Albert Barnes Commentary Jeremiah 49
Albert Barnes Commentary
Jeremiah 49
Albert Barnes Commentary
Jeremiah 49
"Of the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth Malcam possess Gad, and his people well in the cities thereof?" — Jeremiah 49:1 (ASV)
Has Israel no sons? - that is, the Ammonites in seizing Gilead have acted as if the country had no rightful owner. The sons of Israel were to return from captivity, and the land was their hereditary property.
Their king - Milcom , see the margin. The Ammonite god stands for the Ammonites just as Chemosh (Jeremiah 48:7) is the equivalent of the Moabites.
Inherit - that is, take possession of.
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess them that did possess him, saith Jehovah." — Jeremiah 49:2 (ASV)
Rabbah - that is, the “great city.” See (2 Samuel 12:27) note for a distinction between Rabbah, the citadel, and the town itself, lying below upon the Jabbok.
Daughters - that is, unwalled villages .
Shall Israel be heir ... - that is, “shall be victor over his victors;” compare (Micah 1:15).
"Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together." — Jeremiah 49:3 (ASV)
Ai - Not the town on the west of the Jordan (Joshua 7:2); a place not mentioned elsewhere. For Ai some read Ar.
Hedges - Fields were not divided by hedges until recent times; the term probably means the walls which enclose the vineyards (Numbers 22:24).
"Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, [saying], Who shall come unto me?" — Jeremiah 49:4 (ASV)
Thy flowing valley - The (fertile) valley in which Rabbah was situated. The Septuagint again has: in the valleys of the Anakim, as in Jeremiah 47:5 (see the note).
"Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, from all that are round about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives." — Jeremiah 49:5 (ASV)
Every man right forth - The Ammonites will live in terror of the tribes which rove in the neighborhood, and at the slightest alarm will flee straight away without resistance.
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