Jeremiah 47
OGCREVIEW OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I. Facts to Master
The names of the eight nations concerning which Jeremiah has a message from the Lord in Chapter s 46-49.
The following facts about the great battle of Carchemish: (a) the location of Carchemish; (b) the commander of the losing army; (c) the commander of the winning army; (d) the synchronism with the history of Judah (Jeremiah 46:2)
Names of the countries furnishing mercenary troops to Egypt (Jeremiah 46:9).
Name of one of the leading gods of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:25).
Names of four prominent cities of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:14; Jeremiah 46:19; Jeremiah 46:25).
Name of the king who would smite the land of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:13).
Name of the chief god of Moab (Jeremiah 48:7; Jeremiah 48:13; Jeremiah 48:46).
Name of the chief god of Ammon (Jeremiah 49:1; Jeremiah 49:3).
The ancestor of the Edomites (Jeremiah 49:8; Jeremiah 49:10).
The previous overthrow to which God compares the destruction of Edom (Jeremiah 49:18).
II. Questions to Ponder
In Jeremiah 46:1-12 is Jeremiah predicting the outcome of the battle of Carchemish or is he celebrating or commemorating it?
In the oracle concerning Egypt what literary technique is most prominent?
What is meant by the phrase the time of her punishment (visitation)?
What are the sins which the nations have committed which justifies their destruction? Is there an explicit accusation made in each of the oracles?
Which of the oracles conclude on a positive note? To what period of time does the phrase the latter days refer? What does the expression bring back the captivity really mean?
What important differences exist between the Hebrew text and the Greek version of this section of Jeremiah? How can you account for these differences? See comments in Chapter Three.
In how many of the prophetic books can oracles concerning foreign nations be found? Why were the Hebrew prophets interested in the destiny of foreign nations?
How would you arrange the oracles concerning the nations in chronological sequence? What purpose is there in the arrangement as it stands in the text?
What evidence is there in these oracles of Jeremiah’s personal distress over the fate of the foreign nations?
Jeremiah 47:1-7
III. AN ORACLE AGAINST THE PHILISTINE Jeremiah 47:1-7
TRANSLATION
(1) The word of the LORD which came unto Jeremiah concerning the Philistine before Pharaoh smote Gaza. (2) Thus says the LORD: Behold, waters are rising from the north and they shall become an overflowing stream. They shall overflow the land and all in it, the city and its inhabitants. Mankind shall cry out and all inhabitants of the land wail. (3) At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his mighty ones, from the shaking of his chariots and the noise of his wheels fathers will not turn back unto children because of feebleness of hands. (4) Because the day comes to destroy all Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every remaining helper; for the LORD is about to destroy the Philistine, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor. (5) Baldness is come upon Gaza. Ashkelon is made silent, the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? (6) Alas! O sword of the LORD, how long will you not be quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard! Rest! Be silent! (7) How can you be quiet when the LORD has commissioned you against Ashkelon and the seashore, there has He appointed it.
COMMENTS
The oracle against the Philistine has a heading which furnishes a date for the oracle in terms of a battle that must have been familiar to the prophet’s audience. According to the heading this word came from the Lord before Pharaoh smote Gaza (Jeremiah 47:1). Unfortunately for the modern student of the book, the prophet did not identify the particular Pharaoh who conquered Gaza. Since Pharaoh Hophra (588-569 B.C.) made an expedition as far north as Sidon during his reign he has been nominated as the mysterious Pharaoh of Jer 47:1. But in view of the fact that Jeremiah is still talking about the enemy from the north rather than of the Chaldeans or Nebuchadnezzar it seems probable that the oracle comes from the earliest period of the prophet’s ministry. In the main Jeremiah used the phrase enemy from the north in his messages prior to the battle of Carchemish. Probably then it was Pharaoh Necho who captured Gaza some time before the battle of Carchemish. Perhaps evidence[379] for this conquest will be forthcoming from the new materials which are constantly coming to light concerning the relations of the Pharaohs and Palestine.
[379] Some scholars feel there is a reference to the capture of Gaza by Pharaoh Necho in Herodotus II, 159 but the evidence is far from conclusive.
Jeremiah 47:2-4
A. The Overflowing Stream Jeremiah 47:2-4
Borrowing a figure used earlier by Isaiah (Isaiah 8:7) Jeremiah describes the conqueror of the Philistine as an overflowing flood. The prophet sees the waters slowly rising in the north, gradually swelling, and then sweeping southward like a torrential stream which carries ruin and destruction along its course. That mighty river shall overflow all the land of the Philistine (Jeremiah 47:2). Jeremiah can hear the shrieks, screams and howls of despair mingled with the sounds of the prancing steeds and rumbling chariots and grinding wheels of the Chaldean forces. The fathers are so terrified that they abandon their wives and children to the on-rushing enemy (Jeremiah 47:3). The day of ruin has come to Philistia. No Philistine will be able to go to the aid of Tyre and Sidon and those cities as well will taste the wrath of the invincible conqueror.[380] Those who inhabited Philistia in the days of Jeremiah are only the remnant of the original invaders from Caphtor, the island of Crete. The Philistine had already suffered greatly in wars with Egypt and Assyria. Now the remnant of that once proud people will again suffer judgment at the hands of the God of Israel (Jeremiah 47:4).
[380] Ezekiel 26:1-21; Ezekiel 27:1-36 describes at length the humiliation of the two proud commercial cities of Phoenicia.
Jeremiah 47:5-7
B. The Devouring Sword Jeremiah 47:5-7
In the second stanza of the poem the figure changes from an overflowing stream to a devouring sword. The sword of the Lord creates havoc in Philistia. Gaza and Ashkelon, two of the principal cities of the land, suffer immeasurably. Baldness and the cutting of the flesh mentioned in Jeremiah 47:5 are both signs of deep mourning. By self-mutilation these heathen folks tried to arouse the pity of the gods.
In Jeremiah 47:6 someone asks, O sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you are quiet? Then follows the appeal, again addressed to the sword, Put yourself into your scabbard, rest, and be still! Does this question and appeal come from the prophet or from the Philistine? Some commentators feel that this is a cry for mercy on the part of the Philistine. Since no sign of sincere sorrow for their sin or genuine repentance is manifested, the prophet as God’s spokesman, must reject their plea in the following verse. Now this interpretation may well be correct but it is certainly not necessary. It may have been Jeremiah himself who, seeing in his mind’s eye the devastation and destruction of Philistia, cries out for the sword of God’s wrath to be returned to its scabbard. After further reflection and possible divine revelation Jeremiah realizes that the sword of the Lord cannot be sheathed until its work of judgment is done. The righteous wrath of God must be poured out upon Ashkelon and the whole seashore, all of Philistia (Jeremiah 47:7). Justice must be done. When Almighty God brandishes His sword of wrath there is no stopping until the work is complete.
This brief oracle does not reveal the reason for the divine wrath against Philistia. Certainly the Philistine had been most bitter enemies of the people of God from the time of the judges. This alone would be reason enough for the awful destruction which is here depicted. But in addition to this Jeremiah emphasized again and again that the nations which refused to submit to the yoke of Babylon would have to drink of the CUP of God’s wrath. Oracles threatening ruination of Philistia are found in Amos 1:6-8; Isaiah 14:29-31; Zephaniah 2:4-7; Ezekiel 25:15-17 and finally in Zechariah 9:5-7. The latter passage adds to the threat of destruction a note of hope that Philistine would share in the glory of the Messianic kingdom. This promise was fulfilled when Philistia heard the Gospel proclaimed and many of that region became Christians (Acts 8:40; Acts 9:32-43).