Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_100_p.lzh/5_171.TXT

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lion;. the viper, and fiery fiying serpent; creatures with
which Egypt. abounded, as historians relate, and
where some of them, at least, w. ere worshipped, and
where also men dwelt comparable to these creatures,
as for craft and cruelty; though some understand this
not of the country of Egypt, into which they went, but
of the desert of Arabia,. which lay between Judea and
Egypt, through which they went; which was a land
of trouble and anguish, for want of water, and because
of these noxious creatures, of which it was full; see
Deut. viii. 15: they will carry their riches upon the
shoulders of young asses; which were much used in
Judea to carry burdens on, and which were laid
chiefly on their shoulders; and this denotes the
great quantity of riches that would be, and were car-
ried into Egypt, either by the ambassadors, aspresents
to the Egyptians, to gain their friendship-and assist
ance; or else by some of the principal inhabitants of
Jerusalem and Judea, who, upon hearing of the inva-
sion by Sennacherib, gathered up their riches, and
fled to Egypt with them for safety, making use of
young asses and camels, as follow: and their treasures
upon the bunches of camels; much used in travelling
through ,the deserts of Arabia, and which have some
one, some two buncheson their backs, whereby they
are better fitted to entry burdens. The word is of
the singular number, and only used in this place,;
and has the signification of honey, as the camels
bunch is so called, as Jarchi from the Talmud{h} says,
because, when hurt, it is healed by anointing it with
honey; and upon these they carried their money and
jewels they had treasured up: to a people that shall
not profit them; the Egyptians, who were of no ser-
vice to the Jews, to free them from the invasion of
the Assyrians.
'Ver. 7- For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to
no purpose, &c.] Not sending succours in time, or
such as did no service; though they made a shew of
help, and attempted to help them, or seemed to do
so, yet failed to do it: therefore have I cried; pro-
claimed or published, either the Lord by the prophet,
or the prophet in the name of the Lord, which is
much the same: concerning this, their strength is to
sit still; either concerning this embassy, that it would
have been better for the ambassadors to have spared
all their toil, and labour, and strength, in going down
to Egypt, and have remained quiet and easy in their
own country: or, I cried, or called, to this {i}, this city
of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants-of it, and declared
to them,. that it was best for them quietly to trust in
the Lord, and depend upon his protection, and sit still
in Jerusalem, and not attempt to flee from thence to
Egypt for safety, and they should see the salvation of
God, as in Exod. xiv. 13. to which some think there
is an allusion; not but that they might be busy, and
employ themselves in preparing for their alefence, by
providing themselves with arms, and repairing their
tbrtification; but it was not right to go out. of the
city, and seek a foreign aid or safety. The word for
strength is Rahab, one of the names of Egypt, Psal.
lxxxvii. 3. Isa. li. 9. and so the sense may be, their
Rahab, their Egypt, or what they expect from thence,
namely, protection and safety, is to sit still, and abide
hquietly at .Jerusalem. Jarchi refers this to Egypt, I
ave called to this, to Egypt, they are of a proud spi-
rit. the people cease, and are proud without cause;
or according to another exposition he gives, their
pride ceaseth, or it is fit it should. De Dieu interprets
it also of Egypt; and so does Gussetius{k}, but in a
different manner, thus, the Egyptians are strength as
to rest, they will strongly rest, while Israel strongly
hopes they will help them.
Ver. 8. Now go, write it before them in a table, and
nbte' it in a boolc, &c.] Meaning their-sins, their re-
bellion against God, their trust in an arm of flesh, and
contempt of the divine word; or the prophecy of their
destruction, for these things; and both may be meant;
which the Lord orders to be written before their eyes,
m some public place, as in the temple, upon a table,
a table of wood covered with wax, on which they for-
merly wrote, and then hung it up .against a wall, that
it might be read by every one; and he would have
him also engross it in a book, that it might be kept
for time to come: now what God would have thus
written and engrossed, must be. something consider-
able, and of consequence; and, as it may refer to the
sins of this people, may denote the blackness and de-
testablehess of them, as being what they had reason
to be ashamed of, when thus set before them; and,
as it may refer to their punishment, it may signify the
certainty of it: that it may be for the time to come, for
ever and ever; and so continue to their eternal infamy,
and for the justification of God in his proceedings
against them, and be cautious unto others. The Vul-
gate Latin version renders it, for a testimony for ever,
a witness for God, and against the Jews; andso the
Targum, "and it shall be in the day of judgment for
"a witness before me for ever."
Vet. 9. That this is a rebellious people, &c.] This.
with what follows, is what the Lord would have
written and engrossed, and remain for ever; or this
is a reason why he would have it, for so the words
be rendered, for, or because, this is a rebellious
rebellious against God and his commands;
they are called rebellious children before, ver. 1. and,
as it follows, lying children; false spurious ones, only
called, not truly, the children of God, and lied when
they called themselves so, and were guilty of lying
also, not only to God, but to one another: children
that will not hear the law of the Lord; either read, or
explained, at least, not so as to be obedient to it;
and such must be rebellious ones, and deserve not to
be called the children of God. The Targum is,
"children that like not to receive the doctrine of
"the law of the Lord."
Ver. 10. Which say to the seers, see not, &c.] The
same with the prophets in the next clause, which ex-
plains  this: and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us
right things; things agreeable to the mind and will of
God, and which ought to be done; not that they,

{h} Bava Metzia, fol. 38.1. Sabbat, fol. 154. 2.
{i} \^tazl ytarq\^ vocavi ad hanc, Montanus; ad istam clamo,
Castalio.
{k} Comment. Ebr. p. 829.
{l} \^Me yk\^ nam populus, Forerius, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius; quia, Pagninus, Montanus.