Jeremiah 4:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 4:11
At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows wh…
Hosea 13:15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring sh…
Isaiah 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt…
Isaiah 22:4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
Isaiah 27:8 In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like t…
Jeremiah 8:19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her ki…
Jeremiah 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 4:5-18
God's usual method is to warn before he wounds. In these verses, accordingly, God gives notice to the Jews of the general desolation that would shortly be brought upon them by a foreign invasion. This must be declared and published in all the cities of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, that all might hear and fear, and by this loud alarm be either brought to repentance or left inexcusable. The prediction of this calamity is here given very largely, and in lively expressions, which one would think should have awakened and affected the most stupid. Observe,
I. The war proclaimed, and general notice given of the advance of the enemy. It is published now, some years before, by the prophet; but, si…
dry wind--the simoom, terrific and destructive, blowing from the southeast across the sandy deserts east of Palestine. Image of the invading Babylonian army (Hos 13:15). Babylon in its turn shall be visited by a similar "destroying wind" (Jer 51:1).
of . . . high places--that is, that sweeps over the high places.
daughter--that is, the children of my people.
not to fan--a very different wind from those ordinary winds employed for fanning the grain in the open air.
John Gill on Jeremiah 4:11
At that time shall it be said to this people, and to Jerusalem,.... The inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem, the people of the Jews; or "concerning" (x) them, as Jarchi interprets it:
a dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people. The Targum is,
"as the south wind upon the heads of floods of water in the wilderness, so is the way of the congregation of my people;''
but rather the north wind is designed, since that is a dry one, and the south wind a moist one; and the rather, since this wind intends Nebuchadnezzar and his army, which should come from Babylon, from the north. Some render it, "a neat clean wind" (y); which strips the trees, lays bare rocks a…
(Verse 11, 12.) In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A burning wind (or dew) in the ways that are in the desert. The ways of my people's children: not for winnowing, and not for purifying. A spirit full of these will come to me. When the sword reaches to the soul, and the threshing floor is complete: then a burning wind will come from the desert, which will not purify and winnow it, but with the chaff scattered here and there, the grain will be stored in the barns: but a full spirit, not for the people, but for me, will come, so that my wheat may be scattered. The wind and the spirits are called by the same name among the Hebrews, namely 'Rua'. And depending on the context or the place, we should understand it as either wind or spirit. Others have explained this passage as follows: after the area has been cleared, the remaining things are saved. Hence it is also written: 'The Spirit of fullness will come to me,' as the Evangelist says: 'We have all received from his fullness' (John 1:16), and we will receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. As for the burning wind, according to the story, take Nebuchadnezzar, who consumes everything. According to the tropology, the opposing power, which comes from the desert and solitude where there is no hospitality of God, will try to overthrow his Church. And now I will speak my judgments with them. Ἀποσιώπησις is, according to that Virgilian saying (Aeneid. I): Whom I... but it is better to calm the troubled waves. Therefore, about to speak of prosperity, he holds back and joins sad things with sad. For these are the judgments, by which God once spoke with his people, so that they may know how to justly endure what they endure.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Agriculture — Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession…
Desert — (1.) Heb. midbar, “pasture-ground;” an open tract for pasturage; a common (Joel 2:22). The “backside of the desert” (Ex. 3:1) is the west of the desert, the region behind a man, as the east is the…
Fast — The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called “the fast” (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old…
Winnow — Corn was winnowed, (1.) By being thrown up by a shovel against the wind. As a rule this was done in the evening or during the night, when the west wind from the sea was blowing, which was a moderate…
Condescension Of God · Expostulates with backsliding Israel — Expostulates with backsliding Israel
Deserts · Phenomena of, alluded to: Simoom or deadly wind — Phenomena of, alluded to: Simoom or deadly wind
Meteorology And Celestial Phenomena · 9:7;26:7,8,11;27:20,21;28:24-27;29:19;36:27-33;37:6-22;38:8-11,22,24-29,31-35,37; — 9:7;26:7,8,11;27:20,21;28:24-27;29:19;36:27-33;37:6-22;38:8-11,22,24-29,31-35,37;
Wind, The · Mentioned in scripture: The simoom or pestilential wind — Mentioned in scripture: The simoom or pestilential wind
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Jeremiah 4:11-12
Jeremiah 4:11-12
11. At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
11. In tempore illo dicetur populo huic (hoc est, de populo hoc; l enim hic accipitur pro v,) et de Jerusalem, ventus siccus (alii transferunt, vehementem) in excelsis deserti (in deserto, ad verbum,) versus viam filiae populi mei, non ad spargendum, neque ad purgandum;
12. Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
12. Ventus plenior illis veniet mihi: nunc etiam ego loquar judicia cum illis (hoc est, proferam judicia cum illis.)
Jeremiah p…
Description of the impending ruin, from which nothing can save but speedy repentance. - Jer 4:11. "At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind from the bleak hills in the wilderness cometh on the way toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow and not to cleanse. Jer 4:12. A wind fuller than for this shall come to me; now will I also utter judgments upon them. Jer 4:13. Behold, like clouds it draws near, and like the storm are it chariots, swifter than eagles its horses. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. Jer 4:14. Wash from wickedness thy heart, Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thine iniquitous thoughts lodge within thee? Jer 4:15. For a v…
The Lord’s people would soon feel the burning wind and roaring blast of God’s judgment (13:24; Hos 13:15).
Rashi on Jeremiah 4:11
of this people Concerning this people when they are all exiled.
has swept the rivulets It sweeps even the fields with rivulets of water to make them into a desert. Another explanation: צח is an expression of thirst, which is translated צחותא.
[on] the way of the daughter of My people That wind will come, and also, not to winnow the chaff from the threshing floor ([a]vanner in O.F.). Comp. (infra 15:7) “And I winnowed them with a sieve (ואזרם במזרה).”
and not to cleanse And not to cleanse grain does it come. That is to say, not for good but for evil, to exile men [women], and children, and livestock.
