Jeremiah 46:2-9
2. Inscription of the first prophecy.
Pharaoh-necho—He, when going against Carchemish (Cercusium, near the Euphrates), encountered Josiah, king of Judah (the ally of Assyria), at Megiddo, and slew him there (2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:20-24); but he was four years subsequently overcome at Carchemish, by Nebuchadnezzar, as is foretold here; and lost all the territory which had been subject to the Pharaohs west of the Euphrates, and between it and the Nile. The prediction would mitigate the Jews' grief for Josiah, and show his death was not to be unavenged (2Ki 24:7). He is famed as having fitted out a fleet of discovery from the Red Sea, which doubled the Cape of Good Hope and returned to Egypt by the Mediterranean.3. Derisive summons to battle. With all your mighty preparation for the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, when ye come to the encounter, ye shall be "dismayed" (Jer 46:5). Your mighty threats shall end in nothing.
buckler—smaller, and carried by the light-armed cavalry. shield—of larger size, and carried by the heavily armed infantry.4. Harness the horses—namely, to the war chariots, for which Egypt was famed (Ex 14:7; 15:4).
get up, ye horsemen—get up into the chariots. MAURER, because of the parallel "horses," translates, "Mount the steeds." But it is rather describing the successive steps in equipping the war chariots; first harness the horses to them, then let the horsemen mount them. brigandines—cuirasses, or coats of mail.5. (See on Jer 46:3). The language of astonishment, that an army so well equipped should be driven back in "dismay." The prophet sees this in prophetic vision.
fled apace—literally, "fled a flight," that is, flee precipitately. look not back—They do not even dare to look back at their pursuers.6. Let not—equivalent to the strongest negation. Let not any of the Egyptian warriors think to escape by swiftness or by might.
toward the north—that is, in respect to Egypt or Judea. In the northward region, by the Euphrates (see Jer 46:2).7. as a flood— (Jer 47:2; Isa 8:7, 8; Da 11:22). The figure is appropriate in addressing Egyptians, as the Nile, their great river, yearly overspreads their lands with a turbid, muddy flood. So their army, swelling with arrogance, shall overspread the region south of Euphrates; but it, like the Nile, shall retreat as fast as it advanced.
8. Answer to the question in Jer 46:7.
waters . . . moved like the rivers—The rise of the Nile is gentle; but at the mouth it, unlike most rivers, is much agitated, owing to the sandbanks impeding its course, and so it rushes into the sea like a cataract.9. Ironical exhortation, as in Jer 46:3. The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary soldiers.
Ethiopians—Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia. Libyans—Phut, Mauritania, west of Egypt (compare Ge 10:6). shield—The Libyans borrowed from Egypt the use of the long shield extending to the feet [XENOPHON, Cyropædia, 6 and 7]. Lydians—not the Lydians west of Asia Minor (Ge 10:22; Eze 30:5), but the Ludim, an African nation descended from Egypt (Mizraim) (Ge 10:13; Eze 30:5; Na 3:9). handle and bend the bow—The employment of two verbs expresses the manner of bending the bow, namely, the foot being pressed on the center, and the hands holding the ends of it. Ezekiel 30:5-9
5. the mingled people—the mercenary troops of Egypt from various lands, mostly from the interior of Africa (compare Eze 27:10; Jer 25:20, 24; 46:9, 21).
Chub—the people named Kufa on the monuments [HAVERNICK], a people considerably north of Palestine [WILKINSON]; Coba or Chobat, a city of Mauritania [MAURER]. men of the land that is in league—too definite an expression to mean merely, "men in league" with Egypt; rather, "sons of the land of the covenant," that is, the Jews who migrated to Egypt and carried Jeremiah with them (Jer 42:1-44:30). Even they shall not escape (Jer 42:22; 44:14).6. from the tower of Syene—(see on Eze 29:10).
7. in the midst of . . . countries . . . desolate—Egypt shall fare no better than they (Eze 29:10).
9. messengers . . . in ships to . . . Ethiopians— (Isa 18:1, 2). The cataracts interposing between them and Egypt should not save them. Egyptians "fleeing from before Me" in My execution of judgment, as "messengers" in "skiffs" ("vessels of bulrushes," Isa 18:2) shall go up the Nile as far as navigable, to announce the advance of the Chaldeans.
as in the day of Egypt—The day of Ethiopia's "pain" shall come shortly, as Egypt's day came.