Jeremiah 49:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 49:7-22

The Edomites come next to receive their doom from God, by the mouth of Jeremiah: they also were old enemies to the Israel of God; but their day will come to be reckoned with, and it is now at hand, and is foretold, not only for warning to them, but for comfort to the Israel of God, whose afflictions were very much aggravated by their triumphs over them and joy in their calamity, Ps. 137:7. Many of the expressions used in this prophecy concerning Edom are borrowed from the prophecy of Obadiah,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 49:8

Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan ,.... Another city in Idumea; though some take it to be a country in Arabia, bordering on Edom, and subdued by the Edomites: the inhabitants of this place are advised to "flee" for their lives, since the enemy was just upon them; and "turn back", lest they should fall into his hands; and hide themselves in some deep caverns of the earth, in holes, and dens of rocks, and such like places. It is a prophecy that they should flee from and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 49:8

Dwell deep - An allusion to the custom of the Arabs, who, when about to be attacked by a powerful foe, strike their tents, pack up their utensils, lade their camels, which they can do in a couple of hours, and set off to the great desert, and so bury themselves in it that no enemy either will or can pursue, as it is the Arabs alone that know the deserts, and can find water and provender for their support. Dedan - Was a city of Idumea, not far from Teman. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 49:8

Verse 8 The Prophet shews here how great was the pride of that nation, and sets it as it were before their eyes. Flee, he says; the language is abrupt, yet the meaning is not ambiguous. The meaning is, that when any one warned the Idumeans to flee, none of them would move; nay, they would remain fixed in their own country, for they thought that they would have there a perpetual quietness. The citizens of Dedan have made deep their habitation He names another city not far from Teman. He then... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 49:7-10

A startling picture of the judgment impending over Edom, the severity of which is to be inferred from the behaviour of the sufferers. Observe, no allusion is made by Jeremiah to any special bitter feeling of the Edomites towards the Israelites, such as is implied in Isaiah 34:1-17 ; Ezekiel 35:1-15 , and other passages. With regard to the fulfilment of the prophecy, we may fairly quote in the first place Malachi 1:2-4 . The agents in the desolation there referred to (still fresh in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 49:8

Turn back. The grammatical form is peculiar (literally, be made to turn back ). If the punctuation is not an oversight the object is to suggest the compulsiveness of the change of route of the Dedanites. Dwell deep; i.e. tarry in the deepest recesses ye can find, so as to avoid the calamities of the Edomites. The Dedanites, it will be remembered, were a tribe devoted to commerce (see on Jeremiah 25:23 ). Isaiah had already, on an earlier occasion, given the same advice as Jeremiah,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 49:8

Desirable habitations: a new year's sermon. "Dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan." The prophet is foretelling the calamities that are to come on the different heathen nations who dwelt around the land of God's people, and from whom they, at various times, had received sore wrong and harm. The Edomites—the descendants of Esau—were the traditional foes of Israel, and it is they who in all probability are referred to. The country they inhabited was full of rocks, cliffs, deep gorges in the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 49:7-22

Edom stretched along the south of Judah from the border of Moab on the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean and the Arabian deserts, and held the same relation to Judah which Moab held toward the kingdom of Israel. Although expressly reserved from attack by Moses Deuteronomy 2:5, a long feud caused the Edomites to cherish so bitter an enmity against Judah, that they exulted with cruel joy over the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldaeans, and showed great cruelty toward those why fled to them for... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 49:8

Jeremiah 49:8. Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep “When the Arabs,” says Harmer, “have drawn upon themselves such a general resentment of the more fixed inhabitants of those countries that they think themselves unable to stand against them, they withdraw into the depths of the great wilderness, where none can follow them with hopes of success.” D’Arvieux tells us, “they will be quite ready to decamp upon less than two hours’ warning, and, retiring immediately into the deserts, render it... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 49:7-22

A message concerning Edom (49:7-22)The Edomites, the descendants of Esau, prided themselves that they were cleverer than peoples of surrounding nations. They were confident that their country was safe against attack because its rugged mountains provided it with a good defence system. The prophet tells them that neither their wisdom nor their defences will save them from the destruction that God has determined for them (7-8).A vineyard worker picks the grapes that are ripe but leaves the rest; a... read more

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