MAA RA Chee ¥ YO?
one being put for all; fuch as were ufed at fefti+ vals, and at times of joy’ and ‘rejoicing, “of which the’ Babylonians had many, and very probably were ufed-at the feaft by Bel/baxzar, when the city ‘was taken, ard he'was flain; to which reference may be had in this: place, Dan. iii. 5. and v..1, 30. com* “pare with this Rev. xviii. 16,22: the-worm 7s fpread under thee, and thé worms cover thee} who uled td have rich carpets {pread for him to tréad upon, and ftately canopies Linder which he faty beds Of down to ‘lie upon, and the vicheft coverifig- dver him, and now nothing but worms over him, and worms under him; ‘or inftead of béing wrapt th gold and filk; and embalmed with the’ moft pre+ cious, fpices, as the eaftern’ kings fed ‘to’ be, he had not fo muchas a grave, but was ‘caft-out of that, as is after faid, and fo-was liable to’ putre+ faétion, and to be covered with werms at’ once; worms ‘his bed, and worms his bed-eloaths!-fee Fob XX. 26. 1Ore DES 10 IAS Sa: Fer y. 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, 8cc.) This is not to be underftood ‘of the fall of fatan, and the apoftate angels, from their firft eftate, when they were -caft down from’ heaven to hell, tho’ there may be an allufion to it; fee Luke x. 18. but the words are a‘continuation’of the fpeech of the dead to the -king of Babylon, wondering at it, as a thing almoft incredible, that he who feemed to be fo eftablifhed on the throne of his kingdom, which was his heaven, that’ he fhould be depofed ‘or fall from it: So*the deftru€tion of the Roman pagan emperors is fignified by the ‘eafting’ out. of the dragon and his angels from heaven, Rev. xii. 7, 8, 9. and in like manner Rome’ papal} or thie
‘ Romifo antichrift, will fall from his heaven of outward fplendor and happinefs, of honour and awthority, now poffefled by him: O Lucifer, Jon’ of ibe morning; alluding to the ftar Venus, which is. the phofphorus or morning-ftar, which ufhers in the light of the morning, and fhows that day is at hand; by which is meant, not fatan, who is never in fcripture called Lucifer, tho’ he was once ar arigel of light, and fometimes transforms himfelf intoone, and the good angels are called morning-ftars, Fol xxxviii. 7. and fuch he and his angels once were; but the king' of Badylom'is intended, whofe royal glory and majefty, as out-fhining all the reft of the kings of the earth, is exprefied by thoft names; and which perhaps were fuch as he took to himfelf, or were given him by his courtiers. The Targum is, ** how art thou fallen from on ‘«* high, who was fhining among the fons ‘of men, “< as the ftar Venus among the ftars.” Farchi, as the Talnud‘, applies it to Nebuchadnezzar; tho” if any particular perfon is pointed at, Belfhazzar is rather defigned, the laft of the kings of Babylon. The church of Rome, in the times of the apoftles, was famous for its light and knowledge; its faith was fpoken of throughout all the earth; and its bifhops or paftors were bright ftars, in the morning of the gofpel-difpenfation: how art thow cut’ down to the ground; like a tall tree that is I and laid along the ground, and can never flourifh more, to which fometimes great monarchs that the king of Babylon fhould die, not a natural, but a violent death, as Be/bazzar did, with whor the Badylonifh monarchy fell, and never rofe more; — vand this is a reprer.. “ion of the fudden, violent, and irrecoverable ruin of the Romi/h antichritt, Rev. xviii. 21: which didft weaken the nations! by fubduing them, taking cities and towns, plundering the inhabitants of their fubftance, carrying them captive, or obliging them to a yearly tribute, by which means he weakened them, and kept them under. So the Romifh antichrift has got the power over many nations of the earth, and has reigned over the kings of it, and by various methods has drained them of their wealth and riches, and fo greatly enfeebled them; nay, they have of themfelves given their power and ftrength unto the beatft, Rev, Xvi. 12, 13, 15,17, 18. Several of the Fewi/h writers obferve, that the word here ufed fignifies to caft lots; and fo it is ufed in the MG/na *, and explained in the Ta/mud*, and is applied to the king of Babylon cafting lots upon the nations and kingdoms, whom he should go to war with, and fubdue firft; fee Ezek. xxi. 19 —23. The Targum is, *¢ thou art caft down to the earth, who killedft *¢ the people;” a fit defcription of antichrift, Rev. xi. 7. and xiii. 7, 10, 15. ¥. 13. For thou haft faid in thine heart, &c.] Which fhews the pride and haughtinefs that were in his heart, and were the caufe and reafon of his fall, for pride goes before a fall; it was the caufe of the fall of angels, and of Adam, and of many kings and kingdoms; fee Prov. xvi. 18. with this compare Rev. xviil. 7, 8: J will afcend into heaven, be above al] men, rule over the whole world; and fo the Targum, ‘* I will afcend on high;” unlefs by it is meant the temple at Feru/alem, where Febovabh dwelt, an emblem of heaven, to which fenfe the following claufes incline; and fo the Romijh _ antichrift fits in the temple of God, and on his throne, as if he was God, 2 Thef. ii. 4: I will exalt my throne above the ftars of God; which he has made and fet in the heavens, and preferves; meaning either the angels, od xxxviii. 7. or rather the kings and princes of the earth, over whom he placed himfelf, having fubdued them under him. It may be applied to ecclefiaftical perfons, paftors and bifhops of churches, compared to ftars, Rev. i, 20. the third part of which the dragon drew with his tail, Rev. xii. 4. and over whom the bifhop of Rome has ufurped an univerfal dominion, The Targum is, ** over the people of God I will put « the throne of my kingdom;” notorioufly true of the man of fin: Iwill fit aljo upon the mount of the congregation, in the fides of the north; that is, as fome think, in the temple where the tribes of Jfrael gathered together for worfhip, which was built upon mount Zion, which, as Kimchi fays, lay north of Ferufalem; fee Pf. xlviii. 2. fo the tabernacle is often called the tabernacle of the congregation; but as Cocceius and Vitringa obferve, mount Zion was not to the north, but to the fouth of ‘Ferufalem, wherefore not that mount, but mount Moriah, which was to the north of mount Zion, is defigned; however, not Babylon is here-meant, as R. Fofeph Kimchi thought; called, as he fuppofes, ike mount of the congregation, becaufe all the world were gathered thither to the king of Babylon; and a mount, becaufe a ftrong city; and faid to be in the fides of the north, becaufe it lay north-eaft to the continent; but, as one obferves, he had no peed to’ boaft.of fitting there, where he was already.
Farchi-thinks the laft claufe refers to the north-fide of the altar, in the court, where the facrifice was killed, Lev. i. 11. and may point at the feat of the Romifo antichrift, and the facerdotal power ufurped by him, to offer facrifice for the fins of men, particularly the unbloody facrifice of the mafs.
¥.14. Iwill afcend above the heighis of the clouds, &c.] Which are the chariots of God, and in which he rides, and fo this proud monarch affected to be as he; perhaps fome reference is had to the cloud in which Jehovah dwelt in the temple. The Tar- &um is, ** I will afcend above all people;” compared to clouds for their multitude. In the myftical fenfe, the true minifters of the word may be meant, fo called for their height, motion, fwiftnefs, and fulnefs of gofpel-doétrine, compared to rain; fee J/.v. 5. Rev. xi. 6,7: 1 will be like the Moft High, fo fatan affected to be, and this was the bait he laid for our firft parents, and with which they were taken; and nothing lefs than deity could fatisfy fome ambitious princes, as Caligula, and others; and this was what the Badylonifh monarch afpired to, and ordered to be afcribed to him, and be regarded as fuch, either whilft living, or at leaft after death, which was what had been done to many heathen princes. So antichrift is reprefented as fhewing himfelf to be God, 2 Theff. ii. 4. by calling, and fuffering himfelf to be called God; by affuming all power in heaven and in earth; taking upon him to depofe kings, and difpofe of kingdoms at pleafure; difpenfing with the laws of God, and making new ones; abfolving men from their oaths, pardoning their fins, fetting up himfelf as infallible, as the fole interpreter of fcripture, and judge of controverfies. The Targum is, “ I ‘¢ will be higher than them all;” than the kings of the earth, and all other bifhops. ¥.15. Yet thou fhalt be brought down to hell, &c.} Into a very low and miferable condition;, fee Matt, xi. 23. inftead of afcending to heaven: or to the grave; though, inafmuch as afterwards a burial is denied him, the word may be taken for the infernal pit, and fo is, as much as can be, oppofed to heaven; and this will be true of antichrift, when the beaft and falfe prophet will be caft alive into the lake of fire, Rev. xix..20: to the fides of the pit; inftead of being on the mount of the congregation in the fides of the north; another word for hell, the pit of corruption, and the bottomlefs pit. “The Targum is, ** to the ends of the lake of the houfe ‘* of perdition;” the place of everlafting deftruction. ¥..16, They that fee thee, &c.] Thefe are the words of the dead, fpeaking of the living, who when they fhould fee the carcafs of the king of Babylon lying on the ground: fhall narrowly look upon thee, and confider thee; whether, it is he or no, not knowing at firft fight who he was, the alteration being fo great; he that was but juft now on his throne of glory, with all the enfigns of majefty about him, and on him, now caft to the earth, deprived of life, befmeared with blood, and fo disfigured, -as f{carcely to be known; thefe phrafes are ufed to exprefs the great change made in him, and in his ftate and condition: faying; {carce believing what they faw, and as wondering at the fudden and ftrange alteration, and yet in an infulting manner: is this the man-that made the earth to tremble? the inhabitants of it, when they*heard of his come ing againft them, with his numerous and conquering army, dreading that he would do to them as he had done to others, deftroy their cities, rob Be would kill him; upon which they took him out... of his grave, to fhew him that he was. dead: but, the fenfe here, is not that the king of Babylon... fhould be taken out of his grave, after he was, of their fubftance, put them to the fword, or carry them captive, or make them tributary: shat did foake kingdoms 2? depofe their kings, and fet up others; alter their conftitution, change their form of government, and added their kingdoms to his own, y. 17. That made the world as a wildernefs, 8c. } Both by deftroying the inhabitants of it, and by laying waite cities, towns, villages, fields, vineyards, gardens, and all places improved and cultivated, wherever he came, as it follows: and deftroyed the cities thereof; as the Afyrian kings had done, fome of which are mentioned in J/. x. g. fee ch. xxxvit. II, 12, 13, 18: that opened not the houfe of bis prifoners, the prifon-houfe, in which they were held, or, ‘* the gate to his prifoners,” as the Targum, or rather the words may be rendered, that opened not to his prifoners, that they might go home; or as De Dieu, in fhort, yet fully expreffes it, that did not difmifs bis prifoners home, he not only cruelly and inhumanly put many to the fword, but fuch as furrendered, and were taken captives, he detained them in prifon, and would not loofe their bonds, but let them die there; which was an inftance of great cruelty and inhumanity.
¥. 18. All the kings of the nations, 8c. ' Of other nations, befides thofe he governed, and even of thofe whom he had fubdued, at leaft their anceftors, the greateft part of them however; for the word a// does not always fignify every-individual, though, by the repetition of it, it here bids fair for fuch a fenfe, there being but very few, or fcarce any exceptions to this obfervation; for on fome account or another, both good and bad kings are interred in great ftate: even all of them lie in glory; in rich tombs and ftately monuments, erected for the honour of them; and where they fleep, as the word fignifies, with their fathers, their anceftors, and are at reft, in the ftate of the dead, where they will continue to the refurrection: every one in bis own houfe; or grave, fee Fob xxx. 23. the fame with his long home, Eccl. xii. 5. or the houfe of his world; in reference to which, the Targum paraphrafes it by the fame phrafe here; and tho’ their graves were not in their dwelling-houfes or palaces, yet often near them, and in their own country, and were what had been erected, or caufed to be erected by them, in their life-time.
¥. 19. But thou art caft out of thy grave, &c.] Or rather from it*; that is, he was not fuffered to be put into it, or to have a burial, as the following words fhew, at leaft not to be laid in the grave defigned for him; tho’ the Fews*, who apply this to Nebuchadnezzar, have a fabulous ftory that he was taken out of his grave by his fon, to confirm this prophecy; and which their commentators, Aben Ezra, Farchi, Kimchi, and Abendana, tell in laid in it, but that he fhould be hindered from - being put into it; which very likely was the cafe. of Belfhazzar. Like an abominable branch; cut off. from.a tree as ufelefS and hurtful, and caft.upon the ground, where it lies and rots, and is good _ for nothing, neither for fuel, nor any thing elie, but is neglected and defpifed of all: and as the — raiment of thofe that are flain; in battle, which be-. ing rolled in blood, no body cares to take up and _ wear, nor even touch, for fuch perfons were, accounted unclean by the ceremonial law, and by the touch of them uncleannefs was contracted; and perhaps with a view to this the fimile is ufed, to exprefs the very mean and abject condition this monarch fhould be in: thruft thro’ with a fword; which was added for explanation-fake, to fhow in which way the perfons were flain, whofe raiment is referred to; the cloaths of fuch being ftained with blood, when thofe that died by other means might not have their raiment fo defiled. The word rendered ¢hrujt thro’, is only ufed in this place, and in Gen. xlv. 17. where it is rendered lade, or put on a burden; but as the feveral Fewifh commentators before-mentioned obferve ‘, in the Arabic language it fignifies to pierce or thruft thro” with a fword or fpear, and fo it is ufed in the 4rabtc verfion of Yobn xix. 34, 37: that go down ta the ftones of the pit, into which dead bodies after a battel are ufually caft, and which have often ftones at the bottom; and into which being caft, ftones are alfo thrown over them: as a@ carcafs trodden. under foot; which is frequently the cafe of thofe, that fall in battel; and very probably was the cafe of Belfhazzar, when flain by the Chaldeans, whofe body in a tumult might be neglected and trodden upon, and afterwards have no other burial than that of a common foldier in a pit; and inftead of having a fepulchral monument erected over him,. as kings ufed to have, had nothing but a heap of {tones thrown upon him.
¥. 20. Thou (halt not be joined with themin burial, &c.] The kings before-mentioned; not that the fenfe is, that he fhould not be interred in the fame place they were, or lie in the fame ftately mo-
}numents they did, for that was never defigned by him or others-; but that he fhould not be buried in like manner, be embalmed as they, or have odours burned for him, or lie in fuch ftate and pomp, or have a pyramid or maufoleum, or any rich. monument, erected over him; unlefs this can be underftood of his anceftors, the kings that were. before him; and the fenfe be, that he fhould not have a burial with the kings of Badylon, or be interred where they were, but, as before faid, fhould be caft out, or be kept from the place of fepulture. _
The Targum is, ** thou fhalt not be as one of them.
‘* in the grave;” fhall not be like them, or equah _ to them, in the glory and pomp of a funeral, not having the fame funeral rites, obfequies, and or-..
naments they have had. So the whore of Rome fhall have no funeral, but the kings of the earth _
will eat her flefh, and burn her with fire, ty
this manner: that when Nebuchadnezzar was driven from men, and was with the beafts of the field for feven years, the people made his fon £vilmerodach king; but when Nebuchadnezzar came to his right mind, and returned to his palace at Babylon, and found his fon upon the throne, he put him in prifon, where he lay till Nebuchadnezzar died, when the people took him out to make him king; but he refufed to be king, faying, he did not believe his father was dead; and that if he fhould come again, as before, and find him, he xvii. 16: becaufe thou baft deftroyed thy BOR > only other lands and nations, but alfo his” IS and the inhabitants of it, by his tyrannical government, by levies and exactions, by muléts and fines on various pretences: or, hajt corrupted thy lands, which phraie is ufed of myftical Babylon, Rev. xix. 2. fee alfo ch. xi. 18. whofe land or earth is the whole Romi/h jurifdiction, corrupted by her idolatries, and wafted and deftroyed by the various methods ufed to drain away the fubftance thereof: and flain thy people; put them to death at pleafure, without any juft caufe, for trifling matters; which is often done by arbitrary princes. archi and Kimchi apply this, to Nebuchadnezzar’s flaying the wife men of Baéylon, becaufe they could not tell him his dream, and the interpretation of it. It is true of antichrift flaying fuch that would not worfhip his image, and receive his mark, Rev. xiii. 10, 15: The feed of evil doers fhall never be renowned; or, not for ever, tho’ they may have a name, and be very famous for a while, yet not always; in procefs of time, their honour is laid in the duft; or, feall not be called for ever™; their name and their memory fhall not always laft; their name fhall be cut off, and their memory fhall rot; they fhall have none to keep up their name, and. they fhall not be fpoken of with refpeét; fuch a feed of evil doers were Bel/bazzar and his family, who defcended from Nebuchadnezzar and Evil-merodach, and were at once extinct, as follows, ¥. 21. Prepare flaughter for bis children, &c.] Thefe words are directed to the Medes and Per- Jians, to prepare inftruments of flaughter, and make ufe of them; and prepare themfelves for the flaughter of the whole royal family, Bel//bazzar and all his children. So it is threatened to Fezadel, or the Romifh antichrift, that all her children fhould be killed with death, Rev. ii. 23:. for the iniquity of their fathers, they imitating and following them in their fins, partaking of them, and filling up the meafure of their iniquities: that they do not rife, nor poffe/s the land, ftand up and fucceed him in the government of the land, as their inheritance: nor fill the face of the world with cities; as their anceftors had done, which were built by them to perpetuate their name and glory, and to keep the nations in awe fubdued by them. The Targum renders it, with enemies; which is followed by ben Ezra, Farchi and Kimchi; and fo the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions, with wars; to the great difturbance of the peace of the world, and to the difquietude of the inhabitants of it; which is a great plague to the world, and a judgment in it. ¥. 22. For Iwill rife up againft them, faith tke Lord of bofis, &c.| That is, againft the children of the Babylonifh monarch; and therefore they fhall not rife and poffefs the earth, and difturb it, fince he who is the Lord of armies in heaven and earth, and has all power in both worlds, and has every thing at his beck and command, will rife up, who feemed as it were afleep and unconcerned about the affairs of this world, and will fet himfelf againft them, and exert his power in their deftruction: and cut off from Babylon, the king of Babylon, and the inhabitants of it: the name; not of the city, which is mentioned long after, and ftill is; but of the king and his family: and remnant, his flefh, or thofe that were a-kin to him, as Kimchi interprets it: and fon, and nephew; his fon, and fon’s fon, as the Targum, and after that other Fewi/h writets; the whole family was deftroyed with Belfeoazzar, after whom none of that race was ever heard of any more.
¥. 23. Iwill alfo make tt a poffeffion for the bittern, &c.] Inftead of being poflefied by any of thé family of the king of Babylon. The bitteru is 2 kind of water-fowl, which by putting its bill into mire, or a broken reed, is faid to make a moft horrible noife. Some think the ow/ is meant, which dwells in defolate and ruinous places; and others take it to be the offsprey, a fort of eagle that preys upon fifh and ducks; according to Kimchi, the tortoife is meant; fome will have it, that the deaver or caftor is intended; Farchi underftands it of the porcupine or bedge-hog; and in the Aradic language this creature is called Kunpbud, which is pretty near the Hebrew word Kippod here ufed; to which Bochartus agrees; but whatever creature is meant, the defign is to fhow, that Bady/on fhould not be inhabited by men, but by birds or beafts of prey, or noxious animals; and fo myttical Bady/ox is faid to be a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Rv. Xvili. 2: and pools of water; Babylon being fituated in a marfhy ground, and by the river Euphrates and when that river was turned by Cyrus‘, and afterwards its banks neglected, in courfe of time, the water overflowed the place where the city was, and all about it, and fo eafily came to be what is here predicted it fhould; fee Rev. xviii. 21: and
I will fweep it with the befom of dejiruction, faith the Lord of hofts; and fo clear it at once of all its inhabitants, wealth and riches, and entirely remove its large walls and ftately buildings, no more to be feen, juft as a houfe is fwept clean of all its duft; intimating, that ‘this fuperb city, and all belonging to it, fhould be reduced to duft, and be as éafily fwept away as duft is with a befom. The word for /weep, and a befom, is only ufed in this place, and has this fignification in the Arabic language; it is faid in the Za/mud *, that the Rabbins knew not the meaning of this word, till they heard an Arabian girl fay to her fellow-fervant, “‘ take “¢ this befom and fweep the houfe,” expreffing the word here ufed.
¥. 24. The Lord of hofts hath fworn, faying, &c.} The Septuagint only read, thefe things faith the Lord of hofis; for, as Kimchi on the place obferves, his word is his oath; but for the comfort of his people, and for the confirmation either of the prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon, or of the following concerning the deftruction of the Arian monarchy, or both, he adds his oath to his word, to fhew that the fentence paffed in his mind, and now expreffed, was irrevocable: furely, as I have thought, fo fall it come to pafs; as he had fhaped and {chemed it, and drew the form and image in his own mind, or fixed and fettled it there, fo fhould it be done in due time, as every thing is, that is determined by the Lord; and this fhews that nothing is cafual, or comes by chance, but every thing as it is purpofed of God; and that as every thing comes to pafs which he has refolved, fo every fuch refolution proceeds from thought, and is the produce of the higheft wifdom and prudence and as I have purpofed, fo it foall fland, or counfelled‘; within himfelf, for he does all things according to the counfel of his will, and which always ftands firm, fure and unalterable, let what devices foever be in the heart of man. ‘ite
¥. 26. That I will break the Afprian in my land, &c.] This was his thought, counfel, purpofe, and decree; which muft be underftood either of the king of Babylon, as before, called the Afprian, as the king of Babylon feems to be called the king of Afpria in 2 Chron, xxxiii. 11. Neb. ix. 32. but then, his deftruétion was not in the land of J rael, or on the mountains of Fudea, as is here predicted, or rather, therefore, this is a new prophecy, or a return to what is foretold in the tenth chapter concerning Sennacherib and his army, and the deftruction of it; which coming to pafs long before the deftru€tion of Babylon, is mentioned for the comfort of God’s people, as a pledge and affurance of the latter: tho’ fome think that it was now patt, and is obf{erved to ftrengthen the faith of the Fews, with refpect to the preceding prediction, and read the words thus, As in breaking the Affyrian in my land, and then the fenfe is, what I have thought, purpofed, and fworn to, to come to pafs, concerning the fall of Babylon, fhall as furely be accomplifhed, and you may depend upon it, as I have broke the Afyrian army in my land before your eyes, of which ye yourfelves are witnefies. Some think that Gog and Magog are intended by the 4/- frian, of whom it is predi¢ted, that they fhould fall upon the mountains of J/rae/, as here, Ezek. xxxix. 4. it may be, that as the king of Babylon was a type of the Romifh antichrift in the preceding prophecy, the Afyrian here may reprefent the Turks, who now poffefs the land of J/rae/, and fhall be deftroyed: and upon my mountains tread him under
- foot; the mountainous part of Fudea, particularly the mountains which were round about Feru/alem, where the Afjrien army under Sennacherib was, when befieged by him, and where they fell and were trodden under foot; and now the Lord may be faid to break the A/yrian troops, and trample upon them, becaufe it was not only done according to his will, but without the ufe of men, by an angel that was fent immediately from heaven, and deftroyed the whole hoft, 2 Kings xix. 35: there jhall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden de-
’ part from of their fooulders; meaning, that hereby the fiege of Ferufalem would be broken up, and the city rid of fuch a troublefome enemy; and the parts adjacent eafed of the burden of having fuch a nugnerous army quartered upon them; and the whole land freed from the fubjection of this monarch, and from paying tribute to him. The fame is faid in ch. x. 27. fee the note there. This, in the Za/- mud ™, is interpreted of Sennacherid.
¥. 26. This is the purpofe that is purpofed upon the whole earth, &c.| Or, counfel that is counfelled. The Zargum is, * all the inhabitants of the earth;” and the Septuagint verfion, the whole world, meaning the A/yrian empire, and all ftates depending on it; as the Roman empire is called, Luke. ii. 1. for this purpofe refpeéts not the end of the world, and the judgment of it at the laft day, as fome have thought; but the preceding prophecy, purpofe, or counfel, concerning breaking and trampling under foot the Afprians, and delivering the “Fews from fubjection to them: and this is the hand that is firetched out upon all the nations; of which the Affyrian army confifted, or which made up the Affyrian monarchy, or depended on it, and fell with it. Purpose denotes the counfel, will, and decree of God, about this bufinefs; and Jand, the execution of it. The Targum renders it power; fo band and counfel go together in Af#s iv. 28. The Targum is, ‘* on all kingdoms.” ‘' y. 27. For the Lord of hofts bath purpofed, 8c.) What is before declared, the fall of Babylon, and the deftruction of the Affyrian, and every thing elfe that comes to pafs in this world; there’s nothing comes to pafs but he has purpofed, and every thing he has purpofed does come to pafs: and who shall difanul it? not the moft powerful monarch, or moft powerful armies, or the moft refined councils of men, or the greateft politicians on earth: @nd his hand is firetched out, and who shall turn it back? or afide, from giving the blow it is defigned to give; no power on earth is equal to it.
y. 28. In the year that king Abaz died, was this burden.] The following heavy prophecy, concerning the deftru€tion of the Phili/lines; whether it was delivered out before or after his death, is not certain. Here fome begin the fifteenth chapter, and not improperly; hencetorward prophecies are delivered out under another reign, as before under Uzziah, Fotham, and Abaz, now under Hezekiah. - This, according to Bifhop U/Ler, was 4. M. 3278, and of the Julian period 3988, and before the chriftian era 726. v
¥. 29. Rejoice not thou, whole Paleftine, 8zc.} The land of the Phik/tines, the inhabitants of Paleftine are meant, who rejoiced at the death of Uzziab, who was too powerful for them, and durin the reign of baz, of whom they had the better; and now he was dead, they hoped things would ftill be more favourable to them, fince a young prince, Hezekiah, fucceeded him; but they would find by fad experience, that they had no occafion to rejoice in thefe changes: whole Paleftine is mentioned, becaufe it was divided into five diftricts or lordfhips, over which there were five lords, Folh. xiii. 3. 1 Sam. vi. 4, and as they were all rejoicing in their late fuccefles in Abaz’s time, and in hopes of {till greater, fo they would all fuffer in the calamity hereafter threatened: Jbecaufe the rod of him that Jmote thee is broken, meaning not Abaz, for he did not fmite the Pbiliftines, but was {mitten by them, for they invaded his country, and took many of his cities; fee 2 Chron. xxviii. 18. but rather Uzziah, who broke down the walls of their cities, and built others, 2 Chron. xxvi. 6, 7. wherefore they rejoiced at his death; and their joy continued during the reigns of fotham and Abaz, and was increafed at the death of 4baz, a new and young king being placed on the throne. Some underitand this of the breaking of the Affrian, the rod of God’s anger, ¥. 25. by whom the Philiftines had been fmitten, and therefore rejoiced at his ruin; and to this the Targum feems to incline, paraphrafing it thus, ‘* becaufe the government is broken, ** whom ye ferved.” Such that interpret in this way, by the /erpent after-mentioned, underftand Tilgath-pilnexer king of Affiria, whofe fucceffors were more troublefome to the Phiijfines than he; — and by the cockatrice, Sennacherib; and by the fie Jying Jerpent, Nebuchadnezzar. Cocceius thinks th the fenfe of the prophecy is, that the Phili/i fhould not rejoice at the fceptre x ta from the Fews, and they being carried | Babylon, fince it would not be to their ac for after Nebuchadnezzar and his fignified by the cockatrice,; and ir pent, under Alexander, who fhould kill their root, take Tyre their metropolis, at the fiege of which was a famine; and then flay their remnant, the city of Gaza, the laft of their cities, whofe inhabitants he flew; but the firft fenfe of the prophecy, as it is moft common, fo moft eafy and natural: for out of the ferpent’s root foall come forth a that is, from the pofterity of Uzziah king of Fudab, who greatly annoyed the Philiftines, for which reafon he is compared to a /ferpent, fhould arife Hezekiah, compared to a cockatrice, becaufe he would be, and he was, more hurtful and diftreffing to them, fee 2 Kings xviii. 8: and his fruit thall be a fiery flying ferpent; not the fruit of the but of the ferpent; and intends the fame as Hezekiah, likened to fuch a creature, becaufe of the fury and fwiftnefs with which he was to come, ‘and did come againft the Pdiliftines, and the he did to themi: the ferpent to which he is compared, is called fiery or burning, becaufe it inflames where it bites, of which fee Numb. xxi. 6. and flying, not becaufe it has wings, tho’ fome ferpents are faid to have them; but.
¥.30. And the firft born of the poor fhall feed, &cc. That is, the ¥ews, who were brought very low in the times of dbaz, reduced to the greateft ftreights and difficulties; for fo the word jir/t-born may fignify _ the chief, or thofe who were of all the pooreft, and in the greateft diftrefs; thefe, in the times of Hezekiah, fhall enjoy abundance of good things, and under his gentle government fhall feed like a flock of fheep in good paftures; this fignifying, that tho” he fhould be like a ferpent, hurtful to his enemies, yet fhould be kind and tender unto, and take great care of his own fubjects, and under) y. whom they fhould have great plenty and profperity: and the needy fhall lie down in fafety, like a flock of fheep, fecure from beafts of prey, under the care of a faithful and vigilant fhepherd; this fhows that the Hews fhould not only have plenty of good things, but fhould live in the greateft fecurity, without fear of any enemy, or danger from them: and I will kill thy root with famine, this is faid to Paleftine, compared to a tree, whofe root is dried up for want of moifture, and fo dies; and the meaning is, that a fore famine fhould rage in their country, and utterly deftroy them: and be feall flay thy remnant, that is, Hezekiah fhould flay with the fword thofe that were left of the fa-, called to howling: cry, O city; or cities, the {e+ veral cities of the land, as well as their chief, becaufe of the deftruétion coming upon them. The argum is, “ howl over thy gates, and cry over ‘* thy cities;” or concerning them: -/bou whole Paleftine art diffolved; or melted, thro’ féar of ene cockatrice; | mies coming upon them; or it may defign the en= tire overthrow and diffolution of their tate: for there /hall come from the north a finoke 5a numerous army, raifing a duft like fmoke as they move along, and coming with great fwiftnefs, and very annoying. Some underftand this of the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar coming from Babylon, which cockatrice, lay north of Fudea; fo Aben Exra; to which agrees before, Fer. xivii. 1, 2. but moft interpret it of Hezekiab’s army, which came from Yudea; which Kimchi fays, lay north to the land of the Philiftines. Cocceius is hurt! of opinion, that the Roman army is here’ meant, which came from the nofth againft Fudea, called whole Palefine,; which country came into the hands of the Fews after the taking of Tyre and Gaza. by the Greeks, and therefore the Sanhedrin, which fat becaufe when it-leaps; inthe.gate, and the,city.of erufalem, are called upon to howl and cry. But the firft of thefe fenfes feems beft,-fince the utter deftructions of Palefine was. by the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar; and fo the prophecy from the time of: Hezekiah, with which. it begins, is carried on unto:the entire diffolution of this country by the Babylonians, And appointed times when the | times appointed are come, for the gathering, muftering, and marching of the army, whether Hezekiah’s or the Chaldean, none fhall ftay’-at: home; all, will voluntarily and chearfully flock unto it, and enlift.themfelves;. nor will they feparate or ftray from it, but march,on unanimoufly, and courageoufly engage the enemy, till the victory is obtained. _ dben Ezra underftands this of the Péz- //times, that they fhould not be able to abide: alone in their palaces and houfes, becaufe of the fmoke that fhould come in unto them.
or darts upon a man, it is with fuch fwiftnefs, that it feems to fly; the ferpent called Acontias, or ferpens jaculus, is here alluded to. The Targum applies the paflage to the Mefifah thus, “‘ for out of the chil- *¢ dren’s children of Yefé, fhall come forth the Mef- *¢’fiah, and his works fhall be among you as a “* flying ferpent.”’ none thall be alone in bis
32. What fhall one then anfwer the meffengers of the nation 2? &c.] Or nations, of.any of the nations. Not the meflengers fent to, Hezekiah, If. xxxix. 1. but rather fuch as were fent to him, to contragulate him upon his victory over the Pdiii- /tines; or any others that were fent, and came from other nations, that enquired about thefe maiters; and the anfwer returned 1S,. that the Lord hath founded Zion, and not Hexekiab; he had given his people victory over their enemies, and protected, defended, and eftablifhed them, and therefore ought to have all the glory: and the poor of bis people fhall truft in it; or, betake themfelves to it, as to a place of fafety, being founded by the Lord, and, under his protection. So the church of God, which mine.. otten goes by the name of Zyow in feripture, is of y¥. 31. Howl, O gate, &c.| Or gates of the cities of Paleftine, the magiftrates that fat there to execute judgment, or the people that pafied thro’ there; or becaufe now obliged to open to their enemies; wherefore, inftead of rejoicing, they. are his founding; he has laid Chrift as the foundation of it, and fuch as are fenfible of their {pititual: poverty, mifery and danger, truft in him; not in Zion, but in the foundation God has laid in Zion, or built his church upon.
: HIS chapter is a prophecy of the deftruction of the Moabites ee their principal ci- | himfelf, ties are mentioned as made defolate, ¥. 1. the in- -bitants in divers places are reprefented as weeping and mourning, and fhewing various figns of it, y. 5. the reafons.of which were the great drought, fo that there were no grafs, nor green thing, ¥. 6. the carrying away of their good things, either by themfelves or others, ¥..7.. the flight and cry of the people to the very borders of the land, y¥. 8. and the great effufion of blood, y. 1, The burden 6f Moab, &c.] A heavy, grievous prophecy, concerning the deftruétion of Moab. The Targum is, “ the burden of the cup “* of curfing, to give Moab to drink.” This feems to refpect the deftruction of it by Nebuchadnezzar, which is prophefied of in Yer. xlviii. for that which was to be within three years, ch. xvi. 14. looks like another and diftiné&t prophecy from this; tho” fome think this was accomplifhed before the times of Nebuchadnezzar, either by Salmanefer king of Afpria, fome time before the captivity of the ten tribes, as Vitringa and others; or by Sexnacherib, after the invafion of Fudea, fo Farchi. Becaufe in the night, Ar of Moab is laid wafte, and brought to filence; this was a chief city in Moab, perhaps the metropolis of it; fee Numb. xxi. 28. Deut. ii. 9, 18. ° Kimchi conjectures it to be the fame with 4roer, which was by the brink of the river Arnon, Deut. ii. 36. and iii. 12. and is mentioned with. Dibon, as this, in Numb. xxxii. 34. of which notice is taken, and not of Ar, in Fer. xlvili. 19, 20. Some verfions take Ar to fignify a city, and render it, the city of Moab, without naming what city it was; and the Jargum calls it by another name, Labajath; but be it what city it will, it was deftroyed in the night; in’ fach a night, as Kiwechi interprets it; in the fpace of a night, very fuddenly, when the.inhabitants of it were afleep and fecure, and had no notice of ‘danger; and fo the Targum adds, *‘ and they were afleep.” Some have thought this circumftance is mentioned with a view to the night-work, that work of darknefs of Lot and-his daughter, which gave rife to Adoab; however, in a night this *city became defolate, being taken and plundered, and its inhabitants put to the fword, and fo'reduced to filence; tho’ the laft word may as well be rendered cut off *, utterly deftroyed, being burnt or pulled down; two words are made ufe of to denote the utter deftruétion of it: decaufe in the night, Kir of Moab is laid wafte, and brought to filence; either in the fame night, or rather in another. Kir, another city of Moab; met with the fame fate as dr. This is called Kirharefeth, and Kir-hareth, in ch. xvi. 7, 11. and fo Kir-heres in Fer. xlviii. 31, 36. called Kir of Moab, to diftinguifh it from Kir in Afpria, Amos i. 5. 2. Kings xvi.g. and Kir in Media, If, xxii. 6.
¥.2. He ts gone up to Bajith, &c.} That is, Moab; the king or people of Moab, particularly the inhabitants of the above cities. Bajith fignifies an houfe; and here an houfe of idolatry, as Kimchi interprets it; it was an idol’s temple, very likely. the temple of their god Chemo/b, the fame which is called Beth-Baal-meon, Fofb. xiii. 17. the houfe of Baals habitation, and is mentioned with Dibon and Bamoth, as here; hither the Moabites went in their diftrefs, to lament their cafe, afk advice, make fupplication, and offer facrifice: and to Dibon, the high places to weep; Dibon was another city of Moab, Numb. xxi. 30. where probably were high places for idolatrous worfhip, and from whence it might have the name of Dibonhabbamoth, as it may be here called; or fince there was fuch a place in Moab as Bamoth, here rendered high places, it may be taken for.a proper name of? a place, Numb, xxi. 20. and the rather, fince men- tion is made of Bamoth-Baal along with Dibon, and as diftinét from it, ‘Yo/b. xiii. 17. and Farchi interprets the words thus, ‘‘\and the men of Didom went “< -up to Bamoth to weep.” Kimchi takes all three to be places of idolatrous worfhip, and which is not unlikely. Moab /ball howl over Nebo, and over Medeba; two cities in the land of Moab, now taken, plundered, and deftroyed; the forn er_of thefe, Nebo, had its name either from the’ Hebrew word ~223, Naba, to prophefy, becaufe of th prophecies or oracles, hich "tis thought were de-, livered here from the heathen priefts, as from their — deities; and among the Chaldeans, there was. a god of this name, // xlvi. 1. or from the Arabic. word Naba*, to be eminent, and fo had its namefrom its heighth; near to it was a mountain of the; fame name, where Mo/es had a view of the land of. Cnaaan, and died, Deut. xxxii. 49, 50. and Xxxiv. In, of this city fee Numb. xxxii. 3, 38. Fer. xlviil. 15 22. Feromfays?, that in his time a defart place called Naba was fhewed, eight miles diftant from the city E/bus (Hefbbon, ¥. 4.) to the fouth. The - latter of thefe, Medeba, is mentioned in Numb, xxi. - 30. Fob. xili. 16. this city is by Ptolemy 3 called. Medava. ‘Fofephus* {peaks of it as a city of Moab, in the times of /exander, and Hyrcanus; fo that if it was now deftroyed, it was built again: and Ferom * fays of it, that in his days it was a city of drabia, retaining its ancient name, near E/ebou, or Hefhbon. On all their heads fhall be baldne/s 5 that is, on the heads of the Moadites, efpecially the inhabitants of thefe cities that furvived the deftruction, who thro’ forrow and diftrefs, and as a token of mourning, tore off the hair of their heads, which caufed baldnefs, or elfe fhaved it; — and every beard cut off; with a razor, which makes it probable that the hair of the head was tore off; both thefe ufed to be done as figns of mourning and lamentation, even fhaving of the head an beard, Fob i. 20. Fer. vii. 29. Ezek. vii. 18. Lev, wh.
¥. 3. In their frets they bail girt themfelves with fackcloth, &c.} Inftead of their fine cloaths, with. which they had ufed to deck themfelves, being a very proud people; fee ch. xvi. 6. this was ufual in times of diftrefs on any account, as well as a. token of mourning for the dead; fee Yoel i. 8, 13. The word for /rreets might be rendered villages, as diftinct from cities, that were without the walls of the cities, tho’ adjacent to them; and the rather, feeing mention is made of ftreets afterwards: on the tops of their boufes, which were made flat, as the houfes of the Yews were, on which were battlements, Deut. xxii. 8. hither they went for fafety from their enemies, or to fee if they could fpy the enemy, or any that could affift them, and. detives them; or rather, hither they repaired for deyotion, to pray to their gods for help; for here it was ufual to have altars erected, to burn. incenfe
13. Zeph. i. 5. and in fuch places the people of God were wont to pray, dfs x. 9: and in t, ran up and down to get from the enemy, and fave _ themfelves: every one fhall howl, weeping abundantly; or, defcending with weeping, the tears run-
Areets; publickly,. as well as privately, where ey ning down his cheeks in great ate & that,. wi bane. zs ¥ his whole body was as it were watered \ or the meaning may be, that every one that went.
‘up to the temples of the idols, and to the high places, ¥. 2. or to the roofs of the houfes, as here, to pray the affiftance of their gods, fhould come down weeping and howling, having no fuccefs. ¥. 4. And Hefbbon foall ery, and Elealeh, &c.] Two other cities in the land of Adcab. The firit of thefe was the city of Stbon king of the Anorites, who took it from the Moabites, Numb. xxi. 25—30. it came into the hands of the Reubenites, Numb. xxxii. 3, 37. and afterwards was again poffeffed by the Moabites, Fer. xlviii. 2, 345.45. Fo- Jepbus* calls it Ejfebon, and mentions it among the cities of Moad; it goes by the name of Efeuta in Ptolemy *; and is called E/bus by Ferom “, who fays it was a famous city of Arabia in his time, in the mountains over-againft Fericho, twenty miles diftant from “Yordan; hence we read of the Arabian Efbonites in Pliny *. Elealeh was another city of Moab, very near to He/bbon; and frequently mentioned with it, ch. xvi. 9. Numd. xxxii. 3, 37. Fer. xiviii. 34. Ferom fays ¥, that in his time it was a large village, a mile from £/lus, or Hefhbon. By thefe two places are meant the inhabitants of them, as the Targum paraphrafes it, who cried for and lamented the defolation that was coming, or was come upon them: ‘¢heir voice fhall be beard even unto Fabaz, fometimes called Fahazah, Fo. xiii. ©8. and xxi. 36. Fer. xlviii. 21. it was a frontier town, at the utmoft borders of the land, Num). xxi. 23. Deut. ii. 32. hence the cry of the inhabitants of the above cities is {aid to reach to it, which exprefifes the utter deftruction that fhould be made; fee Fer. xlviii. 34. this is thought to be the fame place Ptolemy * calls Ziza. Ferom* calls it Fezza, as it is in the Septuagint here, and fays, that in his time it was fhewn between Medaba and Dedlathai. Therefore the armed foldiers of Meab fall cry out, not as when they go to battel, with courage and chearfulnefs, as fome have thought; but thro’ fear, and as in great terror and diftrefs; and fo it fignifies, that not only the weak and unarmed inhabitants, men and women, fhould be in the utmoft confufion and confteriiation, but the foldiers that fhould fisht for them, and defend them; who were accoutred, or harneffed, as the word fignifics, and were girt and prepared for war, as the Targum renders it; even thefe would be difpirited, and have no heart to fight, but lament their fad cafe: his iife foall be grievous to every one; the life of every Moabite would be a burden to him; he would chufe death rather than life; fo great the calamity: or the life of every foldier; or bis foul fall cry out, grieve or mourn for bimfelf®; for his own unhappy café; he fhall only be concerned for himfelf, how to fave himfelf, or make his efcape; having none for others, for whofe defence he was fet, and for whom he was to fight; but would. have no concern for his king or country, only for him#felf. ¥. 5. My beart fhall cry out for Moab, &c.] Thefe feem to be the words of the prophet, pitying them as they were fellow-creatures, tho’ enemies; which fhews humanity in him, and fignifies that their calamities were very great, that a ftranfhould be concerned for them, and fuch to whom they had been. troublefome; fo Yarchi underftands it, who obferves the difference between the true and falfe prophet, particularly between
—_ Se fae 87 Tfeiah and Balaam; but others, as Kimchi, interpret it of the Moabites themicives, every one exprefiing their concern for the defolation of their country; and fo the Zargum, ** the Mocbites fhall fay in *¢ ‘their hearts:” “bis fugttives fhall flee uste Zear; a city where Lot fied to, when he came out of Sodom, to which ’tis thought the allufion is, fee Gen. xix. 20,22. the meaning feems to be, that thofe that efcaped out of the above cities, when taken and deftroyed, fhould flee hither for fafety: the words may be fupplied thus, bis fugidives fhall cry out wate Zoar; that is, thofe that flee from other places, fhall cry fo loud as they go along, that their cry fhall be heard unto Zoar, Fer. xlviii. 34: an heifer of three years old; which is not to be underftood of Zoar in particular, or of the country of Adcad in general, comparable to fuch an heifer for fatnefs, ftrength, beauty, and lafcivioufnefs; but of the cry of the fugitives, that fhould be very loud and clamorous, like thie lowing of an ox, or an heifer in its full ftrength, which is heard a great way, fee i Sam. Vi. 9, 12. Fer. xiviii. 34. Dr. Lighijoot * conjectutes that Eglath Shelifbiah, tranflated an heifer of three years old, is the proper name of a place; and obferves, that there was another place in this country called. £z-Lglaim, Ezek. xlvu. 20: which being of the dual number, fhows that. there were two £ge/s, in reference to which this may be called the third Eglath; and fo the words may be rendered, bis fugitives fhall flee unto Loar, unto ibe third Eglath, and he further conjectures, that this may be the Necla of Ptclemy“*, mentioned. by him in Arabia Petrea, along with Zoera; and alfo to be the Ageia of Fofepbus*, reckoned with Zoara and Orofai, and other cities of Moab: for by the mounting up of Lubith, with weeping joall they go it up; which feems to have been a very high place, and the afcent to it very great; and as the Adoabites went up it, whither they might go for fafety, they fhould weep greatly, thinking of their houtes and riches they had Jett to the plunder of the enemy, and the danger of their lives they were. ftill. in. This place is thought by fome to be the fame with the. Ly/a of Ptolemy‘, Fofephus* calls it Lyjas Ferom * fays in his time it was a village between reopolis and Zoara, and went by the name of Luitha s it is mentioned in Fer, xIvill. 5: for in the way of Horonaim they fhall raife up a cry of déeftrucion; of Moab, and the feveral cities of it; or. of breaking, of breaking down of walls and of houles. The Zargum is, ** the cry of the broken (or conquered) “ in battel;” whoie bones are broken, or however their ftrength, fo that they are obliged to furrender; or a broken cry, fuch as is made when there is a multitude of people together, and in great diftrefs. The word Horonaim is of the dual number, and fignifies two Horons, the upper and the lower, as fay Kinichi and Ben Melech; which is true of Beth Horon, if that was the fame place with this, Foo. xvi. 3, 5. By Fofepbus.” it is called Oronas. and Orene; it is taken by fome to be the vara of Piolemy*, it feems by the Targum, that as Lubith was a vety high place, this lay low, fince.it renders it, “ mthe defCent of Horonaim;” to which its’ name’ agrees, which fignifies Caverns; and mention is made of Beth Horon in the valley, along with Beth Nimrab'. *
¥. 6. For the waters of Nimrim fhall be defolate, &c.] Or dried up, through a great drought that fhould come upon the land at this time; or being defiled with the blood of the flain, as Farchi: it may denote the well watered paftures about Nimvim, that fhould become the forage of the enemy, and be trodden under foot by its army, or be for- “faken by the proprietors of them. Yo/epbus ™ peaks of fountains of hot water {pringing up in the country of Perea, where Nimrim was, of a different tafte, fome bitter, and others fweet; which Dr. Lightfoot * faggefts, might be thefe waters of Nimrim, and according to the Ferufalem Talmud °, Beth Nimrab was in that part of the country which was called the valley, and fo was very fruitful with fprings of water. The word is in the plural num- ‘ber, and may defign more places of the fame name; and we read of Nimrah and Beth Nimrah, Num. xxxil. 3, 36. Ferom? calls it Nemra, and fays it was a large village in his time; it feems to have its name from panthers or leopards, of which there ‘might be many in thefe parts: for the hay is withered away, the grafs faileth, there is no green thing; by which it feems that the defolation fpoken of was not merely thro’ the forage and trampling of the enemy’s army, but by a drought. ¥. 7. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, &c.] The. great fubftance which the Moadites had got, and hoarded up: jhall they carry away to the brook of the willows; either the Moabites fhould carry their fubftance to fome brook, it may be near Nimrim, where many willows grew, and caft it into the brook, or lay it by the brook-fide, in fome private place, or under, and among the willows, to preferve it from the enemy; or elfe the meaning is, that their enemies fhould take what they had with a great deal of labour got, and with a great deal of care had laid up, and carry it to the brook of the willows, fome place without the city, and there divide it; or to the valley of the Arabians 4, as fome render it, fome part of 4vabia lying between Moab and Babylon, whither they might carry it, in order to the conveyance of it into their own country at a proper time: it may be obferved, that the country of Moab came after this into the hands of the Arabians, and according to Ferom, the valley of Arabia \ay in the way fromm Moad to Affria; but it may be rendered, the valley of the willows, and defign the land of Babylon,’ or Babylon itfelf, which was built in a’plain, or on a flat by the river Evphrates, out of which many canals and rivulets were cut and derived, near to which willows in great abundance grew, as they ufually do in marfhy and watery places; hence the Jews in Babylon are
1,2. which fenfe is approved of by Boe faid.to hang their harps upop the willow ic were by hea fo Farchi thinks the land of Babylon is meant, and compares it with ea shat
Vitringa.. The Septuagint verfion is, ** I will bring ‘‘ upon the valley the Arabians, and they hall “ take it;” and the Targum is, ‘* their border, “¢ which is by the weftern fea, fhall be taken from them.” i t Seas y¥.8. here the cry is gone round about the bord of Moab, &c.] The cry of deftruction, and hoy becaufe of it; the places mentioned, as is obferved, by fome, being upon the borders of the land. He/bbon was on the.north-eaft, E/ealeh on the northwelt, Fahaz on the fouth-weft, Horenaim farther weft, Zoar the utmoft weft, and the places following feem to be upon the borders likewile: the bow!- ing thereof unto Eglaim; which word fignifies a border, and fo the Arabic word Agalon; fome take it to be the fame with the brooks of Armen, Num. xxi. 13, 14. faid to be the border of Moab: and the howling thereof unto Beer Elim; the fame with Beer, Num. xxi. 16. called Beer Elim, or the weil of the mighty ones, being dug by the princes, of Tfrael, ¥. 18. 1nd y¥.9. For the waters of. Dimon foall be full of blood, &cc.] Of the flain,.as the Zargum adds. This was a river in the land of Moab, as fay Farchi and Kimchi; it-had.its name from the blood of the flain. Some take it to be the name of a city, and the fame with Dibon, y.2. but becaufe of the abundance of blood fhed in it, got this new name; — and the Vulgate Latin verfion here calls it Dibon; and the Syriac verfion Ridon; and the Arabic yerfion Remmon: for I will bring more upon Dimon’, or additions*; not merely add blood to the waters of the river, as Farchi and Kimchi; but bring additional evils and plagues, as dbem Ezra. -The Targum interprets it, ‘*. the congregation of an “¢ army;” but what thefe additions were, are. explained in the next claufe: Jions. upon him that efcapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the lands or a lion*; the meaning is, that fuch who efcaped the fword, fhould be deftroyed by lions, or other - beafts of prey, which was one of the Lord’s four judgments, £zek. xiv. 21. The Targum is, a ‘“‘ king fhall afcend with his army, and fo fpoil © “¢ the remainder of their land;” and ben Ezrg interprets it of the king of Afjria, and Farchi of Nebuchadnezzar, who is called a lion, Jer. iv. 7. and the fenfe is thought to be this, that whom Sennacherib king of Affjria fhould leave, Nebuchadnezzar fhould deftroy. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render the laft claufe, she remnant of Adama, a city of Moab; fo Cocceius. reg i es chapter is a continuation of the prophecy againft Moab in which the prophet gives good advice, but in cafe of a haughty neglect of it, which he forefaw, threatens with ruin, and fixes a time for it. He advifes the Moabdites to pay their tribute to the king of Yudah, or otherwife they fhould be turned out of their Jand, as a bird out of its neft, ¥. 1, 2. to protect, and not betray the people of the Yews that fhould flee to them, a4.3 4 becaufe of the Affyrian army, ¥. 3,4. and for end gives a great character of the king of 7 and affures them of the ftability of his kir ¥.5. but for their pride, wrath, and lying, are threatened with deftruction, and are repre as howling under it, y. 6, 7. becau tt of their cities, vineyards, and fields, - for which even the prophet expreffés a concern, y¥. 11. and after having obferved the application of the Moabites to their Gods without fuccefs, y. 12. the chapter is clofed with an affurance of the certain ruin of Moab, and of the time when it fhould be, ¥-.13,.14,
¥.1. Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land, &c.] Or tribute, as the Largum rightly interprets it. The Moadites being conquered by David, paid tribute to him, 2 Sam. viii. 2. and when, the. kingdom was divided in Rebobogm’s time,.the.tribute was paid:to the kings of J/rael, which continued till the times of 2bad, when the Moabites rebelled, and refufed to pay it, 2 Kings iii. 4, 5. and, this tribute, as appears from, the pafflage now referred to, was. paid in lambs.and rams; which now they are bid to pay to the king of Judah, David's lawful heir and fucceffor in his kingdom; who is fuppoled to be meant by the ruler of the land, that-1s, of the land of Fudab, whote reigning king.at.this time was Hezekiah: but rather by. the ruler, of the land, is meant the. king.of Mod,.for.,the words may be rendered more agreeable to. the language and the accents, fend ye. the lamb (or lambs,,:the fingular forthe plural).O ruler of the, land *, tho’ others, jerd ye the;damb of rhe ruler..of, the land*; that iseither,.O king of Moab fend the tribute that is.due;.or ye people, of the land fend the tribute which your ruler owes to the, king, of Judah; fo Farchi underftands it of the king of Moab: fome indeed expound the ruler. of the land, of God himielf, who is the governor of the,world; and take the fenfe to be,.that the Moadites are bid to fend a lamb, or lambs,..for facrifice, to.the God of the whole earth, in order) to,appeafe him,.and atone for their fins;, which. is-faid either ferioufly, as fome think, this being to. anfwer a good, purpers or ironically, as others, it being now too late; ut the fenfe, given is the beft;..in the J almud.™.it is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, ruler.of the, land, who came to the mount: of the daughter. of. Zion, by the way of rocks and mountains, The. Zargum applies it to. the Meffiah, paraphrafing it, thus, <* they fhall be bringing tributes. to. the Chrift,,of * /rael, who is ftrong over;them.” | Ferom, interprets it of Chrift, the lamb of God, the ruler of the world, or who was_.to_be.facrificed. to the ruler of the world; who defcended from Ruth the Moabite/s, who he fuppofes is meant by the rock of the wildernefs, as he renders the next. claufe: from Sela to the wilderuefs, unto the mount of. the daughter of Zion; according to Kimchi, and.others, Sela was the. chief city of the kingdom of Moad. The word fignifies a rock; it is. the, fame,with Petra*, the chief city of Arabia, and from whence Arabia Peivea had_its name.. Some take it to be Selah, the chief, city of Edom, afterwards called Fokthecl, 2. Kings xiv. 7. it was a,frontier city, and lay upon. the borders of Moab and Edom to the fouth; as the wildernefs of Yordaz was.on.the border of Acah to the north, and is thought tobe here meant;,or according to /ztringa, the, plains of Fericho, the fame with the wildernefs of Judea, where Yohu the Baptif} came preaching; which lay in the way from, Se/a or Petra, the chief city.in vie UND AD IMD mite eb. p. 395-
Moab, unto Ferufalem.. Strabo” fays of Petra, the metropolis of the Nadateans, that it lies in a plain, furrounded, with rocks..and precipices, and within it fountains and gardens, and without it a large country, for the, moft, part. defert, efpecially.towards Judea, and from, hence. it, is, a, journey of three or four days to. ¥ericho.; and-fo the fenfe is, fend the lambs, or the tribute, from, Se/a, or Petra, the chief..city of Moab; fend them, I fay, to the wildernefs of, Fudea,, or, by the way of that, even to. mount Zion or Ferufalem, the metropolis of Fudea, and the feat of the king of it,. ¥.2. For. it foall be, &c.}.. Or,. otherwife it fhall wandering bird aft out of the neft; or, 5, awandering bird, the nef? fent. out, that is, asa bird that has forfaken its neft, and wanders about, and. its young ones, are turned.out of the nett, {carcely fledged, and. unable, to-fhift for themfelyes,-but flutter about here and there, trembling and frighted, tee Prov, xxvi. 2: fo,the daughters of Moab fhall be at the fords of Arnon., turned out of. their houses, wandering up and down, not knowing where to go; unable to help themfelves, and in the utmoft fright and.confternation, fleeing to the. very borders,of their land, as the fords of Arnon were, fee
Wu 3 Lake counfel, emecute judgment, &c.] “This refers either to what goes before, that. they would take the counfel given,.and do that which was juft and sight, by paying.tribute,to the king of Fudah; or to what follows,.that.they would enter sinto a confultation, the king of Moab with: his: nobles, and refolye upon what,was right and do it, by proteCting and. harbouring, the diftrefled Jews, who would, flee unto them from: the enemy: make. thy foadow.as the night in. the. midft of the noon-day; a time, of the greateft. heat, to which the “fyrian army, for) its. force and fury, and the mifchief done by it;,is compared. and the Moabites they are advifed to. make a fhadow;,as large and. as {trong as the dark night, that is, to protect the Fews.in their diftrefs, and:to.refrefh and comfort them under it, fee chap. iv. 6., and xxy..4,5: bide the out-cafts; fuch as were, driven out.of their land thro’ the fury and perfecution of the enemy, receive-and conceal as Rabab did the fpies:, bewray not him that wandereth;. from his native place, as a bird from its neft, being forced to it; fuch an one, or as many as may be, in fuch a.cafe, don’t difcover, them where they are, or betray them, and deliver them up into the hands of their enemy.
Yi. Ain Let, mine out-cafis dwell with thee, &c.] Not whom God had caft out, but who were the Lord’s people, and whom he owns as fuch, tho’ caft out by the enemy, or obliged to flee, and quit their country;, let thefe be fojourners in thy land; let them continue a while there; lev them dwell privately and peaceably: Moab, be thou a covert to» them. from the face of the fpoiler, that is, O king of Moab, or kingdom of Moab, as the Targum, hide and proteét,the ews. that fhall flee to thee for thelter, from the face of the fpoiler of their land and fubftance; Sewnacherib king of Afjyria; and to encourage them to do thefe things, it is fuggefted, that they would not be long troublefome to ie 5 ite agnum, dominator terre, Montanus,: fo Luther; which is approved by Reinbeck de Accent. Mittice agnum dominatoris terra, Pagninus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Pifcator.
will all be of no effe&t, for God refiftech the proud, — fee Fer. xlviii.'30. _ It maybe rendered; zor night, thar of bis diviners*, their words and-works, whavthey fay or do; fo the word is uféd in chap. xliv. 250% V7. Lherefore foall Moab bowl for Moab, Sex] One Moabite fhall mourn for another; ‘the livihty for. the dead; or one part of the country for\another; or to Moab, they fhall howl in’ turns %anfwering to one another: every one /ball bowl s,every Moabite, or the whole country of Mozb thall/howl, being every where’ defolate: for the foundations\of Kir-barefeth fhall ye mourn, furely they are firicken; this was a very principal city in the land of Moad, and avery ftrong one, fee 2 Kings iii.25: It fignifies, according to fome, the city of the fun, {6 calledjait may be, becaufe the fun was worfhipped here yor according to othérs, the earthen city, or city of brick, becaufe its houfes and walls were made of -brick; and fo the Vulgate Latin verfion renders it, the walls of burnt brick. Now this ftrong city was tolbe rafed even to the foundations, fo that thefe would be difcovered, which would-occafion mourning to its inhabitants, and thofe of other placesi: ‘Kimebi interprets #he foundations, of the great’ men and princes of Moab, fee Fer. xlviii. 31. fo the Targum, “¢ and they {hall howl over the men of the city Of “their ftrength;” R. Yonah, of the men of ‘the army, the foundation of the kingdom; fo Ben Melech. The word tranflated foundations, fionifies alfo flagons of bottles, and fo ben Ezra and “Abendana underftand it heré; and accordingly the words may be thus rendered, for the bottles of Kir-barefeth foall ye mourn, vertly they are broken“; this agrees with the fignification of the word in Hof. iii. 1. Cantoiig. and with what follows, concerning the vine of 876+ mab the reafon of the mourning feems:to be, that there would be no wine; and the bottles would lie
‘and-would. quickly, be in a capacity of requiting sthem, arid ‘of: being. ferviceable to them in like diftrefs:, forthe extortioner is at an end 3 or. the fqucexers ot wringer ont +; that opprefied them, and wrung their, property out of their hands; that milked them out.of their fubftance, and even fucked -their-blood; meaning the Arian monarch, whofe -time was fhort, and an end was foon put to all his {chemes and oppreffions: the Spoiler ceafeth; out of the land, being obliged to. depart. out of it 2 the ‘opprefors are-confumed out of the land; the Afpyrian army, and its officers, wlio were all confurhed in -one night by an angel, 2 Kings xix. 35. sil} 5. And in mercy foall the throne be eftablifoed, -&c.] That is, the throne of Hezekiah, and his government over Fudah, which was more firmly fettled and eftablifhed after the overthrow of the Afyrian army, thro’ the mercy of God vouchfafed to -him, and-on account of the merey he exercifed among his fubjeéts, fee Prov. xx. 28. Hezekiah was a type of Chrift, and his throne typical of his, and the ultimate. view of the’ prophecy may’ be ‘to the ftability of the kingdom of Chrift; fo the Zargum, ‘. then, the Chrift of J/rael, his throne fhall be eftablifhed in goodnefs:? and he fhall fit upon it in truth, which does not fo much intend the reality of his fitting there, as his continuance, fignified by fitting, and the conftancy and ftability of his reign, or his, governing with faithfulnefs’ and truth: iz the tabernacle of David; or tent 5, meaning his pa-. lace, or houfe in Ferufalem, alluding to his having -been a fhepherd before he was.a king, or referring: to the-unfettled ftate of David’s houfe; this was typical of the church of God, where Chrift fits and reigns asking, fee Amos ix. 11; the-Largum is, <¢ in the city of David; Ferufalem, as Aben Ezra: judging and feeking judgment; acting the part of a righteous, faithful, and diligent judge; feeking’ to: abt do juftice to the poor and needy, and fearching into the caufe that comes before him, to find out, and take the right fide of it: and hajfting righteoufunefs; not. delaying juftice, protracting a caufe, deferring the fentence, and the execution of it, but difpatching the whole as: fpeedily as’ maybe; all which charaéters, tho’ they may be found in Hezekiah, yet are much more eminently in Chrift.
¥. 6. We have heard of the pride of Moab, &c.} Thefe are.the words of the prophet, ‘either’ in-the name of the Lord, or in‘the perfon of the Jews, or of other nations, who had heard very frequently, and from.many perfons, and from every quarter, of the exceflive pride of this people, and had many inftances of it related to them, which foretold their ruin.;. for. pride comes before a fall: (he és very proud;) tho’ his original was fo bafe:and infamous; and therefore. there is little reafon to hope or-expeét that he would take the advice above given him, or do the good offices for the Fews he was exhorted to; his pride was fuch, that he would defpife the counfel of God, and would never {toop to do any favour for his people: even of bis baughtine/s, and bis pride, and his wrath, of his contempt of the people of God, and his wrath againft them: dut bis lies {hall not.Le fo; or, bis firength hall. not be fos as his wrath: he-fhall not be able to:do what in his pride and wrath he faid he would do} all-his wicked thoughts and devices, all his haughty and wrathful expreffions, will fignify nothing; they ’ y.8. For the fields of Hefhbon languifh, &c.) Thro drought; or becaufe of the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them, or becaufe: there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Hefh- 40”, fee the note on chap. xv. 4. ‘It feems to have been a place famous for fields and paftures, and to have ‘been a very fruitful and well watered. place; hence we.read of the fifh-pools in He/hbon, Gant. vii. 4. tho’ Aben Ezra and Kimchi think the word fignifies vines, as they fuppofe it does im Dent. xxxii. 32: and the vine of Sibmah; called Shebam, and:Shidmab, in Numb. xxxii. 3, 38. thought to be the Seba of Ptolemy*; and feems:to have been’ fa= mous for vines and vineyards: the lords of the. heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof; that is, the Chaldeans and their army, and the com= manders and principal officers of it, dealing with them ‘as the Turks do with vines, wherever ‘they meet with them, deftroy them; tho’ Ferchi and Kimchi interpret all this figuratively, both here, and in the above claufes, of the inhabitants of) thefe places, the multitude of the common people, and their princes, fome being killed, and others carried captive; to which fenfe is the Targum, poe ‘* the armies of He/hton are fpoiled, the multitude * of Sebama are killed, the kings ‘of they people ‘* have killed their rulers:” they are come even unto Fazer; meaning: either the Chaldean army,.or'the Moadites, who had fled hither; or rather this is:to. be underftood of the vines of Sibmabyre ing
Kir-harefeth gemetis, ubique confgaGe funt, De Dieu; propter dolia Cir-harefeth gemetis; fo fome in Vatablus,;... © Geograph. bg. corgs Sok ae é we > rte he?
thevexcellency and. large’ fpread of them, which reached even to ‘fazer; which, as Yerom fays ', was fifteen miles from Hefbbon, called Faazer, Numb. XXi632. and xxxii. 35: fee Fo/b. xxi. 39: they wandered thro the wildernefs, the wildernefs of Moaé, Deut. ii. 8. not the lords of the heathen, nor* the Moabites, but the vines and their branches, which crept along, and winded to and fro, as men wander about: her branches are ftretched out; that is, the branches of the vine of Sibmah: they are gone over the jea's the dead fea, called the fea of Fazer, Fer. xlviii. 320 or rather a lake near that city. ¥. g» Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Fazer, the vine of Sibmah, &c.) That is, bewail the one, as he had done the other, both places with the fruits about them being deftroyed by the enemy; ortherefore with weeping I will bewail (moft vehemently lament, an ufual Hebraifm) Fazer, and the vine of Sibmch, the prophet here perfonates the Moabvites weeping for their vines more efpecially, they being a people addiéted to drunkennefs, in owhichotheir father was begotten; hence Bacchus is\faid tobe the founder of many: of their:cities, fee Fery xlviii. 32. The Targum is, ‘\as 1: have gi by fuffering ‘the: enemy to ‘come in among them, which had deftroyed their vintage, and fo prevented their fhouting, and fpoiled their fong.
Yo 11. Wherefore-my bowels foall found like a barp for Moab, &¢\] “Making a noife as the harp does, and a mournful one as that, when ufed at funerals, which it makes when ‘it: is ftricken. or’ played on with the hand, as thefe were, thro’ the affli€tive and punitive hand of God! and which, when ftricken, caufes’ a quavering of the: ftrings, to which the inward trembling of the bowels is compared, and 1s very expreffive of the prophet’s fympathy, or thofe ‘he’ pérfonates; for when one ftring of the harp is touched, the reft found.” For thefe words, as Kimchi fays, are fpoken’in the language of the Moabites; thofe that furvived, lamenting the defolate ftate of their country, which muit -be very greatand affecting; and to fhow that it was fo, is the defign of the prophet’s expreffing himfelf after this manner; for if it was painful to him, it muft be much more fo tothem; fo the Targum, ** where- **- fore the bowels of the’Moadites fhall found as **-an harp;” of the founding of the! bowels, fee chap. Lxiii. 15. Fer. iv. 9: and mine inward parts
“brought armies againft: Fazer, fo will I bring for Kir-barefh; the fame with Kjr-harefeth, y.7.
for thy fummer fruits, and for thy barveft, is fallen is ceafed, fo as not to be heard; namely, the finging and: fhouting which ufed to be made by labourers, whilft they were gathering the fummer fruits, or reaping the harveft, with which they amufed and diverted themfelves, and their fellowlabourers, and fo their: time and their work went _ on more pleafantly; or elfe that great joy and fhouting they exprefied when all was ended, fomething ef which nature is ftill among us at this day; but now in Moab, it was at an end, becaufe the enemy had deftroyed both their fummer fruits and harvett, tho’ Farchi and Kimchi interpret this fhouting of the enemy, of the fpoilers and: plunderers, upon their fummer fruits and harveft, when they deftroyed them;»and fo the Targum, ‘* upon thy harveft, and “upon thy vintage, fpoilers have fallen;” fo Noldins * renders the words, for upon thy fummer fruits, end upon thy barveft, the foouting foall fall; that is, the fhouting of the enemy, fpoiling their fruits and their harveft; and this feems to be the true fenfe, fince it agrees with Yer. xlvili. 32. and the ceafing of the other kind of fhouting is obferved in the next verfe.:
¥.10. And gladnefs is taken away, and joy out of the>plentiful field; 8c.) Or is gathered, tho’
eir harveit was not; all caufe of joy and gladneis was removed; a plentiful field being foraged, trampled upon, and deftroyed by the enemy, and left defolate without any'to manure it: and in the vineyards there. foall be no finging; as there ufed to be by the menthat gathered the grapes, and trod the wine-prefies; but now there would be no men inthe vineyards, there-being no grapes to gather oritread, as follows: the treaders fhall tread out no wine in their preffes; the way in thofe ‘times’ and countriés being for men to tread the grapés, and theiwine out of them, with their feet, in vats or which being a principal city; the deftruction of it was greatly laid. to heart:. The Targum is, ** and ‘* their heart fhall grieve for the ren of the city ** of etheit ftrength;”°it’ being a ftrong city, in which they placed their confidence; but being deftroyed, and the inhabitants ‘of it, it was very affecting, to which agrees Fer. xlviii. 31.
¥. 12. And it foall come to pafs, when it is feen that Moab is weary on the high place, 8c.) With weeping there, chap, xv. 2: or with frequent facfifices, and: going from one high place to another, as Balak king of Moab did; and by comparing places together; it looks as if this was the way ot the Moadites in their diftrefs, to offer up a multitude of facrifices in different places; now, when it fhould be feen by others, and appear to themfelves, that they wearied themfelves in vain, and all their cries and facrifices were to no purpofe, they fhould then be afhamed of them, leave off, and betake themfelves to {ome other method; tho’ Farehi interprets it of their being weary of fighting on the high places of their towers, which when obferved, they would take another courfe; and apply to devotion: that be fhall come to bis fantiuary to pray; ‘to the temple of Chemofb,; and to pray to that idol to help him, 1 Kings xii7; but be foall not prevail; his prayers fhall be ineffectual; his fuit will be fruitlefs, and without fuccefs; or he cannot, that is, his idol cannot help him. So Kimchi interprets his fanétuary of the houfe of his God; and the Targum, of the houfé of his idolatry; yet fince the houfé or teinplé of an idol is never called a fan@tuary, it may be'underftood of God’s ‘fanctuary, the temple at Ferufalem; and the fenfe be; that when A/cad fhall fee that his praying and facrificing to idols are in vain, and he has tired himfelf with his fuperftition and idolatry; without having’ any redrefs, he fhall think and exprefs his defire of going up to the temple of Ferufalem, and of praying to the God of J/rael; but he fhall not be able to do it, becaufe of the enemy; and could he get thither, he would not prevail with God, for the decree. was gone forth, which could not be fru+ vefiels, and not in preffes with {crews and weights, as now: J have made their vintage-fhouting to ceafe; ftrated, as follows. Ben Melech interprets it of the palace of the king.