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Micah Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 1
This
chapter treats of the judgments of God on Israel and Judah for their idolatry.
It begins with the title of the whole book in which is given an account of the
prophet, the time of his prophesying, and of the persons against whom he
prophesied, Micah 1:1; next a
preface to this chapter, requiring attention to what was about to be delivered,
urged from the consideration of the awful appearance of God, which is
represented as very grand and terrible, Micah 1:2; the
cause of all which wrath that appeared in him was the transgression of Jacob;
particularly their idolatry, as appears by the special mention of their idols
and graven images in the account of their destruction, Micah 1:5; which
destruction is exaggerated by the prophet's lamentation for it, Micah 1:8; and by
the mourning of the inhabitants of the several places that should be involved
in it, which are particularly mentioned, Micah 1:10.
Micah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came
to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings
of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
YLT
1A word of Jehovah that hath
been unto Micah the Morashite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of
Judah, that he hath seen concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:
The word of the Lord that
came to Micah the Morasthite,.... So called, either from Mareshah,
mentioned Micah 1:15; and was
a city in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:44; as
the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and ZacutusF9Juchashin, fol. 12. 1. ; or
rather from Moresheth, from which Moreshethgath, Micah 1:14; is
distinguished; which JeromF11Prolog. in Mic. says was in his time a
small village in the land of Palestine, near Eleutheropolis. Some think these
two cities to be one and the same; but they appear to be different from the
account of JeromF12Epitaph. Paulae, ut supra. (tom. 1. operum, fol.
60. A. B.) elsewhere. The Arabic version reads it, Micah the son of Morathi; so
Cyril, in his commentary on this place, mentions it as the sense of some, that
Morathi was the father of the prophet; which can by no means be assented to:
in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah; by which it
appears that he was contemporary with Isaiah, Hoses, and Amos, though they
began to prophesy somewhat sooner than he, even in the days of Uzziah; very
probably he conversed with these prophets, especially Isaiah, with whom he
agrees in many things; his style is like his, and sometimes uses the same
phrases: he, being of the tribe of Judah, only mentions the kings of that nation
most known to him; though he prophesied against Israel, and in the days of
Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea:
which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem; in the vision
of prophecy; Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes of Israel, and is put
for them all; as Jerusalem was of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and is put
for them Samaria is mentioned first, because it was the head of the greatest
body of people; and as it was the first in transgression, it was the first in punishment.
Micah 1:2 2 Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is
in it! Let the Lord God be a witness against you, The
Lord from His holy temple.
YLT
2Hear, O peoples, all of
them! Attend, O earth, and its fulness, And the Lord Jehovah is against you for
a witness, The Lord from His holy temple.
Hear, all ye people,.... Or,
"the people, all of them"F13עמים
כלם "populi omnes ipsi", Montanus, Drusius,
Piscator, Tarnovius. ; not all the nations of the world, but the nations of
Israel, so called from their several tribes; though someF14So
Burkius. think the rest of the inhabitants of the earth are meant: thee are the
same words which are used by Micaiah the prophet in the times of Ahab, long
before this time, from whom they might be borrowed, 1 Kings 22:28. The phrase
in the Hebrew language, as Aben Ezra observes, is very wonderful, and serves to
strike the minds and excite the attention of men; it is like the words of a
crier, in a court of judicature, calling for silence:
hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; or, "its
fulness"F15ומלאה "et plenitude
ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Cocceius, Burkius. ; the
land of Israel and Judah, the whole land of promise, and all the inhabitants of
it; for to them are the following words directed:
and let the Lord God be witness against you; or, "in
you"F16בכם "in vobis",
Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius. ; the Word of the Lord, as the
Targum; let him who is the omniscient God, and knows all hearts, thoughts,
words, and actions, let him bear witness in your consciences, that what I am
about to say is truth, and comes from him; is not my own word, but his; and if
you disregard it, and repent not, let him be a witness against you, and for me,
that I have prophesied in his name; that I have faithfully delivered his
message, and warned you of your danger, and reproved you for your sins, and
have kept back nothing I have been charged and entrusted with: and now, you are
summoned into open court, and at the tribunal of the great God of heaven and
earth; let him be a witness against you of the many sins you have been guilty
of, and attend while the indictment is read, the charge exhibited, and the
proof given by
the Lord from his holy temple, from heaven, the
habitation of his holiness; whose voice speaking from thence should be
hearkened to; who from thence beholds all the actions of men, and from whence
his wrath is revealed against their sins, and he gives visible tokens of his
displeasure; and especially when he seems to come forth from thence in some remarkable
instances of his power and providence, as follows:
Micah 1:3 3 For behold, the Lord is coming
out of His place; He will come down And tread on the high places of the earth.
YLT
3For lo, Jehovah is going
out from His place, And He hath come down, And hath trodden on high places of
earth.
For, behold, the Lord
cometh out of his place,.... Out of heaven, the place of the house of his Shechinah or
Majesty, as the Targum; where his throne is prepared; where he keeps his court,
and displays his glory; from whence he removes, not by local motion, since he
is everywhere; but by some manifest exertion of his power, either on the behalf
of his people, or in taking vengeance on his and their enemies; or on them
sinning against him, in which sense it is probably to be understood. It
signifies not change of place, but of his dispensations; going out of his
former customary method into another; removing, as Jarchi has it, from the
throne of mercies to the throne of judgment; doing not acts of mercy, in which
he delights, but exercising judgment, his strange work. So the Cabalistic
writersF17Kabala Denudata, par. 1. p. 408. observe on the passage,
that
"it
cannot be understood of place properly taken, according to Isaiah 40:12; for
God is the place of the world, not the world his place; hence our wise men so
expound the text, he cometh forth out of the measure of mercy, and goes into
the measure of justice;'
or
property of it. Some understand this of his leaving the temple at Jerusalem,
and giving it up into the hands of the Chaldeans; but the former sense is best:
and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth; which are his
footstool; Samaria and Jerusalem, built on mountains, and all other high towers
and fortified places, together with men of high looks and haughty countenances,
who exalt themselves like mountains, and swell with pride: these the Lord can
easily subdue and humble, bring low and tread down like the mire of the street;
perhaps there may be an allusion to the high places where idols were
worshipped; and which were the cause of the Lord's wrath and vengeance, and of
his coming forth, in this unusual way, in his providences.
Micah 1:4 4 The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will
split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place.
YLT
4Melted have been the
mountains under Him, And the valleys do rend themselves, As wax from the
presence of fire, As waters cast down by a slope.
And the mountains shall be
molten under him,.... As Sinai was when he descended on it, and as all nations
will be at the general conflagration; but here the words are to be taken, not
literally, but figuratively, for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and for the
kings, and princes, and great men in them, that lifted up their heads as high,
and thought themselves as secure, as mountains; yet when the judgments of God
should fall upon them, their hearts would melt through fear under him; as well
as all their glory and greatness depart from them, and they be no more what
they were before, but levelled with the meanest subject:
and the valleys shall be cleft: have chasms made in them
by the melting of the mountains, or by the flow of water from the hills: these
may design the lower sort of people, who shall have their share in this
calamity; the inhabitants of the valleys and country villages; who, though mean
and low, shall be lower still, and lose that little substance, that liberty and
those privileges, they had; as valleys may be cleft, and open, and sink into
the lower parts of the earth; so it is signified that these people should be in
a more depressed state and condition:
as wax before the fire; melts, and cannot stand
the force of it; so the mountains should melt at the presence of the Lord; and
kingdoms and states, and the greatest and mightiest of men in them, would not
be able to stand before the fierceness of his wrath; see Psalm 68:2;
and as the waters that are
poured down a steep place; that run with great swiftness, force, and
rapidity, and there is no stopping them; so should the judgments of God come
down upon the lower sort of people, the inhabitants of the valleys; neither
high nor low would escape the indignation of the Lord, or be able to stand
against it, or stand up under it.
Micah 1:5 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the
sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is
it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they
not Jerusalem?
YLT
5For the transgression of
Jacob [is] all this, And for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the
transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what the high places of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
For the transgression of
Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel,.... All this
evil, all these calamities and judgments, signified by the above metaphorical
phrases, these did not come by chance, nor without, reason; but were or would
be inflicted, according to the righteous judgment of God, upon the people of
Israel and Judah, for their manifold sins and transgressions, especially their
idolatry: and should it be asked,
what is the transgression of Jacob? what
notorious crime has he been guilty of? or what is the iniquity the two tribes
are charged with, that is the cause of so much severity? the answer is,
is it not Samaria? the
wickedness of Samaria, the calf of Samaria? as in Hosea 7:1; that is,
the worship of the calf of Samaria; is not that idolatry the transgression of
Jacob, or which the ten tribes have given into? it is; and a just reason for
all this wrath to come upon them: or, "who is the transgression of
Jacob?"F18מי פשע
יעקב "quis est praevaricatio Jacobi?" De
Dieu; so Pagninus, Burkius; "quis defectio Jacobi?" Cocceius;
"quis scelus Jacobi?" Drusius. who is the spring and source of it;
the cause, author, and encourager of it? are they not the kings that have reigned
in Samaria from the times of Omri, with their nobles, princes, and great men,
who, by their edicts, influence, and example, have encouraged the worship of
the golden calves? they are the original root and motive of it, and to them it
must be ascribed; they caused the people to sin: or, as the Targum,
"where
have they of the house of Jacob sinned? is it not in Samaria?'
verily
it is, and from thence, the metropolis of the nation, the sin has spread itself
all over it:
and what are the high places of Judah? or, "who
are they?"F19מי במות יהודה "quis est excelsa
Judae?" Montanus, Drusius, De Dieu; "quis cesla Judae?"
Cocceius; "quis fuit causa excelsorum Jehudae?" Burkius; so Kimchi.
who have been the makers of them? who have set them up, and encouraged idolatrous
worship at them?
are they not Jerusalem? are they not
the king, the princes, and priests, that dwell at Jerusalem? certainly they
are; such as Ahaz, and others, in whose times this prophet lived; see 2 Kings 16:4; or,
as the Targum,
"where
did they of the house of Judah commit sin? was it not in Jerusalem?'
truly
it was, and even in the temple; here Ahaz built an altar like that at Damascus,
and sacrificed on it, and spoiled the temple, and several of the vessels in it,
2 Kings 16:10.
Micah 1:6 6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the
field, Places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the
valley, And I will uncover her foundations.
YLT
6And I have set Samaria for
a heap of the field, For plantations of a vineyard, And poured out into a
valley her stones, And her foundations I uncover.
Therefore I will make
Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard,.... As a
field ploughed, and laid in heaps; see Micah 3:12; or as
stones gathered out of a field, and out of a vineyard planted, and laid in a
heap; so should this city become a heap of stones and rubbish, being utterly
demolished; and this being done according to the will of God, and through his
instigation of Shalmaneser king of Assyria to it, and by his providence
succeeding his army that besieged it, is said to be done by him. With this
agrees the Vulgate Latin version,
"I
will make Samaria as a heap of stones in a field, when a vineyard is planted;'
see
Isaiah 5:2; for the
city, being destroyed, cannot be compared to the plants of a vineyard set in
good order, beautiful and thriving; but, as to heaps of stones in a field, so
to such in a vineyard; or to hillocks raised up there for the plants of vines;
and if the comparison is to plants themselves, it must be to withered ones,
that are good for nothing. The note of similitude as is not in the text; and
the words may be read without it, "I will make Samaria an heap of the
field, plantings of a vineyard"F20לעי
השדה למטעי כרם "in acervum agri, in plantationem, vel
plantationes vinae", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Cocceius; as
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Burkius. ; that is, it shall be ploughed up,
and made a heap of; turned into a field, and vines planted on it; for which its
situation was very proper, being on a hill where vines used to be planted, and
so should no more be inhabited as a city:
and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley; the stones of
the buildings and walls of the city, which, being on a hill, when pulled down,
rolled into the valley; and with as much swiftness and force as waters run down
a steep place, as in Micah 1:4; where the
same word is used as here:
and I will discover the foundations thereof; which should
be fused up, and left bare; not one stone should be upon another; so that there
should be no traces and footsteps of the city remaining, and it should be
difficult to know the place where it stood. This is expressive of the total
desolation and utter destruction of it: this was not accomplished by
Shalmaneser when he took it; for though he carried captive the inhabitants
thereof, he put others in their room; but this was entirely fulfilled, not by
Jonathan Maccabeus, though he is saidF21Paschale Chronicon, p. 181.
apud Reland. Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. l. 3. p. 980. to besiege it, and
level it with the ground; but by John Hyrcanus; and the account of the
destruction of it by him, as given by JosephusF23Antiqu. l. 13. c.
10. sect. 3. , exactly answers to this prophecy, and, to Hosea 13:16; where
its desolation is also predicted; he says that Hyrcanus, having besieged it a
year, took it; and, not content with this only, he utterly destroyed it, making
brooks to run through it; and by digging it up, so that it fell into holes and
caverns, insomuch that there were no signs nor traces of the city left. It was
indeed afterwards rebuilt by Gabinius the Roman proconsul of Syria, and
restored by Augustus Caesar to Herod, who adorned and fortified it, and called
it by the name of Sebaste, in honour of AugustusF24Ibid. l. 14. c.
5. sect. 3. &. l. 15. c. 7. sect. 3. & c. 8. sect. 5. ; though Benjamin
of Tudela pretends that Ahab's palace might be discerned there in his time, or
the place known where it was, which is not likely; excepting this, his account
is probable.
"From
Luz (he saysF25Itinerarium, p. 38. ) is one day's journey to
Sebaste, which is Samaria; and still there may be perceived there the palace of
Ahab king of Israel; and it is a fortified city on a very high hill, and in it
are fountains; and is a land of brooks of water, and gardens, orchards,
vineyards, and olive yards;'
but,
since his time, it is become more ruinous. Mr. Maundrell, who some years ago
was upon the spot, gives a fuller account of it;
"this
great city (he saysF26Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 59. Ed. 7. )
is now wholly converted into gardens; and all the tokens that remain, to
testify that there has ever been such a place, are only on the north side, a
large square piazza, encompassed with pillars; and, on the east, some poor
remains of a great church, said to be built by the Empress Helena, over the
place where St. John Baptist was both imprisoned and beheaded.'
So
say othersF1Universal History, vol. 2. p. 439. ,
"the
remains of Sebaste, or the ancient Samaria, though long ago laid in ruinous
heaps, and a great part of it turned into ploughed land and garden ground, do
still retain some monuments of its ancient grandeur, and of those noble
edifices in it, with which King Herod caused it to be adorned;'
and
then mention the large square piazza on the north, and the church on the east.
It was twelve miles from Dothaim, and as many from Merran, and four from
Atharoth, according to EusebiusF2In voc. Dothaim, &c. ; and was,
as JosephusF3Antiqu. l. 15. c. 8. sect. 5. says, a day's journey
from Jerusalem. Sichem, called by the Turks Naplus, is now the metropolis of
the country of Samaria; Samaria, or Sebaste, being utterly destroyed, as says
Petrus a ValleF4Epist. 14. Morino apud Antiqu. Eccles. Oriental. p.
166. , a traveller in those parts.
Micah 1:7 7 All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, And
all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire; All her idols I will lay
desolate, For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot, And they shall
return to the pay of a harlot.”
YLT
7And all her graven images
are beaten down, And all her gifts are burnt with fire, And all her idols I
make a desolation, For, from the hire of a harlot she gathered, and unto the
hire of a harlot they return.
And all the graven images
thereof shall be beaten to pieces,.... By the Assyrian
army, for the sake of the gold and silver of which they were, made, or with
which they were adorned, as was usually done by conquerors to the gods of the
nations they conquered; these were the calf of Samaria, and other idols; and
not only those in the city of Samaria, but in all the other cities of Israel
which fell into the hands of the Assyrian monarch; see Isaiah 10:11;
and all the hires thereof shall be burnt with fire; this the
Targum also interprets of idols; such as escaped the plunder of the soldiers
should be burnt with fire: Kimchi, by "hires", understands the
beautiful garments, and other ornaments, with which they adorned their idols,
which were gifts unto them; and they committing spiritual adultery with them,
these are compared to the hire of a harlot: or it may design their fine houses,
and the furniture of them, all their substance and riches, which they looked
upon as obtained by entering into alliances with idolatrous nations, and as the
hire and reward of their idolatry; all these should be consumed by fire when
the city was taken:
and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate; such as were
not broke to pieces, nor burnt, should be thrown down, and trampled upon, and
made no account of, or carried away with other spoil. The Targum interprets it
of the houses or temples of their idols, which should be demolished. By this
and the preceding clause it appears, that, besides the golden calf, there were
other idols worshipped in Samaria. In the times of Ahab was the image of Baal,
with others, for which he built an altar and a temple in Samaria, and a grove, 1 Kings 16:31; and
at the time it was taken by Shalmaneser there were idols in it, as appears from
Isaiah 10:10; and
there were still more after a colony of the Babylonians and others were
introduced into it; the names of which were Succothbenoth, Nergal, Ashima,
Nibhaz, Tartak, Adrammelech, and Anammelech. The first of these is thought, by
SeldenF5De Dis Syris Syntagm. 2. c. 7. p. 309. to be Venus; and the
two last, both by him and BrauniusF6Selecta Sacra, l. 4. c. 8. sect.
117. p. 465. , to be the same with Mo, having the signification of a king in
them, as that word signifies, and children being burnt unto them: they are all
difficult to be understood. The account the JewsF7T. Bab. Sanhedrin,
fol. 63. 2. Vid. etiam T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 42. 3, 4. give of them is,
that "Succothbenoth" were images of a hen and chickens;
"Nergal", a cock; "Ashima", a goat without hair;
"Nibhaz", or "Nibchan", as sometimes read, a dog; and
"Tartak", an ass; "Adrammelech", a mule, or a peacock; and
"Anammelech", a horse, or a pheasant. And it was not unusual for some
of these creatures to be worshipped by the Heathens, as a cock by the Syrians,
and others; a goat by the Mendesians; and the dog Anubis, perhaps the same with
Nibhaz, by the EgyptiansF8Vid. Godwin's Moses and Aaron, l. 4. c. 7.
. And though the inhabitants of Samaria might be better instructed, after
Manasseh and other Jews came to reside among them in later times, still they
retained idolatrous practices; and, even in the times of our Lord, they were
ignorant of the true object of religious worship, John 4:22; and they
are charged by the Jewish writersF9Maimon. in Misn. Beracot, c. 8.
sect. 11. & Bartenora in ib. c. 7. sect. 1. & in Nidda, c. 4. sect. 1.
Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 15. 2. with worshipping the image of a dove on Mount
Gerizim, and also such strange gods, the teraphim, which Jacob hid under the
oak at Sichem; however, let their idols be what they will they worshipped, they
are now utterly destroyed, according to this prophecy;
for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they
shall return to the hire of an harlot; as all the riches of
Samaria and its inhabitants were gathered together as the reward of their
idolatry, as they imagined, so they should return to idolaters, the Assyrians;
to Nineveh, called the well favoured harlot, Nahum 3:4; the
metropolis of the Assyrian empire; and to the house or temple of those that
worshipped idols, as the Targum; with which they should adorn their idols, or
use them in idolatrous worship: or the sense in general is, that as their
riches were ill gotten, as the hire of a harlot, and which never prospers, so
theirs should come to nothing; as it came, so it should go: according to our
proverb, "lightly come, lightly go". The allusion seems to be to
harlots prostituting themselves in the temples of idols, which was common among
the Heathens, as at Comana and Corinth, as StraboF11Geograph. l. 12.
p. 385. relates; and particularly among the Babylonians and Assyrians, which
may be here referred to: for HerodotusF12Clio, sive l. 1. c. 199.
says, it was a law with the Babylonians that every woman of that country should
once in her life sit in the temple of Venus, and lie with a strange man: here
women used to sit with a crown upon their heads: nor might they return home
until some stranger threw money into their laps, and took them out of the
temple, and lay with them; and he that cast it must say, I implore the goddess
Mylitta for thee; the name by which the Assyrians call Venus; nor was it lawful
to reject the price or the money, be it what it would, for it was converted to
holy uses, and StraboF13Ibid. l. 16. p. 513. affirms much the same.
So the Phoenician women used to prostitute themselves in the temples of their
idols, and dedicate there the hire of their bodies to their gods, thinking
thereby to appease their deities, and obtain good things for themselvesF14Athanasius
contra Gentes, p. 21. .
Micah 1:8 8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and
naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals And a mourning like the
ostriches,
YLT
8For this I lament and howl,
I go spoiled and naked, I make a lamentation like dragons, And a mourning like
daughters of an ostrich.
Therefore I will wail and
howl, I will go stripped and naked,.... To his shut, putting
off his upper garment; the rough one, such as the prophets used to wear; which
he did as the greater sign of his mourning: sometimes, in such cases, they rent
their garments; at other times they stripped themselves of them, and walked
naked, as Isaiah did, Isaiah 20:3; he
went about like a madman, one disturbed in his mind, bereft of his senses,
because of the desolation coming upon Israel; and without his clothes, as such
persons often do: so the word rendered "stripped" signifies, as the
Jewish commentators observe. This lamentation, and with these circumstances,
the prophet made in his own person, to show the reality and certainty of their
ruin, and to represent to them the desolate condition they would be in,
destitute of all good things, and to them with it; as well as to express the
sympathy of his heart, and thereby to assure them that it was not out of ill
will to them, or a spirit of revenge, that he delivered such a message: or this
he did in the person of all the people, showing what they would do, and that
this would be their case shortly. So the Targum,
"for
this they shall wail and howl, and go naked among the spoilers;'
I will make a wailing like the dragons; as in their
fight with elephants, at which time they make a hideous noiseF14Aelian.
de Animal. l. 6. c. 22. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 11. ; and whose hissings have
been very terrible to large bodies of men. AelianusF15Ib. l. 15. c.
21. speaks of a dragon in India, which, when it perceived Alexander's army near
at hand, gave such a prodigious hiss and blast, that it greatly frightened and
disturbed the whole army: and he relatesF16Ib. l. 16. c. 39. of
another, that was in a valley near Mount Pellenaeus, in the isle of Chios,
whose hissing was very terrible to the inhabitants of that place; and BochartF17Hierozoic.
par. 2. l. 3. c. 14. col. 437. conjectures that this their hissing is here
referred to; and who observes of the whale, that it has its name from a word in
the Hebrew tongue, which signifies to lament; and which word is here used, and
is frequently used of large fishes, as whales, sea calves, dolphins, &c.
which make a great noise and bellowing, as the sea calf; particularly the
balaena, which is one kind of a whale, and makes such a large and continued
noise, as to be heard at the distance of two miles, as RondeletiusF18Apud
Bochart. ib. par. 1. l. 1. c. 7. col. 47. says; and dolphins are said to make a
moan and groaning like human creatures, as PlinyF19Nat. Hist. l. 9.
c. 9. and SolinusF20Polyhistor. c. 22. report: and Peter Gillius
relates, from his own experience, that lodging one night in a vessel, in which
many dolphins were taken, there were such weeping and mourning, that he could
not sleep for them; he thought they deplored their condition with mourning,
lamentation, and a large flow of tears, as men do, and therefore could not help
pitying their case; and, while the fisherman was asleep, took that which was
next him, that seemed to mourn most, and cast it into the sea; but this was of
no avail, for the rest increased their mourning more and more, and seemed
plainly to desire the like deliverance; so that all the night he was in the
midst of the most bitter moaning: wherefore Bochart, who quotes these
instances, elsewhereF21Ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 3. c. 14.)
col. 48. thinks that the prophet compares his mourning with the mourning of
these creatures, rather than with the hissing of dragons. SomeF23Ludolphus
apud Burkium in loc. think crocodiles are here meant; and of them it is
reportedF24Vid. Frantzii Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 1. c. 26. sect. 2.
, that when they have eaten the body of a creature, which they do first, and
come to the head, they weep over it with tears; hence the proverb of crocodiles
tears, for hypocritical ones; but it cannot well be thought, surely, that the
prophet would compare his mourning to that of such a creature. The learned
Pocock thinks it more reasonable that the "jackals" are meant, called
by the Arabians "ebn awi", rather than dragons; a creature of a size
between a fox and a wolf, or a dog and a fox, which makes a dreadful howling in
the night; by which travellers, unacquainted with it, would think a company of
women or children were howling, and goes before the lion as his provider;
and mourning as the owls; or "daughters of
the owl"F25כבנות יענה
"ut filiae ululae", Piscator, Burkius; "instar filiarum.
ululae", Cocceius. So Montanus. ; which is a night bird, and makes a very
frightful noise, especially the screech owl. The Targum interprets it of the
ostrichF26So the Vulgate Latin, Munster, Pagninus, Drusius,
Bochartus, and others. ; and it may be meant either of the mourning it makes
when its young are about to be taken away, and it exposes itself to danger on
their account, and perishes in the attempt. AelianusF1De Animal. l.
14. c. 7. reports that they are taken by sharp iron spikes fixed about their
nest, when they are returning to their young, after having been in quest of
food for them; and, though they see the shining iron, yet such is their
vehement desire after their young, that they spread their wings like sails, and
with great swiftness and noise rush into the nest, where they are transfixed
with the spikes, and die: and not only Vatablus observes, that these creatures
have a very mournful voice; but BochartF2Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c.
14. col. c. 228. has shown, from the Arabic writers, that they frequently cry
and howl; and from John de Laet, who affirms that those in the parts about
Brazil cry so loud as to be heard half a mile; and indeed they have their name
from crying and howling. The Targum renders it by a word which signifies
pleasant; and so Onkelos on Leviticus 11:16, by
an antiphrasis, because its voice is so very unpleasant. Or, since the words
may be rendered, "the daughters of the ostrich"F3"Filiarum
struthionis", Pagninus; "juvenes struthiones", Tigurine version.
, it may be understood of the mourning of its young, when left by her, when
they make a hideous noise and miserable moan, as some observeF4Vid.
Frantz. Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 2. c. 2. p. 339, 342. .
Micah 1:9 9 For her wounds are incurable. For it has come to
Judah; It has come to the gate of My people— To Jerusalem.
YLT
9For mortal [are] her
wounds, For it hath come unto Judah, It hath come to a gate of My people -- to
Jerusalem.
For her wound is
incurable,.... Or her "stroke is desperate"F5אנושה מכותיה "desperata est
plaga ejus", V. L. "plagae ejus", Montanus, Drusius. . The ruin
of Samaria, and the ten tribes, was inevitable; the decree being gone forth,
and they hardened in their sins, and continuing in their impenitence; and their
destruction was irrevocable; they were not to be restored again, nor are they
to this day; nor will be till the time comes that all Israel shall be saved: or
"she is grievously sick of her wounds"; just ready to die, upon the
brink of ruin, and no hope of saving her; this is the cause and reason of the
above lamentation of the prophet: and what increased his grief and sorrow the
more was,
for it is come unto Judah; the calamity has reached
the land of Judah; it stopped not with Israel or the ten tribes, but spread
itself into the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; for the Assyrian army, having
taken Samaria, and carried Israel captive, in a short time, about seven or
eight years, invaded Judea, and took the fenced cities of Judah in Hezekiah's
time, in which Micah prophesied;
he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem; Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, having taken the fenced cities, came up to the very gates of
Jerusalem, and besieged it, where the courts of judicature were kept, and the
people resorted to, to have justice done them; and Micah, being of the tribe of
Judah, calls them his people, and was the more affected with their distress.
Micah 1:10 10 Tell it not in Gath, Weep not at all; In Beth
Aphrah[a] Roll
yourself in the dust.
YLT
10In Gath tell ye not -- in
Acco weep not, In Beth-Aphrah, in dust roll thyself.
Declare ye it not
at Gath,.... A city of the Philistines, put for all the rest: the phrase
is borrowed from 2 Samuel 1:20;
where the reason is given, and holds good here as there; and the sense is, not
that the destruction of Israel, or the invasion of Judea, or the besieging of
Jerusalem, could be hid from the Philistines; but that it was a thing
desirable, was it possible, since it would be matter of rejoicing to them, and
that would be an aggravation of the distress of Israel and Judah:
weep ye not at all; that is, before the Philistines, or such
like enemies, lest they should laugh and scoff at you; though they had reason
to weep, and did and ought to weep in secret; yet, as much as in them lay, it
would be right to forbear it openly, because of the insults and reproach of the
enemy. The learned RelandF6Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. p. 534,
535. suspects that it should be read, "weep not in Acco": which was
another city in Palestine, to the north from the enemy, as Gath was to the
south; and observes, that there is a like play on wordsF7בכו אל תבכו.
in the words, as in the places after mentioned. Acco is the same with
Ptolemais, Acts 21:7; See Gill
on Acts 21:7. It had
this name from Ptolemy Lagus king of Egypt, who enlarged it, and called it
after his own name; but Mr, MaundrellF8Journey from Aleppo, &c.
p. 54. observes,
"now,
since it hath been in the possession of the Turks, it has, according to the
example of many other cities in Turkey, cast off its Greek, and recovered some
semblance of its old Hebrew name again, being called Acca, or Acra. As to its
situation (he says) it enjoys all possible advantages, both of sea and land; on
its north and east sides it is compassed with a spacious and fertile plain; on
the west it is washed by the Mediterranean sea; and on the south by a large
bay, extending from the city as far as Mount Carmel;'
in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust; as mourners
used to do, sit in the dust, or cover their heads with it, or wallow in it;
this is allowed to be done privately, in houses or in towns distinct from the
Philistines, as Aphrah or Ophrah was, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:23;
called here "Aphrah", to make it better agree with "Aphar",
dust, to which the allusion is: and it may be rendered, "in the house of
dust roll thyself in the dust"; having respect to the condition houses
would be in at this time, mere heaps of dust and rubbish, so that they would
find enough easily to roll themselves in. Here is a double reading; the
"Keri", or marginal reading, which the Masora directs to, and we
follow, is, "roll thyself": but the "Cetib", or writing,
is, "I have rolled myself"F9התפלשי
"volutavi me", De Dieu. ; and so are the words of the prophet, who
before says he wailed and howled, and went stripped and naked; here he says, as
a further token of his sorrow, that he rolled himself in dust, and as an
example for Israel to do the like. This place was a village in the times of
JeromF11De locis Hebr. fol. 88. H. and was called Effrem; it was
five miles from Bethel to the east.
Micah 1:11 11 Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; The
inhabitant of Zaanan[b] does not
go out. Beth Ezel mourns; Its place to stand is taken away from you.
YLT
11Pass over for thee, O
inhabitant of Shaphir, Naked one of shame. Not gone out hath the inhabitant of
Zaanan, The lamentation of Beth-Ezel doth take from you its standing.
Pass ye away, thou
inhabitant of Saphir,.... A village, according to EusebiusF12Ad vocem σαφειρ. , between Eleutheropolis and Ashkelon; perhaps the same with
Sephoron; it is mentioned among the cities of Judah, in the Greek version of Joshua 15:48. CalmetF13Dictionary,
in the word "Saphir". conjectures the prophet intends the city of
Sephoris or Sephora in Galilee. HillerusF14Onomast. Sacr. p. 925. :
takes it to be the same with Parah, mentioned with Ophrah, in Joshua 18:23; so
called from its ornament, neatness, beauty, and elegance, as both words
signify, to which the prophet alludes: now everyone of the inhabitants of this
place are called upon to prepare to go into captivity to Babylon; which would
certainly be their case, though they dwelled in fine buildings, neat houses,
and streets well paved. In the margin it is, "thou that dwellest
fairly"F15ישבת שפיר
"habitans pulchre", Montanus; "habiatrix elegantis loci",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; which some understand of Samaria; others
of Judea; and particularly Jerusalem, beautifully situated, yet should go into
captivity:
having thy shame naked; their city dismantled,
their houses plundered, and they stripped of their garments, and the shame of
their nakedness discovered; which must be the more distressing to beautiful
persons, that have dressed neatly, and lived in handsome well built houses, and
elegantly furnished, and now all the reverse;
the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of
Bethezel; or house of Azel, where the posterity of Azel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, dwelt. HillerusF16Ibid. p. 516, 951. suspects it to be the
same with Mozah, Joshua 18:26; so
called from Moza, the great grandfather of Azel, 1 Chronicles 8:37.
Capellus takes it to be the same with Azal in Zechariah 14:5.
This place being taken and plundered by the enemy occasioned great mourning
among the inhabitants: and it seems to have been taken first, before Zaanan;
perhaps the same with Zenan, Joshua 15:37; and
is here read "Sennan" by Aquila; the inhabitants of which did not
"come forth", in which there is an allusion to its nameF17צאנן from יצא. Vid. V. L. vers. ,
either to help them in their distress, or to condole them; they being in fear
of the enemy themselves, and in arms in their own defence, expecting it would
be their turn next, and that they should share the same fate with them. Some
think that under the name of Bethezel is meant Bethel; and of Zaanan, Zion; and
that the sense is, that when Bethel, Samaria, and the ten tribes, were in
distress, they of Zion and Judea did not come to give them any relief; and when
they were carried captive did not mourn with them, were not affected with their
case, nor troubled themselves about them;
he shall receive of him his standing: either the
enemy, as R. Joseph Kimchi, shall receive of the inhabitants of Zaanan his
standing; that is, he shall make them dearly pay for stopping him, for making
him stand and stay so long before their city before he could take it; for all
his loss of time, men, and money, in besieging it; by demolishing their city,
plundering their houses, and carrying them captive; who remained he put to
death by the sword. Aben Ezra interprets the word "receive" of
doctrine or learning, as in Proverbs 4:2; and
renders it, "he shall learn"; either Bethezel, or rather Zaanan,
shall learn, by the case of Bethezel, and other neighbouring places, what would
be his own case, whether he should stand or fall.
Micah 1:12 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth pined[c] for good, But
disaster came down from the Lord To the
gate of Jerusalem.
YLT
12For stayed for good hath
the inhabitant of Maroth, For evil hath come down from Jehovah to the gate of
Jerusalem.
For the inhabitant of
Maroth waited carefully for good,.... Or, "though they
waited for good"F18כי
"quamvis". ; expected to have it, yet the reverse befell them: or
"verily they were grieved for good"F19כי חלה לטוב
"certe doluit propter bonum", Vatablus; "siquidem doluit",
Pagninus, Montanus; "quia doluit propter bonum", Burkius. ; for the
good things they had lost, or were likely to lose; and which they had no more
hope of, when they saw Jerusalem in distress. Grotius thinks, by transposition
of letters, Ramoth is intended by Maroth, or the many Ramahs which were in
Judah and Benjamin; but HillerusF20Onomast. p. 87, 951. is of
opinion that Jarmuth is meant, a city of Judah, Joshua 15:35; the
word Maroth signifies "bitterness"; see 1:20;
and, according to others, "rough places"; and may design the
inhabitants of such places that were in great bitterness and trouble because of
the invasion of the enemy, who before that had promised themselves good things,
and lived in the expectation of them:
but evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem; meaning the
Assyrian army under Sennacherib, which came into the land of Judea by the
order, direction, and providence of God, like an overflowing flood; which
spread itself over the land, and reached to the very gates of Jerusalem, which
was besieged by it, and threatened with destruction: or "because evil came
down", &c. that is, "because" of that, the inhabitants of
Maroth grieved, or were in pain, as a woman in travail.
Micah 1:13 13 O inhabitant of Lachish, Harness the chariot to the
swift steeds (She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), For
the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
YLT
13Bind the chariot to a swift
beast, O inhabitant of Lachish, The beginning of sin [is] she to the daughter
of Zion, For in thee have been found the transgressions of Israel.
O thou inhabitant of
Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast,.... Horses, camels,
dromedaries, or mules. SomeF21לרכש
"ad equos velocissimos", Pagninus; "equo veloci", Montanus;
"angariis sc. equis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. render the
word swift horse or horses, post horses; others dromedariesF23"Dromadibus",
Vatablus. So Elias. ; and some mulesF24"Mulis", so some in
Piscator; "ad mulum celerem", Burkius. the two latter seem more
especially to be meant, either dromedaries, as the word is translated in 1 Kings 4:28; which
is a very swift creature: Isidore saysF25Origin. l. 12. c. 1. p.
102. the dromedary is one sort of camels, of a lesser stature, yet swifter,
from whence it has its name, and is used to go more than a hundred miles a day;
this is thought to be what the JewsF26T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 5. 1.
call a flying camel; which the gloss says is a sort of camels that are as swift
in running as a bird that flies; they are lighter made than a camel, and go at
a much greater rate; whereas a camel goes at the rate of thirty miles a day,
the dromedary will perform a journey of one hundred and twenty miles in a day;
they make use of them in the Indies for going post, and expresses frequently
perform a journey of eight hundred miles upon them in the space of a weekF1See
Harris's Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. p. 469. : this may serve the better to
illustrate Jeremiah 2:23; and
improve the note there: but whether these were used in chariots I do not find;
only BochartF2Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 4. col. 87. takes notice
of a kind of camel, that has, like the dromedary, two humps on its back, which
the Arabians call "bochet", and put to chariots: or else mules are
meant, for by comparing the above text in 1 Kings 4:28 with 2 Chronicles 9:24,
it looks as if "mules" were there intended; and so the word here used
is rendered in Esther 8:10; and by
their being there said to be used for posts to ride on expresses, it up pears
to be a swift creature. AelianusF3De Animal. l. 16. c. 9. makes
mention of mules in India of a red colour, very famous for running; and mules
were used in the Olympic games, and many riders of them got the victory; and
that these were used in chariots, there is no doubt to be made of it: HomerF4Iliad.
24. l. 324. speaks of mules drawing a four wheeled chariot; so PausaniasF5Eliac.
prior, sive l. 5. p. 302. So Suetonius in Vit. Jul. Caesar. c. 31. "mulis
ad vehiculum junctis". of mules yoked together, and drawing a chariot,
instead of horses; and the Septuagint version of Isaiah 66:20;
instead of "in litters and on mules", renders it, "in
litters" or carriages "of mules": but, be they one or the other
that are here meant, they were creatures well known, and being swift were used
in chariots, to which they were bound and fastened in order to draw them, and
which we call "putting to"; this the inhabitants of LachishF6There
is a likeness in sound between לכיש and רכש. are bid to do, in order to make their escape, and flee
as fast as they could from the enemy, advancing to besiege them; as they were
besieged by the army of Sennacherib, before he came to Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 32:1.
Or these words may be spoken in an ironical and sarcastic way, that whereas
they had abounded in horses and chariots, and frequently rode about their
streets in them, now let them make use of them, and get away if they could; and
may suggest, that, instead of riding in these, they should be obliged to walk
on foot into captivity. Lachish was a city in the tribe of Judah, in the times
of JeromF7De locis Hebr. fol. 92. M. ; it was a village seven miles
from Eleutheropolis, as you go to Daroma or the south;
she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion; lying upon
the borders of the ten tribes, as Lachish did, it was the first of the cities
of Judah that gave into the idolatry of Jeroboam, the worshipping of the
calves; and from thence it spread itself to Zion and Jerusalem; and, being a
ringleader in this sin, should be punished for it: though some think this
refers to their conspiracy with the citizens of Jerusalem against King Amaziah,
and the murder of him in this place, now punished for it, 2 Kings 14:18;
for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee; not only
their idolatry, but all other sins, with which it abounded; it was a very
wicked place, and therefore no wonder it was given up to destruction. The
Targum is,
"for
the transgressors of Israel were found in thee.'
Micah 1:14 14 Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath;[d] The houses
of Achzib[e] shall
be a lie to the kings of Israel.
YLT
14Therefore thou givest
presents to Moresheth-Gath, The houses of Achzib become a lying thing to the
kings of Israel.
Therefore shalt thou give
presents to Moreshethgath,.... Since Lachish was the cause of leading
Judah into idolatry, and was a city so very wicked; therefore it should be
reduced to such distress as to send messengers with presents to the Philistines
at Moreshethgath, a place near to Gath of the Philistines, and may include that
and other cities of theirs, to come and help them against the Assyrians:
the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel; a city of
Judah, Joshua 15:44; or of
Asher, Joshua 19:29; the
same with Chezib, Genesis 38:5; and
called Ecdippa by JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22. De Bello
Jud. l. 1. c. 13. sect. 4. , PlinyF9Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. , and
PtolemyF11Geograph, l. 5. c. 15. . The Jewish writers commonly call
it Cezib, of which theyF12T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 36. 2. T. Bab.
Gittin, foi. 7. 2. Misn. Demai, c. 1. sect. 3. say many things about that, and
the land unto it, being subject to tithes, the laws of the seventh year, and
the like. Maimonides and Bartenora sayF13In Misn. Demai, c. 1. sect.
3. it is the name of a place which divided between the land of Israel, which they
possessed who came out of Babylon, and that land which they enjoyed who came
out of Egypt; but the Jews are not agreed about the situation of it. One of
their writersF14Bartenora in Misn. Sheviith, c. 6. 1. & Challa,
c. 4. sect. 8. places it to the northeast of the land of Israel; but anotherF15Yom
Tob in Sheviith, c. 6. 1. e Caphtor Uperah, c. 11. observes, and proves from
one that resided in those parts some time, and diligently inquired into and
made his observation on places, that Cezib, and also Aco and Amana, frequently
mentioned with it, were all on the western sea of the land of Israel, that is,
the Mediterranean sea; in which he was right, without all doubt: the place is
now called Zib by contraction, of which Mr. MaundrellF16Journey from
Aleppo, &c. p. 33. Ed. 7. gives this account;
"having
travelled about one hour in the plain of Acra, we passed by an old town called
Zib, situate on an ascent close by the seaside; this may probably be the old
Achzib, mentioned Joshua 19:29;
called afterwards Ecdippa; for St. JeromF17De locis Hebr. fol. 88.
I. places Achzib nine miles distant from Ptolemais (or Aco), towards Tyre, to
which account we found the situation of Zib exactly agreeing.'
Now
the houses or families that dwelt in this place, or the idols' temples there,
as some, and the idolatry exercised therein, should be a lie unto, or
disappoint the expectations of, the kings of Israel; which, according to Kimchi,
is put for Judah, who placed confidence in them, and had dependence on them:
there is an elegant play on words between Achzib and a "lie"F18אכזיב & אכזב. . The Targum
is,
"thou
shall send gifts to the heirs of Gath; the houses of Achzib shall be delivered
to the people, because of the sins of the kings of Israel, who worshipped idols
in them.'
Micah 1:15 15 I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of
Mareshah;[f] The glory
of Israel shall come to Adullam.
YLT
15Yet the possessor I do
bring in to thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah, To Adullam come in doth the honour
of Israel.
Yet will I bring an heir
unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah,.... Another city in the
tribe of Judah, mentioned with Achzib in Joshua 15:44; and
by many thought to be the birth place of this prophet; and, if so, his
faithfulness may be observed in declaring the whole counsel of God, though
against his own fire place; and this must be an aggravation of the sin of the
inhabitants of it, that they had such a prophet that arose from them, and they
regarded him not. There is a beautiful allusion in the word "heir" to
MareshahF19הירש & מרשה.
, which signifies an "inheritance"; and here were an "heir"
or heirs for it, as the Targum; not the Persians, as some in Aben Ezra, and in
an Agadah mentioned by Jarchi, who descended from Elam the firstborn of Shem;
and so had a right of inheritance, as those interpreters suppose; but the king
of Assyria, who should invade the land, and seize upon this place among others,
and possess it, as if it was his by right of inheritance, having obtained it by
conquest: and this being by the permission and according to the will of God, he
is said to be brought by him to it. Capellus thinks, on the contrary, that
Hezekiah and his posterity are meant:
he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel; another city
in the tribe of Judah, a royal one, Joshua 15:35; said
by Jerom to be in his time no small village, and to be about ten miles from
Eleutheropolis; called the "glory of Israel", having been a royal
city in Joshua's time, Joshua 12:15; and a
fenced city in the times of Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 11:7;
and Eusebius says it was a large town; and Jerom says it was not a small one in
his time; though some think Jerusalem is meant, the metropolis of the nation, Israel
being put for Judah, as in Micah 1:14; and to
be read, "he that is the enemy and heir shall come to Adullam, yea,
to the glory of Israel"F20So Piscator, Juuius, Drusius. ; even
to Jerusalem, the most glorious city in all the tribes; though others are of
opinion that this is the character of the enemy or heir that should come
thither, called so by way of contradiction, as coming to the reproach and
disgrace of Israel; or, ironically, whom Israel before gloried in, when they
had recourse to him for help. The margin of our Bible reads, "the glory of
Israel shall come to Adullam"; that is, the great men, the princes and
heads of the people, shall flee to the cave of AdullamF21"Ad
Adullam veniet gloria Israelis", Cocceius. , to hide them from the enemy,
where David was hid from Saul; see 1 Samuel 22:1.
BurkiusF23He published Annotations on the twelve minor Prophets at
Heilbronn, 1753, which he calls a Gnomon, written in imitation of Bengelius's
Gnomon of the New Testament, whose son-in-law it seems he is, and by whom his
work is prefaced. , a very late commentator, takes Adullam for an appellative,
and with HillerusF24Onomast. Sacr. p. 739. renders it, "the
perpetuity of the yoke"; and the whole thus, "at the perpetuity of
the yoke, the glory of Israel shall come"; that is, when all things shall
seem to tend to this, that the yoke once laid on Israel by the Gentiles shall
become perpetual, without any hope of deliverance, then shall come the
Deliverer, that is, Jesus, the Glory of Israel; and, adds he, God forbid we should
think of any other subject here; and so he interprets the "heir" in
the preceding clause of the Messiah; and which is a sense far from being
despicable.
Micah 1:16 16 Make yourself bald and cut off your hair, Because of
your precious children; Enlarge your baldness like an eagle, For they shall go
from you into captivity.
YLT
16Make bald and shave, for
thy delightful sons, Enlarge thy baldness as an eagle, For they have removed
from thee!
Make thee bald, and poll
thee for thy delicate children,.... Which is said, either with respect to
Mareshah, or to Adullam, or to the whole land, as Kimchi observes; rather to
the latter; and that either to Israel, or to Judah, or both; the prophecy in
general being concerning them both, Micah 1:1; making
baldness, whether by plucking off the hair, or by shaving it, was used in token
of mourning, Job 1:20; and so it
is designed to express it here: the inhabitants of the land are called to
lamentation and weeping for their children taken from them, whom they dearly
loved, and brought up in a delicate manner. The Targum is,
"pluck
off thy hair, and cast it upon the children of thy delight;'
and
Sanctius observes; that it was a custom with the Gentiles to cut off their
hair, and cast it into the graves of their kindred and friends at their
interment, to which be thinks the prophet alludes:
enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; when it moults, and cast
off all its feathers, as it does in old age, and so renews its youth; to which
the allusion seems to be in Psalm 103:5; or
every year, as birds of prey usually do at the beginning of the spring. The
Jewish writersF25Saadiah Gaon apud Kimchi & Ben Melech in Psal.
ciii. 5. & lsa. xl. 31. say this happens to it every ten years; when,
finding its feathers heavy and unfit for flying, it makes a tour to the sun
with all its force it can, to get as near it as possible; and, having heated
its plumage excessively, it casts itself into the sea for cooling, and then its
feathers fall off, and new ones succeed; and this it does until it is a hundred
years old; and to its then state of baldness, while it is moulting, is the
allusion here; unless it can be thought any respect is had to that kind of
eagle which is called the bald one. In VirginiaF26See Harris's
Voyages and Travels, vol. 2. p. 229. Lowthorp's Philosoph. Transact. abridged,
vol. 3. p. 589. there are three sorts of eagles; one is the grey eagle, about
the size of a kite; another the black eagle, resembling those in England; and a
third the bald eagle, so called because the upper part of the neck and head are
covered with a sort of white down: but the former sort of baldness seems to be
intended, which is at certain stated times, and not what always is, and is only
partial; for it denotes such an universal baldness to be made, as to take in
all the parts of the body where any hair grows; as expressive of the general
devastation that should be made, which would be the cause of this great
mourning:
for they are gone into captivity from thee; that is, the
delicate children of Israel and Judah, and so were as dead unto them, or worse:
this was accomplished in Israel or the ten tribes, partly by Tiglathpileser,
and more completely by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:29; and
in Judah or the two tribes, when Sennacherib came and took their fenced cities;
and doubtless some of the inhabitants and their children were carried captive
by him, though not Jerusalem; and therefore cannot be addressed here, as some
do interpret the words, unless the prophecy is to be extended to the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)