Ver. 14. — ^I have heard a mmonr. In Obadiah it is "we have heard," i.e. the company of prophets (comp. Isa. liii. 1, " Who hath believed our report? " accord- ing to one interpretiition). Jeremiah, to justify his adoption of the outward form of his prophecy, declares that he is personally responsible for its substance. " Kumour," or as the word is elsewhere rendered, " re- port," is a technical term for a prophetic revelation (Obad. 1 ; Isa. xxviii. 9, 19 ; liii. 1 ; comp. Isa. xxi. 10 ; xxviii. 22) ; and it is from tills Old 'Ifstament usage that d/toi) acquires its special meaning in Bom. x. 16, 17. In fact, oKo^, or bearing, is a more exact equivalent of the original. A propliet is one who has " listened in the council of God " (Job XV. 8, corrected version ; com ,-.. Amos ill. 7), and " when the Lord J. hovah h ath spoken, who can but prophesy ? " (Amos lii. 8). Prophetic perception of Divine truth is so exceptional a thing tliat it can only be expressed approximately in terms of every- day life. One while it may be cal ed a "hearing," • "report," another while a " vision," or " intuition." He who makes to hear or see is, of course, Jehovah, tluougli the objective influence of his Spirit. It is important to study the Biblical phraseoloL'y, which has a depth of meaning too olten overlooked, owing to the blunter ed^'e which time has given to our modern spc ech. An ambassador ; rather, a herald. Unto the heathen; rather, unto the nativni. Ti ere is no religious idea involved; the worl ijiriilm literally me*ni "nations," and tlieie is nn
reason for deviating from the primary sense. In the next verse it is even more necessary to make this correction.
Ver. 16. — Thy terribleness. This is cer- tainly the best rendering of this Sirof \ey6iievov. The " terribleness " of Edom consisted in the fact that the other nations shrank from disturlnng her in he- rocky fastness. In the olefi,s of the rock. Tro- bably with an aliuniou to therock-uily Sela or Petra ("rook"); as perhaps in "the height of the hill" to the bituation of Boziah ; see on ver. 13 (Graf). As the eagle. Not any eagle is meant, but tlie griffon {Gypifulvut), or great vulture (Tris- tram).
Ver. 17. — ^A desolation; rather, an as- tonishment. The word is from the same root as the following verb. The phrase is characteristic of Jeremiah, who has no scruple in repeating a forcible expression, and so enforcing an important truth (comp. ch. XXV. 11, 38; 1. 23; li. 43). Wliat so "astonishing" as the reverses of once flourishing kingdoms I For the Bible knows nothing of the "necessity" of the decay and death of nations. The "cove- nant" which Jehovah offers contains the pledge of indestructibility. Every one that goeth by it, eto. Another self-remi- niscence (see ch. xix. 8).
Ver. 18. — As in the overthrow, etc. ; oomp. Deut. xxix. 2, which explains the reference in " the neighbour cities " (Admah and Zebiiim). The verse is repeated in ch. 1, 40. It does not, of course, mean that fire and brimstone should be the a.!>;ents of de- struction (nor is even Isa. xxxiv. 9 to be understood literally), but that the desolate appearance of Edom sbouM remind of that of the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea (comp. Isa. xiii. 19; Amos iv. 11).
Vers. 19 — 22.— Figures descriptive of the unique physical qualities of the destined conqueror of Edom. Both figures have been used hi fore (see ch. iv. 7 ; xlviii. 40).
Ver. 19. — He shall come. The subject is withheld, as in cb. xlvi. 1 8 (see note); xlviii. 40. The swelling of Jordan ; rather, the pride of Jordan ; i.e. the luxuriant thickets on its banks. See on ch. xii. 5, where the plinise first occurs. Against the habitation of the strong ; rather, to the evergreen pasture. Tlie word rendered "evergreen" is one of those wliirh are the despair of interpreters, fiom their fulness of meaning. The root-meaning s simply " continuance," whether it beooniinuuuce of Btieuf;th(comp. Micah vi. 2, Hebrew) or of the flow of a stream (Deut. xxi. 4 ; Amos T. 24), or, as here, of the perennial verdure of a well- watered pasturage. But I wiU suddenly make him run away from her. Make whom ? The linn? Such is the natural iufereuce
250
THE BOOK OF THE PBOPHET JEREMIAH, [oh. xlix. 1— 39.
from the Authorized Veraion, bnt the con- text absolutely forbids it. It seems useless to mention the crowd of explanations which liave been offered of this " obscure and much-vexed passage," as old Matthew Poole calls it, since in ch. 1. 44 we have precisely the same phrase, but with another sufSx, which clears up (he meaning. We may, llicrelbrc, either read (with the Septuagint aiul the Syriiic Version), " For I will suddenly make th( m run away from it " (viz. the pnstun), or keep the old reading "him" for"thpni," and explain "him" as meaning the Ednmites. The expression used for "suddenly" is very furcible; we might render, with Ewald, " in the twin- ling of an eye." And who is a chosen man, etc. ? A still more dirticult clause. If the text is correct, which cannot be assumed as certain, we should probably render, with Ewald, "and will appoint over it [i.e. the land of Edom] him who is oliosen," viz. Nebuchadnezzar. Who will appointme the time 1 The same phrase is rendered in Job ix. 19, " Who shall set me a time to plead?" (comp. the Latin phrase dicur dicere). To drag a defendant before the tribunal implies equality of rank. One might venture to do this with Nebuchad- nezzar, if he were not the representative of One still mightier. Finally, Who is that shepherd that will stand before me? The land of Edom has been likened to a pasture ; It is natural that the ruler should be now described as a shepherd (comp. ch. xxix. 34).
Ver. 20. - The counsel of the lord. At first sight this appears to detract from the per- fection of Jehovah. But another prophet declares that the Divine "counsels" are " framed " from etertiity (Isa. xxii. 1 1 ; xxxvii. 26). Surely the least, etc. ; rather. Surely they shall drag them along, the weak ones of the floek ; turely their pasture shall be appalled at them. Such is the sad fate of the sheep, now that the resistance of their shepherd has been overpowered. " The weak ones of the flock " is a phrase quite ill Jeremiah's raaiiner ; its opposite is " the noble ones of the flock" (ch. ixv. 34).
Ver. 21.— Is moved; rather, quaketh (as ch. viii. 16). It is a pity that the Authorized Version has not preserved the present tense througliout the verse. The prophet seems to see his prediction realized before him. In the Bed Sea ; rather, beside the Bed Sea ; comp. 1 Kings ix. 26, " Eloth, on the sliore of the Bed l:jea, in the land of Edom."