EVeZ ESS
turn thee about *; and lead thee where, and as I pleafe,; for this is not to be underftood of God's. putting hooks into his jaws, and leading him back from his enterprife of invading the land of Fudea, as hé put a hook in the nofe, and a bridle in the lips of the king of Afyria, and brought him back from Ferufalem, If, xxxvii. 29. but of his ufing him thus in his providence to draw him to the land of J/rael, out of his own land, as fifhes are drawn with the hook out of the water. The fenfe is, that he would fo work upon and influence the heart of Gog, that he fhould be inclined to come out of his own land and invade Fadea; juft as. the Lord is faid to draw Sifera and his army, Fudg. iv. 7. as Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve. So the Fargum, ‘* 1 will perfuade thee, and put hooks in “ thy jaws;” that is, incline his heart to take fuch a ftep, which fhould be to his deftruction: and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army; all his Fanizaries, and large army out of Turky, and other parts of his dominions: horfes and horfemen; the Turkifb armies, chiefly confifting of cavalry; fee the note on Rev. ix. 16: all of them clothed with all forts of armour; or completely clothed, as the Targum; for the word armour, is not in the text; and befides, théir armour is particularly mentioned afterwards;.and fo Kimebi has it, with all kind of ornaments, richly clothed and decorated, efpecially the principal officers, and fo made a fine fhew: even a great company with bucklers and frields, all of them handling fwords; or large armies, as the Targum; the /urks have always been ufed to bring prodigious large armies into the field; fee the note on Rev. ix. 16. Y. 4. Perfia, Ethiopia, and Lybia with them, &c.] Thefe are the confederates or auxiliaries of the Turks, which fhall join with them in this expedition. Perfia is a neighbouring kingdom to ‘the Turks, and may fall into their hands before this comes to pafs; and is in a fair way for it at this time, thro’ the inteftine divifions in it; however it will be confederate with them. Ethiopia or Cub does not defign the country of the Aby/fines in the dominions of the Great Mogul, but Arabia Chufea, which lay between Fudea and Egypt, and is now in the hands of the Turks; and Lydia or Phut, is the name of one of the fons of Ham, Gen. x. 6. who, according to Fofephus *, founded Lydia; and from him the inhabitants of it were called Phuteans (as they are here by the Targum); and he obferves, that there is a river of his name in Mauritania. Lybia is a country in Africa, to the weft of Egypt, and fubject to the Turks: all of them with fhield and helmet, the Lybians are defcribed by Feremiah, ch. xlvi. 9. as thofe that handle the fhield, and the Egyptians, to whom the Lybians were near neighbours, and whom they might imitate in their warlike arms, as in other things, wore fhields down to the feet, as Xenophon * relates. | ¥.6. Gomer and all his bands, &c.] Or all his army, as the Targum. Gomer was the eldeft fon of Faphet, Gen. x. 2. from whom defcended the people called by the Greeks Galatians, or Gallo-
Grecians, as Fofephys* fays, who before were from’
him called Gomarians: others think that Phrygia, and the inhabitants of it, are meant; but whether one or the other, they were both people of the lefler Afia, which is now in the hands of the Turks:
EL. CH. XxXvill ¥. 5 'the houfe of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all bis. bands; Togarmab was one of the fons of Go-_ mer, Gen. x. 3. whofe pofterity, according to the Greeks, as JFofephus * fays, were the Phrygians; but others rather think the Cappadocians defcended from him; and that Togarmab defigns their country, which alfo is a part of the Turki/h dominions; fee the ‘note on ch. xxvii. 14. Several moderns, as Calmet ' obferves, believe that the children of Togarmab peopled Turcomania in Tartary, and Scythia, and which he approves of; and the Turks are mentioned by Bes Gorion™, as one of the ten families of Togarmah. The Targum renders it here, the province of Germany; as it is alfo interpreted in the Talmud *, but wrongly: and many people with thee; from other places and nations, befides thofe. named; efpecially out of the lefler 4/a, as Pam- _ philia, Cilicia, and other places; and. perhaps from Yartary, and elfewhere.
¥. 7. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyfelf, &c.} All warlike ftores and provifions: this is ironically faid; and fuggefts, that he would do fo, and yet all would be in vain, and to no pape’. thou and all thy company, that are affembed unto thee; or all thine armies, as the Targum, gathered out of his dominions, and made up of his auxiliaries and allies; let them all be furnifhed with arms, and every thing proper for the expedition defigned: and be thou a guard unto them, the general of them; let them obferve and obey thy word of command; guide and direct, guard and protect them in their march; and take care of them when entered the land of Judea, that they are not expofed to any unneceflary danger, or cut off by any ftratagem or ambufcade: this is alfo farcaftically faid; fignifying that let him ufe all the care and caution that a wife and prudent general can do, yet he and his ‘army fhould pe~ rifh.;
y. 8. After many days thou foalt be vifited, 8ec.} After the Ottoman empire has ftood a long time, as it has already; when the many days will be ended that J/rael fhould be without a king anda prince, &c. Hof: iii. 4, then fhall Gog or the Tar& be vifited of God, not in a way of grace, but vengeance; he fhall be punifhed for all his iniquities, and his punifhment or deftruction will be brought about in the following manner: in the latter years thou fhalt come into the land that is brought back from the fword, that is, into the land of Fudea, the right owners of which fhall now be returned unto it; who have been for many years. drove and kept out of it by the fword of théir enemies; fee ‘Yer. xxxi. 2. and thefe /atter years are the fame with the Jatter days, in which thefe. people fhall feck the Lord and the Meffiah, and fear him and his goodnefs, and return to their own land, Hof, iii. 5. and iv r1. when the Turks, enraged at it, will raife a numerous army, and enter. it, in order to re-poffefs it. The defcription of the Fews, who are moft manifeftly pointed at, is continued: and 7s gathered out of many people againft the mountains of Ifrael, or rather, to the mountajus of Yrael° for it feems to defign the land of Fudea, that is, the people of it; who fhall be gathered out of the feveral nations where they are now difperfed, and brought into their own land; - defcribed by the mountains of J/rael, becaufe a mountainous country, and a very fruitful one; fee; ch. xxxiy. 13,14. and not the army of Gug gaand Arabic verfions render it, the abjec land; and to obferve how eafily he could conquer it, there thered out of many nations, as betore objerved, to march againft the people of the ews; tho’ this feems to. be the fenfe of the Zargum, “* in the end ** of years thou fhalt come into the land, againft ** which are turned thofe that flay with the {word, ‘* who are gathered out of many people againtft “* the mountains of the land of J/rael:” which ’ have been always wafte; of a longer time than the feventy years captivity, even ever fince the deftruction of it by the Romans; and if the time of the carrying captive of the ten tribes by Salmanefer is refpected, it is longer ftill: but i 2s brought forth out of the nations, and they foall dwell fafely all of them; that is, the people of the Jews, the proprietors of the land of Jrael fhall now be brought forth out of the feveral nations where they are fcattered, and fhall inhabit their own land, and dwell in the utmoft fecurity, having nothing to fear from their moft potent enemies, even Gog | himfelf; and tho’ he fhall come againft them in | the following manner. ¥.9. Thou fhalt afcend and come like a fiorm, &c.] That comes fuddenly, looks black and terrible, and caufes darknefs and horror; makes a great noife, and is very threatning of danger; fignifying, that the Zurks will come into the land of ‘fudea fuddenly to furprife it, and with great wrath and fury, and threaten them with utter de- _ ftruction; fo the king of the north is faid to come like a whirlwind, which many interpret of the Turk alfo, Dan. xi. 40: thou fhalt be like a cloud to cover the land; with darknefs and diitrefs; iuggefting the vaft number of his army, which fhould over-{pread the land of Fudea, as it follows: thou and all thy bands, and many pecrle with thee; his own army fhould be very numerous, and this increafed by his confederates, or fuch who will voluntarily join him in this expedition. y¥.10. Thus faith the Lord, it foall alfo come to pes, &c.] Who is the Lard God omniicient, and knows the thoughts of mens hearts afar off; which, tho’ they are contingent and voluntary, yet certain to the foreknowledge of God; who knows them’ before they are conceived, and can foretell what they will be, and which come to pafs accordingly: it is now above two thoufand years ago fince this was faid, and as yet is not fulfilled, but certainly will be: that at the fame time hall things come into thy mind; when the Fews fhall be in their own land, dwelling in great fecurity; and when Gog or the Turk fhall make preparation to difturb them, and fhall enter into their land fuddenly and furioufly; many thoughts fhall come into his mind, many {chemes and devices, but not good ones: ang thou fhalt think an evil thought; to do mifchief to the Fews; to difturb their peace, to difpoffefs them of their land, and plunder their - fubftance. ¥. 11. And thou foalt fay, &c.] What came into his mind, and what he thought of; this he fhall fay to his privy-counfellors and minifters of {tate; or to the generals and officers of his army; or to his confederates and allies, and even to them all, to have their opinion and approbation of it; and to encourage them to join him, and go with him: J will go up to the land of unwalled villages; ~ aland which has nothing but villages in it, and thofe no walls about them to protect them: this he faid by way of contempt; and the Septuagint being nothing in his way to hinder him, or give him trouble:"J will go to them that are at ref, and dwell fafely, as the Fews will do in the latter day, when they fhall own and acknowledge the Meffliah, ‘Ser. xxii. 5,6. and dwell in their own land, where they will be quiet “and peaceable, and think and do no harm to any, nor miftruft their neighbours doing any harm to them; but fhall live in the utmott tranquillity and fecurity; and which Gog or the Zurks will take the advantage of, and from hence promife themfelves an eafy conqueft of them: all of them dzvelling without walls, and having neither bars vor gates; no walls to their cities; no gates to walls; nor bars to gates; but without either; being under the protection of God, and putting their truft in him, who is a wall of fire round about his people; and is better to them than gates with bars.
V.12. To take a fpoil, and to take a prey, &c.] Theie are the words of Geg continued; fuggefting, that he fhould have no occafion to fight; fhould have nothing elfe to do, but to feize upon the goods, and plunder the fubftance of thefe people: to turn thine hand upon the defolate'places that are now inbabited; fuch as were before defolate, and had lain long fo, but now peopled and cultivated; theie he would attack and demolifh, and make a ipoil and prey of: and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, a defcription of the Fews, as betore, ¥. 8: which bave gotten cattel and goods; fo that it fhould feem, that Gog or the Turks will not immediately attack thé ews upon their poffeffion of the land of Fudea; but fome time after, when they have fettled in it, and have acquired much wealth and riches in cattel and goods, and then think to have a fine booty of them: that dwell in the midji of the land; or, the navel of the land’, which may defign Yeru/alem, fituated in the midft of the land of J/rael, and fo called the navel of it, as that is in the midft of the body; as Enna is laid by Cicero to be the navel of Sicily: or, as Kimchi thinks, the land of J/rae/ itfelf is meant; which is in the midft of the world, and fo the navel of it; tho’ the former feems beft.
¥.13. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarfoijo, &c.] _Thefe are not any of the people that fhall come along with Gag on his expedition; but {ome neighbouring nations bordering on Yudea, who will addreis him in the following manner, as he paffes thro’ them, or by them. S#.da and Dedan defign the Arabians inhabiting that part of Arabia which lay near to Judea, even Arabia Petrea and Felix, and the merchants of Tar/bifh are the Tyrians and Zidonians that traded by fea, as Tarfoifo fometimes fignifies; or to Tarteffusin Spain, where they had much traffic; and may defign the people of thofe places that will at this. time be living in Paleftine, that trade by fea to foreign parts. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, the Carthaginian merchants, ox the merchants of Carthage: with all the young lions thereof; which fome interpret, of fea-pirates, for their cruelty and voracioufnefs. The Zargum paraphrafes it, all the kings thereof; and fo Kimchi thinks kings and princes are meant; but the Septuagint verfion renders it, all their villages; and fo the Syriac verfion, all the cities: shall fay unto thee, art thoy come to take a fpoil? either out of compaffion to the people of the ews; or rather by way of congratulation, and as expreffive of joy at it; or elfe out of envy, that they have no fhare in it; fuggefting, that they would gladly join with him, and partake of the booty: baft thou gathered thy com— pany together to take a prey? to carry away filver and gold, to take away cattel and goods, to take a great fpoil? all which ’tis fappofed might eafily be done; only they might wonder that fo rich a potentate as the Turk fhould give himfelf the trouble to raife fuch an army, and come fo far for cattel and goods, and filver and gold, of which he had fuch plenty. Gog gives no aniwer, but God does.
¥.14. Therefore fon of man, prophefy, and fay unto Gog, &c.| Since thefe are his thoughts and defigns, and thofe his big words, and which he’ll endeavour to put in practice, and be applauded for it by others; deliver this prophecy to him, or concerning him: ¢hus faith the Lord God, in that day, when my people of Ifrael dwelleth fafely, foalt thou not know it? that J/rael are returned to their own land? that they dwell in it fafely? that they have abundance of cattel, gold and filver? that they have no walls, gates and bars to protect them? that they live without fear or fufpicion of any enemy to annoy them, and therefore may be eafily furprifed and taken? this, when it comes to pais, will foon be known by the Turks thro’ their {pies and informers: or, /halt thou not know 4, or experience the divine vengeance for thy wicked thoughts, intentions and attempts againft J/rael? he fhould. So the Targum, ‘* fhalt thou not know the ven- “¢ geance of my power?” or fhall thou not know that all'attempts to make them uneafy and uncomfortable, will be in vain?
¥.15. And thou fhali come from thy place out of the north parts, &c.] Whofe original was from Scythia, or Caihaia in Tartary, that lies to the north of China; and who will bring him with many people from the Euxive and Ca/pian feas, and from the northern parts of lefler 4/fa; and the Turk is by many interpreters thought to be the king of the north in Dan, xi. 44. as before obferved: thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horfes; the Turkifh armies, confifting chiefly of horfe, as has been obferved on ¥. 4: 4 great company, and a mighty army, for. quantity many, for quality ftrong and mighty. The Zargum is, “* many armies, and much people;” the Turks ufaally have large armies; fee the note on TAA. ¥.16. And thou foalt come up againft my people of Ifrael, &c.] Which is repeated for the certainty of it; and not for his comfort, but his ruin; not to the terror of J/rael, but for the glory of God: as a cloud to cover the land; the land of Irael, fo great fhould be his army; fee the note on ¥.9: it fhall Le in the latter days; of the gofpelftate, or kingdom of the Meffiah, when the ews fhall be converted, and are returned to their own land, Hof iii. 5: and I will bring thee againft my land; not to poflefs it, nor to hurt it, or do any injuty to the people of it: but shat the heathen may know me; the pagan kingdoms of China, and others; who by God’s judgments on the Tarks will come to the knowledge of the true God, and acknowledge him, and will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Chrift, Rev. xi. 15. and xvi. 12: when I foall be fanttified in thee, O Gog; be- Sore their eyes; that is, when God fhall appear to be a holy and juft God, in infli@ting deferved’punifhment on the enemies of his people; when: hi:
omnifcience and omnipotence, his power and faithfulnefs, and other perfeCtions of his will be difplayed, in fulfilling thofe prophecies concerning
Gog or the Turks; infidels will be convinced of the truth of divine revelation; of the God of I/rael being the true God; of Jefus being the Meffiah; and of the chriftian religion being of God, and fhall profefs the fame. The Yargum is, ** that the “< people may know the vengeance of my power,
« wher Lthall be fan@ified in thee,-"Wwhoainaa y. 17. Thus faith the Lord God, &c.] si | the queftion that follows: art thou be of whom I. have fpoken of old time by my fervants the prophets of lirael, which prophefied in thofe days many years, that I will bring thee againft them? certainly thou art he: but who were the prophets that prophefied of Gog before Ezekiel, fince he is the firit that makes mention of him? to this it may be replied, that tho’ he is not mentioned by name, yet he might be prophefied of under other names, as by Saiab under the name of Leviathan, ch. xxvii. 1. and by —
Micah under the name of the Afprian, ch. v. 5. The Fews* fay, that Eldad and Medad prophefied of him, which Yarchi, Kimchi and Abendana- remark; who all obferve, agreeable to the Ta/mud- ° its in the place referred to, that thefe two’ are the prophets meant; and therefore ’tis directed to be © read not Shanim years, but Shenaim two; namely, thofe two prophets prophefied one prophecy at one time, or together; but this is not-to be depended upon: it fhould be obferved, that this muft be confidered as*fpoken at the time of ‘the’ accomplifhment of this prophecy, and fo may have refpect to the prophet Ezekiel himfelf, or to Joel, ch. iii. 1, 2. and to Zechariah, ch. xiv. ‘1, 2. and even to the book of the Revelation, ch. xvi. 14, 16. and xix. Ig.,
¥. 18. And it fhall come to pafs at the fame time,
when Gog fhall come againft the land of Ifrael, faith’
the Lord Ged, &c.] As before prophefied of and defcribed: that ‘my fury fhall come up in my face; as a man’s blood rifes up in his face, and his colour appears, when he is wroth and angry: or, 7 my noje*; as men when they are angry puff and blow, expand their nofe, breathe thro’ it; but again{ft whom is all this wrath and fury? Starckius, a modern interpreter, thinks it is againft the land of J/rael, againft the church; but it rather feems to be againft Gog himfelf; the Lord being provoked at his attempt againft the land of Jrael, © | and the wicked defigns he had to fpoil and plunder it.;, y¥.19. For in my jealoufy, and in the fire of my wrath bave I fpoken, &c.] Not againft his people J/rael, but againft Gog, who had thought evil againft them, and now: was about to put it in practice; and therefore in zeal for his own glory, and for the good of his people, and in indignation againft his, and their enemies, he declares, refolves, and determines:. furely in that day there foall bea great fhaking in the land of Irael, not a dn fternation among the people of J/rael, affrighted Ft at the armies of Gog, and the terrible app they fhall rgake, and the devaftations they but in Gog himfelf, ‘and: his army) tg0seMeiwie of God upon them, and the vengeance he will -* take of them in the land of J/rael, ‘they will er te:
upon to deftroy; not but that there may be fore dread in the minds of the Hews upon the appearance of fo formidable an army in their land: this fhaking, according to Farchi, will be by thunder and lightning: Azmchi underftands it, of an earthquake, in a literal fenfe, and compares with it Zech, xiv. 4; 5. fee alfo Rev. ’xvi. 18. ‘which fpeaks of an earthquake that will be about this time.
¥. 20. So that the fifbes of the fea fhall foake at my prefence, &c.} From whence it appears, that | this great fhaking fhall not be on account of the army of Gog, and the devattations that fhall make; * but on account of the powerful prefence of God, which will be manifeft in the deftru€tion of his army: and what is here faid of the fhaking of the fifhes of the fea, and the fowls of the heaven, end the beajt of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the earth, mutt be underftood figuratively and hyperbolically, as Kimchi obferves, and in allufion to earthquakes, which both fhake and terrify all kind of creatures; the blow given to Gog will be fo terrible, that all nature will feem to be thrown into a convulfion and agitation by it; fee Fer. iv. 24, 25: and the mountains fhall be: thrown downs; as they are fometimes by earthquakes; and as the mount of Odives will at this timé cleave afunder; and perhaps other mountains will, as Kimchi obferves; fee Zech. xiv. 2, 354. Jf. ii. r2—15. and xxx. 25: and the fieep places (hall fall; the Targum renders the word, fowers 3 and fo the Syriac verfion, and Pifcetor: the wofd fignifies ftairs or fteps ‘, fuch as in a ladder; and is tranflated fasrs; Cant. il. 14. it feems to me to defign fuch mounts as are railed by befiegers of a city, by means of which they may be able to fealé the walls’ of it, which Jarchi fuggeits; tho’ he fays, he had heard it faid, that theleare rocks bending over and hanging, and appear as if they were‘falling; which agrees with our verfion 5 and it may be obferved in iome of thofe precipices, there are like ftairs or fteps to go up them: aud every wall foall fall to the ground; this hows that the words afe not to be taken literally, but figuratively; only to exprefs how fenfibly the power of God fhould be felt and perceived by ali creatures, and in all parts of the Jand; fince now the Fews. will dwell in a land of unwalled villages, and in cities without walls, bars and gates; fee ¥. 11. ‘ y. 21. And I will call for a fword againft him, &c.} Phat is, againft Gog y or, as 1 would choofe to render the words, for [will call for a. fword, fo the particle is rendered ¥: 19. and which No/- dius “ agrees to; and this gives a reafon why there fhould be fuch a commotion in the land of J/rae/; becaufe the Lord who has the‘ fwotds of princes at his command, will call for the chriftian kings to
BME FE Sf. 193 come to the affiftatice of the Jews, and fight againft the Turk who will puriue him s¢hroughout all my mountains, feith the Lord Ged; throughout the land of J/rael, which is mountainous; and is called the Lord's, becaufe he had chofen it for his people,
{given it to them, and now dwelt among them; and in all parts of it, where the enemy is, the
{word of the Yews, and of thofe princes that fhould j come in to their afliftance at the call of God; fhall be fent againft them, andcut them off: and not jonly fo, but every man’s fword fhall be againft bis brother 5 as the fwords of the Midianites were, Fudg, vii. 22. and of the enemies of Febofbaphat, 2 Chron.
XX. 22523. The Turkifh army will confift of a mixed people, of many nations, who will quarrel among themfelves, and deftroy one another.
¥.22. And I will plead againft him with peftilence, and with blood, &c.] Not only the fword of the Yews, and the fword of Chriftian princes fhall be drawn againft him, and the fword of Gag’s foldiers againft ohe another; but the Lord himfelf would plead with him by his judgments, or take vengeance on him, as the Targum, and fend a peftilence in his army, which fhould deftroy. vaft numbers of it; as the army of Sennacherib was deftroyed by one when beforé Feru/alem; and. make a great flaughter among them by that and other judgments: avd I will rain upon him, and upon bis bands, and upon the many people that are with him; an overflowing rain; an horrible tempeft of divine wrath, P/. xi. 6. as he came into the land of J rael like a ftorm, fo he fhall be deftroyed by one much more terrible: and great hail-ftones; {uch as were caft upon the Canaanites, Fofh. x. 11. and as there will be on ‘thén, the enemies of the church of
God, at the pouring out of the jeventh vial, Rev.
Xvi. 21: fire aud brimfione,; as God rained upon in like manner will God deéal with thofe enemies of his people; fo at the battel of Armageddon, which feéms to be the fame with this here; the beaft and the falfe prophet will be taken alive, and caft into a lake of firé burning with brimftone,
Rev, xix. 20. and to this rain or tempeft of. fire and brimftone upon Gog there is an allufion in
¥. 23. Thus will I magnify myfelf, and fanctify myfelf, &c.} Shew the greatnefs of his power, and the ftrictnefs of his juftice and holinefs; and glorify thefe, and all other his perfections, in the. deftruction of the enemies. of his people: aad I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they fhall know that I am the Lord; heathen nations fhall now come to the knowledge of the true God, and his fon Jefus Chrift, and of the chriftian religion, and fhall embrace and profefs it; fee the note on
: phecy of the deftruétion of Gog, which is both repeated, and more largely defcribed, y.1—8. then follows an account of the burning of his weapons of war, which will laft feven years in burning, during which time there will be no need of the ufe of wood, ¥.g, 10. and of the burial of
HIS chapter is a continuation of the pro- him, and many of his army; the place where, and the time that will be taken up in doing this, even feven months, are obferved, ¥. r1—16. and every feathered fowl and beaft of the field are called upon to feed on the flefh of thofe thar are left unburied, ¥. 17—20. and by all this, the glory of the Lord will be feen, Known and ar oeeeet both by the heathens,..and -by the -houfe, of I rael, y¥o'27, 22. and the former will alfo be informed, ’ thatthe prefent captivity.of the Yews has been for their ‘fins’ and tranfgreffions, ¥. 23, 24. and the chapter is concluded with a promife of their return from, captivity, when they fhall know the Lord, | and their intereft in him; who will after this no more hide his face from them, but pour out his Spirit upon them,’ under whofe influence they fhall ever continie, “¥. 25—29..
yr. Therefore thou fon of man, prophefy againft Gog, &c.] As he had been ordered, to do before, and muft ftill continue to do its. behold, I am azainft thee, O. Gog; which is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to inject terror into him; for terrible it is to have God againft any: the chief prince of.Mefhech and Tubal, fee the note on ch. xxxvili'2. the Septuagint verfion adds Ros here as there..
¥. 2. And I will turn thee back, 8&c.| Not from the land of J/rael, for thither it is; faid‘in the latter partof the text he would bring him; but the meaning is, that he would tury him about, as the word” fignifies, in his own land, and lead him abeut at his pleafure, and bring him out of it, unto the land of J/rae/, fignifying hereby, that the providence of God would be greatly concerned in this affair; and in which much glory. would. be brought unto him by the deftruction of fuch a potent enemy of his people; which is the defign of bringing him out; fee the note on ch. xxxvill. 4: and leave but a fixth part of thee; meaning not that a fixth ‘part only fhould efcape the vengeance of God, and all but a fixth part be deftroyed. in the land of J/rael; for it looks as if the whole army would: be ‘utterly deftroyed, and none left; but that when he fhould come out.of his own country upon this expedition, a fixth part of his fubjects only fhould be left behind; five out of fix fhould accompany him; fo numerous fhould his army be, monly. held, when put!into the bow, and then the * bow. is. drawn with it; fignifying hereby, that tho’ he, fhould come into the land of J/rael, ‘he fhould
| not-fucceed; hé; would be ftripped of his armour, and it would be ufelefs to him: bows and arrows are put for all kind of warlike inftruments; and
| are particularly mentioned, becaufe they were chiefly ufed in,war, when this prophecy: was delivered. 4 y. 4. Thou fhalt fall upon the mountains of Ifrael; &c.],..Be flain, and “his carcafe lie theres. fo the Largum, ‘* upon.the mountains of the land of J ‘« rae] thy carcafe fhall be caft:” then and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee, Gog and his. army, auxiliaries and allies: I cwill.give thee to the ravenous birds of every fort, and to the beats of the field to be devoured; great part of /his army be* ing flain, fhould\not be buried, but be:devoured by birds of prey, and favage beatfts; fuchas eagles and.vultures of the former fort, and lions, bears; wolves, c. of the latter. ‘This: was\always reckoned a:very fore judgment.and dreadful calamity, not to have a burial, but to be:expofed to birds and. beafts of prey.; this was threatened to the J raelites, in cate, of difobedience to the law of God,
Deut. xxvili. 26.. and to. the wicked ews in the times of Feremiah, and to that evil.king of Judah, Feboiakim, Fer. xvi. 4. and xxii.'18, 19. and ds lamented as one of the greateft evils that could befal,good men, P/- lxxix. 2. and nothing» was more dreadful among the heathens themfelves; hence Homer *, among the, many calamities Achilles was the caufe of to the Gyecians, mentions this as one, that he was, the means of giving the bodies of a great number of their heroes to the dogs, and to the fowls of the air; fo Virgil* reprefents the want of a,burial, and being -left to be fed upon by birds of prey, as fevere;a punifhment of:a wicked man, as can be wifhed for. v4 y. 5. Thou fhalt fall upon the open field, + 8ccs] Some. part of his army fhould fall upon the mountains, and others upon the plain; wherever they and fo drained his country. by this enterprife of his. Some ‘render the words, | will draw thee out with hook of fix teeth*; that is, out of his own land; and this claufe ftands in the fame place and order, as the phiafe, and put books into thy jaws, does in ch. xxxvili. 4..and fo may be thought to explain one another, and agrees with what follows: for as for the fenfe of it given by Fo/eph Kimchi and others, “J will judge thee with’ fix judgments ’, y. “* peftilence, blood, an overflowing rain, hail- ** ftones,, fire, and brimftone,” it muft be rejected; feeing as yet the account of his punifhment is not come to; only an account is giving, how and‘ by what means he fhall be drawn out of his “own Jand; wherefore much better is the Targum, ‘* Y will perfuade thee, and I will feduce “« thee;* fo Farchi feems to underftand it: and the Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, I wil lead thee, agreeable to what follows: and will caufe thee to come up from the north parts-y {ee the note on ch. xxxviii. 15: and will bring thee upon the' mountains of Irael; not to inherit them, but to will be found, they’ll be deftroyed, either by the an fword of the Fews and chriltian princes, or by God’s judgments from heaven: for I have fpoken it, faith the Lord God; and therefore-it fhould furely come to pafs, fince no word of his ever fails; this is added to affure, of the truth of it, fince it might be thought. incredible, that folarge an army fhould be deftroyed.
12.1 y. 6. And Iwill fend a fire on Magog, &c.] On the land of Magog, fee ch..xxxviii. 2. whilft Gog is in the land of J/rae/, and he and his army perifh there; his country fhall be deftroyed by fire, or - by fome judgment or judgments of God, which thall confume like fire. The Septuagint verfion renders it, J will fend a fire on Gog; but he before is faid to fall upon the mountains of J/rael; his country is meant; it defigns the deftruction of the | Ottoman empire: and among them that dwell carelefsly in the ifles; that belong to the Turkifs domimions;inot' only the inhabitants of the continent thall be confumed, but thofe that dwell in iflands, and think themfelves fafe and fecure, and fall upon them, as in Verse fo live o earelefsly; or fuch who live on the féa-coafts, it _ ¥. 3. And I will mite thy bow cut of thy left hand, &c.| In which it.is- ufually held, -to;have the arrow fitted to it: and I will caufe thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand, where-theyrare combeing uwfual in fcripture to call fuch places, ifles; and may intend thofe who dwell near the Euxine and Cafpian feas: and they foall know that I am the Lerd; by his judgments executed upon’them,
—— non te optima mater,,.
midft of my people Ifrael, &c.| That is, his perfections; his holinefs and juftice in punifhing their enemies; his truth and faithfulnefs in fulfilling his promifes to them; his power in inflicting judgments on Gog and his army; and his goodnefs in their prefervation and protection: and I will not ‘Jet them pellute my holy name any more; either the heathens round about, who before blafphemed it, faying that God was not able to deliver his people from fuch a potent enemy; but now their mouths will be ftopped, and they’ll not dare to fpeak any more after this manner: or elfe the J/raelites, who fhall be fo influenced by the grace and goodnefs of God unto them, as to fear the Lord and his goodnefs, and not dare to commit the fins they formerly did, whereby his name was polluted and blafphemed among the heathens: and the heathen fhall know that I am the Lord, the holy one in I/rael, they thall know by thefe judement$ and providences that he is the true God, and they fhall acknowledge and confefS it; and that he is’a holy and juft God, and dwells in Jjrael, and grants his gracious as well as powerful prefence to his people; nor fhall they dare to moleft them any more. ¥. 8. Bebold it is come, and it is done, faith the Lord God, &c.] -That is, the falvation of his people, and the deftruction of their enemies; the prophecy concerning all this is come to pafs, and the whole is accomplifhed; thus becaufe of the certainty thereof, it is reprefented as if the time was actually come, and the thing was really done; for the event is as fure as if it was now fulfilled: this is the day whereof I have fpoken; by the prophet Ezekiel and others; fee the note on ch. xxxviii. 1. ¥. 9. And they that dwell-in the cities of Ifrael foall go forth, &c.] Out of their houfes into the {treets, where Gog’s foldiers will lie dead, and their armour by them; or rather out of their Cities, where they dwelt fafely, and where they kept themfelves, and were fecure from the enemy: thefe feem to be diftinét from the militia of J/rae/, engaged in battel with Gog; thefe were the inhabitants that will ftay at home, and yet fhare in the fpoil and plunder; fee Pf Ixviii. 12. thefe, after the battel is over, and the victory obtained, of which they will have information, will then march out without fear into the open fields and mountains, where the army of Gog will fall, ¥. 4,5: and fhall fet on fire and burn the weapons; the armour of Gog’s army, which they fhall find lie by the dead, or upon them; or which they that flee will caft away; thefe they fhall gather together, and lay on an heap, and burn, as fometimes has been the practice of conquerors; or rather they fhall take them to their own houfes, and make fuel of them, and burn them, inftead of wood out of the fields and forefts, as the following verfe fhews: both the frields and- the bucklers, the bows and the arrows; which were the weapons that Gog and his affociates ufed; fee ch. xxxviil. 4. and xxxix. 3: and the hand-ftaves, and the fpears; the hand-ftaves were either half-pikes or truncheons, as fome think; or javelins, as others: and they fhall burn them with
¥. 7. 80 will I make my boly name known in the, ous numbers of weapons of all forts mutt be carried by them, and the little ufe of fire in thofe hot countries; it may be very well taken..in a literal fenfe, and the meaning be, that fo great will be the quantity of warlike weapons, that will be found and gathered, that they will ferve for fuel for the {pace of feven years.
¥. 10. So that they fhall take no wood out of the field, &c.| During that feven yéars; or they hall have no need to do fo, as the Syriac verfion, having a fufficiency of armour: weither cut down any out of the foreft,; out of the foreft of Lebanon, or any other, where they ufed to fetch wood for their neceffary ufes; but {o great 4 quantity of armour fhall now be brought home by them to their houfes, that they fhould have no need to be at the trouble and expence of fetching wood from. the forefts: for they foall burn the weapons with fire, the reafon of which will be, becaufe they will have no occafion for them hereafter; for when this battel is over, which feems to be the fame with that at Armazedden, there will be an entire deftruction of all the enemies of Chrift and his church; the world will be cleared of them, and there will be war no more, and {¢ no more ufe of weapons; this will be the laft battel that will be fought; fee Jf ii. 4. Mic. iv. 3: and they Jhall Jpoil thofe that [poil them, and rob thofe that robbed them, faith the Lord God not only take their weapons and burn them, but ftrip them of their garments, and take away their gold, and filver, and jewels, and every thing of value they fhall find about them. 4 y. 11. And it came to pafs at that day, &c.] When this deftruétion of the army of Gog thall be made: that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Ifrael; or, a place there, a grave in I/- rael”; he that thought to have fubdued the whole land, and taken poffeffion of it, fhall have no more of it than juft a place for a grave to be buried in; a place fit for a grave, as the Targum; and where that will be is next obferved: she valley of the paffengers on the eaft of the fea a, valley thro’ which travellers ufed to pafs from Syria, Babylon, and other places, to Egypt and Arabia Fehx, which lay eaft of the fea; not the Mediterranean fea, which lies weft of Fudea; but either the dead fea, the fea of Sodom, a fulphureous lake, to which there may be an allufion, Rev. xix. 20. or the fea of Cinuereth, or Genefareth, as the Targum, Farchi and Kimchi, the fame with the fea or lake of T7- berias and Galilee, mentioned in the New Teftament; which fenfe is approved of by Guffetius <5 where was a paflage from the land of Canaan, to the eait of the fime fea. Ca/met ¢ thinks it ftands for the great road at the foot of mount Carmel, to go from Judea, Egypt, and the country of the Philiftines, into Phenicia; which road was to the eaft of the Mediterranean fea. And it fhall ftop the nofes of the paffengers; or the paffengers fhall ftop their nofes, becaufe of the ill fimell of the carcafes*; or their mouths, the mouths of blafphemers, who fhall no more blafpheme the God of J/rael, when they fhall obferve this monument of his power, in the deftruction of his and his people’s enemies. Jt may be rendered, it /hall ftop the paf- fire feven years, which fome take to be a certain fengers ‘, from paffing that way, becaufe of the number for an uncertain, and others an hyperboli- multitude of the carcafes that fhall fall there, and cal expreffion; but when it is confidered what a vaft army this of Gog’s will be, and what prodigi- P93) Dow Cyd locum ibi fepulchrum, Starckius; which is the reafon of their being buried out of the way; this fenfe Farcbi takes notice of. The locum ubi fit fepulchrum, Cocceius.
@ Dictionary in the word wa/e.
Targum is, ‘* and it is near to two mountains;” as if this claufe defcribed the fituation of the valley. And there fhall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, all his army, fuch of it as the fowls and beafts had not devoured, and the bones they had left; not his army only, but himfelf alfo, the Sultan or Grand Seignior of the Turks, the general of this mighty army; this was not true of Antiochus he died not, nor was he buried in the land of Ifrael. And they fhall call it the valley of Hamon- Gog; Hamon fignifies a multitude; and this name will be impofed upon the place of Gog’s fepulchre, becaufe of the multitude flain and buried here, and to perpetuate the memory of it: there never was yet a place of this name in the land of J/rae; which fhows that this event is yet future. Ca/met takes it to be the valley of Yezree/, in which he thinks the army of Camby/es was defeated, after the death of that prince; wrongly taking Camby/es and his army for Gog and Magog.
y. 12. And feven months fhall the houfe of Ifrael be burying of them, &c.| So long time will the burial of Gog’s army take up, becaufe of the multitude of it, and by reafon their bones will be fcattered here and there; which will require time to gather them together, and bring them to one place: the reafon of the burial of them will be, partly out of humanity, which the chriftian religion, which will then be embraced by the Jews, teaches and encourages; and partly becaufe of the difagreeable fight, and ill fmell of the carcafes of the flain, and to prevent the air being infected therewith, which might caufe noxious difeafes. Yarchi gives the reafon of it, becaufe Gog is of the feed of ‘faphet, who covered his father’s nakednefs, and therefore worthy of a funeral: but a better reafon follows, that they may cleanfe the land not from ceremonial uncleannefs, a place being unclean by the ceremonial law, where dead carcafes, or the bones of dead men, lay; for the ceremonial law, as it is abrogated, will now be difufed by the Fews themfelves, when converted; but from natural pollution, before-mentioned.
¥. 13. Yea, all the people of the land feall bury them, &c.] That is, a great number of the common_ people of the land of Jjrae/, efpecially of thofe that dwell near the field of battel, fhall be employed in burying the flain; and which they will be very ready to do, for the reafons abovementioned: and it fhall be to them a renown; or, for a name *, they fhall be commended for their humanity to their enemies, and fhall be fpoken of with honour, as being the peculiar people of God, whom he has fo remarkably appeared for, protected, and defended: the day that I fhall be glori- Jied, faith the Lord God; the day that will be a renown to them, will be to the glory of God; whofe greatnefs, goodnefs, power, and wifdom, will be feen in faving his people, and-deftroying their enemies.
¥.14. And they fhall fever out men of continual employment, &c.| That is, the principal of the howfe of J/rael, their magiftrates and governors, thall felect certain perfons, to be daily employed in the following work, till ended: pafing through the land to bury with the paffengers thofe that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanfe it, thefe men will be appointed to go thro’ the land of J/rael, to gather up fuch carcafes and bones of dead men as Temain.any where after the feven months burial before obferved; and all paffengers or travellers fhall be affifting to them in it, both in direéting where any fuch carcafes and bones may lie, and in bringing them to the common place of burial, that” fo the land may be thoroughly cleanfed from duch difagreeable objects: after the end of feven months foall they fearch, or begin to fearch, as the Zargum; when feven months are ended, in which the people in general will be employed in burying the dead; thefe men before-mentioned will be fent out into the feveral parts of the land, to fearch in caves, and dens, and ditches; among thickets, thorns,
‘and briers, where the flain may fall; or where foldiers, being wounded, might betake themfelves and die; or their careafes or bones. be dragged and left by beafts and fowls; to find them out, and bring them to the place of interment... ©
¥. 15. And the poffengers that pafs thro’ the land, &c.] Not along with the fearchers, but that travel thro’ it upon bufinefs in it, or in other lands: when any Jeeth a man’s bone, then fhall he fet up a fign by it; as he pafles along, if he happens to fee }an human bone in the way, or hard by, he fhall
{top and lay a ftone, or an heap of ftones by it, or fome fuch mark or token, fignifying that a man’s bone lies there: ti// the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-Gog; that is, which fign fhall continue till the fearchers come that way and take up the bone, and carry it to be buried in the ° valley of Hamon-Gog;, for carcafes and. bones were not to be buried in the place where they were found, but to be brought and interred in this com-~ mon place of fepulture. het ¥. 16. And alfo the name of the city fhall be Hamonab, &c.] The name of the city neareft to this place where Gag and his multitude fhall be buried, fhall be called Hamonab from thence, which fignifies a multitude; or Polyandrion, as the Septuagint verfion, a place where many graves are; or perhaps a new city will be built near this place, and fo called, to perpetuate the memory of it; or elie, as Kimchi obferves, Ferufalem will be fo called, from the multitude of thofe that will be flain near it; but however, neither that nor any other city in the land of J/rae/ have ever bore any fuch name;
from whence it may be concluded, that this prophecy does not refer to the times of utiochus, or any yet paft, but to time to come: hus fhall they cleanfe the land, thoroughly and completely, fo that not a bone fhall be left unburied.
¥. 17. And thou fon of man, thus faith the Lord God, &c.] What the prophet is ordered by the Lord to fay, is to creatures not then in being, nor yet; and were they, they could not underftand his ' words; but however, when the time comes, partly by an inftinct in nature, and partly by a particular direction of providence, they will be gathered together upon fo great a flaughter of men; for what follows, tho’ mentioned in this place, willbe between the laughter of Geg’s army, and the burial of it, as Kimchi well obferves; for after the burial, fuch an invitation would be impertinent; and which is made not for the fake of creatures, but of men, ‘to denote the certainty of this great carnage that fhall be made: /peak unto every feathered fowl, and
| to every beaft of the field; this muft be underftoed of fuch fowls, and fuch beafts, as devour dead carcafes, for all will not feed on them; a like invitation is given after the battel at Armageddon, the fame with this here, Rev. xix. 17. ota this difference, there an angel is faid to cry, the prophet; thereto the fowls only, here to the — a beafts of the field alfo; no doubt refpect there is had to this pafiage: affemble yourfelves and come, gather yourfelves on every fide to my facrifices that I do facrifice for you; fuch a flaughter of men is called a facrifice, becaufe there is a likenefs between that and the killing of beafts for facrifice; befides, thefe enemies of God and his people will fall a victim to his juftice, as well as be a repaft for fowls and beafts, who are invited as to a feaft, to feed upon them; and there being fo much of the power and providence of God in all this, it is afcribed to him, and fo is called, the /upper of the great God,.Rev. xix. 17: even 2 great facrifice upon the mountains of Ifrael,; where Gog’s army will fall, y. 4. and in fuch vaft numbers, that it may well be called a great facrifice; the facrifice of a great army by the great God, and for fuch a great number of creatures: that ye may eat flefb, and drink blood, the flefh and blood of the facrifices, even of flain men, which carnivorous creatures delight in. The Yargum is, “‘ draw near every where << round about to the flain, which I flay for you *¢ with a great flaughter upon the mountains of « Tfrael, and ye fhall eat the flefh, and drink the *¢ blood.”
y. 18. Ye foall eat the fleh of the mighty, &c.] Of the foldiers, men of ftrength and courage, and fit for war, with which the army of Gog will abound: and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; both the princes of his own family and court, and thofe of his allies and auxiliaries that will come along with him: of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks; which the Targum, Farchi, and Kimchi, interpret of kings, princes, dukes, rulers, and -governors; and fo does ohn in the Revelation, of kings, captains, and mighty men, ch. xix. 18: all of them fatlings of Bafban, which was a country in Jfrael, very fruitful, and full of paftures, where much fat cattel were bred; and to which thefe great erfonages in Gog’s army are compared, for their Palle, ftrength, and wealth. So the Zargum, “ all «< of them rich in fubftance.” It may be rendred, all of them the merie of Bafhan; for meri is the name of an ox or buffle; and Farchi fays, that a fat ox is called in the Arabic language ¢yl3S, almari».
y¥. 19. And ye foall eat fat till ye be full, &c.] The fat of men; and fuch as before defcribed generally are fat, and of which they fhall have enough; and tho’ voracious creatures, fhall eat to fatiety: and drink blood till ye be drunken, as men are with wine, who become mad with it; and fo birds and beafts of prey grow fiercer by drinking blood: the meaning is, they fhould have their fill of the flefh, fat, and blood, of flain men: of my facrifice, which I have facrificed for you; the Targum is, “ of the << flefh” of the flain, which I have flain for you;” fee the note on ¥. 17.
xy. 20. Thus fhall ye be filled at my table with borfes and chariots, &c.|} With the flefh of horfes, and of them that fit on them, as 7obn interprets it, Rev. xix. 18. and fo the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic verfions: and with the flefh of men that ride in chariots ufed in war; for chariots themfelves cannot be eaten; and with thefe the birds and beafts of prey will be filled at the Lord’s table, which he will furnifh for them on the mountains of I/rael, on the field of battel, where Gog and his army will fall: and thus as the Lord’s fupper is
.called the table of the Lord, 1 Cor. x. 21. fo this table of the Lord is called‘the fupper of the great God, Rev. xix. 17. this is further explained, with mighty men, and with all men of war, faith the Lord Ged; that is, with the fleth of valiant men, generals, captains, officers of all forts, and common foldiers, even of all men, great and fmall, bond and free, Rev. xix. 18.:
¥. 21. And Iwill fet my glory among the heathen, &c.] The glory of his divine perfections, particularly his power and his goodnefs, in deftroying the enemies of his people, and faving them; which will be fet in a clear point of view to the heathen, that they cannot but obferve it; and this is the ultimate end of this ftrange event, as it is of all that the Lord does, even his own glory, fubordinate to which is his people’s good: and all the heathen foall fee my judgment that I have executed, and my band that I have laid upon them; his vengeance and power, as the Targum; the punifhment inflicted by his mighty hand on Gog and his army: thefe heathens are the pagan kingdoms of China, &c. and of Tartary, Perfia, and the whole Turkifh dominions, being Mahometan, which are no better than heathen; thefe will be converted to the chri- {tian religion, in confequence of this event; for this will be the paffing away of the Turkifh wo, which will make way for the founding of the feventh trumpet; and when thefe kingdoms will become Chrift’s, and way be made for the kings of the eaft to come over to him, Rev. xi. 14, 15. and xvi. 12.
¥. 22. So the beufe of Drael foall know that I am the Lord their God, &c.| That has chofen them, redeemed them, called them, manifefted his covenant-love and grace to them, and protected and defended them; this deftruction of their enemies will be a proof of it; and they’ll hereby be led into a clearer knowledge of him, and of his goodnefs to them; and make a more firm and conftant profeffion of him, even from that day and forward, to the end of time; for after this, the Fews will no more apoftatize, but will for ever remain the people of God and Chrift.
¥. 23. And the heathen fhall know that the houfe of Ifrael went into captivity for their iniquity, &c.
Before this they thought the captivity of the Fews, and all their diftreffes, were owing to their own weaknefs, and the weaknefs of the God they ferved, and to the fuperior ftrength of their eneinies, and the power of their gods; but now, by this ftrange and amazing deftruction of Gog and his army, they'll fee that it was not owing to thofe things, but to the fins and tranfgreffions of the people of the Fews: becaufe they tranfgreffed againft me, prevaricated with him, acted a perfidious and treacherous part to him, as the word i fignifies; which they did, when they delivered Fefus of Nazareth, the true Meffiah, into the hands of the Gentiles, to be crucified; it is their difbelief of Chrift, and rejection of him, and male-treatment of him, that is here more efpecially pointed at; and which is the caufe of their prefent long captivity and exile, and of all the afflictions and troubles they have fince met with: fo the Zargum renders it, “* they dealt * falfly with my word;” the word made flefh, the incarnate Saviour: therefore bid I my face from them; took no notice of them, fhewed them no favour, took no care of them; difregarded their
Prayers and eries, and removed his prefence from them, and all the tokens of it. So the Targum, “1 caufed my Shekinab (or majefty) to remove ‘* from them;” and thus it has been ever fince, and now is: and gave them into the hand of their enemies; the Romans, who took away their place and nation; which they feared would be the cafe, fhould many believe in Chrift, but the true reafon of it was, becaufe they did not believe in him, oln xi. 48: fo fell they all by the fword, that is, thro’ the fword of the conquering Romans, they fell into their hands; fome perifhed by the fword, and others were carried into captivity; and all were punifhed for their iniquity, trefpafs, and perfidy.
y¥. 24. According to their uncleannefs, &c.] Not ceremonial, but moral; they were an impure and adulterous generation, as our Lord calls them, Matt. xii. 39. and xvi. 4: and according: to their tran[erefions have I done unto tkem or rebellions, as the Targum renders it; or defections, as the word * fignifies; their rebellions againft the king Meffiah; their defections from him;’ their contempt of him, and rejection of his yoke, and non-fabmiffion to his ordinances; according to the defert of fuch crimes, the Lord dealt. with them; ‘* took ven- ‘¢ seance on them,” as the Zargum is; in the deftruction of their nation, city, and temple: and hid my face from them, or caufed his Shekinab to remove from them, as the fame paraphrafe; fee the note on ¥. 23.
¥. 25. Therefore thus faith the Lord, &c.] The Fews having been long punithed for their fins; and being brought to repentance for them, and to faith in Chrift, as they will be in the latter day: hence it follows, now will I bring again the captivity of Facob; or the captives of Facob, the people of J/- rael, that have been carried captive into all lands; thefe fhall be gathered from thence, and brought into their own land: and have mercy upon the whole houfe of I/rael, all the twelve tribes; which fhows that this has not refpeét to the return of the Fews from the Babylonifh captivity; for then the Lord had mercy on the houfe of fudab only, or the two tribes of Fudab and Benjamin, but their return from their prefent captivity, and future converfion, when all I/rael foall be faved; as the fruit and effect of the rich fovereign grace and mercy of God unto them, Rom, xi. 25,26: and will be jealous for my holy names or, zealous' for it; for the glory of it, that it be no more blafphemed among the heathen; and that it be glorified among his own people.
¥. 26. After that they have borne their fhame, &c.] And difgrace, among the nations where they are {cattered; being captives, exiles, in diftrefs and affliction, and under the manifeft tokens of the divine wrath and vengeance: it may be rendered, and they fkall bear their fhame™; that is, as Farchi glofles it, ‘* when I fhall do good to them, and ** not render to them according to their wicked- “* nefs, then they fhall bear their fhame, and be ‘** confounded, and not able to lift up their face;” as penitent perfons, under a fenfe of divine wrath, biufh, and are afhamed to look up to God; fee Ezra ix. 6—10. Menachem interprets the word in the fenfe of atonement and forgivenefs, as it is ufed in Pf. xxxii. 1. as if the meaning was, then they fhall have their fins, which caufed fhame, forgiven them. Kimchi’s glofs is, “ they fhall carry in their *¢ mouths, and make mention of their fhame they. ‘“¢ had in captivity.” And all their tranfgreffions, whereby they have tranfgreffed againft me; that is, the. punifhment of all their trefpaffes in their c tivity, or the fhame of them, being now brought — to repentance; and which will be aggravated to them, when they remember that thefe were committed by their forefathers, and fince approved of by them. When they dwelt fafely in their land, and none made them afraid; as they did in the times of Chrift; they were in entire peace, and no enemy difturbed them; and were in the poffeffion of their own land, and enjoyed the bleffings of it, and had their religious, as well as civil liberties; and yet rejected the Meffiah, his doctrine, ordinances, and falvation by him. 1
¥. 27. When I have brought them again from the people, &c.] That is, then fhall they be afhamed, and repent of all their trefpafles and fins: and gathered them out of their enemies lands, from the provinces of their enemies, as the Targum; when they are collected together in a body out of the feveral nations where they are now difperfed, and brought to their own land: aad am fanétified in them in the fight of many nations; when they thall publickly repent of their fins, and forfake them, and feek the Lord their God, and the king Meffiah, and embrace and profefs him, and acknowledge that God has been righteous and holy in all his difpenfations towards them.
¥. 28. Ihen fhall they know that I am the Lord their God, &c.} See the note on ¥. 22: which caufed them to be led into captivity among the heathen; for their fins and tranfgreffions: and fo the Targum adds, ‘* becaufe they finned before me:” but FT have gathered them into their own land; being now penitent for their fins, and believing in the Meffiah: and fo the Targum, ‘* and now becaufe they *¢ are converted, I have gathered them, &e:” and have left none of them any more there; among the heathen, or in the land of their enemies; every one fhail be returned to the land of Canaan, be they where they will, as when they came out of Egypt: and this is typical of the falvation of Ged’s elect, or myftical J/rze/; not one of them fhall be loft or perifh, but all fhall be brought to repentance: this again fhows, that this prophecy did not refpect the return of the Fews from the Babylonifh captivity; fince then many were left behind.
¥. 29. Netther will I bide my face any more from them, &c.] The ews, upon their future converfion, will always have the worfhip of God among them, and his prefence with them; he will always.
take notice of them; they will ever be under his protection and care; he will never remove his Shekinah from them any more, as the Targum: a further proof that this refers to future times; for after their return from Babylon, God did hide his face, and remove his prefence from them, and left them to ruin and deftruction by the Romans: for I have poured out my Spirit upon the houfe of Ifrael, faith the Lord God; this refers not to the effufion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecoff, but to one that is yet to come, when the Jews will be converted in the latter day; after which God will no more depart from them, nor fhall they depart from him; fee Zech. xii. 10. Jf lix. 19, 20,27.