Jeremiah 15:3

15:1-9 The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in heaven do not pray for saints on earth. The Jews were condemned to different kinds of misery by the righteous judgment of God, and the remnant would be driven away, like the chaff, into captivity. Then was the populous city made desolate. Bad examples and misused authority often produce fatal effects, even after men are dead, or have repented of their crimes: this should make all greatly dread being the occasion of sin in others.

And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord,.... Or four families (x), and these very devouring ones; that is, four sorts of punishment; and so the Targum, "four evil punishments;'' which are after mentioned. These are represented as under God, and at his beck and command; servants of his, that go and come at his pleasure, and do his will; and as being over men, and having power and authority to kill and to destroy by a divine commission: the sword to slay: the first and chief of the four families or punishments, which had a commission from the Lord to sheath itself in his people, the Jews; even the sword of the enemy, the Chaldeans, drawn against them by a divine order and appointment: and the dogs to tear; the carcasses of those that are slain with the sword: or "to draw" (y); as the word signifies; it being the usual way of dogs to draw and drag the flesh about they are feeding on; this is another of the four families, and a very voracious one it is: and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy; or "to eat, and to corrupt", the bodies of those that are slain by the sword.

The meaning is, that such should not have a burial, but should be the food of fowls and wild beasts: these are the other two destroying families, which have their commission from the Lord for such service. (x) "quatuor familias, sive cognationes", Vatablus, Tigurine version, Calvin. (y) "ad trahendum", Calvin, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt; so Ben Melech,

Verse 3. - Appoint ; i.e. give full power to them as my vicegerents ( Jeremiah 1:10 ). Four kinds ; literally, families ; i.e. kinds of things. The first-mentioned has reference to the living; the remaining ones to the unburied corpses ( Jeremiah 14:16 ; Jeremiah 19:7 ; Jeremiah 34:20 ). To tear ; rather, to drag along . Jeremiah 15:3

(3) Four kinds. —The sword, as the direct instrument of death, is followed by those that follow up its work, the beasts and birds of prey that feed on the corpses of the slain. The latter feature has naturally been from the earliest stages of human history the crowning horror of defeat. So Homer, Il. i. 4 :— “And many mighty souls of heroes sent To Hades, and their bodies made a prey To dogs and to all birds.”

Four kinds of destroyers ; the enemies’ swords shall slay them, and so make meat for the dogs, who shall tear their carcasses, and for the birds of prey, who shall prey upon their dead bodies that shall lie unburied. And I will also send amongst them wild beasts, who shall both tear their living bodies and their dead carcasses.

Decisive refusal of the petition. - Jeremiah 15:1 . Even Moses and Samuel, who stood so far in God's favour that by their supplications they repeatedly rescued their people from overwhelming ruin (cf. Exodus 17:11 ; Exodus 32:11 ., Numbers 14:13 ., and 1 Samuel 7:9 ., Jeremiah 12:17 ., Psalm 99:6 ), if they were to come now before the Lord, would not incline His love towards this people. אל indicates the direction of the soul towards any one; in this connection: the inclination of it towards the people. He has cast off this people and will no longer let them come before His face. In Jeremiah 15:2-9 this is set forth with terrible earnestness. We must supply the object, "this people," to "drive" from the preceding clause. "From my face" implies the people's standing before the Lord in the temple, where they had appeared bringing sacrifices, and by prayer invoking His help ( Jeremiah 14:12 ). To go forth from the temple equals to go forth from God's face. Jeremiah 15:2 . But in case they ask where they are to go to, Jeremiah is to give them the sarcastic direction: Each to the destruction allotted to him. He that is appointed to death, shall go forth to death, etc. The clauses: such as are for death, etc., are to be filled up after the analogy of 2 Samuel 15:20 ; 2 Kings 8:1 , so that before the second "death," "sword," etc., we supply the verb "shall go." There are mentioned four kinds of punishments that are to befall the people.

The "death" mentioned over and above the sword is death by disease, for which we have in Jeremiah 14:12 דּבר, pestilence, disease; cf. Jeremiah 43:11 , where death, captivity, and sword are mentioned together, with Ezekiel 14:21 , sword, famine, wild beasts, and disease (דּבר), and Ezekiel 33:27 , sword, wild beasts, and disease. This doom is made more terrible in Jeremiah 15:3 . The Lord will appoint over them (פּקד as in Jeremiah 13:21 ) four kinds, i.e., four different destructive powers which shall prepare a miserable end for them. One is the sword already mentioned in Jeremiah 15:2 , which slays them; the three others are to execute judgment on the dead: the dogs which shall tear, mutilate, and partly devour the dead bodies (cf. 2 Kings 9:35 , 2 Kings 9:37 ), and birds and beasts of prey, vultures, jackals, and others, which shall make an end of such portions as are left by the dogs. In Jeremiah 15:4 the whole is summed up in the threatening of Deuteronomy 28:25 , that the people shall be delivered over to be abused to all the kingdoms of the earth, and the cause of this terrible judgment is mentioned. The Chet. זועה is not to be read זועה, but זועה, and is the contracted form from זעוה, see on Deuteronomy 28:25 , from the rad. זוּע, lit., tossing hither and thither, hence for maltreatment.