Jeremiahchapter 49
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Speaks with:Jeremiah 49×6Jeremiah 48×6Jeremiah 25×6Jeremiah 9×4Jeremiah 50×4Amos 1×3
Summary
Chapter summary
Five short oracles. Ammon, for occupying Gad's territory, sees Milcom go into captivity with his priests, yet afterward the captivity is turned. Edom, wise in Teman, is asked whether wisdom has vanished: 'thy terribleness hath deceived thee, the pride of thy heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock', grape-gatherers would leave gleanings, but Esau will be stripped bare, and like Sodom and Gomorrah no man shall dwell there. Damascus is feeble, Hamath and Arpad confounded, and fire kindled in the wall of Ben-hadad. Kedar and Hazor, a nation at ease without gates or bars, are plundered by Nebuchadnezzar. Elam's bow is broken and her throne set by Jehovah, but her captivity too is turned in the latter days.
Context
Prophecy · Jeremiah — Jeremiah overview
- A. 1–6 Ammon: Why Then Does Malcam Possess Gad?
- B. 7–22 Edom in the Clefts of the Rock, Brought Down from the Height
- C. 23–27 Damascus Grown Feeble; Fire in the Wall of Ben-hadad
- D. 28–33 Kedar and Hazor: Rise Up Against a Nation at Ease
- E. 34–39 Elam's Bow Broken and the Four Winds Loosed
The outline
A.Ammon: Why Then Does Malcam Possess Gad?vv. 1 to 6
Read vv. 1 to 6 →B.Edom in the Clefts of the Rock, Brought Down from the Heightvv. 7 to 22
Read vv. 7 to 22 →C.Damascus Grown Feeble; Fire in the Wall of Ben-hadadvv. 23 to 27
Read vv. 23 to 27 →D.Kedar and Hazor: Rise Up Against a Nation at Easevv. 28 to 33
Read vv. 28 to 33 →E.Elam's Bow Broken and the Four Winds Loosedvv. 34 to 39
Read vv. 34 to 39 →
The world behind this chapter
Jeremiah 49The history
Five short oracles, each anchored to a real place. Ammon's capital Rabbah, under modern Amman, was a walled city on a spur above a spring; its god is named Milcom, and the charge is that Ammon had annexed the territory of Gad after the northern tribes were deported — moving into a neighbour's empty house.
Edom held the rugged country south of the Dead Sea, and the phrase you who live in the clefts of the rock describes it exactly: sandstone canyons with strongholds tucked into the cliffs, the region where the rock city later called Petra was carved. Edom's other assets were caravan routes and a reputation for wisdom — Teman was proverbial for it — and the oracle asks whether counsel has perished from the prudent. The comparison used is grape harvest: gleaners leave something behind, thieves take what they want, but this stripping will be total.
Damascus was the great oasis city and trading hub of the north, watered by rivers off the mountains; Hamath and Arpad, cities up the same road, hear the bad news first. Kedar and the villages of Hazor are desert tribes living in tents with camels and flocks, without gates or bars. The Babylonian Chronicle records Nebuchadnezzar sending forces against the Arabs of the desert around 599 BC, plundering their livestock and idols — which is what this oracle describes.
Elam, east of Babylon around Susa, was famous for its archers, and the oracle breaks the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.
What it meant to them
For the first hearers this chapter draws a circle around their whole world. Every direction they might have looked for help or feared attack is named, and every one is going down.
Two lines cut against the grain. Edom's orphans are told God will keep them alive, and Ammon and Elam are both promised a restoration of fortunes in the latter days. Even here the sentence is not the last word.
Sources cited
- The Babylonian Chronicle, in James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
- Walton, Matthews and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Jeremiah 49. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.