EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
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Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled.—Heshbon has appeared in
Jeremiah 48:2;
Jeremiah 48:45, as connected with the fortunes of Moab, but it was strictly an Ammonite city. The “Ai” here is obviously not the city near Jericho of
Joshua 8:28, and unless we assume an error in the text (“Ai” for “Ar”= city), we must infer the existence of a Trans-jordanic city of the same name.
Run to and fro by the hedges.—Hedges, in the English sense of the word, have never been common in the East, and the word here denotes either the palings round the sheep-folds, or the walls round the vineyards of the villages that are described as the “daughters of Rabbah.” The word is never used for the walls of a city, but appears inNumbers 22:24;Numbers 32:16;Numbers 32:24;Numbers 32:36 in the sense of “sheep-folds.”
Their king shall go into captivity.—Better, as before,Melcom.As inJeremiah 48:7, the captivity of the national deity with his priests (the fact that they are named is decisive as to the meaning) involves the captivity of the people.
Jeremiah 49:3.
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled —This
“Aimust be a different city from that taken by Joshua, chap. 8., which lay on the west side of Jordan. Grotius mentions another city, called
Gaiaby Ptolemy; which, being near Heshbon, the destruction of it was matter of concern to the neighbouring city.”
Lament, and run to and fro by the hedges— Try to hide yourselves in the thickets, and remove from one place to another, for fear of being discovered. But by
גדרות, here rendered
hedges,Blaney thinks, are meant, “those
fencesor
enclosuresround the lesser towns, which served to secure them against thieves and robbers, but were not dignified with the name of
walls,capable of resisting the attack of a regular enemy.” The psalmist, he supposes, distinguishes these from the fortifications of cities,
Psalm 89:40, terming the former
גדרתיו,
his fences,and the latter
מבצריו, his
strong holds,or
walled fortresses.According to this interpretation, therefore, the prophet here foretels that “the inhabitants of the lesser towns should run to and fro, like persons distracted with fear,
within their enclosures,not daring to step beyond them, lest they should fall in with the enemy, whose approach they dreaded.”
For their king— Or,
Milcom,their idol;
shall go into captivity, and his priests and princes together— “Here the same is said of Milcom,” says Blaney, “as was of Chemosh, chap.
Jeremiah 48:7, which shows that the word is properly used as the name of the Ammonitish idol.”
49:1-6. Might often prevails against right among men, yet that might shall be controlled by the Almighty, who judges aright; and those will find themselves mistaken, who, like the Ammonites, think every thing their own on which they can lay their hands. The Lord will call men to account for every instance of dishonesty, especially to the destitute.
Ai - Not the town on the west of the Jordan
Joshua 7:2; a place not mentioned elsewhere. For Ai some read Ar.
Hedges - Fields were not divided by hedges until recent times; the term probably means the walls which enclose the vineyardsNumbers 22:24.
3. Heshbon … Ai—Nebuchadnezzar, coming from the north, first attacked Ammon, then its brother and neighbor, Moab. As Ai of Ammon had already suffered destruction, Heshbon of Moab being near it might well fear the same fate.
hedges—Their cities being destroyed, the outcasts have no place of shelter save behind the "hedges" of vineyards and gardens; or else the enclosures of their villages.
their king—Melchom, the idol, as the mention of "his priests" shows (compare Jer 48:7).
Heshbon was formerly a city of the Amorites, of whom Sihon was king, who resided here (but it appears by
Jeremiah 49:26 that it was taken from Moab); it is probable that it was at this time a city of Moab: the prophet calls to them to howl
for Ai a city of the Ammonites, not the same mentioned
Joshua 7:2, for that was on the other side of Jordan. It is uncertain whether by the
daughters of Rabbah be to be understood other lesser cities, or the younger women that inhabited Rabbah: he calls to them all to mourn; and for all the indications or signs of mourning, such as girding with sackcloth, running up and down, like persons distracted, by the hedges, where they might be hidden, and not so easily seen. For they shall all go together into captivity; their
Melcom, which may signify their idol to whom they gave that name, or their
king, or else their supreme magistrate, with their
priests and
nobles, all orders of persons.
Howl, O Heshbon,.... Which was a city of Moab, though it formerly belonged to the Amorites; see
Jeremiah 48:2; it was upon the border of Ammon, and near to Ai, now destroyed; and therefore is called upon to howl and lament, because its destruction also was near at hand, and might be expected; hence Kimchi gathers, that the Ammonites were destroyed before the Moabites: but some have thought that Heshbon was a double city, divided by a river, which ran through it; and that that city which was on one side of the river belonged to Moab, and that on the other side to Ammon:
for Ai is spoiled; not that which was near Jericho in the land of Canaan, but a city in the land of Ammon, thought to be the Gaia of Ptolemy; this seems to be the first city in the country of Ammon that Nebuchadnezzar would lay waste:
cry, ye daughters of Rabbah; the royal city before mentioned; See Gill onJeremiah 49:2; either the inhabitants of it, particularly the women, especially the younger women, who would be in the utmost distress on hearing the enemy was so near them, and what had befallen Ai; or the villages about Rabbah, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, as the Targum,
"the inhabitants of the villages of Rabbah:''
gird ye with sackcloth; as a token of calamity and mourning for it, as was usual:
lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand of the enclosures or fences of villages, like those of gardens, fields, and folds, in distinction from walls of cities, and fortified places; but rather it signifies the hedges in the fields, whither, being drove from their habitations, they would seek unto for shelter, and run about among them for safety, lamenting their unhappy case:
for their king shall go into captivity; be taken and carried captive; either their principal governor; or rather Milcom their god, since it follows:
and his priests and his princes together; both such as offered sacrifices to him, and attended on and supported his worship: the same is said of Chemosh, the god of the Moabites,Jeremiah 48:7.
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
