Jeremiah 49:3

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.

Jeremiah 49:3 . Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled — This “Ai must be a different city from that taken by Joshua, chap. 8., which lay on the west side of Jordan. Grotius mentions another city, called Gaia by 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 fences or enclosures round 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.

Verse 3. - Heshbon . Here mentioned as de jure a Gadite, but de facto an Ammonitish, town; in Numbers 21:26 it appears as "the city of Sihon" the Amorite. In Isaiah 15:4 and Isaiah 16:9 it is reckoned to the Moabites. There was a continual warfare between the neigh-bouring tribes of Reuben and Gad on the one hand, and the Moabites and Ammonites on the other. Let Heshbon lament, because Ai is spoiled . The introduction of At, which is only known to us as a Canaanitish town, near Bethel, on the wrong side of the Jordan for Moab, is startling. It is replied that we have no list of the Ammonitish cities, and that there may have been another town named At. The reply is valid; but loaves a second difficulty untouched, viz. that the mention of a third place destroys the continuity of thought. First, we are made acquainted with the fall of Rabbah; then Heshbon (probably the second place in the country) is called upon to wail because x has been taken by storm; then the populations of the "daughter" cities are summoned to join in the lamentation over Rabbah; - is it not reasonable to conclude that the subject of the mourning is one and the same? Now, it is well known that the received text abounds in small errors arising from the confusion of similar Hebrew letters, and that among the letters most easily confounded are yod and resh. Is it not an obvious conclusion that for Ai we should rather read Ar ("the city"), a name as suitable for the capital of Ammon as for that of Moab?

It is true that we have no example elsewhere of Rabbah being called by the name of Ar; but in 2 Samuel 10:3, 14 it is described as "the city," and we have to be on our guard against the argument a silentio - that favourite weapon of destructive criticism! Since a conjecture must be made, it is more respectful to the prophet to choose the one which is most suitable to the context. Daughters of Rabbah; i.e. unwalled towns (as in ver. 2). Run to and fro by the hedges; rather, by the enclosures ; i.e. wander about in the open country, seeking a lodging place in the enclosures of the sheepfolds (so Numbers 32:24 , Hebrew) or the vineyards (so Numbers 22:24 , Hebrew). Their king ; or, Milcom (see on ver. 1). Jeremiah 49:3

3 . Howl, O Heshbon ] Heshbon was a Moabite city ( Jeremiah 48:2 ; Jeremiah 48:34 ; Jeremiah 48:45 ), and an Ammonite Ai is otherwise unknown. Hence conjectural emendations are ( a ) to read (with Co.) for “Heshbon” Ammon (i.e. its inhabitants), and for “Ai” the city , or ( b ) emending “Ai” as in ( a ), to read for “Heshbon” (with a considerable change of the word in MT.) the palace (Du.). Neither ( a ) nor ( b ) however is quite satisfactory. among the fences ] The Heb. means walls, such as enclose sheepfolds. Probably it needs emendation, and Gi., Du. and Co. all recognise that what we expect is something indicative of mourning. Co.’s conjecture makes the least change in MT., viz. in mourning attire . Malcam shall go, etc .] See Jeremiah 48:7 and cp. Amos 1:15 .

(3) 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 in Numbers 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 in Jeremiah 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.

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.

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).