Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_500_p.lzh/5_509.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-11 | 7KB | 127 lines

former, as in the Vulgate Latin version; as if the pro-
phet was to get or buy the earthen bottle of the elders
of the people, and of the priests; but those who were
the greatest and principal men of the city, and of which
the Jewish sanhedrim consisted, were to be taken by
the prophet to be witnesses of what were said and done,
to see the bottle broke, and hear what Jeremy from
the Lord had to say; who, from their years, it might
be reasonably thought, would seriously attend to those
things, and would report them to the people tO great
advantage; and the Lord, who sent the prophet to
them, no doubt inclined their hearts to go along with
him; who, otherwise, in all probability, would have
refused; and perhaps would have charged him with
impertinence and boldness, and would have rejected
Iris motion with contempt, as foolish or mad.
Ver. 2. And go forth into the valley of the son of Hin-
nora, &c.] To whom it formerly belonged, and so it
was called as early as Joshua's time, Josh. xv. 8. from
the filth and abomination of the place, and the shocking
torments here exercised, hell, from hence, in the New
Testament, is called Gehenna: here the prophet with
the elders were to go, for reasons after mentioned; be-
cause here their cruel idolatries were committed, and
Jerusalem was to be made like unto it for pollution
and bloodshed: which is by the entry of the cast gate;
the way to it out of Jerusalem lay through the east
gate of the city. The Targum calls it the dung-gate;
through which the filth of the city was carried out,
and laid near it, and where lay the potter's sherds;
hence some render it the potsherd-gate {m}; or rather
it should be the potter's gate; for that reason, be-
cause the potter's field and house lay near it, from
whence the prophet had his earthen bottle; others
call it the sun-gate ", because it lay to the sun-rising;
but seeing the valley of Hinnom was to the south of
Jerusalem, this seems rather to be the south gate;
and a proper situation this was for the potters to dry
and harden their pots. The Septuagint, Syriac, and
Arabic versions, leave it untranslated, and call it the
gate Harsith or Hadsith: and proclaim there the words
that I shall tell thee; for as yet it was not made known
to him what he should do with his bottle, or say to
the elders, until he came to the place he was or-
dered to.
Ver. 3. And say, hear ye the word of the Lord, 0
kings of Judah, &c.] The king and his queen; or
the king and his sons; or the king and his princes,
and nobles; for there was but one king reigning at a
time in Judah, and the present king was Zedekiah;
see ch. xxi. 1: and inhabitants of Jerusalem; the el-
ders of which, and of the priests, were now before
him; to whont he said the following things, that they
might tell them to the persons mentioned: thus saith
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; who is able to do
whatsoever he pleases in the armies of the heavens,
and among the inhabitants of the earth, and will do so
among his own people, notwithstanding his being the
God of Israel: I will bring evil upon this place; the
evil of punishment for the evi1 of sin; such as the
sword, fatnine, and captivity ;;neaning not on that
spot of ground where the prophet with the elders were,
but upon the city of Jerusalem, and on all the land of
Judea: the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle;
it shall be astonishing and surprising to him; it shall
even stun hint; he shall stand as one thunderstruck
or be so affected with it as a man is at a violent clap
of thunder, or at some exceeding vehement sound,
which leaves such an impression npon him, and con-.
tinues with him, that he cannot get rid of it; but
seems to be continually sounding in his ears, and they
even echo and ring with it; see 1 Sam. iii. 11. The
phrase denotes the greatness of the calamity, and
the surprise which the bare report of it would bring
with it.
Ver. 4. Because they have forsaken me, &c.] My
worship, as the Targum; they had apostatized front
God, relinquished his service, neglected and despised
his word and ordinances, and left the religion they
had been brought up in, and was agreeable to the
will of God. 'Fhis, with what follows, contain rea-
sons of the Lord's threatening them to bring evil upon
them, as before: and have estranged this place; or
made a strange place of it, so that it could scarcely be
known to be the same, nor would the Lord own it as
his; meaning either the city of Jerusalem, to which
the prophet was near, and could point to it; or the
temple, which was in sight, and which they had
strangely abused, by offering strange sacrifices to
strange gods; or the valley of Hinnom, the spot he
was upon, and which they had alienated from its
original use: and have burnt incense in it unto other
gods; to strange gods, the gods -of the Gentiles; and
this they did both in the city of Jerusalem and in the
temple, and very probably in the valley of Hinnom,
where they sacrificed their children: gods whom neither
they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Ju-
dab; of whose wisdom, power, and goodness, neither
they nor their fathers before them, nor any of their
kings, had had any instance; and whose help and as-
sistance, in times of danger and difficulty, they 11ad
had no experience of; and, till now, neither they nor
their ancestors had ever owned them, or acknowledged
them; nor scarce had heard of their names; nor any
of their pious kings, as David, Ass, Jehoshaphat,
Hezekiah, and Josiah: and have .filled this place with
the blood of innocents; young children that were sacri-
ficed here to idols, as they were in the valley of Hin-
nom, which seems to be the place principally intended;
so that they were not only guilty of idolatry, but of
murder; and of the murder of innocent creatures, and
even, of their own babes; which was shocking and
heard-of cruel ty !
Ver. 5. They have also built the high places of Baal,
&c.] Or, they have even built, &c.; and so the words
explain what is before suggested of their idolatry;
these were the temples in which they placed his
image, and the altars on which they sacrificed to him;
as follows: to burn their sons with fire, for burnt-offer-
ings unto Baal; the same idol that is sometimes called
Moloch, the names being much of the same signifi-
cation; the one signifying a lord or master; the other

{m} \^tyorxh rev\^ portae fictilis: Munster, Pagninus.
{n} Portae solaris, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius; so Ben Melech, and
Stockius, p. 389.