Jeremiah 46:9 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 46:9
Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
to ascend · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
horses
הַסּוּסִים֙ha.su.Sim
H5483
a horse (as leaping) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
rage
וְהִתְהֹלְל֣וּve.hit.ho.le.Lu
H1984
to be clear (orig. of sound · conjunction + verb, hithpael imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
chariots
הָרֶ֔כֶבha.Re.khev
H7393
a vehicle · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
men
הַגִּבּוֹרִ֑יםha.gi.bo.Rim
H1368
powerful · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
forth
וְיֵצְא֖וּve.ye.tze.'U
H3318
to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal, 3rd person masculine plural
Ethiopians
כּ֤וּשׁkush
H3568
Cush (or Ethiopia) · proper noun, a place name
Libyans
וּפוּט֙u.Fut
H6316
Put · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
handle
תֹּפְשֵׂ֣יto.fe.Sei
H8610
to manipulate · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
shield
מָגֵ֔ןma.Gen
H4043
a shield (i.e. the small one or buckler) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Lydians
וְלוּדִ֕יםve.lu.Dim
H3866
a Ludite or inhabitants of Lud (only in plural) · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
handle
תֹּפְשֵׂ֖יto.fe.Sei
H8610
to manipulate · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
bend
דֹּ֥רְכֵיDo.re.khei
H1869
to tread · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
bow
קָֽשֶׁתKa.shet
H7198
a bow · noun, common feminine singular absolute
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
Isaiah 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow,…
Ezekiel 27:10 They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy come…
Nahum 3:9 Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.
Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Genesis 10:13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
1 Chronicles 1:11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
Jeremiah 30:5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
Jeremiah 47:3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathe…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 46:1-12
The first verse is the title of that part of this book, which relates to the neighbouring nations, and follows here. It is the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah against the Gentiles; for God is King and Judge of nations, knows and will call to an account those who know him not nor take any notice of him. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied against these nations that Jeremiah here has a separate saying to, and with reference to the same events. In the Old Testament we have the word of the Lord against the Gentiles; in the New Testament we have the word of the Lord for the Gentiles, that those who were afar off are made nigh.
He begins with Egypt, because they were of old Israel's oppress…
Ironical exhortation, as in Jer 46:3. The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary soldiers.
Ethiopians--Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia.
Libyans--Phut, Mauritania, west of Egypt (compare Gen 10:6).
shield--The Libyans borrowed from Egypt the use of the long shield extending to the feet [XENOPHON, CyropÃ&brvbrdia, 6 and 7].
Lydians--not the Lydians west of Asia Minor (Gen 10:22; Eze 30:5), but the Ludim, an African nation descended from Egypt (Mizraim) (Gen 10:13; Eze 30:5; Nah 3:9).
handle and bend the bow--The employment of two verbs expresses the manner of bending the bow, namely, the…
Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots,.... These are either the words of Pharaoh, giving orders to his cavalry and charioteers to make haste and come up to battle, not doubting of victory: or rather of the Lord by the prophet, ironically calling upon the horsemen in the Egyptian army to come on and engage with the enemy, and behave gallantly; and those in the chariots to drive, Jehu like, 2 Kings 9:20, with great swiftness, force, and fury, to make their chariots rattle again, and run about here and there like madmen, as the word (u) signifies, to throw the enemy into confusion and disorder if they could:
and let the mighty men come forth: out of the land of Egypt, as Abarbinel; or let…
Dictionary and topics
Bow — The bow was in use in early times both in war and in the chase (Gen. 21:20; 27:3; 48:22). The tribe of Benjamin were famous for the use of the bow (1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2; 2 Chr. 14:8; 17:17); so also…
Cush — Black. (1.) A son, probably the eldest, of Ham, and the father of Nimrod (Gen. 10:8; 1 Chr. 1:10). From him the land of Cush seems to have derived its name. The question of the precise locality of…
Euphrates — Hebrew, Perath; Assyrian, Purat; Persian cuneiform, Ufratush, whence Greek Euphrates, meaning “sweet water.” The Assyrian name means “the stream,” or “the great stream.” It is generally called in the…
Lud — (1.) The fourth son of Shem (Gen. 10:22; 1 Chr. 1:17), ancestor of the Lydians probably. (2.) One of the Hamitic tribes descended from Mizraim (Gen. 10:13), a people of Africa (Ezek. 27:10; 30:5), on…
Ludim — Probably the same as Lud (2) (comp. Gen. 10:13; 1 Chr. 1:11). They are associated (Jer. 46:9) with African nations as mercenaries of the king of Egypt.
Nebuchadnezzar — In the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means “Nebo, protect the crown!” or the “frontiers.” In an inscription he styles himself “Nebo’s favourite.” He was the son and successor of…
Nebuchadnezzar, Or Nebuchadrezzar — (may Nebo protect the crown), was the greatest and most powerful of the Babylonian kings. His name is explained to mean “Nebo is the protector against misfortune.” He was the son and successor of…
Phut — Phut is placed between Egypt and Canaan in Gen. 10:6, and elsewhere we find the people of Phut described as mercenaries in the armies of Egypt and Tyre (Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 30:5; 27:10). In a fragment…
Phut, Put — (a bow) the third name in the list of the sons of Ham (Genesis 10:6; 1 Chronicles 1:8) elsewhere applied to an African country or people. The few mentions of Phut in the Bible clearly indicate a…
Pul — (1.) An Assyrian king. It has been a question whether he was identical with Tiglath-pileser III. (q.v.), or was his predecessor. The weight of evidence is certainly in favour of their identity. Pul…
Jeremiah 46:9
9. Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.
9. Ascendite equi (quidam vertunt, insanite, sed dura esset metaphora, ideo simpliciter accipio,) jactate vos currus (ponit in singulari numero, cum tamen verbum sit pluralis numeri,) egredientur fortes, nempe Aethiopes et Lybes, qui tenent clypeum, et Lydi, qui tenent et tendunt arcum.
He goes on with the same subject, and enumerates whatever might discredit his prophecy. For when the faithful saw that the Egyptians went on that expedition not only with immense forces, but had also, as foreign…
brings the answer to the question of astonishment: "Egypt approaches, its hosts cover the land like the waves of the Nile, to destroy cities and men." On the form אבידה (with א contracted from אא), cf. Ewald, 192, d; Gesenius, 68, Rem. 1. עיר is used in an indefinite general sense, "cities," as in Jer 8:16. - In Jer 46:9, the imperat. stands as in Jer 46:3.: "Let the formidable army approach, - cavalry, chariots, and infantry, with all their splendidly equipped auxiliaries, - nevertheless it shall perish." עלוּ הסּוּסים does not here mean "Mount the steeds," which is against the parallelism, but "Get up (i.e., prance), ye horses;" this meaning is guaranteed by the Hiphil מעלה, as used in Nah…
The Lord had decreed that Egypt would lose the battle, so allies would be of little help. The battle of Carchemish was pivotal to the rise of Babylon as the great empire of the area.
Rashi on Jeremiah 46:9
and rush madly Heb. והתהללו, an expression of folly.
Put, Phut — (1.) One of the sons of Ham (Gen. 10:6). (2.) A land or people from among whom came a portion of the mercenary troops of Egypt, Jer. 46:9 (A.V., “Libyans,” but correctly, R.V., “Put”); Ezek. 27:10;…
Archery · Practiced by the Lydians — Practiced by the Lydians
Bow, The · Used expertly by: Lydians — Used expertly by: Lydians
Chariot · For war — For war
Egypt · Prophecies respecting: Armies destroyed by Babylon — Prophecies respecting: Armies destroyed by Babylon
Ethiopia · Warriors of — Warriors of
Euphrates · 24:7; — 24:7;
Libyans · The inhabitants of Libya — The inhabitants of Libya
Ludim · .Warriors — .Warriors
Phut · .(Margin) — .(Margin)
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).
