Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Yahweh says: “Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.
They will take their tents and their flocks. they will carry away for themselves their curtains, all their vessels, and their camels; and they will cry to them, ‘Terror on every side!’
Flee! Wander far off! Dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor,” says Yahweh; “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you.
Arise! Go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care,” says Yahweh; “that has neither gates nor bars, that dwells alone.
Their camels will be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a plunder. I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them,” says Yahweh.
Hazor will be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever. No man will dwell there, neither will any son of man live therein.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv28–33 There is here another prophecy added respecting the Kedareans,…
There is here another prophecy added respecting the Kedareans, who inhabited a part of Arabia. There is elsewhere mention made of them, and it is probable that they were neighbors to the Syrians and not far from Judea; for David complained (if he was the author of that psalm) that he dwelt among the children of Kedar,
“Woe to me, because I am compelled to dwell in Mesech and with the children of Kedar,” (Psalm 120:5)
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Whoever, then, composed that psalm, it is a probable conjecture that the Kedareans, though not contiguous to Judea, were not yet far distant; and we have said that they were the inhabitants of Arabia. And the Prophet adds, the children of Kedem; so some render the word, as though it were the name of a nation; and Moses tells us that Kedem was one of the sons of Ishmael. It may be that for this reason Jeremiah joined this people to the Kedareans, (Genesis 25:13-15.) But I am, however, inclined to the opinion, that he mentions here the children of the East, that is, with respect to Judea; not that they were nigh the Persians or other oriental nations, but he only points out a land to the east of Judea.
But why God took vengeance on that people, the cause is not expressed. It may yet have been that they formerly had much injured the Israelites; God therefore having long spared them at length appeared as their severe judge. And though the reason was unknown, yet it did good to the Jews to know, that God’s hand was extended to every part of the world to execute vengeance; for they might have hence concluded that they were justly punished, because they had rebelled against God; for we know that a servant who willfully and disdainfully disobeys his master, deserves double punishment. (Luke 12:47) When the Jews then saw that these barbarians, who were like wild beasts, could not escape God’s vengeance, they might have thought within themselves how just must have been God’s judgments executed on them, who had knowingly and willfully despised him. This then was one of the benefits to be derived from this prophecy.
And then, as we have elsewhere said, this general rule ought to be borne in mind, that when changes happen in the world, it is necessary, as men’s thoughts and feelings are evanescent, that this warning should be given, that God so rules in all these changes, that chance has no place in them. For when calamities, like a deluge, spread over the whole world, then we think, as it has been stated, that such a confusion happens by chance, and without any cause. For when God afflicts some portion, the difference may lead us to some reflection, — “One part is afflicted and another escapes;” but when evils overwhelm the whole world, then, there being no difference, we think that all things are in a state of confusion, nor can we collect our thoughts so as to know, that God so takes vengeance on all, that he yet regulates his judgments, as it is right, according to his infinite and incomprehensible wisdom and justice. As then this adjustment which God makes, as to his judgments, is not evident to the mind and perception of men, it was necessary, when God was at the same time fulminating through the whole world, that the Jews should be reminded to be ever attentive to the operations of his hand. They saw themselves ruined, they saw the same thing happening to the Egyptians and to all other contiguous nations; at length Assyria was to have its turn, then Chaldea, and afterwards the Medians and Persians. As then no part was to remain untouched, who would not have thought that all things revolved, as it were, through blind and uncertain fate? God, therefore, did not, without reason, forewarn the faithful, lest they should think, that in so great vicissitudes and violent changes, all things were indiscriminately mixed together, but that they might know that God, from heaven, regulated and overruled all these confusions. This is the reason why the Prophets so particularly spoke of the calamities of all nations.
Let us come now to the Kedareans: To Kedar, he says, and the kingdoms of Hazor These kingdoms, no doubt, included a large country, for it is hardly credible that Hazor was the name of a city; for who would have said, the kingdoms of Hazor, had it been only the name of a city? It is, indeed, certain, that there was a city of this name, as it is mentioned by Joshua. But here it means a large region, contiguous to the Kedareans. And he says that all these nations had been smitten by Nebuchadnezzar, because these barbarous men were probably but little known to the Jews. It must yet be observed, that they had not been as yet smitten by Nebuchadnezzar, that is, at the time the Prophet spoke of their destruction. But Jeremiah spoke thus, in order to confirm his prophecy, as though he had said, that what many disregarded, and even treated with disdain, was at length really fulfilled. For when he threatened ruin to these remote nations, it is probable that he was derided by his own people; and hence he says, that he had not spoken in vain, but that by the event itself his vocation was proved, because these were smitten as he had predicted.
And this is the prophecy, Arise ye, ascend against Kedar, and destroy the children of the East Here the Prophet speaks of the Babylonians, and in the person of God, as his herald. And we have said that God’s servants commanded and ordered what was future with supreme authority, in order to gain more reverence and honor to their words or doctrine. For prophecies were despised by ungodly men, and they insultingly said, that they were only words. Hence the servants of God, to show that their words had accomplishment connected with them, assumed the person of God. Thus they boldly commanded the greatest kings, as Jeremiah does here, Arise ye; for whom does he here address? the king of Babylon, that greatest of monarchs, and also the Assyrians as well as the Chaldeans: and he commanded them to arise and to ascend, as though he had them ready for his service, even because he did not speak except by God’s command.
And such mode of speaking ought to be especially observed, that we may learn to embrace whatever is announced in God’s name, as though the thing itself were already before our eyes, and that we may also know that the power of the whole world, is in such a way under God’s control, that all the kingdoms of the earth are ready to fulfill his word. When, therefore, God himself speaks, we ought so to regard the efficacy of his word, as though heaven and earth were ready to obey and to fulfill what he has commanded. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Meaning, the Arabians, and their borderers.
Meaning, the Arabians, and their borderers.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Jer 49:28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of…
Jer 49:28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
Ver. 28. Concerning Kedar.] These Kedarenes, the offspring of Kedar, Ishmael’s son, {Gen 25:13} dwelt, or rather abode for most part, in Arabia the stony, or desert. Hagarenes they were also called, and afterward Saracens, of Sarah, their chief city, saith Stephanus; {a} or of Sarach, for more credit sake, as others hold. Of this people came Mohammed, that grand impostor, and the Turks, who have now gotten into their hands so great a part of the habitable world. A rude people they were in Jeremiah’s days, and uncivilised; yet because wicked, they are here doomed.
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And concerning the kingdoms of Hazor.] Their head city.
{a} Lib. de Urbib.
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Kedar, Gen 25:13, was one of the sons of…
Kedar, Gen 25:13, was one of the sons of Ishmael, whose posterity inhabited part of Arabia Petrea. See Isa, Isa 21:13,17. We read of it Psa 120:5; Son 1:5; Eze 27:21. We read of
Hazor Jos 11:1; Jos 11:10, it was the head city to several kingdoms in Joshua’s time; Jabin was king of it in the times of Deborah, Jdg 4:2. The prophet foretells that Nebuchadrezzar should also conquer these kingdoms; and saith he heard the Lord call to Nebuchadrezzar to go up against them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v28 These verses foretell the desolation that Nebuchadnezzar and his…
These verses foretell the desolation that Nebuchadnezzar and his forces should make among the people of Kedar (who descended from Kedar the son of Ishmael, and inhabited a part of Arabia the Stony), and of the kingdoms, the petty principalities, of Hazor, that joined to them, who perhaps were originally Canaanites, of the kingdom of Hazor, in the north of Canaan, which had Jabin for its king, but, being driven thence, settled in the deserts of Arabia and associated themselves with the Kedarenes. Concerning this people we may here observe,
I. What was their present state and posture? They dwelt in tents and had no walls, but curtains (Jer 49:20), no fortified cities; they had neither gates nor bars, Jer 49:31. They were shepherds, and had no treasures, but stock upon land, no money, but flocks and camels. They had no soldiers among them, for they were in no fear of invaders, no merchants, for they dwelt alone, Jer 49:31. Those of other nations neither came among them nor traded with them; but they lived within themselves, content with the products and pleasures of their own country. This was their manner of living, very different from that of the nations that were round about them. And, 1. They were very rich; though they had not trade, no treasures, yet they are here said to be a wealthy nation (Jer 49:31), because they had a sufficiency to answer all the occasions of human life and they were content with it. Note, Those are truly rich who have enough to supply their necessities, and know when they have enough. We need not go to the treasures of kings and provinces, or to the cash of merchants, to look for wealthy people; they may be found among shepherds that dwell in tents. 2. They were very easy: They dwelt without care. Their wealth was such as nobody envied them, or, if any did, they might come peaceably and enjoy the like; and therefore they feared nobody. Note, Those that live innocently and honestly may live very securely, though they have neither gates nor bars.
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II. The design of the king of Babylon against them and the descent he make upon them: He has taken counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you, Jer 49:30. That proud man resolves it shall never be said that he, who had conquered so many strong cities, will leave those unconquered that dwell in tents. It was strange that that eagle should stoop to catch these flies, that so great a prince should play at such small game; but all is fish that comes to the ambitious covetous man's net. Note, It will not always secure men from suffering wrong to be able to say that they have done no wrong; not to have given offence will not be a defence against such men as Nebuchadnezzar. Yet, how unrighteous soever he was in doing it, God was righteous in directing it. These people had lived inoffensively among their neighbours, as many do, who yet, like them, are guilty before God; and it was to punish them for their offences against him that God said (Jer 49:28): Arise, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. They will do it to gratify their own covetousness and ambition, but God orders it for the correcting of an unthankful people, and for warning to a careless world to expect trouble when they seem to be most safe. God says to the Chaldeans (Jer 49:31): "Arise, get up to the wealthy nation that dwells without care; go and give them an alarm, that none may imagine their mountain stands so strong that it cannot be moved."
III. The great amazement that this put them into, and the great desolation hereby made among them: They shall cry unto them; those on the borders shall send the alarm into all parts of the country, which shall be put into the utmost confusion by it; they shall cry, "Fear is on every side - We are surrounded by the enemy." the very terror of which shall drive them all to their feet and they shall none of them have any heart to make resistance. The enemy shall proclaim fear upon them, or against them, on every side. They need not strike a stroke; they shall shout them out of their tents, Jer 49:29. Upon the first alarm, they shall flee, get far off, and dwell deep (Jer 49:30), as the Edomites, Jer 49:8. And it will be found that this fear on every side is not groundless, for their calamity shall be brought from all sides thereof, Jer 49:32. No marvel there are fears on every side when there are foes on every side. The issue will be, 1. What they have will be a prey to the Chaldeans; they shall take to themselves their curtains and vessels; though they are but plain and coarse, and they have better of their own, yet they shall take them for spite, and spoil for spoiling sake. They shall carry away their tents and their flocks, Jer 49:29. Their camels shall be a booty to those that came for nothing else, Jer 49:32. 2. It is not said that any of them shall be slain, for they attempt not to make any resistance and their tents and flocks are accepted as a ransom for their lives; but they shall be dislodged and dispersed; though now they dwell in the utmost corners, out of the way, and therefore they think out of the reach, of danger (by this character those people were distinguished, Jer 9:26, Jer 9:25, Jer 9:23), yet they shall be scattered thence into all winds, into all parts of the world. Note, Privacy and obscurity are not always a protection and security. Many that affect to be strangers to the world may yet by unthought-of providences be forced into it; and those that live most retired may have the same lot with those that thrust themselves forth and lie most exposed. 3. Their country shall lie uninhabited; for, lying remote and out of all high roads, and having neither cities nor lands inviting to strangers, none shall care to succeed them, so that Hazor shall be a desolation for ever, Jer 49:33. If busy men be displaced, many strive to get into their placed, because they lived great; but here are easy quiet men displaced, and no man cared to abide where they did, because they lived meanly.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor,.... A…
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor,.... A new prophecy concerning the Arabians; for Kedar was a son of Ishmael, Gen 25:13; whose posterity inhabited Arabia Petraea. Hazor was Petra itself, the metropolis of the country, whose king had several petty kings and kingdoms under him; for this is not the Hazor in the land of Canaan destroyed by Joshua, which had been the head of several kingdoms; and where Jabin king of Canaan afterwards reigned, Jos 11:10, Jdg 4:2; though some think that some of those Hazorites in Joshua's time made their escape, and fled into these parts, and built a city, and called it after the name of the former:
which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord: that is, "thus saith the Lord concerning", or "unto", or "against Kedar" (p), &c. as in Jer 49:1; which the king of Babylon "hath smitten"; the past for the future, common in prophetic language: or, "is about to smite" (q); would do it in a very little time; for the phrase, "thus saith the Lord", is not to be connected with what follows after, but with what goes before; though indeed the next words are the words of the Lord to the Chaldeans:
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arise ye, go up to Kedar; in a hostile manner; invade that country, and possess it:
and spoil the men of the east; the Arabians, which lay east of Judea and Babylon: or, "the children of Kedem" (r); the same with Kedemah, another son of Ishmael, Gen 25:15; whose posterity dwelt still more to the east; so Kimchi; though the Targum renders it "the children of the east".
(p) "ad Cedar", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "contra Kedarem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "contra Arabian", Schmidt. (q) "percussurus est", Junius & Tremellius, Grotius. (r) "filios Chedem", Montanus, Vatablus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv28–31 Kedar - Was one of the sons of Ishmael,…
Kedar - Was one of the sons of Ishmael, whose posterity inhabited part of Arabia Petraea. Hazor was the head city to several kingdoms in Joshua's time.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Verse 28. CONCERNING KEDAR, AND CONCERNING THE KINGDOMS OF…
Verse 28. CONCERNING KEDAR, AND CONCERNING THE KINGDOMS OF HAZOR] This is the title of another new prophecy.
Kedar was the name of one of the sons of Ishmael (Ge 25:13) who settled in Arabia, and who gave name to a powerful tribe of Arabs who used to traffic with the Tyrians in cattle. It appears from this prophecy that Nebuchadnezzar got a commission to go against and reduce them to great misery.
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Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv28, 30 Jer 49:28-29. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor…
Jer 49:28-29. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor — Kedar is well known to have been one of the sons of Ishmael, Gen 25:13, who settled in Arabia. But of Hazor we find no satisfactory account given by commentators. There is, indeed, a city called Hazor, mentioned Jos 11:10, and in other parts of Scripture: but this was in the land of Canaan; whereas the kingdoms of Hazor, here mentioned, were evidently in Arabia, in the neighbourhood, at least, of Kedar. Among the sons of Joktan, however, who were prior to the Ishmaelites in Arabia, and whose descendants are therefore looked on as the only genuine Arabs, we find one whose name was Hazar-maveth, Gen 10:26-30. And, as by Kedar all the descendants of Ishmael are probably here designed, so all the other branches of the family of Joktan may, in like manner, be included under the general name of Hazor. And perhaps the most probable reason why the Arabians are called a mingled people is, that they were thus made up of the people of different descents; some of them being sprung from Joktan, others from Ishmael, to whom must be added the sons of Abraham by Keturah, who are also said to have been settled in Kedem, or the east country, Gen 25:6, and perhaps other families besides. All these were divided into petty sovereign ties under certain chiefs or princes, which explains what is to be understood by the kingdoms of Hazor: see Blaney. Arise ye, go up to Kedar, &c. — Here the prophet foretels that Nebuchadnezzar should conquer these kingdoms, and spoil the men of the East, as the Arabians are called in the Scriptures. Their tents and their flock shall they — Namely, the Chaldeans; take away — Their substance consisted in their cattle and their tents, from whence the country itself is called the tents of Kedar, Psa 120:5 : with these they removed from place to place for the convenience of pasture. They shall take to themselves their curtains — Those elegant coverings of which their tents were made. and which were much superior to those of any other people. And they shall cry unto them — Hebrew, וקראו, Let them call for, or command, that is, as Blaney renders it, Let them bring, upon them terror from every side.
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Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Hazor, derived from a word signifying an unwalled village,…
Hazor, derived from a word signifying an unwalled village, is a general appellative of those Arab tribes who were partially settled, while Kedar signifies the Bedawin, who used only tents. Some think that Hazor is another way of spelling Jetor, i. e., Ituraea, whose inhabitants, with the Kedarenes, would naturally be called the sons of the East.
Shall smite - Or, smote.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 31, 32 Cedar and Asor were parts of Arabia; which, with…
Cedar and Asor were parts of Arabia; which, with Moab, Ammon, Edom, &c., were all brought under the yoke of Nabuchodonosor. (Challoner) --- We know nothing of the situation of Asor, which means "a court." (Calmet) --- It might be the flying camp (Theodoret) of the Saracens, (St. Jerome, in Isaias xxi. 16.) who dwelt under tents like the hordes of Tartars, the Ethiopian emperor, and the mogul. Yet this seems to have been a fixed habitation, ver. 30, 33. --- East; the Desert Arabia, ver. 32. (Calmet) --- Cedar was the son of Ismael, and Asor the chief city of the Agarens. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Kedar--son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13). The Kedarenes led a…
Kedar--son of Ishmael (Gen 25:13). The Kedarenes led a wandering predatory life in Arabia-Petræa, as the Bedouin Arabs (Ch2 21:16-17; Psa 120:5). Kedar means "blackness" (Sol 1:5).
Hazor--not the city in Palestine, but a district in Arabia-Petræa. "Kingdoms" refer to the several combinations of clans, each under its own sheik.
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men of the east--Kedar and Hazor were east of Judea (Jdg 6:3; Job 1:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv28–33 28. Concerning Kedar — In chap. Jer_2:10, “Kedar” is…
28. Concerning Kedar — In chap. Jer_2:10, “Kedar” is evidently a general name for the people of the East; here the name is somewhat more definitely restricted to the nomadic peoples of Arabia.
Kingdoms of Hazor — “Hazor” is kindred with hazer — an unwalled village. Here the term is used to designate those Arabians who dwelt in villages. Go up to Kedar is addressed to the enemy.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv28–33 28. Kedar] See on ch. Jer_2:10.
28. Kedar] See on ch. Jer_2:10.
kingdoms of Hazor] Hazor elsewhere is the name of towns in Palestine, but here “is probably a collective term, derived from ḥâẓêr, a ‘village,’ denoting Arab tribes living in fixed settlements or ‘villages,’ ” Dr., as opposed to nomadic life alluded to in Jer_49:29 (“curtains”). Cp. Isa_42:11.
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children of the east] Arabian tribes E. of Palestine.
28–33 (= LXX. Ch. Jer_30:6-11). Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28–33. This utterance, like the last, is rejected by Gi. and Co., though accepted, at any rate as containing a genuine element, by Kuenen, Erbt, and others. As elsewhere in these oracles, there have doubtless been later additions (see on 31 f.); but the reference to Dedan and Tema, tribes in the N. of Arabia, in Jer_25:23, would of itself lead us to expect a prophecy of this kind on Jeremiah’s part, a conclusion which receives support from the mention of Nebuchadrezzar in Jer_49:28; Jer_49:36, although this may be due to a writer’s intentional projection of himself into Jeremiah’s time.
This section may be divided into two subsections, which closely correspond in length, sense, and structure. Each consists of three verses, and the three consecutive thoughts in each are (i) a summons of the enemy to the attack, (ii) a promise of booty, (iii) an intimation that safety would be procured only by flight.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv28–31 (28) Concerning Kedar . . .—The name belonged to…
(28) Concerning Kedar . . .—The name belonged to a tribe of the Bedouin type, descended from Ishmael (Gen_25:13), and at this time conspicuous as supplying the markets of Tyre with sheep and goats (Eze_27:21). In PP. 120:5 it appears as the representative of the fierce nomadic life of the Arabians. Hazor appears as the name of many cities in Palestine (Jos_11:1; Jos_15:23; Jos_19:36), but the combination with Kedar points to quite a different region. The probable explanation is that Jeremiah uses the term (as a like word, hazçrein, is used in Isa_42:11 for the “villages” of Kedar) for the region in which the Kedar Arabs had ceased to be nomadic, and had made a permanent settlement. According to Niebuhr (Assur u. Bab., p. 210) it answers to the modern Hadschar in the angle formed by the southern course of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf.
Spoil the men of the east.—Literally, the B’eni-Kedem. or children of the East. The term appears in the Old Testament history from a very early date (Gen_29:1; Jdg_6:3; Jdg_6:33; Jdg_7:12; 1Ki_4:30; Job_1:3), and has, as might be expected, though obviously indicating a nomadic form of life, like that of the Midianites, a somewhat wide and undefined connotation. The picture of the attack on them presents a marked contrast to that of the attack on Damascus: not palaces and treasures, but tents and flocks, the curtains or hangings of the tent, their implements (weapons, kneading troughs, and the like), their very camels, seized by the conquerors.
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The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv28–33 Vers. 28-33. Against the nomad and partly settled Arabs…
Vers. 28-33. Against the nomad and partly settled Arabs the former described under the name Kedar (see on Jer_2:10), the latter under that of Hazor. (connected with hazer, an unwalled village; comp. Lev_25:31) This use of Hazer is remarkable; elsewhere the name denotes towns in Palestine. (Jos_11:1 Jos_15:23 Neh_11:33) There are two plainly marked strophes, vers. 28-30 and 31-33, both beginning with a summons to the foe to take the field.
Hazer (i.e. the settled Arabs) is said to have kingdoms. "King" is used in Hebrew in a wider sense than we are accustomed to Jer_25:24, "All the kings of Arabia"). The "kings" of Hazer would be mere sheikhs or emirs. Shall smite; rather, smote. There is no justification whatever for the future. The statement is obviously a later addition, to show that the prophecy was fulfilled. On the form "Nebuchadrezzar," see on Jer_21:2. The men of the east. A general designation of the inhabitants of all the countries in the east of Palestine. (Gen_29:1 Jud_1:6:3Jn_1:3)
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The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v30 Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye…
Jer_49:30-31
Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord.
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Dangers to the Church
What is called Underground Jerusalem is largely the space from which the stones were taken for the building of Solomons temple. That space, according to Josephus, was afterwards honeycombed with passages, canals, and secret galleries, not for sanitary purposes, but as places of refuge for women and children in times of war. These passages were all connected with the forts and towers of the city, and were a secret means of escape when the city was besieged. When Jerusalem was surrounded by the Romans under Titus large numbers of the Jews fled for refuge to these underground hiding-places. Before the Romans knew of these hiding-places, they were often astonished, and sometimes startled, by seeing persons rising as from the ground and making their escape by the towers, when at length they entered the city, and had passed from Moriah to Mount Zion, they thought that their work of destruction was ended; but they only then learned that thousands of the Jews were living beneath the ground. It is alleged that more than a hundred battles were fought underneath the city, and that more than two thousand dead bodies were taken out of the tunnels and secret chambers of what is now called Underground Jerusalem when the prophet enjoined the inhabitants of Hazor to flee, and dwell deep, he may have had some such invisible cities of refuge in view. But even in such hiding-places they were only comparatively safe. Their enemies often sought them, and found them, and put them to death.
I. One of the dangers to which the Church is exposed in modern times is shallowness of thought. Many seem to be satisfied with as little of Christianity as possible. Shallowness of thought means want of heart, want of understanding, want of principle, moral purpose, and power. The Church can outlive pagan conspiracies, tyrannical laws, and cruel persecutions; but she cannot outlive thoughtlessness. Dwell deep may be regarded as synonymous with Solomons injunction, With all thy getting, get understanding. It means that we should get beneath the surface and find out the true meaning of things. We are to know things not as they may have been perverted, or as they seem, but as they are who that is wise would estimate the value of a chronometer by its cases, or of a picture by its frame, or of a book by its binding? We would sooner expect a man to tell us all about the growth and development of a tree without reference to sunshine and showers, or the soil in which the tree was planted and in which it grew, than we should expect him to understand all about salvation without any reference to sin, or all about God without any reference to Jesus Christ. Things can only be known thoroughly and satisfactorily as they are studied in their proper connections. Take the letters of the most precious word you know, and transpose them, and they cease to convey thought to your thought. Separate the Old Testament from the New, or the first Adam, in his federal relationships, from the second Adam, and you will fail to understand one of the deepest doctrines of the Bible. But unite these as Paul does in his Epistle to the Romans, and you have the key to understand much of the great mystery of godliness.
II. Another source of danger to the Church in these days is superficiality of character. In the course of our voyage to America, some years ago, the motion of the ship was on some days very disagreeable to the passengers. She pitched and lurched and rolled Among the waves so constantly as to render it impossible for us to rest or be at peace in any position. The sea on the surface being comparatively calm, some of us wondered why the vessel was so unsteady, and on making inquiry were informed that it was owing to her light cargo. The ship had no grip of the water, and the water had no grip of her, and hence her unsteady movement. Men of superficial character are somewhat like this ship, not very steady. Superficial Christians remind you of those shopkeepers who make the most of their limited stock by putting it all or nearly all in the windows. In all substantial buildings there is much invisible mason work. The foundation of every palatial edifice is not only deep and solid, but it has been laid with a view to sustain the structure that rests upon it. It is also well known that there is a fair proportion between the roots of a tree in the ground and its height and breadth above it. It is even so with respect to human character. Those who grow up to Christ in all things cannot be strangers either to the depths from which the Psalmist cried, Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord! or to the secret place of the Most High, when the soul resides under the shadow of the Almighty.
III. Another source of danger to the Church in modem times is her apparent acquiescence in pious frauds. The greatest obstacle, says Archbishop Whately, to the following of truth is the tendency to look in the first instance to the expedient. Pious frauds, he says, fall naturally into two classes--positive and negative: the one refers to the introduction and propagation of what is false; the other refers to the toleration of it. A plant may be in a garden from two causes, either from being planted designedly or being found there and left there. In either case some degree of approbation is implied. He who propagates a delusion, and he who connives at it when already existing--both alike tamper with truth. (J. K. Campbell, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v28
CHAPTER XXIII
KEDAR AND HAZOR
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Jer_49:28-33
"Concerning Kedar, and the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote."- Jer_49:28
FROM an immemorial seat of human culture, an "eternal city" which antedates Rome by centuries, if not millenniums, we turn to those Arab tribes whose national life and habits were as ancient and have been as persistent as the streets of Damascus. While Damascus has almost always been in the forefront of history, the Arab tribes-except in the time of Mohammed and the early Caliphs-have seldom played a more important part than that of frontier marauders. Hence, apart from a few casual references, the only other passage in the Old Testament which deals, at any length, with Kedar is the parallel prophecy of Isaiah. And yet Kedar was the great northern tribe, which ranged the deserts between Palestine and the Euphrates, and which must have had closer relations with Judah than most Arab peoples.
"The kingdoms of Hazor" are still more unknown to history. There were several "Hazors" in Palestine, besides sundry towns whose names are also derived from Hacer, a village; and some of these are on or beyond the southern frontier of Judah, in the wilderness of the Exodus, where we might expect to find nomad Arabs. But even these latter cities can scarcely be the "Hazor" of Jeremiah, and the more northern are quite out of the question. It is generally supposed that Hazor here is either some Arabian town, or, more probably, a collective term used for the district inhabited by Arabs, who lived not in tents, but in Hacerim, or villages. This district would be in Arabia itself, and more distant from Palestine than the deserts over which Kedar roamed. Possibly Isaiahs "villages (Hacerim) that Kedar doth inhabit" were to be found in the Hazor of Jeremiah, and the same people were called Kedar and Hazor respectively according as they lived a nomad life or settled in more permanent dwellings.
The great warlike enterprises of Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea during the last centuries of the Jewish monarchy would bring these desert horsemen into special prominence. They could either further or hinder the advance of armies marching westward from Mesopotamia, and could command their lines of communication. Kedar, and possibly Hazor too, would not be slack to use the opportunities of plunder presented by the calamities of the Palestinian states. Hence their conspicuous position in the pages of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
As the Assyrians, when their power was at its height, had chastised the aggressions of the Arabs, so now Nebuchadnezzar "smote Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor." Even the wandering nomads and dwellers by distant oases in trackless deserts could not escape the sweeping activity of this scourge of God. Doubtless the ravages of Chaldean armies might serve to punish many sins besides the wrongs they were sent to revenge. The Bedouin always had their virtues, but the wild liberty of the desert easily degenerated into unbridled license. Judah and every state bordering on the wilderness knew by painful experience how large a measure of rapine and cruelty might coexist with primitive customs. and the Jewish prophet gives Nebuchadnezzar a Divine commission as for a holy war:-
"Arise, go up to Kedar;
Spoil the men of the east.
They (the Chaldeans) shall take away their tents and flocks;
They shall take for themselves their tent coverings,
And all their gear and their camels:
Men shall cry concerning them,
Terror on every side."
Then the prophet turns to the more distant Hazor with words of warning:-
"Flee, get you far off, dwell in hidden recesses of the land, O inhabitants of Hazor-It is the utterance of Jehovah-
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath counseled a counsel and purposed a purpose against you."
But then, as if this warning were a mere taunt, he renews his address to the Chaldeans and directs their attack against Hazor:-
"Arise, go up against a nation that is at ease, that dwelleth without fear- it is the utterance of Jehovah-
Which abide alone, without gates or bars"- like the people of Laish before the Danites came, and like Sparta before the days of Epaminondas.
Possibly we are to combine these successive "utterances," and to understand that it was alike Jehovahs will that the Chaldeans should invade and lay waste Hazor, and that the unfortunate inhabitants should escape-but escape plundered and impoverished: for
"Their camels shall become a spoil,
The multitude of their cattle a prey:
I will scatter to every wind them that have the corners of their hair polled;
I will bring their calamity upon them from all sides.
Hazor shall be a haunt of jackals, a desolation forever:
No one shall dwell there,
No soul shall sojourn therein."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 30, 32 General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah speaks about what will happen to Kedar.
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Kedar
This is the name of a land far to the east of Israel. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 2:10. (See: How to Translate Names)
Hazor
This is the name of kingdom or district far to the east of Israel. (See: How to Translate Names)
now Nebuchadnezzar
Here "now" introduces background information about Nebuchadnezzar. (See: Background Information)
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was going to attack
Here "Nebuchadnezzar" represents his army. AT: "the army of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was going to attack" (See: Metonymy)
Their tents and their flocks will be taken, along with their tent curtains and all of their equipment
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Your soldiers will take their flocks, tent curtains, and all of their equipment" (See: Active or Passive)
their camels will be led away from them
This can be stated in active form. AT: "your soldiers will take their camels from them" (See: Active or Passive)
men will shout to them, "Terror is on every side!"
Possible meanings are 1) these are men being attacked by the enemy. AT: "men will shout, 'We are terrified because terrible things are happening all around us!'" or 2) these are soldiers in the invading army. AT: "soldiers will shout at them, 'Be afraid because we are all around you!'"
translationWords
kingdom
Yahweh
Nebuchadnezzar
king
Babylon
raise
tent
flocks
camel
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv28, 30 49:28-33 The nomads of Kedar roamed freely in the…
49:28-33 The nomads of Kedar roamed freely in the upper Arabian Desert east of Palestine. They were a belligerent people (Ps 120:5-7; Isa 21:13-16) who raised flocks and herds for lucrative trade with Tyre (Ezek 27:21). • Hazor was a region east of Damascus inhabited by nomads. • The poem urges King Nebuchadnezzar to attack, and it describes the impact of the battles.
49:28-29 The Babylonians wanted to defeat the warriors of Kedar so they could capture their rich household goods and camels.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.