king and princes, saith Jahveh. Jer 49:39. But it shall be in the end of the days, that I will turn the captivity of Elam, saith Jahveh.”

Elam’s martial power is to be destroyed, and its population scattered to the four winds among all nations (Jer 49:25.). The Lord will make them terrified before their enemies, and let them be pursued by the sword till they are swept away (Jer 49:37). In the country itself He will hold a tribunal, and destroy king and priests out of it (Jer 49:38). In Jer 49:35, the bow, as the chief weapon of the Elamites (cf. Isa 22:6), is mentioned, by synecdoche, instead of all offensive and defensive weapons, for all the means of resistance and attack employed by this warlike nation. This, indeed, is shown by the apposition, “the first-fruits (i.e., the chief part) of their strength” or valour. To break the bow in pieces is thus equivalent to rendering defenceless. The plural suffix in points to Elam as a nation – the Elamites. Hitzig, Graf, and older expositors make an assumption which is both unnecessary and incapable of proof, that stands for , and means “the valiant, brave people of war,” as in Isa 21:17 and 1Sa 2:4; but neither in these passages can the alleged meaning be fully made out.

Jer 49:36-39

Through the working of God’s power, the Elamites shall be dispersed to all the four winds, i.e., to all parts of the earth. This exercise of power is represented under the figure of the four winds. The wind is the most appropriate among all earthly things for symbolizing the Spirit of God, or the energy of the divine operation; cf. Zec 6:5; Dan 7:2. The Kethib in Jer 49:36 has evidently been written by mistake for . The meaning of the figure is this: Elam is to be attacked on all sides by enemies, and be scattered in every direction. This is evident from Jer 49:37, where the figurative is changed for the literal, and the thought further extended. , Hiphil from , be broken to pieces, in Hiphil to dispirit through fear and terror; cf. Jer 1:17. On the form of the text, which is shortened from through the shifting of the tone to the last syllable, cf. Ewald, 234, e. , “evil, misfortune,” is marked by the apposition, “the heat of mine anger,” as the emanation of God’s judgment of wrath. On 37 b, cf. Jer 9:15. The Lord will sit in judgment on king and princes, and punish them with death. The throne is set for the Judge to sit in judgment; see Jer 43:10. Yet (Jer 49:39), in the Messianic future, blessing shall come on Elam; cf. Jer 49:6; Jer 48:7.

If we compare this prophecy with the remaining prophecies of Jeremiah regarding the heathen nations, we shall find that it contains no reference whatever to any execution by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon of the judgment with which the Elamites are threatened; but it announces the fall of Elam and the dispersion of its inhabitants by enemies in a way so general, that, as Hvernick (on Daniel, p. 549) has remarked, it is an arbitrary addition for any one to make, if he thinks definitely of the Chaldeans as the enemies of Elam, because, correctly viewed, the contents rather declare against a conquest by Nebuchadnezzar. “Jeremiah,” says Hvernick, “announces the utter extinction of the state as such, a general dispersion and annihilation of the people, a tribunal of punishment which the Lord Himself will hold over them, – features which are far too strongly marked, and far too grand, to let us think that Elam is merely to be rendered tributary and incorporated into a new state. If we connect with this the deliverance of Elam mentioned at the close of Jer 49:39, viz., his conversion, then we will not hesitate to take the meaning of the oracle, in a more general way, as referring to the gradual fall of this heathen nation, for which, however, a future deliverance is in store, as is fully shown by the issue.” This view is at least much more correct than the current tone, still maintained by Ewald, Hitzig, Graf, etc., according to which the prophecy refers to a conquest of Elam by Nebuchadnezzar. M. von Niebuhr ( Gesch. Assyr. und Bab. S. 210) attempts to show its probability from a notice in Strabo (xi. 524), and (on S. 212) from the intimation given in the book of Judith, Jer 1, of a war between Nebuchadnezzar and Media, which was successfully concluded in the twelfth year of his reign. But the statement in Strabo, that the Kossaites, a nation of robbers, once sent 13,000 archers to help the Elamites against the Susites and Babylonians, is far too indefinite for us to be able to apply it to a war which Nebuchadnezzar in company with Media carried on against Elam; for the Susites are at least not Medes. And the notice in the book of Judith is self-evidently unhistorical; for it says that Nebuchadnezzar was king of the Assyrians and resided in the great city of Nineveh, and that he defeated Arphaxad the king of Media in the seventeenth year of his reign (Judith 1:1, 13). But Nebuchadnezzar neither resided in Nineveh, which had been destroyed shortly before; nor could he have made war on Arphaxad king of Media in the seventeenth year of his reign, because he had in that year begun to besiege Jerusalem with all his forces. But the additional considerations which Niebuhr brings forward in support of his hypothesis can as little stand the test. Neither Jer 25:25, where the kings of Media and Elam are mentioned among those who are to drink the cup of wrath, nor Eze 32:24., where Elam and the whole multitude of its people are brought forward as among those who were slain, and who sank into the nether parts of the earth, furnish proofs of the conquest and destruction of Elam by Nebuchadnezzar, or of a war between that king and Media. For the funeral-song in Ezekiel bears a thoroughly ideal character, and announces the fall of all the heathen powers, without any regard to Nebuchadnezzar. This holds, too, in a sense, of Jer 25, where Nebuchadnezzar is certainly mentioned as the ruler into whose power all the nations are to be delivered for the space of seventy years, inasmuch as this announcement also launches out into the idea of a judgment of all nations; so that we are not entitled to assume that all the kingdoms of the earth, to whom the cup of wrath is presented, were to be conquered and brought under subjection by Nebuchadnezzar. Still less reason is there for inferring from Jer 27:3, that Nebuchadnezzar was involved in a war with Media at a time when, as is there stated, at the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign, the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Phoenicia sent ambassadors to Jerusalem to recommend a coalition against the power of Babylon. Even if Nebuchadnezzar were then occupied in the eastern portion of his kingdom, yet there is nothing at all to prove that he was involved in war with Media or Elam. History says nothing of a war waged by Nebuchadnezzar on Elam, nor does this prophecy furnish any support for such an assumption. Although it does not set before us a “gradual ruin” of Elam (Hvernick), but rather a catastrophe brought on by God, yet the description is given in terms so general, that nothing more specific can be inferred from it regarding the time and the circumstances of this catastrophe. In this prophecy, Elam is not considered in its historical relation to the people of Israel, but as the representative of the heathen world lying beyond, which has not hitherto come into any relation towards the people of Israel, but which nevertheless, along with it, falls under the judgment coming on all nations, in order that, through the judgment, it may be led to the knowledge of the true God, and share in His salvation.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Judgment of Elam.

B. C. 595.

34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: 38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. 39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.

This prophecy is dated in the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign; it is probable that the other prophecies against the Gentiles, going before, were at the same time. The Elamites were the Persians, descended from Elam the son of Shem (Gen. x. 22); yet some think it was only that part of Persia which lay nearest to the Jews which was called Elymais, and adjoined to Media-Elam, which, say they, had acted against God’s Israel, bore the quiver in an expedition against them (Isa. xxii. 6), and therefore must be reckoned with among the rest. It is here foretold, in general, that God will bring evil upon them, even his fierce anger, and that is evil enough, it has all evil in it, v. 37. In particular, 1. Their forces shall be disabled, and rendered incapable of doing them any service. The Elamites were famous archers, but, Behold, I will break the bow of Elam (v. 35), will ruin their artillery, and then the chief of their might is gone. God often orders it so that that which we most trust to first fails us, and that which was the chief of our might proves the least of our help. 2. Their people shall be dispersed. There shall come enemies against them from all parts of the world, and they shall all carry some of them away captive into their respective countries; while others shall flee, some one way and some another, to shift for themselves, so that there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come, v. 36. The four winds shall be brought upon them; the storm shall come sometimes from one point and sometimes from another, to toss and hurry them several ways. We know not from what point the wind of trouble may blow; but, if God encompass us with his favour, we are safe, and may be easy, which way soever the storm comes. Fear shall drive them into other countries; they shall be dismayed before their enemies; but, as if that were not enough, I will send the sword after them, v. 37. Note, God can make his judgments follow those that think by flight to escape them and to get out of the reach of them. Evil pursues sinners. 3. Their princes shall be destroyed and the government quite changed (v. 38): I will set my throne in Elam. The throne of Nebuchadnezzar shall be set there, or the throne of Cyrus, who began his conquests with Elymais. Or it may be meant of the throne on which God sits for judgment; he will make them know that he reigns, that he judges in the earth, that kings and princes are accountable to him, and that high as they are he is above them. The king of Elam was famous of old, Gen. xiv. 1. Chedorlaomer was king of Elam, and a mighty man he was in his day; the nations about him served him; his successors, we may suppose, made a great figure; but the king of Elam is no more to God than another man. When God sets his throne in Elam he will destroy thence the king and the princes that are, and set up whom he pleases. 4. Yet the destruction of Elam shall not be perpetual (v. 39): In the latter days I will bring again the captivity of Elam. When Cyrus had destroyed Babylon, brought the empire into the hands of the Persians, the Elamites no doubt returned in triumph out of all the countries whither they were scattered, and settled again in their own country. But this promise was to have its full and principal accomplishment in the days of the Messiah, when we find Elamites particularly among those who, when the Holy Ghost was given, heard spoken in their own tongues the wonderful works of God (Act 2:9; Act 2:11), and that is the most desirable return of the captivity. If the Son make you free, then you shall be free indeed.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Vs. 34-49: CONCERNNG ELAM

1. This oracle concerning Elarh is said to have come to Jeremiah in the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign over Judah, (vs. 34).

2. An ancient centre of civilization, Elam lay east of Babylon, in the plain of Khuzistan.

3. The main element of her power has been in her archers, who will be broken before the Lord, (vs. 35; comp. Psa 46:9; Isa 22:6; Jer 25:25; Eze 32:24), and scattered among the nations, (vs. 36).

4.With fierce indignation, the Lord will set the throne of His judgment in Elam – terrifying her inhabitants before their enemies, (comp. Jer 8:9; Jer 30:24), and destroying their king and princes, (vs. 37-38).

5. In the latter days, however, He will restore the fortunes of Elam, (vs. 39: comp. Jer 48:47).

6. It is noteworthy that there were Elamites in Jerusalem to worship, when the Spirit descended upon the early church on the Day of Pentecost, (Act 2:9).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

By Elam some interpreters understand Persia, and it is the most common opinion. I however think that the Elamites were not the same with the Persians; I should rather say that they were the Parthians, were it not that Luke, in Act 2:9, makes them a distinct people from the Parthians. At the same time it is not right, as it seems to me, to regard the Persians as generally designated by Elam; for the Persians were remote from the Jews, and the Jews never received any injury from that people. There was therefore no reason why the Prophet should denounce punishment on them. The country of Elymais was known as bordering on the Medes, and contiguous to the Persians. But that people must have joined the Assyrians and Chaldeans against the Jews. As then the Babylonians had them as auxiliaries, it was God’s purpose to avenge the injury done to his people. Besides, Pliny also speaks of Elamites as being contiguous to the Nabatheans; but they were occupying, as it were, the middle place between Persia and Judea. They were indeed, as he shews elsewhere, a maritime people; for he speaks often of Elymais, but names the Elamites only once. However this may have been, they were orientals as the Persians were, but not so far from Judea; and as they were, at it has been said, near the Medes, the probability is that they joined themselves with the enemies of the Church, when Nebuchadnezzar drew with him the vast forces which he had everywhere gathered, that he might extend his dominion far and wide; for we shall see in what follows that God was grievously displeased with the Elamites. (48) We hence conclude that they were very hostile to the chosen people, whose cause God here undertakes.

This much as to the name: when, therefore, Jeremiah speaks here of the Elamites, let us know that a particular nation is referred to, and one distinct from the Persians, and then that this nation assisted the Chaldeans in oppressing the Jews. Let us now see what the Prophet declares respecting them.

He says, first, that this word came to him in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah Nebuchadnezzar, then, greatly harassed the Jews, while yet they remained in their obstinacy; and it is probable that the Elamites formed a part of the Chaldean army. When, therefore, the Jews considered how various were their enemies, and when they did not expect that they would ever be punished, it was a trial that must have greatly distressed the minds of the godly. What Jeremiah then declared, no one could have thought of, that is, that the Elamites would not escape unpunished, because they so furiously attacked the chosen people under the banner of King Nebuchadnezzar. This, then, was the reason why the Prophet specified the time: this word, then, came in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah

(48) They were the descendants of Elam the son of Shem, Gen 10:22. They were a powerful kingdom in the days of Abram, Gen 14:1. Isaiah speaks of them as hostile to the people of Israel, Isa 22:6. Shushan is said to have been in the province of Elam, Dan 8:2 — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

IX. AN ORACLE AGAINST ELAM Jer. 49:34-39

TRANSLATION

(3?) The word of the LORD which came unto Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. (35) Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am about to break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. (36) And I will bring against Elam four winds from the four corners of the heaven; and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there shall be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not come. (37) And I will cause Elam to tremble before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring against them misfortune, My fierce anger (oracle of the LORD). I will send them the sword until I have consumed them. (38) I will place My throne in Elam and I will destroy from them king and princes (oracle of the LORD). (39) And it shall be in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam (oracle of the LORD).

COMMENTS

Elam was located in the hill country east of Babylon and north of the Persian Gulf. Its capital was Shushan or Susa which was located about 200 miles due east of Babylon. Unlike the other nations mentioned in this section of oracles, Elam had very little contact with Israel throughout history. During the time of Abraham an Elamite king by the name of Chedor-laomer and his allies put down a revolt by certain city-states in the Valley of Siddim near the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:1-11). Other than this episode only brief allusions to Elam can be found in the Bible. Isaiah names the Elamites as allies of Assyria in the campaign against Judah (Isa. 22:6). The same prophet predicts that it will be the Elamites along with the Medes who will ultimately conquer Babylon (Isa. 21:2-6).

The question will naturally be raised as to why Jeremiah delivered this oracle against far-distant Elam. The suggestion has been made that the oracle was intended mainly for the benefit of the Jewish captives who had only recently been deported to Babylon (in 597 B.C.). Some evidence exists that Elam was giving Nebuchadnezzar trouble about, this time and the Jewish exiles may have been looking to that nation for deliverance. False prophets had stirred their expectations of immediate return to Palestine and at the moment Elam looked like the most likely prospect to make the prediction of these deceivers come true. God then directed Jeremiah to utter this brief oracle against Elam in order that the illusions and delusions of the Babylonian exiles might be dashed to pieces. It may be that a copy of this oracle was sent to exiles along with the letter recorded in chapter 29.

The oracle against Elam is dated in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (Jer. 49:34) shortly after king Jehoiachin had been deported to Babylon. The prophecy was uttered about eight years after the preceding oracles of this section. Babylonian operations against Elam seem to have been conducted in the winter of 596 B.C. which would fall in the early part of the reign of king Zedekiah.[399] It may be that this campaign of Nebuchadnezzar was the beginning of the fulfillment of the present prophecy.

[399] See D. J. Wiseman Chronicles of the Chaldean Kings in the British Museum (London: Trustees of the Museum, 1956), p. 36.

A. Doom Jer. 49:35-38

In spelling out the doom of Elam the prophet makes four points. (1) The strength of Elam will be demolished. God declares that he will break the bow of Elam, the weapon on which that nation chiefly relied (cf. Isa. 22:6). (2) The inhabitants of Elam will be dispersed, scattered to the four winds, as they seek refuge in surrounding nations (Jer. 49:36). (3) The Elamites will be dismayed when the fierce anger of the Lord is poured out on their nation. Even in captivity they will be hounded by the sword of the Lord until they are utterly consumed (Jer. 49:37). (4) The rulers of Elam will be destroyed. The real Ruler of this world will set up His throne in Elam, remove the king and princes of the land, and appoint a ruler of His own choosing. When Cyrus, the anointed of the Lord (Isa. 44:28; Isa. 45:1), incorporated Elam as a province in his vast empire, the present prophecy was fulfilled.

B. Hope Jer. 49:39

In the latter days i.e., the days of the Messiah, the Lord will bring again the captivity of Elam i.e., reverse the fortunes of Elam. Elamites will experience the spiritual deliverance and blessing of the Messiahs kingdom. Men from Elam were present in the Pentecost audience when Peter preached the first Gospel sermon (Act. 2:9). Perhaps some of them accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour that day and were baptized into Christ. If so, they would be the first fruits of a great host of their countrymen who would embrace the Gospel of Christ.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(34) The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam . . .It is noticeable that this is the only prophecy in Jeremiah 48, 49 with a date attached to it. Assuming the date to be rightly given, it indicates a time later than that of those that precede it, which belong probably to the group of predictions connected with Jeremiah 25. It has been maintained, however, by many critics that the absence of the name of Nebuchadnezzar, so prominent in Jeremiahs predictions after the deportation of Jehoiachin, indicates an earlier rather than a later date, and that the compiler of the prophecies was mistaken in thus fixing the time of its delivery. The inference is, however, somewhat precarious, as the fact is common to the prophecies against the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, &c., that precede this. Elam, though commonly identified with Persia, as in Isa. 11:11; Isa. 21:2; Isa. 22:6, appears to be used with a somewhat wider connotation for the tribes beyond the Tigris (Jer. 25:25). The tone of the prophecy seems to imply that Elam had been prominent among the enemies of the people of Jehovah (as in Isa. 22:6), and this has led to the inference that they had taken part in the attack on Judah, as auxiliaries in the army of Nebuchadnezzar. It is significant that the thought that Elam is to be the instrument of Jehovah for the destruction of Babylon (Isa. 21:2), and that out of it was to come the appointed deliverer of Israel, does not seem to have been present to the prophets mind. His horizon is, as it were, bounded for the time by the more immediate future.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

34. The word against Elam “Elam” was a region to the southeast of Babylonia on the Persian Gulf, inhabited by a Shemitic people. This region comes prominently into history a hundred years later; but in the time of Jeremiah we have little definite information as to its civil history and relations. It can hardly be doubted that it was at one time embraced within the limits of the Assyrian empire, as it was later in the Chaldean. But it is probable that it maintained, more or less, an independent national life, which was affected to a greater or less degree by the agitations and disturbances of this period. This prophecy does not sustain a close relation to those preceding, bearing, as it does, a later date, and referring to a people very distant from those already mentioned. There is observable, however, a geographical order in this group of prophecies. Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar and Hazor, Elam.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Judgment Against Elam ( Jer 49:34-39 ).

Elam was one of the nations in the area around Mesopotamia, situated in the plain of Khazistan and watered by the River Kerkh, which fed into the Tigris just north of the Persian Gulf. It bordered on Babylon, which lay to its west, and on Persia which lay to its east, and it controlled the trade routes to the Iranean plateau and to the south east. In ancient times it had been a powerful nation, bringing about the demise of Ur of the Chaldees around the time of Abraham, and later subjugating and ruling over Babylon (c. 1300-1120 BC). It had had an early form of writing in a pictographic script, and was famous for its archers (Jer 49:35; Isa 22:6; Eze 32:24). Many Israelite exiles had been settled there (Isa 11:13; compare Act 2:9), presumably by Assyria. It included the mountainous region of Anshan.

Along with Media, Elam were called on by Isaiah to bring about the demise of Babylon (Isa 21:2), and while for a time subject to Assyria, during which time they would have provided contingents for the invasion of Israel/Judah, they were eventually allies with the Babylonians and Medes in ensuring Assyria’s overthrow. But their power had waned sine the earliest days, and by this time they were subject to Persia, with Persia’s king Teipes (675-640 BC) being also the title ‘king of Anshan’. In 539 BC Elam would assist Persia in the overthrow of the Babylonian empire. Elam is possibly included in the judgments because of the part they had played in the annexation of Galilee (2Ki 15:29), the destruction of Samaria (2Ki 17:6) and in the reception of exiles (note Jer 49:36; Isa 11:11), and in the subjugation of Judah, their fierce bowmen being well remembered. There must certainly have been some reason for the emphasis on the fact that YHWH was ‘angry’ with Elam. Note the emphasis all the way through on the fact that YHWH is speaking directly to them. The judgment is very personal to Him.

Jer 49:34

‘The word of YHWH which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

For this phraseology compare Jer 46:1; Jer 47:1; Jer 50:1. The prophecy occurred at a different time from the others (probably made in the reign of Jehoiakim), coming later during the reign of Zedekiah. ‘The beginning of’ merely indicates the early part of his reign, and is not more specific.

Jer 49:35-36

“Thus says YHWH of hosts,

Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

And on Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,

And will scatter them toward all those winds,

And there will be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not come.”

Note the emphasis on the fact that Elam’s chief weapon, the bow, will be broken, and the underlining of the fact of the scattering of their people into exile. What they had done to Israel would be done to them. As we have seen, Elam were famed for their prowess with the bow (Jer 49:35; Isa 22:6; Eze 32:24), and had themselves had their part in the taking of Israelites into exile (Isa 11:11). Now the very source of their might would be broken

For the scattering to the winds (as indicating being scattered in all directions) compare Jer 49:32. The idea of the four winds from the four quarters of Heaven suggests that they will be subject to attack from all sides at the instigation of YHWH. Compare Dan 7:2 where the four winds of Heaven indicated heavenly activity, and Dan 8:8; Dan 11:4 and Zec 2:6 where they indicate ‘in all directions’.

Jer 49:37

“And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies,

And before those who seek their life,

And I will bring evil on them,

Even my fierce anger,

The word of YHWH,

Here YHWH is revealed as ‘angry’ with Elam. In the Scriptures God’s anger refers to His necessary reaction to and aversion to sin as He punishes it as necessary. It is a unique holy and necessary anger, totally under control. In this case Elam had sinned, and must therefore receive the consequences of their sin. As we have said their sin may well have been in the assistance that they gave, first to the Assyrians, and then to the Babylonians, against Israel and Judah. As Israel/Judah had been dismayed before the Elamites, so would the Elamites be dismayed before their enemies who sought their lives. Disaster (‘evil’) awaited them, disaster brought about as retribution for sin. And this in accordance with the word of YHWH. It is an example of Paul’s words, ‘whatever a man sows that will he also reap’ (Gal 6:7). If we put ourselves on the side of the flesh we thereby reject the Spirit, thus coming under God’s anger.

Jer 49:38

And I will send the sword after them,

Until I have consumed them,

And I will set my throne in Elam,

And will destroy from there king and princes,

The word of YHWH.”

In the form of the invaders YHWH would send the sword after them until they were consumed, and then He would set His throne in Elam and destroy its kings and princes. None could resist YHWH. It was customary for an invading king, once he had taken part of a land, to set up his throne there as evidence that the land was under his authority (compare Jer 43:10). Thus YHWH is here taking possession of Elam. Whether an invisible heavenly throne, or merely a throne of the invading king, was intended the significance is the same.

Jdt 1:1-13 refers to an invasion of that part of the world by Babylon when king Arphaxad of neighbouring Media was defeated by the Babylonians. Elam may well have rebelled along with them, or at another time, in order to avoid paying the hated tribute. Such rebellions regularly occurred at times when weakness was seen in the ruling nation, especially at the death of a king.

Jer 49:39

“But it will come about in the latter days,

That I will bring back the captivity in exile of Elam,

The word of YHWH.”

But as with Egypt, Moab and Ammon, mercy was to be finally show to Elam. The exiles of Elam were to return to their own land. This probably occurred under Persian rule in the same was as it did to the Judeans (Ezra 1). Certainly Elamites are mentioned as present in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Act 2:9), demonstrating that Elam still survived as a recognised province. And even as early as Daniel their leading city Susa (Shushan) was a centre of at least regional, if not central, government (Dan 8:2; Neh 1:1).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jer 49:34. Against Elam Concerning Elam. Elam we find to have been an independent kingdom in the days of Abraham. Gen 14:1. But I am not of opinion with those writers, who hold that by Elam in Scripture Persia is always meant. There is no doubt but that, when the monarchy of Persia was established under Cyrus, Elam was blended into, and formed a part of it. But before that time Elam and Persia were two distinct kingdoms; of which this may be admitted for proof, that the kingdom of Persia, if Xenophon may be credited as an historian, was never subdued under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar, but preserved its liberty in alliance with the Medes. Elam, on the contrary, is not only here prophesied of, as destined to become a part of the Babylonian conquests, but is actually spoken of, Dan 8:2 as a province of the Babylonish empire over which Daniel seems to have presided, having Shushan for the seat of his government. We may therefore conclude Elam to have been, as the name itself would lead us to suppose, the country called by heathen writers Elymais, which Pliny, in conformity with Daniel, describes as separated from Susiana by the river Eulaeus, or Ulay; Nat. Hist. lib. 6: cap. 31. Strabo also gives it the same situation, and in two places mentions the wars that it had carried on with the Susians and Babylonians. Lib. 11: p. 524 lib. 16: p. 744. Shushan, or Susa, was, properly speaking, the capital of Susiana; but it is likely, that when the Babylonians in conjunction with the Susians conquered Elam, they might have annexed it to the government of Susiana, and so the provinces united might have gone indifferently by the name of either Elam or Susiana. If so, Abradates, whom Xenophon styles king of the Susians, and who in the course of the war between the Babylonians and Medes revolted from the former, and joined the latter with his forces (Xenophon. Cyropaed. lib. 6:) had Elam likewise, as well as Susiana, for his kingdom or government, conferred upon him by Nebuchadrezzar, who is said to have had an affection for him; and his revolt from the son of his benefactor will help us to account for the forces of Elam being joined with Media in besieging Babylon, as foretold by Isaiah, ch. Jer 21:2 while the province or country itself may have still remained in the hands of the king of Babylon, who may have entrusted Daniel with the administration of it; till on the final subversion of the Babylonish monarchy it was restored again to its former possessors, who had fought under the banners of the Medes and Persians; as is intimated Jer 49:39.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

I beg the Reader, as he closeth this account, to mark the sweet promise of grace to Elam, in the latter days. And when he hath done it, let him consult the Prophet Joel for the meaning of the phrase latter days; and the Acts of the Apostles, for the fulfillment of the promise, when the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Elamites, and both will serve to throw a light upon similar promises of grace, in this Chapter. Joe 2:28 , etc. Act 2:1-9 and then to Act 2:21 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jer 49:34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

Ver. 34. Against Elam, ] i.e., The Medes, say some; the Persians, say others; or a people between both, whose head city was that Susa where Alexander found fifty thousand talents of gold, besides silver. Aristagoras also thus cheered up his soldiers that besieged it: This city if you can but take, cum Iove de divitiis licet certetis, you may vie with Jove himself for wealth. These Elamites joined with the Chaldees against the Jews when they first wasted Judea, and carried away Jehoiakim. Hence they are here so threatened for their cruelty then.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 49:34

34That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:

Jer 49:34 Elam This represents the highland area east of the Tigris River. Over the centuries its territory expanded and contracted. Both Susa/Shushan and Persepolis were in its territory. Today it would be in Iran.

The Jerome Biblical Commentary (p. 335) mentions an account found in the Babylonian Chronicles that tells of Nebuchadnezzar defeating an Elamite king in about 597 B.C. The exiles in Babylon may have been hoping that Nebuchadnezzar would be defeated by Elam. This hope was dashed!

This prophecy is dated in the same time frame as Jer 28:1. Zedekiah reigned from 597 B.C. to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

The Forty-Ninth Prophecy of Jeremiah (see book comments for Jeremiah).

Elam. The country east of the Tigris. Compare Dan 8:1, Dan 8:2. Its subjugation by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 25:25). Compare Hab 2:8.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Jer 49:34-39

PROPHECY AGAINST ELAM

The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. And I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith Jehovah; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them; and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.

Elam was a very ancient kingdom mentioned in Gen 14:1. Feinberg stated that it was two hundred miles east of Babylon and west of the Tigris river; and Hyatt located it “east of Babylonian and north of the Persian Gulf.”

The prophecy, unlike others in this chapter, is dated in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah in 498 B.C. Scholars, seeking to find some reason why this prophecy was given have surmised that, “At the time of this prophecy through Jeremiah the Elamites were threatening Babylon; and the Jewish exiles (hoping for a quick end of their exile) were expecting Elam to overthrow Babylon.” If that is true, the prophecy was then designed to show that no power could stand in the way of Babylon.

I will break the bow of Elam…

(Jer 49:35). The Elamites were famous for their skilled use of the bow (Isa 22:6), but their skilled bowmen would not be able to stand against the judgment of God.

Four winds from the four quarters of heaven…

(Jer 49:36). Jamieson thought this is a reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s army, made up of soldiers from the four quarters of heaven, i.e., from all over the world.

Till I have consumed them…

(Jer 49:37). A total destruction of Elam as any kind of deterrent to the power and ambitions of Nebuchadnezzar is prophesied.

I will set my throne in Elam…

(Jer 49:38). This occurred when Nebuchadnezzar, God’s instrument, set up his throne in Media, of which Elam was a part. Jer 43:10 provides an example of how Nebuchadnezzar erected his throne in various countries which he conquered. A similar thing is prophesied here.

In the latter days, I will bring back the captivity of Elam…

(Jer 49:39). In the latter days is a reference to the times of the Messiah; and it is a fact that Elamites participated in the blessings of the kingdom of God that began on Pentecost.

“How hear we every man in our own language wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, etc.” (Act 2:8-9)? Some of these, no doubt, were baptized on that Pentecost and formed part of the nucleus of the church of Jesus Christ the kingdom of God.

Note that “bringing back the captivity” of a nation was not primarily a promise of release from physical captivity, but a release from the slavery of sin. No captivity of Elam was mentioned.

AN ORACLE AGAINST ELAM Jer 49:34-39

Elam was located in the hill country east of Babylon and north of the Persian Gulf. Its capital was Shushan or Susa which was located about 200 miles due east of Babylon. Unlike the other nations mentioned in this section of oracles, Elam had very little contact with Israel throughout history. During the time of Abraham an Elamite king by the name of Chedor-laomer and his allies put down a revolt by certain city-states in the Valley of Siddim near the Dead Sea (Gen 14:1-11). Other than this episode only brief allusions to Elam can be found in the Bible. Isaiah names the Elamites as allies of Assyria in the campaign against Judah (Isa 22:6). The same prophet predicts that it will be the Elamites along with the Medes who will ultimately conquer Babylon (Isa 21:2-6).

The oracle against Elam is dated in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah (Jer 49:34) shortly after king Jehoiachin had been deported to Babylon. The prophecy was uttered about eight years after the preceding oracles of this section. Babylonian operations against Elam seem to have been conducted in the winter of 596 B.C. which would fall in the early part of the reign of king Zedekiah. It may be that this campaign of Nebuchadnezzar was the beginning of the fulfillment of the present prophecy.

Doom Jer 49:35-38

In spelling out the doom of Elam the prophet makes four points. (1) The strength of Elam will be demolished. God declares that he will break the bow of Elam, the weapon on which that nation chiefly relied (cf. Isa 22:6). (2) The inhabitants of Elam will be dispersed, scattered to the four winds, as they seek refuge in surrounding nations (Jer 49:36). (3) The Elamites will be dismayed when the fierce anger of the Lord is poured out on their nation. Even in captivity they will be hounded by the sword of the Lord until they are utterly consumed (Jer 49:37). (4) The rulers of Elam will be destroyed. The real Ruler of this world will set up His throne in Elam, remove the king and princes of the land, and appoint a ruler of His own choosing. When Cyrus, the anointed of the Lord (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1), incorporated Elam as a province in his vast empire, the present prophecy was fulfilled.

Hope Jer 49:39

In the latter days i.e., the days of the Messiah, the Lord will bring again the captivity of Elam i.e., reverse the fortunes of Elam. Elamites will experience the spiritual deliverance and blessing of the Messiahs kingdom. Men from Elam were present in the Pentecost audience when Peter preached the first Gospel sermon (Act 2:9). Perhaps some of them accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour that day and were baptized into Christ. If so, they would be the first fruits of a great host of their countrymen who would embrace the Gospel of Christ.

Prophecies about Foreign Nations – Jer 46:1 to Jer 51:64

Open It

1. What, in your mind, is a good example of a situation in which justice was served?

2. In what strategic defense or weapon would you have the most confidence during a personal attack?

Explore It

3. Why did Jeremiah say that the mighty warriors of Egypt would cower before Nebuchadnezzar? (Jer 46:13-17)

4. Despite the judgment coming on Egypt, what did God promise them eventually? (Jer 46:25-26)

5. What promises did God make to Israel with honesty, justice, and hope? (Jer 46:27-28)

6. To what terrifying natural disaster did God compare the Egyptian conquest of Philistia? (Jer 47:2-5)

7. Where did the people of Moab misplace their trust, sending themselves and their idols into captivity? (Jer 48:6-9)

8. In the context of judging the nations, what curse did Jeremiah pronounce on the lax or merciful? (Jer 48:10)

9. Why would it be particularly appropriate when Moab became an object of scorn and ridicule? (Jer 48:26-27)

10. What brought about Moabs destruction as a nation? (Jer 48:42)

11. What was the source of Ammons false sense of security? (Jer 49:4)

12. What did God promise to the Ammonites when their punishment was complete? (Jer 49:6)

13. How did God say He would treat the helpless, even within the borders of His enemy, Edom? (Jer 49:11)

14. Why did Edom think its location made it invincible? (Jer 49:15-16)

15. How would Damascus along with Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor also fall under Gods judgment? (Jer 49:23-33)

16. What would eventually happen to the nation of Elam after it was defeated and taken into exile? (Jer 49:37-39)

17. With their enemies facing Gods wrath, what did Jeremiah predict Israel and Judah would do? (Jer 50:4-5)

18. What attitude of the Babylonians in relation to Gods people convinced God to leave them desolate? (Jer 50:11-13)

19. Since the Babylonians had exiled many of the peoples they conquered from their own land, what would happen when God punished them? (Jer 50:16)

20. When Babylon was made accountable to God, what would become of Israels guilt? (Jer 50:20)

21. What did Jeremiah tell us about Israels Redeemer? (Jer 50:34)

22. To what historic event did God compare the coming destruction of Babylon? (Jer 50:39-40)

23. What were the Babylonians failing to take into account about Gods relationship to Israel? (Jer 51:5)

24. What nation was to become Gods instrument of justice against Babylon? (Jer 51:11-14)

25. How did Jeremiah contrast the God of Israel with the idols of the other nations? (Jer 51:17-19)

26. What religious disgrace of the people of Israel would be remedied by God Himself? (Jer 51:51-53)

27. What message about Babylon was Seraiah to deliver to the exiles in Babylon? (Jer 51:59-64)

Get It

28. Why was it important for the Jews exiled in Babylon to know that Babylons great power would soon fall?

29. Why was it important that each instrument of Gods wrath not be lax?

30. In what ways does modern society practice some of the same evil and rebellious attitudes that brought on Gods punishments for these nations?

31. What will become of those who rejoice when one of Gods servants stumbles morally?

32. How does our worship become acceptable to God?

Apply It

33. In what situation can you demonstrate a new attitude toward a Christian who has stumbled?

34. Through what difficult circumstance will you ask God to give you perspective, patience, and (eventually) freedom?

Questions On Jeremiah Chapters Forty-Seven thru Forty-Nine

By Brent Kercheville

1 What is Gods message to the Philistines (Jer 47:1-7)?

2 What do we learn about God (cf. Jer 47:7)?

3 What is Gods message to Moab (Jer 48:1-47)?

4 What sin does God condemn the people of Moab for (Jer 48:7)?

5 What lessons do we learn about ourselves and about God?

6 What sin does God condemn the people of Moab for (Jer 48:26)?

7 What lessons do we learn about ourselves and about God?

8 What sin does God condemn the people of Moab for (Jer 48:29-30)?

9 What lessons do we learn about ourselves and about God?

10 What hope is given to Moab (Jer 48:47)? Explain how this would be fulfilled.

11 What is Gods message to Ammon (Jer 49:1-6)? Explain how verse 2 and verse 6 would be fulfilled.

12 What is Gods message to Edom (Jer 49:7-22)?

13. Explain the imagery of Jer 49:9-10.

14 Explain the imagery of Jer 49:15-18.

15 What is Gods message to Damascus (Jer 49:23-27)?

16 What is Gods message to Kedar and Hazor (Jer 49:28-33)?

17 What is Gods message to Elam (Jer 49:34-39)?

What hope is given to Elam (Jer 49:39)? Explain how this would be fulfilled.

TRANSFORMATION:

How does this relationship change your relationship with God?

What did you learn about him?

What will you do differently in your life?

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Cir, am 3406, bc 598

Elam: Elam, the Elymais of the Greeks and Romans, was properly a province of the Persian empire, between Media and Susiana; but sometimes the name Elam is used in a larger sense, including Susiana and other provinces – see Dan 8:2, all of which were subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards restored and raised to dignity by Cyrus. Jer 25:25, Gen 10:22, Gen 14:1, Ezr 4:9, Isa 21:2, Eze 32:24, Eze 32:25, Dan 8:2, Act 2:9

Reciprocal: Hos 1:5 – I will

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jer 49:34. Elam was the name of a number of men but came to designate a country. It lay east of Persia proper but was finally referred to in various reference works under the same heading as Persia. This prophecy was made about 600 years b. c. while the overthrow of the Persian Empire as the second of the four world empires was not until 300 years later; it would seem, therefore, that the present prediction did not refer to that great event. We are sure this is correct for the last verse of this chapter shows the punishment was tem-porary, while the one 300 years later was to be permanent according to Dan 2:44. The prediction now before us was evidently concerning some earlier misconduct of this district and the chastisement was to be for a time only.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Jer 49:34. The word that came to Jeremiah against Elam Elam we find to have been an independent, and even powerful kingdom, in the days of Abraham, Gen 14:1. But I am not of opinion with those writers, says Blaney, who hold that by Elam, in Scripture, Persia is always meant. There is no doubt but that when the monarchy of Persia was established under Cyrus, Elam was blended into and formed a part of it. But before that time Elam and Persia were two distinct kingdoms: of which this may be admitted for proof, that the kingdom of Persia, if Xenophon may be credited as an historian, was never subdued under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar, but preserved its liberty in alliance with the Medes. Elam, on the contrary, is not only here prophesied of, as destined to become a part of the Babylonian conquests, but is actually spoken of, (Dan 8:2,) as a province of the Babylonish empire; over which Daniel seems to have presided, having Shushan for the seat of his government. We may therefore conclude Elam to have been, as the name itself would lead us to suppose, the country called by heathen writers Elymais, which Pliny, in conformity with Daniel, describes as separated from Susiana, by the river Eulus, or Ulay; Nat. Hist., lib. 6. cap. 31.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jer 49:34-39. Elam.Roughly, this was the modern Khuzistan, E. of the Tigris, and N. or NE. of the Persian Gulf; the date given is c. 596, and the occasion may have been the conquest of Elam by Teispes, a Persian ancestor of Cyrus. News of this could have reached Jeremiah through Jewish exiles in Babylonia. Yahweh is destroying the military strength of Elam. He will scatter the Elamites throughout the world, and destroy them (Jer 9:16), setting up His throne (for judgment): but they shall ultimately be restored.

Jer 49:35. the bow of Elam: Isa 22:6* (Elamite archers formed part of the Assyrian force besieging Jerusalem).

Jer 49:36 (cf. Jer 49:32) may be an interpolation based on Eze 5:12; cf. Eze 37:9; so Cornill.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

49:34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against {g} Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

(g) That is Persia, so called for Elam the son of Shem.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

H. The oracle against Elam 49:34-39

Elam was the land of the Elamites who lived somewhat east of the Babylonians (in modern southwest Iran). We know little about the history of the Elamites, and their inclusion in a collection of judgments against Israel’s hostile neighbors comes as a surprise. The oracle is noteworthy for its strong statements of threat and judgment.

"In contrast to the other oracles concerning the nations in Jeremiah, human agency recedes drastically. The sovereignty of the LORD over the affairs of all nations is accented by the announcement that the LORD would place his throne in Elam and destroy its gods (king and princes)." [Note: Smothers, p. 342.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

This oracle came to Jeremiah at the beginning of King Zedekiah’s reign, about 597 B.C. By this time it had become clear that the invader from the north would be Babylon.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER XXIV

ELAM

Jer 49:34-39

“I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.”- Jer 49:35

WE do not know what principle or absence of principle determined the arrangement of these prophecies; but, in any case, these studies in ancient geography and politics present a series of dramatic contrasts. From two ancient and enduring types of Eastern life, the city of Damascus and the Bedouin of the desert, we pass to a state of an entirely different order, only slightly connected with the international system of Western Asia. Elam contended for the palm of supremacy with Assyria and Babylon in the farther east, as Egypt did to the southwest. Before the time of Abraham Elamite kings ruled over Chaldea, and Gen 14:1-24 tells us how Chedorlaomer with his subject allies collected his tribute in Palestine. Many centuries later, the Assyrian king Ashur-bani-pal (B.C. 668-626) conquered Elam, sacked the capital Shushan, and carried away many of the inhabitants into captivity. According to Ezr 4:9-10, Elamites were among the mingled population whom “the great and noble Asnapper” (probably Ashurbanipal) settled in Samaria.

When we begin to recall even a few of the striking facts concerning Elam discovered in the last fifty years, and remember that for millenniums Elam had played the part of a first class Asiatic power, we are tempted to wonder that Jeremiah only devotes a few conventional sentences to this great nation. But the prophets interest was simply determined by the relations of Elam with Judah; and, from this point of view, an opposite difficulty arises. How came the Jews in Palestine in the time of Jeremiah to have any concern with a people dwelling beyond the Euphrates and Tigris, on the farther side of the Chaldean dominions? One answer to this question has already been suggested: the Jews may have learnt from the Elamite colonists in Samaria something concerning their native country; it is also probable that Elamite auxiliaries served in the Chaldean armies that invaded Judah.

Accordingly the prophet sets forth, in terms already familiar to us, how Elamite fugitives should be scattered to the four quarters of the earth and be found in every nation under heaven, how the sword should follow them into their distant places of refuge and utterly consume them.

“I will set My throne in Elam;

I will destroy out of it both king and princes-

It is the utterance of Jehovah”;

In the prophecy concerning Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar was to set his throne at Tahpanhes to decide the fate of the captives; but here Jehovah Himself is pictured as the triumphant and inexorable conqueror, holding His court as the arbiter of life and death. The vision of the “great white throne” was not first accorded to John in his Apocalypse. Jeremiahs eyes were opened to see beside the tribunals of heathen conquerors the judgment seat of a mightier Potentate; and his respired utterances remind the believer that every battle may be an Armageddon, and that at every congress there is set a mystic throne from which the Eternal King overrules the decisions of plenipotentiaries.

But this sentence of condemnation was not to be the final “utterance of Jehovah” with regard to Elam. A day of renewed prosperity was to dawn for Elam, as well as for Moab, Ammon, Egypt, and Judah:-

“In the latter days I will bring again the captivity of Ealm-It is the utterance of Jehovah.”

The Apostle Peter {1Pe 1:10-11} tells us that the prophets “sought and searched diligently” concerning the application of their words, “searching what time and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto.” We gather from these verses that, as Newton could not have foreseen all that was contained in the law of gravitation, so the prophets often understood little of what was involved in their own inspiration. We could scarcely have a better example than this prophecy affords of the knowledge of the principles of Gods future action combined with ignorance of its circumstances and details. If we may credit the current theory, Cyrus, the servant of Jehovah, the deliverer of Judah, was a king of Elam. If Jeremiah had foreseen how his prophecies of the restoration of Elam and of Judah would be fulfilled, we may be sure that this utterance would not have been so brief, its hostile tone would have been mitigated, and the concluding sentence would not have been so cold and conventional.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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