Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_500.lzh/6_502.TXT

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rians; and not the two tribes, or the Jews, who fell
into the hands, first of the Chaldeans, then the Per-
sians, and then the Grecians, particularly into the hands
ofAntiochus; see Dan. vii. 4, 5. Ezra i. L
Ver. £0. Shall not the day of the Lord be 'darkness,
and not light ? &c.] The design of such a question is
strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord spoken
of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and
no prosperity and happiness, at least to the wicked
Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews: even very dark, and
no brightness in it ? signifying that there should be no
deliverance, nor the least glimmering view or hope of
it; that the calamity should be so very great, and the
destruction so entire, that there should be no mixture
of mercy, nor the least appearance of relief.
Vet. 21. I hate, I despise yourfeast-days, &c.] Kim-
chi thinks this is said, and what follows, with respect
to the kingdom of the house of Judah,which kept the
feast the Lord commanded; but it is not necessary
so to understand it; for doubtless the ten tribes
imitated the worship at Jerusalem, and kept the
feasts as the Jews did there, in the observance of
which they trusted; but the Lord rejects their vain
confidence, and lets them know that these were no
· ways acceptable to him; and were so far from atoning
for their sins, that they were hated, abhorred, and
despised by him, being observed in such a manner
and with such a view as they were, And I will not
smell in your solemn assemblies; a sweet savou r of rest, as
in Gen. viii. £1. take no pleasure in their duties and ser-
vices performed, in their solemn assemblies convened
together for religious pnrposes, nor accept of them;
but, on the contrary, dislike and abhor them; see
Isa. i. 11--14.
Vet. 22. Though ye offer me burnt-offerings, and your
meat-offerings, I will not accept them, &c.] The daily
burnt-offerings, morning and night, and others which
were wholly the Lord's; and the minchah, or bread-
offering, which went along with them; in which they
thought to do God service, and to merit his favour;
but instead of that they were unacceptable to him,
being neither offered up in a proper place, if in a right
manner according to the law of Moses; however, not
in the faith of the great sacrifice, Christ; nor at-
tended with repentance towards God: neither will I
regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts; even
though their peace-offerings were of the best of the
herd. Aben Ezra-says the creature here meant is
the same which in the Ishmae. litish or Arabic language
is called ***. giamus, a creature bigger than an ox,
and like one, which is called a buffie or buffalo. And
so Ben Melech says it means one of the kinds of the
larger cattle; for not a lamb, a ram, or a sheep, is meant,
as the word is sometimes rendered by the Septuagint,
but a creature like an ox; not larger, or the wild ox,
as the above Hebrew writers, but smaller; with which
agrees the description Bellonius {} gives of the Syrian
bubalus or buffalo, which he calls a small ox, full bodied,
little, smooth, sleek, fat, and well made; and is no
doubt the same the Arabs call almari, from its
smoothness.
Ver. 23. Take thou away from me the noise of thy
songs, &c.] The ten tribes, very probably, imitated
the,temple-music at Jerusalem, both vocal and instru-
mental, and had their songs and hymns of praise,
which they sung to certain tunes; but the music of
these is called a noise, being very disagreeable to the
Lord, as coming from such carnal and wicked persons;
and therefore he desires it might cease, be took away,
and he be no more troubled with it: for I will not hear
the melody of thy viols: which may be put for all in-
struments of music used by them, as violins, harps,
psalteries,_ &c. the sound of which, how melodious
soever, the ,Lord would turn a deaf car unto, and not
regard.
Ver. 24. But let judgments run down as waters, &c.]
Or roll {o}; in abundance, with great rapidity, bearing
down all before them, which nothing can resist; sig-
nifying the plenty of justice done in the land, the full
and .free exercise of it, without any stoppage or inter-
mission: and righteousness as a mighty stream; the
same thing expressed in different words; though some
think that not the execution of judgment and justice
by men is here exhorted to, but the vindictive justice
of God is threatened; which like a mighty torrent of
water should come down, overwhelm, bear away, and
destroy all before it, even all the transgressors in
Israel.
Ver. 25. Itave ye offered unto me sacrifices and offer-
ing's, &c.] No; they were not offered to God, but to
devils, to the golden calf, and to the host of heaven:
so their fathers did in the wilderness forty years; where
sacrifices were omitted during that time, a round
number for a broken one, it being about thirty-eight
years; and these their children were imitators of them,
and offered sacrifice to idols too, and therefore de-
served punishment as they: even ye, 0 house of
Israel? the ten tribes, who are here particularly
charged and threatened; see Acts vii. 42. and the
note there.
Vet. 26. But ye have borne the tabernacle of your
Moloch, &c.] The god of the Ammonites; see the
note on ch. i. 13. and on Jer. vii. 31. called theirs, be-
cause they also worshipped it, and caused their seed
to pass through the fire to it; and which was carried
by them in a shrine, or portable tent or chapel. Or it
may be rendered, but ye have borne Siccurb your king {p} ;
and so Siccuth may be taken for the name of an idol,
as it is by Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, to whom
they gave the title of king, as another idol went by the
name of the queen of heaven; perhaps by one was meant
the sun, and by the other the moon. And Chiun, your
images; Moloch orSiccuth was one, and Chiun another
image, or rather the same ; and this thesame with Chevan,
which in the Arabic and Persic languages is the name
of Saturn, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi say; and is so ren-
dered by Montanus here; and who in the Egyptian
tongue was called Revan, or Rephan, or Remphan;
as by the Septuagint here, and in Acts vii. 43. The

{n} Apud Bochart. Hierazoic. p. 1.I. 2. c. 28. col. 283.
{o} \^lgyw\^ "volvatur", Munster, Mercerus, Liveleus, Drusius; volvat
Montanus, Vatablus; "revolvet se", Piscator; "provolvatur", Cocceius.
{p} \^Mkklm twko\^ "Siccuth regem vestrum", Munster, Montanus, Vata-
blus, Calvin, Mercerus.