Jeremiah 47

1. Pharaoh. This was probably Pharaoh-necho, after his victory at Megiddo; and if so, the prophecy would be the more remarkable, as there was no likelihood of a Chaldean invasion at that time.

3 shall not look back to [their] children for feebleness of hands. So unstrung shall they be that not even fathers will stay to rally their children.

4 every helper. The Philistines, allies with Phœnicia.

the country (“coastland,” or “isle”) of Caphtor. That the Philistines came from Caphtor is clear from Deut. ii. 23; Amos ix. 7. Ebers and other scholars place it in the Egyptian Delta, but more recent authorities (e.g. Sayce) consider that it was Crete or some part of that island (see Hastings’ Dict. of Bible).

5. Baldness. “Baldness” may mean intense sorrow; or utter loss of all that was valuable.

valley. Or, “lowland”: the Philistines inhabited the plain country along the shore, the

“Shephelah.” The word with should be omitted; “the remnant of their valley” being a description of Ashkelon.

same as Sebam (see also Numb. xxxii. 38). The whole region was famed for its vineyards.

the sea. No doubt an upland lake, now dried up.