Ver. 18. — Dibon ; now Vihan, one of the chief towns of Moab, on two adjacent hills, now covered with ruins (Tiistram), in the plain of Medeba (Josli. xiii. 9), north of Aroer and the Amon. Here the famous Moabite Stone (on which see Dr. Gins- burg's exhaustive raonogMph), with the inscription of Kinj; Mesha (2 Kings iii. 4), was found, which, aft' r having been broken np and pieced together, has now found a resting-place in the 1 lonvre. It is difficult to say to which Israeltish tribe Dibon was, strictly speaking, attached; for while in Josh. xiii. 17 it is given to Reuben, in Numb, xxxii. 34 and in the Moabite Stone (line 10) it is assigned to Gad. Apparently the Israelitish population fluc- tuated. Sometimes Gad was the most adventurous in oc -upying Moabitish terri- tory, sometimes BeuLien. On the phrase, the daughter, etc., see note on ch. xlvi. 19. The form of the first verse-half is modelled on Isa. xlvii. 1. Sit in thirst. The expres- sion is uupxrimpled, anil it is possible that we should altir one of the vowel-pointa (which constitute no part of the Masso- retic text), rendering. " sit in thirsty (ground)," i.e. the dust (onmp. the paiallel passage, Isa. xlvii. 1), Or ihere may bn a less-used ooUateral foruk uf the Hebrew
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THE BOOK OJB* TfiB tEOPlIET JEREMIAH, lob. XLvra. 1—47^
for "tbirsly" (fame). Canon Tristram speaks of the " waterless plain " of Dtb&n ('Land of Moab,' p. 132). Thy strong holds. It appears from the Moabite Stone that Dibon was the centre of ,, district which was reckoned as belonging to it ; so at least we may account for the phraau, " all Dibon was submissive " (line 28 V Com pare the phrase in Numb. xxi. 25, " Heshbon, and all the villages thereof" (comp. on eh. zlix. 2).
Ver. 19. — The inhabitants of Aroer will come out in eager expectation to meet the fugitives, and ask, What 1- - ;h happened 1 (so the question should be reiulured). There were several Aroers (one belonged to the Ammonites, Josh. xiii. 25), but as tiie enemy is driving the Moabites 6outhwar<l, the Aroer here intended can only be the town by the Arnon, which separated Moab proper first of all from the kingdom of the Amorites (Deut. iv. 48 ; Josh. xii. 2), and afterwards from the territory of the Israel- ites (Deut. ii. 36; iii. 12). Thu [lieture diawn in this verse is singularly appropriate to the site of Arnon, "just by the edge of tho arterial highway of Moab," and com- manding a complete view of the pass of the Arnon (Tristram, ' Land of Moab,' p. 132). There is the same variety of statement as to the Israelifish tribe to which Aroer be- longed as in the case of Dibon (see ver. 18). Josh. xiii. 16 speaks in favour of Beuben ; Numb, xixii. 34 in favour of Gad.
Ver. 20. — T5a3 answer of the fugitives begins in the latter part of this verse, and, continues to ver. 24. Confounded ought as usual, to be brought to slMme. The address, howl and cry, which is in the feminine, refers t» Moab, wliioh has just before been spoken of in the feminine ('It is broken down," or rather, " she is dis- mayed," refers to Moab, not to Dibon). In Arnon ; t.e. in the regioa of the Arnon ; butter, beside Arnon (comp. oh. xiii. 5, " by Euphrates").
Ver. 21.— The plain oonntiy. The mislior (see on ver. 8). Holon is not known I'rom other sources. Jahazah (calleil Jahaz in ver. 34), according to Euscbius, still existed in his days, and lay between Muduba and Dibon. Like Heshbun and Dibon, it was claimed by the Eeubenites (Josh. xiii. IS), and Mesha, in tlie famous inscription, states tbar the thon King of Isiacl (Jehoram) " fortified Jahaz and dwelt in it, when he fought against me " (lines 18, 19). This was a great but only a temporary success, for Mesha adds that "Churndsh drove him out before me" (line 19). Mephaath was appaieutly near Jahaz, since it is always mentioned with that town (Josh. xiii. 18 ; xxi. 37 ; 1 Ohron. Ti.79>.
Ver. 22.— Dibon (see on ver. 18). Nebj (see on ver. 1). Beth-diblathaim. Men- tioned here only. There is an Almon- diblathaim in Numb, xxxiii. 46, mentionad in connection witli Dibon.
Ver. 23. — Kiriathaim (see on ver. 1). Beth- gamul. Nowhere el»e mentioned. Beth- meon. Called Baal-moon, Numb, xxxii. 38 ; Beth-baalmeon, Josh. xiii. 17. The ex- tensive ruins of Ma'in are a short distance south of Ueshbon.
Ver. 24. — Eerioth. Perhaps a synonym of Ar, the old capital of Moab (Isa. xv. 1). Hence in Amos ii. 2, "I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth." Bozrah. The capital at (me time of the Edomites (see ch. xlix. 13). The ownership of particular cities varied from time to time in this contested region. Far or near; i.e. towards the frontier or iuland.
Vers. 26— 35.— And what is Moab's crime? At an earlier point the prophet said that it was the caUousness produced by long prosperity (ver. 11); but hire another sin is mentioned — Moab's haughty contempt of Jeliovah. " For this it deserves that its contempt should be thrown bick upon itself, by its being made, like a drunken man, the scorn of all" (Ewald). The figure is, no doubt, a coarse one, but not unnatural in tho oratory (we must put aside inspiration, which leaves the forms of speech untouched) of a rude [leople like the Jews. It occurs not unfrequeutly else- where; see especially Isa. xi.\. 14; Hab. ii. 15, 16 ; and, for milder examples of the figure, oh. xiii. 13 and xxv.
Ver. 26. — Make ye him drunken. The command is irssued to the agents of the Divine wrath (cnmp. vers. 10, 21). He magnified himself against the Lord. Otfenccs against Israel being also offences against Isr.iel's God (see Jephthah's striking words in Judg. xi. 28, 24). Shall wallow ; rather, thall fall heavily (literally, shall clap — a pregnant expre-sion)
Ver. 27. — Was he toand among thieves^ for, etc. ; rather, . . . that, as often as thou spealtest of him, thou waggest thy head. Wliat giveth thee the right to show su'-h scorn and insolent triumph towards Israel, as if he were one who had been arrested in the very act of robbery (eomp. ch. ii. 26) ?
Ver. 28. — ^Dwell in the rook. Jeremiah probably thinks of the rocky defiles of the Arnon, so splendidly adapted for fugitives (see Consul Wetzstein's excursus to the third edition of Delilzsch's ' Je^aja; ' he speaks of perpendicular walls of rook). Like the dove (t.e. the wild dove); oomp. 'Iliad,' xxi. 493; 'iEneid/ v. 213.
Vers. 29, 30. — These verses are an ex- pansion of Isa. xvL 6. The boastfulness of
OH, XLvm. 1— 47.] THE BOOK OF TSE PEOtHElT JEREMIAfl.
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Hoah eeoins to have much impressed its Igraelitish neighbours (comp. vers. 14, 27). It has been thought to be illustrated by the iiiftcriptioii on the Moabite Stone; but we must remember that all national monu- ments of this sort have a tendency to exaggeration.
Ver. 29. — We have heard ; viz. the prophet and his countrymen.