Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 51:30
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in [their] holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwelling places; her bars are broken.
30. Description of the capture of Babylon.
they are become as women ] Cp. Jer 50:37.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Have forborn to fight – Or, have ceased to fight: in despair when they saw that the conflict was hopeless.
Holds – The word properly means an acropolis, and so any inaccessible place of refuge.
They have burned – i. e., the enemy have burned.
Bars – i. e., fortifications (compare Amo 1:5).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 30. The mighty men – have forborne to fight] They were panic-struck when they found the Medes and Persians within their walls, and at once saw that resistance was useless.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When God hath determined an end, he ordereth means proportionable to that end. Babylon had many valiant and mighty men, and it is very probable the Babylonians trusted very much to them; but when it came to, God took off their courage, so as they had no heart to fight, but kept themselves in their strong holds, and if at any time they came out, their courage failed them, and they behaved themselves more like women than men of war; so as their enemies burned their cities, brake down their fortifications, and made what havoc they pleased.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
30. forborne to fightfor thecity was not taken by force of arms, but by stratagem, according tothe counsel given to Cyrus by two eunuchs of Belshazzar who deserted.
remained in . . . holdsnotdaring to go forth to fight; many, with Nabonidus, withdrew to thefortified city Borsippa.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight,…. Or, “ceased from fighting” h for it seems, upon Cyrus’s first coming, the king of Babylon and his army gave him battle; but being overthrown, they retired to the city i, and dared never fight more:
they have remained in [their] holds; in the towers and fortresses of Babylon, never daring to sally out of the city, or appear in the field of battle any more; even though Cyrus sent the king of Babylon a personal challenge, to end the quarrel by a single combat k:
their might hath failed; their courage sunk and was gone; they had no heart to face their enemy:
they became as women; as weak as they, as the Targum; timorous and fearful, having no courage left in them, and behaved more like women than men:
they have burnt her dwelling places; that is, the enemy burnt their houses, when they entered into the city, to inject terror into them:
her bars are broken; the bars of the gates of the city, or of the palaces of the king and nobles, and of the houses of the people, by the soldiers, to get the plunder; see Isa 45:1.
h “cessaverunt a praelio”, V. L. “desinent pugnare”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “cessarunt pugnare”, Schmidt. So Pagninus, Montanus. i Xenophon, Cyropaedia, l. 5. c. 19. Herodot. l. 1. sive Clio. c. 190. k Xenophon, ib. l. 5. c. 10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet shows here, as by the finger, the manner of the destruction of Babylon, such as it is described by heathen authors. He then says, that the valiant men of Babylon, even those who had been chosen to defend the city, ceased to fight For the city was taken rather by craft than by open force; for after a long siege, Cyrus was laughed to scorn by the Babylonians; then they securely held a feast. In the meantime two eunuchs of Belshazzar passed over to Cyrus; for; as Xenophon relates, the tyrant had slain the son of one, and by way of disgrace castrated the other. Hence, then, it was that they revolted from him; and Cyrus was instructed by them how he could take the city. The fords were dried-up, when Belshazzar suspected no such thing, and in the night he heard that the city was taken. Daniel gives a clearer description; for he says that there was held a stated feast, and that the hand of a writer appeared on the wall, and that the king, being frightened, had heard from Daniel that the end of his kingdom was near at hand, and that the city was taken that very night. (Dan 5:25.) hence the Prophet says now that the valiant men desisted, so that they did not fight. He indeed speaks of what was future, but, we know what was the manner of the prophets, for they related what was to come as though it had already taken place.
He afterwards adds, that they sat down in their fortresses, for the city was not taken by storm — there was no fighting; but the forces passed silently through the fords, and the soldiers entered into the middle of the city; the king was slain together with all his satraps, and then all parts of the city were taken possession of. We now, then, see that the Spirit of God spoke by the mouth of Jeremiah, as of a thing that had already taken place.
He then adds, that their valor had failed or languished, even because terror stupefied them when they heard that the city was taken. So also true became what is added, that they became women, that they were like women as to courage, for no one dared to oppose the conquerors. Fighting might have still been carried on by so large a multitude, yea, they might have engaged with their enemies in hundred or in thousand of the streets of the city, for it would have been easy in the night to distress them: but the Prophet says, that they all became women as to courage. At last, he adds, that that burnt by enemies were the palaces, and that the bars of the gates were broken; for no one dared to summon to arms after it was heard that the city was taken. It follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(30) The mighty men of Babylon have for born to fight.The verses that follow paint the capture of the city by the stratagem related in the Note on Jer. 50:24. Those who have burned are, of course, the invaders. They here begin by setting the houses of the city on fire and breaking open the gates that led from the river into the streets of the city, while the panic-stricken people fled to their citadel in despair.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
30. Have forborne Have ceased; not from cowardice, but from hopelessness. They become as women, and stay in the inaccessible places to await the end.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Babylonian Response ( Jer 51:30-33 ).
As already mentioned Gobryas, the Persian general, took the city of Babylon by stealth, having diverted the water course that led into the city, thus being able to walk into the city with his men along the dry river bed. We can imagine the effect that the sudden appearance of these Persian soldiers within the city itself would have had on the inhabitants. They had been trusting in Babylon’s huge walls to prevent the taking of the city. They knew that no siege weapons would have been effective against them. They would thus have been utterly demoralised.
Jer 51:30
The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight,
They remain in their strongholds,
Their might has failed,
They are become as women,
Her dwelling-places are set on fire,
Her bars are broken.”
We are not surprised therefore to learn that the mighty men of Babylon refrained from taking on the enemy but rather retired into their citadels. They ‘forbore to fight’. They ‘remained in their strongholds’. They knew very well that they were not a match for the whole Persian army which could now walk into the city without hindrance. Thus they ‘became as women’, unwilling and unready to fight. Meanwhile many buildings would be set on fire by the Persian looters, in spite of the instructions to spare the city. And the bars of the city gate would have been broken in order to ensure continual access for the invaders. What is remarkable is that this was foreseen by Jeremiah long before. It was YHWH’s doing.
Jer 51:31-32
“One post will run to meet another,
And one messenger to meet another,
To show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter,
And the passages are seized,
And the reeds (literally ‘pools’) they have burned with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.”
The Babylonian system of postal runners was a marvel of the age, as one runner passed messages on to the next one in relays until they reached their destination. In this case the system was used for the purpose of getting the news of the fall of Babylon to ‘the king of Babylon’. This may have been to Belshazzar as he feasted with his lords in Babylon (crown prince but called king), or to Nabonidus, the king of Babylon, in his Arabian retreat. He quickly learned that every quarter in the city had fallen, and that the ways and ferries over the Euphrates, which joined two parts of the city together, had been seized. Furthermore he learned that the vegetation, (and possibly the boats and other structures), growing in the ‘pools’ around the city had been set on fire, in order to bring out the fugitives hiding there, and that his own soldiers were terrified, as well they might be, for they would expect the Persian soldiery to treat them as they would have treated others. The whole emphasis is on the demoralisation of the Babylonian defenders.
Jer 51:33
“For thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel,
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor,
At the time when it is trodden,
Yet a little while,
And the time of harvest will come for her.”
For the truth was that Babylon’s time had come. It would be trodden down like a threshing floor at the time when the grain was trodden down, at the time of harvest, a harvest which was to come for Babylon in ‘a little while’. And this was the declaration of YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel. For He was repairing the damage done to His people.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 51:30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in [their] holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
Ver. 30. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight. ] At Cyrus’s first coming they gave him battle; but being worsted, they from thenceforth remained in their holds till Babylon was taken.
Their might hath failed.
They became as women.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The mighty men. Hebrew pi. of gibbor. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
The mighty: Accordingly, the Babylonians, after the loss of a battle or two, never recovered their courage to the face the enemy in the field, they retired within their walls; and the first time that Cyrus came with his army before the place he could not provoke them to venture forth, though he challenged the king to fight a duel with him; and the last time he came he consulted with his officers respecting the best mode of carrying on the siege “since,” said he, “they do not come out to fight.” Jer 51:32, Jer 51:57, Jer 48:41, Jer 50:36, Jer 50:37, Psa 76:5, Isa 13:7, Isa 13:8, Isa 19:16, Nah 3:13, Rev 18:10
her bars: Jer 50:36, *marg. Psa 107:16, Psa 147:13, Isa 45:1, Isa 45:2, Lam 2:9, Amo 1:5, Nah 3:13
Reciprocal: 2Ki 19:26 – of small power Jer 46:19 – waste Jer 51:56 – her mighty Jer 51:58 – high gates Lam 1:6 – her princes Nah 2:8 – Stand
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 51:30. The war had been going on in the country at large before the city of Babylon was attacked. But all the while the active soldiers were in the field in defence of their country, the princes of the land, and especially those in the capital city were shrinking from their military duty. While this cowardly attitude was being maintained their houses were being burned by the invading forces.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 51:30-32. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight: they have remained, &c. The year before the siege of Babylon, Cyrus overthrew Belshazzar in battle, whereupon his army retreated within the walls, where they were shut up by him and besieged. Afterward, when Cyrus entered the city, he ordered public proclamation to be made, that all persons should keep within their houses, and whoever was found abroad should be put to death; and threatened to set their houses on fire, if any offered to hurt the soldiers from the tops of their houses. They became as women Timorous, and without courage. They have burned their dwelling-places The enemy have burned their houses. Her bars are broken All her fortresses, and what she confided in as her chief defence against the enemy. One post shall run to meet another Messengers shall run from different parts, and so fall in with one another, all carrying the same intelligence to the same person, that the city was taken on the part every one came from. This is a very natural description of what may be supposed to happen on a city being taken by surprise in the middle of the night; for, as fast as the alarm spread, people would be posting away with the news from all parts to the head-quarters. The translation of the last clause, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, is not accurate: the word does not mean at one end, for one is not in the text, but at the extremity. It may not be improper to observe further here, that though it seems unusual to say that one messenger runs to meet another, to acquaint any one with the same news, the usual expression in such a case being, that one messenger follows upon the heels of another; yet, in this matter, this unusual way of speaking was exactly descriptive of the fact; for Babylon being taken by a party of soldiers entering by the channel of the Euphrates at each extremity of the city, the messengers who carried the news to the king at his palace would actually run toward and meet each other at or near the palace, as they came from opposite quarters, to acquaint him that his city was taken at the extremities; for we cannot but suppose that people would run from each end of the city to the palace as soon as Cyruss men entered. The passage in the original has great beauty and sublimity, which, however, is almost lost in our translation. Houbigant seems to give it its due force, rendering the verbs in the present tense, and omitting the connecting particles, which greatly augments its energy, thus: Courier comes to meet courier messenger meets messenger to inform the king of Babylon that his city is taken at the extremity, that the passages are stopped, [or surprised, see Jer 51:41,] that fires are burning among the reeds, that the men of war are terrified. The passages here mentioned were most probably the entrances into the city from the river side, which were secured by gates that ought, as Herodotus observes, to have been fast barred, which, if it had been done, would have effectually frustrated the attempt of the enemy; but being left open and unguarded, on account of the public festivity, the assailants were in possession of those entrances, and in the heart of the city, before the besieged were aware of it. The word , here rendered reeds, properly signifies marshes or lakes; and the phrase here seems to import, that the enemies had burned up all the outworks belonging to the marshy grounds about the river Euphrates. Lowth.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The strong Babylonian warriors would become exhausted, stop fighting, and retreat to their strongholds like women. Women did not normally serve as soldiers in ancient times. The enemy would set their houses on fire and would break down the gates of the city.