Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_100_p.lzh/5_117.TXT

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likea person in distraction and confusion, that knew
not w hat to think sa or do. ca. ulness a ri hted
me; the. terror of Cyrus s army seized him, of its ir-
ruption into the city,and of his being destroyed by it;
the writing on the wall threw him into a panic, and
the news of the Medes and Persians being entered the
city increased it: the night of my pleasure hath he turned
into fear unto me; in which he promised himself so
much pleasure, at a feast he had made for his princes,
wives, and concubines; either in honour of his god,
as some think {s}, being an annual one; or, as Josephus
ben Gorion t says, on account of the victory,he had ob-
tained over the Medea and Persians; and so was quite
secure, and never in the least thought of destruction
being at hand; but in the midst of all his revelling,
mirth, and jollity, the city was surprised and taken,
and he slain, Dan. v. 1, 30. So mystical Babylon, in
the midst of her prosperity, whilst she is saying that
she sits a queen, and knows no sorrow, her judgment
and plagues shall come upon her, Rev. xviii. 7, 8.
  Vet. 5. Prepare the table, &c.]' Set it, spread it,
furnish it with all kind of provisions, as at a feast; and
such an one Belshazzar made, the night the city was
taken: these words aro directed to him by his courtiers
or queen, as personated by the prophet, in order to
remove his fears; see Dan. v. 10: watch in the watch-
tower; this is said to his servants, his soldiers, or sen-
tinels, that were placed ou watch-towers to observe
the motions of the enemy, who were ordered on duty,
and to be on guard, that he and his nobles _might feast
the more securely; and all this being done, a table fur-
nished, and a guard set, he, his nobles, and all his
guests, are encouraged to eat and drink liberally and
cheerfully, without any fear of the Medes and Persians,
who were now besieging the city; when, at the same
time, ,by the Lord it would be said, arise, ye princes;
not, ye nobles of Babylon, from your table, quit it, and
your feasting and mirth: and anoint the shield; pre-
pare your arms, see that they are in good order, get
them in readiness, and defend your king, yourselves,
and your city, as some; but the princes of the Medea
and Persians, Cyrus and his generals, are bid to take
their arms, and enter the city whilst indulging them-
selves at their feast: it was usual to anoint shields,
and other pieces of armour, partly that they might be
smooth and slippery, as Jarchi, that so the darts of the
enemy might easily slide off; and partly for the po-
lishing and brightening of them, being of metal, espe-
cially of brass; so the Targum, "polish and make the
"arms bright ;" see 2 Sam. i. 21. Aben Ezra under-
stands the words as an exhortation to the princes, ts
arise and anoint Darius king, in the room of Belshazzar
slain; the word shield sometimes signifying a king,
for which he mentions Psal. lxxxiv. 9. so Ben Melech;
but they are a call of the prophet, or of the Lord, to the
princes of the Medes and Persians, to take the oppor-
tunity, whilst the Babylonians were feasting, to fal
upon them; and the words may be rendered thus {u},
"in or whilst preparing the table, watching in the
"watch-tower, eating and drinking, arise, ye princes,
"and anoint the shield ;" which was done by their
servants, though they are called upon.
Ver. 6. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, &c.]
This is a confirmation of the above prophecy from the
Lord himself, he shewing to the prophet, in a visionary
way, the ruin of Babylon, and the means and instru-
ments of it: go, set a watchman; not Habakkuk, as
Jarchi; nor Urias, as the Septuagint; nor Jeremiah, as
others; but himself, who, in a way of vision, personated
a watchman on the walls of Babylon; and which was
no way unsuitable to Iris character and office as a pro-
phet: let him declare what he seeth ; what he sees
coming at a distance, or at hand, let him faithfully
and publicly make it known: these are not the words
of the king of Babylon to one of his watchmen; but
of the Lord of hosts to his prophet.
Ver. 7. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horse-
men, &c.] The drivers of it, or the riders in it; per-
haps meaning Cyrus and Darius: a chariot of asses,
and a chariot of camels; by the former may be meant
the Persians, who very much used mules or asses; and
the Medes by the latter, who abounded in camels: the
words are in the singular number, and may be rendered,
a rider of an ass, and a rider of a camel {w}; and so may
describe the couple of riders along with the chariot,
which may signify the whole army of the Medes and
Persians, chariots being much used in war; and the
rider of the ass or mule may design Cyrus, who was
called a mule, because of his mixed descent, being a
Persian by his father, and a Mede by his mother's side;
so the oracle of Apollo told the Babylonians, that their
city should stand, until a mule was king of the Medes;
and the rider of the camel may point at Darius: and
he hearkened diligentl!! with much heed; the watchman
that was set to watch used the utmdst attention to
what he saw, and listened diligently to the noise of
this chariot and horsemen, as they came nearer.
Ver. 8. And he cried, a lion, &c.] That is, the watch-
man cried, a lion, or that he saw a lion; not Uriah the
priest, as the Septuagint; nor Habakkuk, as some Jew-
ish writers; but Cyrus, at the head of the Persian and
Median armies, compared to a lion for his fierceness,
courage, and strength; see 2 Tim. iv. 17. a type of
Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, by whom anti-
christ, or mystical Babylon, will be destroyed, Rev.
v. 5. TheTargum is," the prophet said, the voice of
"armies, coming with coats of mail, as a lion." Abea
Ezra interprets it, the watchman cried as a lion, with
a great voice; upon sight of the chariots and horsemen,
he lifted up his voice, and roared like a lion, to express
the terror he was in, and the greatness of the calamity
that was coming upon the city. I stand continually
upon the Watch-tower in the day-time: so that nothing
could escape his notice: and I am set in my ward whole
nights: which expresses his diligence, vigilance, and
constancy, in the discharge of his duty; and therefore
what he said he saw might be depended on.
Ver. 9. And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men,

{s} Vid. Herodot. 1. 1. c. 191. Xenophon. 1.7. c. 23.
{t} L. 1. c. 5. p. 24. Ed. Braithaupt.
{u} \^Nxlvh Kre\^ disponendo. mensam, speculando speculam, come-
dendo, bibendo, surgite principes, ungite clypeum, Montanus; and to
the same sense Grotius.
{w} \^lmg bkr rwmx bkr\^ \~anabathn onou, kai anabathn kamhlou\~, Sept.;
ascensorem asini, & ascensorem cameli, Vulg. Lat.; unum equitantium
in asinis, alterum equitantium in camelis, Piscator.