Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zephaniah 2:6
And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
6. The text of Zep 2:6 is probably in disorder, as the rhythmical balance of the verse is quite obscured. The Sept. also read differently, the words the sea coast being wanting in their text. These words should probably be omitted as a marginal explanation of it, and the verse read, and it (land of the Philistines, Zep 2:5) shall be.
dwellings and cottages for shepherds ] R.V. pastures, with cottages, marg. or, caves. The word rendered “cottages” ( k’rth) is obscure. Bochart, whom Keil follows, suggested that the word was infin. of the verb “to dig,” and rendered “for digging,” supposing that the reference was to subterranean huts dug by the shepherds to escape the heat (hence R.V. marg., caves). The idea has no probability. The peculiar construction (which appears similar to that in Job 20:17, the floods, the brooks of honey) suggests that “dwellings” and “cottages” are mere variant expressions, having the same meaning. So Hitzig: shall be for meadows of pastures for shepherds. The sense of pasture is seen, Isa 30:23, though the plur. is masc. Psa 65:13, while in the present passage the word is fem. It is possible, indeed, that the word is a mere transcriptional duplicate of the preceding word, as the letters forming the two words are frequently confused. The term, however, stood in the text of the Sept., who rendered it Crete, i.e. the country of the Cherethites: and Crete shall be a pasture ( n’vath) of shepherds. Either the order of words was different in the text of the Sept., or they translated in entire disregard of Shemitic grammar. The verse with the necessary omissions may read:
And it shall be dwellings (or, pastures) for shepherds and folds for flocks.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The seacoast shall be dwellings and cottages – o, literally, cuttings or diggings. This is the central meaning of the word; the place of the Cherethites (the cutters off) shall be cheroth of shepherds, places which they dug up that their flocks might be enclosed therein. The tracts once full of fighting men, the scourge of Judah, should be so desolate of its former people, as to become a sheep-walk. Men of peace should take the place of its warriors.
So the shepherds of the Gospel with their flocks have entered into possession of war-like nations, turning them to the Gospel. They are shepherds, the chief of whom is that Good Shepherd, who laid down His Life for the sheep. And these are the sheep of whom He speaks, Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My Voice; and there shall be one fold and One Shepherd Joh 10:16.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. And the sea-coasts shall be dwellings] Newcome considers keroth as a proper name, not cottages or folds. The Septuagint have , Crete, and so has the Syriac. Abp. Secker notes, Alibi non extat , et forte notat patriam . “The word is not found elsewhere, and probably it is the name of the country of the Cherethim.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This confirms the former, tells us what shall be in those parts; instead of cities full of rich citizens, there shall be cottages for shepherds watching over their flocks.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. dwellings andcottages for shepherdsrather, “dwellings with cisterns”(that is, water-tanks dug in the earth) for shepherds.Instead of a thick population and tillage, the region shall become apasturage for nomad shepherds’ flocks. The Hebrew for “dugcisterns,” Ceroth, seems a play on sounds, alluding totheir name Cherethites (Zep 2:5):Their land shall become what their national name implies, a land ofcisterns. MAURERtranslates, “Feasts for shepherds’ (flocks),” thatis, one wide pasturage.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds,…. That tract of land which lay on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, inhabited by the Philistines, should now become so desolate, that instead of towns and cities full of merchants and sea faring persons, and houses full of inhabitants, and warehouses full of goods, there should now only be seen a few huts and cottages for shepherds to dwell in, to shelter them from the heat by day, and where they watched their flocks by night, and took their proper repose and rest. The last word is by some rendered “ditches” i, which were dug by them to receive rainwater for their use: or rather may signify “cottages dug by shepherds” k; in subterraneous places, whither they retired in the heat of the day, to shelter themselves from the scorching sun; and some of them were so large as to receive their flocks also; such was the cave of Polyphemus, as Bochart l observes, in which the cattle, namely, the sheep and goats, lay down and slept; and in Iceland such are used to secure them from the cold; where we are told m there are caverns in the mountains capable of sheltering a hundred sheep or more: and whither they very cordially retreat in bad weather. These holes are in such mountains as have formerly burned, and are of infinite service to them, both winter and summer; in the winter for shelter, and in the summer for very good pastures, which they find in plenty all around. Such sort of huts and cottages as these, in hot countries, Jerom seems to have respect unto, when, speaking of Tekoa, he says n, there is not beyond it any little village, nor indeed any field cottages like to ovens (subterraneous ones, Calmet o calls them), which the Africans call “mapalia”: these Sallust p describes as of an oblong figure, covered with tiles, and like the keels of ships, or ships turned bottom upwards; and, according to Pliny q, they were movable, and carried from place to place in carts and waggons; and therefore cannot be such as before described; and so Dr. Shaw r says, the Bedouin Arabs now, as their great ancestors the Arabians, live in tents called “hhymas”, from the shelter which they afford the inhabitants; and adds, they are the very same which the ancients call “mapalia”:
and folds for flocks; in which they put them to lie down in at evening. The phrases express the great desolation of the land; that towns should be depopulated, and the land lie untilled, and only be occupied by shepherds, and their flocks, who lead them from place to place, the most convenient for them.
i “fossas”, Tigurine version; “fossuris”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Ben Melech; but disapproved of by Gussetius. p. 402. k “Mansiones effossionum pastorum, Drusius; caulae effossionum pastorum”, i. e. “effossae a pastoribus”, Bochart. l Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45. col. 467, 468. m Horrebow’s Natural History of Iceland, c. 29. p. 46. n Prooem, in Amos. o Dictionary, in the word “Shepherds”. p Bell. Jugurth. p. 51. q Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 3. r Travels, p. 220. Ed. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The tract of land thus depopulated is to be turned into “pastures ( n e voth , the construct state plural of naveh ) of the excavation of shepherds,” i.e., where shepherds will make excavations or dig themselves huts under the ground as a protection from the sun. This is the simplest explanation of the variously interpreted k e roth (as an inf. of karah , to dig), and can be grammatically sustained. The digging of the shepherds stands for the excavations which they make. Bochart ( Hieroz. i. p. 519, ed. Ros.) has already given this explanation: “Caulae s. caulis repletus erit effossionis pastorum, i.e., caulae a pastoribus effossae in cryptis subterraneis ad vitandum solis aestum.” On the other hand, the derivation from the noun kerah , in the sense of cistern, cannot be sustained; and there is no proof of it in the fact that karah is applied to the digging of wells. Still less is it possible to maintain the derivation from (Arab. wkr ), by which Ewald would support the meaning nests for keroth , i.e., “the small houses or carts of the shepherds.” And Hitzig’s alteration of the text into = , pastures, so as to obtain the tautology “meadows of the pastures,” is perfectly unwarranted. The word chebhel is construed in Zep 2:6 as a feminine ad sensum, with a retrospective allusion to ‘erets P e lishtm ; whereas in Zep 2:7 it is construed, as it is everywhere else, as a masculine. Moreover, the noun chebhel , which occurs in this verse without the article, is not the subject; for, if it were, it would at least have had the article. It is rather a predicate, and the subject must be supplied from Zep 2:6: “The Philistian tract of land by the sea will become a tract of land or possession for the remnant of the house of Judah, the portion of the people of God rescued from the judgment. Upon them, viz., these pastures, will they feed.” The plural does not stand for the neuter, but is occasioned by a retrospective glance at . The subject is, those that are left of the house of Judah. They will there feed their flocks, and lie down in the huts of Ashkelon. For the prophet adds by way of explanation, Jehovah their God will visit them. Paqad , to visit in a good sense, i.e., to take them under His care, as is almost always the meaning when it is construed with an accusative of the person. It is only in Psa 59:6 that it is used with an acc. pers. instead of with , in the sense of to chastise or punish. as in Hos 6:11 and Amo 9:14. The keri has arisen from a misinterpretation. On the fulfilment, see what follows.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Prophet confirms what he has before said respecting the future vengeance of God, which was now nigh at hand to the Moabites and other neighboring nations, who had been continually harassing the miserable Jews. Hence, he says, that that whole region would become the habitation of sheep. It is a well known event, that when any country is without inhabitants shepherds occupy it; for there is no sowing nor reaping there, but grass alone grows. Where, therefore, there is no cultivation, where no number of men are found, there shepherds find a place for their flocks, there they build sheep cots. It is, therefore, the same as though the Prophet had said, that the country would be desolate, as we find it expressed in the next verse. (96)
He immediately adds, but for a different reason, that the coast of the sea would be a habitation to the house of Judah. And there is here a striking divergence from the flocks of shepherds to the tribe of Judah, which was as it were, the chosen flock of God. The Prophet then, after having said that the region would be waste and desolate, immediately adds, that it would be for the benefit of the chosen people; for the Lord would grant there to the Jews a safe and secure rest. But the Prophet confines this to the remnant; for the greater part, as we have already seen, were become so irreclaimable, that the gate of mercy was completely closed against them. The Prophet, at the same time, by mentioning a remnant, shows that there would always be some seed from which God would raise up a new Church; and he also encourages the faithful to entertain hope, so that their own small number might not terrify them; for when they considered themselves and found themselves surpassed by a vast multitude, they might have thought that they were of no account. Lest then they should be disheartened the Prophet says that this remnant would be the object of God’s care; for when he would visit the whole coast of the sea and other regions, he would provide there for the Jews a safe habitation and refuge.
That line then, he says, shall be for the residue of the house of Judah; feed shall they in Ashkelon, and there shall they lie down in the evening; that is, they shall find in their exile some resting-place; for we know that the Jews were not all removed to distant lands; and they who may have been hid in neighboring places were afterwards more easily gathered, when a liberty to return was permitted them. This is what the Prophet means now, when he says, that there would be a refuge in the night to the Jews among the Moabites and other neighboring nations.
A reason follows, which confirms what I have stated, for Jehovah their God, he says, will visit them. We hence see that the Prophet mitigates here the sorrow of exile and of that most grievous calamity which was nigh the Jews, by promising to them a new visitation of God; as though he had said, Though the Lord seems now to rage against you, and seems to forget his own covenant, yet he will again remember his mercy, when the suitable time shall come. And he adds, he will restore their captivity; and he added this, that he might show that his favor would prove victorious against all hindrances. The Jews might indeed have raised this objection, Why does not the Lord help us immediately; but he, on the contrary, allows our enemies to remove us into exile? The Prophet here calls upon them to exercise patience; and yet he promises, that after having been driven into exile, they should again return to their country; for the Lord would not suffer that exile to be perpetual. It now follows—
(96) The words, [ נות כרת רעים ], are rendered by Calvin, “ habitaculum caulis pastorum —an habitation (or a dwelling) for the sheepcots of shepherds.” The Targum takes the two first words in the singular number; the second is evidently so, and the first may be so also: and [ כרת ] certainly does not mean sheepcots, but digging, from [ כרה ], to dig. The reference is either to the pits dug for watering the flock, as Piscator thinks, or to the subterraneous huts, or caves, dug for the purpose of shelter, as Drusius and Bochart suppose. Junius and Tremelius render the words, “sheepcots, the delvings of shepherds;” and Drusius, “dwellings of the digging out of shepherds,” i.e., dwellings dug out by shepherds. The most literal and the easiest construction is, “dwellings, the digging of shepherds.” Then the verse might be thus rendered,—
And the line of the sea shall be dwellings, Dug out by shepherds, and folds for sheep.
Parkhurst quotes Harmer, who says, “the Eastern shepherds make use of caves very frequently, sleeping in them and driving their flocks into them at night. The mountains bordering on the Syrian coast are remarkable for the number of caves, and are found particularly in the neighborhood of Ashkelon. ” How fully then was this prophecy fulfilled.— Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Dwellings and cottages for shepherds.Better, places for shepherds pastures. In crth (best taken as plural of car, a pasture) there is a paronomasia on crthm of Zep. 2:5. The term sea coast (literally, line of the sea) here, as in Zep. 2:5, designates maritime Philistia. This tract of country is represented as ravaged and depopulated, so as to be serviceable only as a mere sheep-walk. Afterwards (Zep. 2:7) the restored exiles of Judah make it their pasture-ground. That this predominance of the Jewish over the Philistine race actually took place is manifest. The allusion to the captivity of Judah and its termination is remarkable. Who save He in whose hand are human wills could now foresee that Judah should, like the ten tribes, rebel, be carried captive, and yet, though like and worse than Israel in its sin, should, unlike Israel, be restored (Pusey). In the opening words of Zep. 2:7 there is perhaps another paronomasia, for chebel (sea coast in Zep. 2:6), may also mean an apportioned inheritance; and the words here may be rendered, and it shall be for an inheritance for the remnant of the house of Judah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Zep 2:6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
Ver. 6. And the sea coasts shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds ] It shall be waste and untilled, and therefore unfrequented by any but shepherds, who pitch their tents up and down, where they may best feed their flocks, in desert places.
And folds for flocks
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
dwellings = pastures.
cottages = pens.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the sea: Zep 2:14, Zep 2:15, Isa 17:2, Eze 25:5
Reciprocal: Isa 5:17 – shall the lambs Isa 7:25 – but it Jer 33:12 – in all Jer 47:7 – the sea Rom 9:29 – we had been
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE RESTING FLOCK AT EVENTIDE
The sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening.
Zep 2:6-7
It is with the imagery of this prophecy we have to do now. The weary and perilous day is ended, and the time of rest is come for the sheep of Gods pasture. So they are led by Him as their Shepherd to their place of rest. In the prophecy this is Ashkelon, a strong Philistine fortress by the Mediterranean, a terror to Israel. Now, in the seers eyes, it is the site of a permanent pastoral settlement, with its dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks, whence in the morning the shepherds lead out their flocks to pasture grounds; thither in the evening they lead them to the shelter and safety of the permanent folds.
I. The prophecy is a parable whose fullest expression is found, not in Israel resting in the houses of Ashkelon, but in the flock of Christ resting in the fold of Paradise.The contrast between Ashkelon, the dread of Judah, as the stronghold of her ancient foes, and her desire as her quiet resting-place at eventide, is great. Yet it is but a type of the greater contrast between mans old conception of death and Hades and the Christian conception of them. Of old, darkness rested over the world beyond death. It was known as Hades, the unseen, the unknown land. Read the prayer of Hezekiah after his recovery from his sickness, and see how a devout Israelite of his day trembled at the prospect of death. Pass from this to weigh the utterances of a St. Paul: To me to die is gain. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. The time of my departure is at hand; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Ah, Ashkelon has become indeed a fold for flocks, where in the evening the sheep of the Lord lie down. What was a terror becomes a thing of desire. How is this? The Lord Jesus has transfigured Death and Hades. He was crucified, dead, and buried, and descended into Hades. By His death He conquered death, and transformed it into birth, into a state of bliss. He has even changed its name; Hades has become Paradise. It is more than Eden regained; it is Eden restored under deeper conditions of bliss. It is indeed the land of rest. There is the rest of perfect security; they who are there dwell safely, and none can make them afraid. There is the rest of them that feast in the ever-growing knowledge which satisfies the intellect; in the vision of Christs beauty, which satisfies the heart; in increasing conformity to His likeness, which is the repose of the will. And even as He speaks to them He bears them to the fair scene of calm repose, and there makes them to lie down in the evening, and rest until the morning dawns, when He will call them with His voice to awake and come forth to the joys of His eternal Easter Day. If Jesus is the Good Shepherd in His morning and midday ministries to His flock, how truly is He this to the very end in His evening care? Is this joy yours? It shall be so if you will but abandon yourself to the pastoral care of the living Jesus. He cheers His own as He cheered the saint of old who fell at His feet as one dead.
II. Jesus, then, is the Great Shepherd of the sheep in Paradise, as on earth.Christian life, both here and there, is a life lived under His pastorate. Paradise is a quiet resting-place. It is the sphere of the great Sabbath of the people of God. The intermediate state is to them what Holy Saturday was to the Lord. Rest is the one arresting feature of this life as it is revealed to us by God. They rest in safety, in repose, in satisfaction, in expectancy. But the condition of their rest is their living under the pastoral ministries of Jesus. Paradise is a state of activity. The rest of that land is not the rest of inactivity. Is inactivity a possible condition for the spirit when once it is awakened to intelligence? The spirits rest is not in inactivity; its rest is like the rest of God in this His Sabbath Day. Gods rest is a rest of reposeful activity. Inactivity is the condition of restlessness. No one is so restless as he who has no work in life. And this law of rest rules the life of Paradise. Man carries into it an untouched personality. In his personality he lives a life of consciousness. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. And therefore he is capable of activity in this condition of being. His life is a life of restful progress. It is a life of ever-growing knowledge, of ever-increasing conformity to Gods will, of advancing purification, and therefore of ever-brightening hopes. Paradise is not Heaven. It is the rest of progress to perfection; it is the rest of an ever-brightening anticipation of the coming of the perfect day. And this rest is the gift of Jesus. It is His gift to those who live in Paradise under His pastoral ministries, Who is their sun, their life, their hope. Winsome, indeed, is the life of those who in Paradise, dwelling in the vision of Jesus, rest in Him and wait patiently for Him. Such are the conditions in which we are privileged to anticipate the evening of life as we live now in the Good Shepherds fold and under His care. How blessed is the lot of him who can see this gathering of the clouds in the consciousness of the presence of Jesus in the evening of the hour of death, and all through the night of rest in the land beyond it! God grant us to know this blessedness.
But this knowledge must be gained, this grace found, this act of commendation learned now if they are to be our consolation then; we must take Jesus to be our pastor now if we are to have Him for our guide and comfort then; we must learn in life how to follow Him if we are consciously to follow Him into His paradise. The science of Christian dying is taught in the school of Christian living by Him Who is the Lord of life and death.
Canon Body.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Zep 2:6. Some of the uses that will be made of these territories are specified in this verse. One of the chief industries in the land of Palestine was that of the production and raising of sheep. The area under consideration was to furnish shelter for the shepherds and their flocks.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The flat Philistine seacoast would become depopulated pastures, and its caves-there are many in Judah and Mt. Carmel-would serve as refuges for shepherds and folds for sheep. After this destruction, the survivors from Judah would take possession of the coastal plain and pasture their sheep there. They would also take over the houses in Ashkelon and make them their homes because Yahweh would care for this remnant and restore their fortunes (cf. Zep 3:20; Gen 15:18-20).