John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 51:44

"And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall." — Jeremiah 51:44 (ASV)

God again declares that He would take vengeance on the idols of Babylon; not that God is properly incensed against idols, for they are nothing but things made by humans, but so that He might show how much He detests all superstitious and idolatrous worship. He speaks of Bel as though it were an enemy to Himself; yet God had no quarrel with a dead figure, devoid of reason and feeling, and such a contest would have been ridiculous. God, however, thus rises up against Bel for the sake of people, and declares that it was an enemy to Himself, not because the idol, as we have said, of itself deserved any punishment.

From this we learn how detestable that corruption and that false religion were. It appears evident from heathen writers that Bel was the supreme god of the Chaldean nation; indeed, that idol was worshipped throughout all Assyria, as all unanimously testify. They thought that there had been a king skilled in the knowledge of the stars, and for this reason he was placed by erring people among the gods.

But we learn from the prophets that this was a very ancient superstition, and it is unlikely that there had been any king of this name—for otherwise Isaiah and Jeremiah, when predicting the ruin of this idol, would not have been silent on the subject. Therefore, that common opinion does not seem probable to me; instead, I think that this name was given to the idol according to the fancies of people, for no reason can be found why heathen nations so named their false gods. It is indeed certain that divine honor was given to mortals by the Greeks and the Romans, and by barbarous nations. But the worship of Bel was more ancient than the time when such a thing was done. And so great was the veneration in which that idol was held, that they named some of their precious stones after it. They consecrated the eye-stone to the god of the Assyrians because it was a gem of great value. (See Pliny, book 37, chapter 10.)

Jeremiah, then, declares that Bel would be exposed to God’s vengeance—not that God, as we have said, was angry with that statue, but He intended in this way to testify how much He abominated the ungodly worship in which the Chaldeans delighted. Nor did He so much regard the Chaldeans as the Jews; for I have often reminded you that it was a hard trial, which might have easily endangered the faith of the people, to think that the Chaldeans would not have obtained so many and so remarkable victories unless God had favored them.

On this account, the Jews might have had some doubts respecting the temple and the law itself. Since the Babylonians triumphed when success accompanied them, it was necessary to fortify the minds of the godly, so that they might remain firm, even though the Babylonians boasted of their victories. So that the faithful would not succumb under their trials, the prophets supplied a suitable remedy, which is done here by Jeremiah.

God then declares that He would visit Bel; for what reason and to what purpose? So that the Jews might be convinced that that idol could do nothing, but that they had been afflicted by the Babylonians on account of their sins. So that true religion, then, might not be discredited, God testified that He would at some time not only take vengeance on the Chaldeans themselves, but also on their idol, which they had devised for themselves; I will then visit Bel in Babylon.

And He adds, and I will bring or draw out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The word בעי (belo), indeed means what is devoured; but the Prophet here refers to the sacred offerings by which Bel was honored until that time.

There is no doubt that many nations presented gifts to that idol for the sake of the Chaldean nation, just as we find that gifts were brought from all parts of the world to Jupiter Capitolinus when the Roman Empire flourished. For when the Greeks, Asians, or Egyptians wished to obtain some favor, they sent golden crowns, chandeliers, or some precious vessels; and they sought it as the highest privilege to dedicate their gifts to Jupiter Capitolinus.

So, then, there is no doubt that many nations offered their gifts to Bel when they wished to flatter the Chaldeans. And therefore the Prophet declares that when God visited that idol, He would make it disgorge what it had previously swallowed. This is, admittedly, not said with strict accuracy; but the Prophet was considering the Jews, who might have doubted whether the God of Israel was the only true God while He permitted that empty image to be honored with so many precious offerings, for this was to transfer the honor of the true God to a dead figure.

Then He says, I will draw out—as though Bel had swallowed what had been offered to it—I will draw out from its mouth what it has swallowed. Though the language is not strictly literal, yet we see that it was necessary, so that it would not disturb the minds of the Jews that almost all nations regarded that idol with such great veneration.

He afterwards expresses His meaning more clearly by adding, the nations shall no more flow together. Thus we then see what He meant by the voracity of Bel: namely, that people flocked from all parts to this temple, for the nations, seeking to ingratiate themselves with the Babylonians, directed their attention to their god. We, indeed, know that the temple of Bel remained even after the city was conquered; yet there is no doubt that the predictions of Jeremiah and of Isaiah have been accomplished. For Isaiah says,

Lie prostrate does Bel, Nebo is broken. (Isaiah 46:1)

Isaiah names some other god, who is not made known by heathen writers; but it is sufficiently evident from this testimony that Bel was in high repute. He afterwards says that it would be a burden to the beasts even to weariness. From this we learn that Bel was carried away, not because it was worshipped by the Medes and the Persians, but because all the wealth was removed, and probably that idol was made of gold.

It afterwards follows, Even the wall of Babylon has fallen. We have said elsewhere that this prophecy should not be restricted to the first overthrow of Babylon, for its walls were not pulled down then, except in part, where the army entered after the streams of the Euphrates had been diverted.

However, the ancient splendor of the city still continued. But when Babylon was recovered by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, then the walls were pulled down to their foundations, as Herodotus writes, with whom other heathen authors agree.

For Babylon had revolted together with the Assyrians when the Magi obtained the government. When Darius recovered the kingdom, he prepared an army against the Assyrians who had gathered in Babylon. Their barbarous cruelty is narrated: they strangled all the women so that they would not consume the provisions.

Each man was allowed to keep one woman as a servant to prepare food and to serve as a cook, but they spared neither matrons nor wives, nor their own daughters. For a time, the Persians were stoutly repulsed by them. At last, through the contrivance of Zopyrus, Darius entered the city; he then demolished the walls and the gates, and afterwards Babylon was no better than a village.

Then he also hung the chief men of the city, numbering three or four thousand, which would be incredible if we did not consider the extent of the city. For such a slaughter would be horrible in a city of moderate size, even if men of all ranks were put to death.

Thus it appears what an atrocious cruelty it must have been, when all the chief men were hung or fixed to crosses. Then also the walls were demolished, though they were, as has been stated elsewhere, of incredible height and width.

Their width was fifty feet; Herodotus states fifty cubits, but I rather think they were feet, and yet their feet were longer than common.

Since, then, Jeremiah says that the wall of Babylon had fallen, there is no doubt that his prophecy includes this second calamity, which happened under Darius; and this confirms what I have referred to elsewhere.