Verse 3
3. All the princes, etc. As above intimated, (Jeremiah 38:17,) the king of Babylon was absent at Riblah, and hence the attacking army was under the command of these “princes.” As to their names, certain difficulties have been pointed out by the expositors, such as: 1) One name is repeated. 2) Another has the name of the god Nebo at the end, while all other known compounds of this name place it at the beginning, as Nebuchadnezzar, etc. 3) From this name, too, is omitted the title of office, though it is used with the following. 4) In Jeremiah 39:13 the Babylonian grandees are again spoken of, but there are three and not four. For such reasons as these, all of which are really very inconclusive, some have conjectured that the text here is corrupt. But this harsh conjecture is totally unwarranted. Two princes of a name are certainly by no means impossible, as history has abundantly illustrated.
Middle gate The conjecture is, that this was a gate in the wall which divided Zion from the lower city.
From this point both divisions could be most easily commanded. FAITH OF ZEDEKIAH AND Jeremiah , 4-14.
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