Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 50:39
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
39. wolves ] or perhaps jackals, lit. howling creatures (as mg.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
39, 40. These vv. closely resemble Isa 13:19-22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Wild beasts of the islands – Jackals.
Owls – Ostriches (marginal reference note).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 39. The wild beasts of the desert] Dahler translates these various terms, “The wild cats, the jackals, and the ostriches.” And Blayney the same. Wicklif, “Dragons, woodewoses, and ostriches.” Coverdale, “Wild beestes, apes, and estriches.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
39. wild beasts of the desertwildcats, remarkable for their howl [BOCHART].
wild beasts of theislandsjackals (See on Isa13:21).
owlsrather, “femaleostriches”; they delight in solitary places. Literally,”daughters of crying.” Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Re18:2.
no more inhabited foreverThe accumulation of phrases is to express the final andutter extinction of Babylon; fulfilled not immediately, but bydegrees; Cyrus took away its supremacy. Darius Hystaspes deprived it,when it had rebelled, of its fortifications. Seleucus Nicanor removedits citizens and wealth to Seleucia, which he founded in theneighborhood; and the Parthians removed all that was left toCtesiphon. Nothing but its walls was left under the Roman emperorAdrian.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell [there],…. Of these creatures
[See comments on Isa 13:21]; and
[See comments on Isa 13:22];
and the owls shall dwell therein; so mystical Babylon when fallen shall become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Re 18:2;
and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; interpreters observe that this was gradually accomplished: it was taken by Cyrus, and made tributary to the Persians; the seat of the empire was removed from it; its walls were demolished by Darius; it was drained both of its inhabitants and its riches through Seleucus Nicator building the city Seleucia r near it. In Adrian’s time there was nothing but an old wall left; and in Jerom’s time it was a park for the king of Persia to hunt in;
[See comments on Jer 50:13]; and
[See comments on Isa 13:20];
r Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The birds of the forest with the beasts of the forest, are rendered by some, “the satyrs with the fairies;” but איים, aiim, as well as ציים, tsiim, are, on the contrary, birds or beasts of the forest. Some render איים, aiim, “cats ” I hold no controversy as to these words — let there be a free judgment to every one; but, as we have elsewhere seen, the Prophet means birds and beasts of the forest, rather than satyrs and fairies. Then he adds, the daughters of the ostriches, rendered by some “of the owls;” but about this name also I will not contend. Some then render יענה, ione, “owl,” and refinedly explain that “daughters” are mentioned, because these birds forsake their young, when they howl through want or famine; but this is fictitious. I then take the daughters of the ostriches or of the owls, according to the usual manner of the language, to mean the very birds themselves. (76)
The Prophets usually speak thus, when they give no hope. We have said before, that Babylon was not then so laid waste, but that men dwelt there, who afterwards lived in great luxury; for the city, under Cyrus and his son, was always populous; and then, after its revolt, it was again inhabited; and when Alexander subdued Asia, Babylon was full of people, and flourished in luxury and wealth; and when he died there, he left the city very opulent. We hence, then, conclude, that what Jeremiah declares here, was not immediately fulfilled. But as the light or moderate punishments which the unbelieving suffer now are certain preludes of final and eternal destruction; so the Prophets, when speaking of God’s vengeance, ever extend what they say to the last overthrow; and this also appears more clearly from the next verse, where it is said, —
(76) As to the two first words, the versions and the Targ. widely differ. According to Bochart, the first word, ציים, means “wild cats,” and the second, איים, jackals. The Vulg., the Syr. , and the Targ. render the other word, יענה, the same, “the ostrich;” and this is the general opinion. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) Wild beasts of the desert . . .The combination of the two forms of animal life seems taken from Isa. 13:21-22. In the original the two words tziyyim and iiyyim have a kind of emphatic assonance. The English word in the first case answers to the etymology, but the animal referred to has been identified by some naturalists with the wild cats, which appear from Bar. 6:22 to have abounded in Babylon. In the second word the Authorised version follows a wrong etymology. Strictly the word means howlers, and should be translated jackals. For owls read ostriches, as in Isa. 13:21.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 50:39. Therefore, &c. Therefore wild cats, with jackals, shall dwell there; and the daughters of the ostriches shall dwell therein. &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jer 50:39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
Ver. 39. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert. ] See Isa 13:21 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 50:39-40
39Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will never again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
40As when God overthrew Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors, declares the Lord,
No man will live there,
Nor will any son of man reside in it.
Jer 50:39-40 These two verses bring together two idioms of destruction.
1. the presence of wild animals in her ruins, which was a symbol of
a. complete destruction
b. no human habitation
c. the presence of the demonic (cf. Psa 74:14; Isa 13:21; Isa 23:13; Isa 34:14)
2. the allusion to the complete destruction of the cities of the plain in Genesis 19 and it’s perpetual non-habitation (cf. Jer 49:18)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
no more inhabited, &c. Therefore the fulfilment still future.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 50:12, Jer 50:13, Jer 25:12, Jer 51:26, Jer 51:37, Jer 51:38, Jer 51:43, Jer 51:62-64, Isa 13:20-22, Isa 14:23, Isa 34:11-17, Rev 18:2, Rev 18:21-24
Reciprocal: Isa 34:13 – an habitation Jer 49:33 – a dwelling Jer 51:29 – every
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 50:39. The historical note just cited will show the fulfillment of this prediction to have been literally true. The city of Babylon became an uninhabited spot, and only these doleful creatures of desert life could live there.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
50:39 Therefore the {b} wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the isles shall dwell [there], and the owls shall dwell in it: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
(b) Read Isa 13:21 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Babylon would be inhabited only by wild animals forever, no longer by human beings. It would be as uninhabited as Sodom and Gomorrah after the Lord overthrew those cities. Babylon continued to be inhabited for many years following the Persian take-over, and the present countries of Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria currently occupy its territory. This prophecy anticipates the future destruction of Babylon (cf. Zec 2:6-9; Rev 16:19; Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:3).
"This prediction has not yet been fulfilled. Babylon has been inhabited throughout her history, and the government of Iraq has begun restoring some portions of the ancient city. Iraq’s plans to restore Babylon are published in a pamphlet, Archaeological Survival of Babylon Is a Patriotic, National, and International Duty (Baghdad: State Organization of Antiquities and Heritage, 1982). The prophecy about Babylon’s complete ruin awaits a future fulfillment during the Tribulation period." [Note: Dyer, "Jeremiah," p. 1201.]