Jeremiah 49:28

Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(28) Concerning Kedar . . .—The name belonged to a tribe of the Bedouin type, descended from Ishmael (Genesis 25:13), and at this time conspicuous as supplying the markets of Tyre with sheep and goats (Ezekiel 27:21). In PP. 120:5 it appears as the representative of the fierce nomadic life of the Arabians. Hazor appears as the name of many cities in Palestine (Joshua 11:1; Joshua 15:23; Joshua 19:36), but the combination with Kedar points to quite a different region. The probable explanation is that Jeremiah uses the term (as a like word, hazērein, is used in Isaiah 42:11 for the “villages” of Kedar) for the region in which the Kedar Arabs had ceased to be nomadic, and had made a permanent settlement. According to Niebuhr (Assur u. Bab., p. 210) it answers to the modern Hadschar in the angle formed by the southern course of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf.

Spoil the men of the east.—Literally, the B’eni-Kedem. or children of the East. The term appears in the Old Testament history from a very early date (Genesis 29:1; Judges 6:3; Judges 6:33; Judges 7:12; 1Kings 4:30; Job 1:3), and has, as might be expected, though obviously indicating a nomadic form of life, like that of the Midianites, a somewhat wide and undefined connotation. The picture of the attack on them presents a marked contrast to that of the attack on Damascus: not palaces and treasures, but tents and flocks, the curtains or hangings of the tent, their implements (weapons, kneading troughs, and the like), their very camels, seized by the conquerors.

Benson Commentary

Jeremiah 49:28-29. Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor — Kedar is well known to have been one of the sons of Ishmael, Genesis 25:13, who settled in Arabia. But of Hazor we find no satisfactory account given by commentators. There is, indeed, a city called Hazor, mentioned Joshua 11:10, and in other parts of Scripture: but this was in the land of Canaan; whereas the kingdoms of Hazor, here mentioned, were evidently in Arabia, in the neighbourhood, at least, of Kedar. Among the sons of Joktan, however, who were prior to the Ishmaelites in Arabia, and whose descendants are therefore looked on as the only genuine Arabs, we find one whose name was Hazar-maveth, Genesis 10:26-30. And, as by Kedar all the descendants of Ishmael are probably here designed, so all the other branches of the family of Joktan may, in like manner, be included under the general name of Hazor. And perhaps the most probable reason why the Arabians are called a mingled people is, that they were thus made up of the people of different descents; some of them being sprung from Joktan, others from Ishmael, to whom must be added the sons of Abraham by Keturah, who are also said to have been settled in Kedem, or the east country, Genesis 25:6, and perhaps other families besides. All these were divided into petty sovereign ties under certain chiefs or princes, which explains what is to be understood by the kingdoms of Hazor: see Blaney. Arise ye, go up to Kedar, &c. — Here the prophet foretels that Nebuchadnezzar should conquer these kingdoms, and spoil the men of the East, as the Arabians are called in the Scriptures. Their tents and their flock shall they — Namely, the Chaldeans; take away — Their substance consisted in their cattle and their tents, from whence the country itself is called the tents of Kedar, Psalm 120:5 : with these they removed from place to place for the convenience of pasture. They shall take to themselves their curtains — Those elegant coverings of which their tents were made. and which were much superior to those of any other people. And they shall cry unto them — Hebrew, וקראו, Let them call for, or command, that is, as Blaney renders it, Let them bring, upon them terror from every side.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

49:28-33 Nebuchadnezzar would make desolation among the people of Kedar, who dwelt in the deserts of Arabia. He who conquered many strong cities, will not leave those unconquered that dwell in tents. He will do this to gratify his own covetousness and ambition; but God orders it for correcting an unthankful people, and for warning a careless world to expect trouble when they seem most safe. They shall flee, get far off, and dwell deep in the deserts; they shall be dispersed. But privacy and obscurity are not always protection and security.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hazor, derived from a word signifying an unwalled village, is a general appellative of those Arab tribes who were partially settled, while Kedar signifies the Bedawin, who used only tents. Some think that Hazor is another way of spelling Jetor, i. e., Ituraea, whose inhabitants, with the Kedarenes, would naturally be called the sons of the East.

Shall smite - Or, smote.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28. Kedar—son of Ishmael (Ge 25:13). The Kedarenes led a wandering predatory life in Arabia-Petræa, as the Bedouin Arabs (2Ch 21:16, 17; Ps 120:5). Kedar means "blackness" (So 1:5).

Hazor—not the city in Palestine, but a district in Arabia-Petræa. "Kingdoms" refer to the several combinations of clans, each under its own sheik.

men of the east—Kedar and Hazor were east of Judea (Jud 6:3; Job 1:3).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Kedar, Genesis 25:13, was one of the sons of Ishmael, whose posterity inhabited part of Arabia Petrea. See Isa, Isaiah 21:13,17. We read of it Psalm 120:5 Song of Solomon 1:5 Ezekiel 27:21. We read of

Hazor Joshua 11:1 Joshua 11:10, it was the head city to several kingdoms in Joshua’s time; Jabin was king of it in the times of Deborah, Judges 4:2. The prophet foretells that Nebuchadrezzar should also conquer these kingdoms; and saith he heard the Lord call to Nebuchadrezzar to go up against them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor,.... A new prophecy concerning the Arabians; for Kedar was a son of Ishmael, Genesis 25:13; whose posterity inhabited Arabia Petraea. Hazor was Petra itself, the metropolis of the country, whose king had several petty kings and kingdoms under him; for this is not the Hazor in the land of Canaan destroyed by Joshua, which had been the head of several kingdoms; and where Jabin king of Canaan afterwards reigned, Joshua 11:10, Judges 4:2; though some think that some of those Hazorites in Joshua's time made their escape, and fled into these parts, and built a city, and called it after the name of the former:

which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord: that is, "thus saith the Lord concerning", or "unto", or "against Kedar" (p), &c. as in Jeremiah 49:1; which the king of Babylon "hath smitten"; the past for the future, common in prophetic language: or, "is about to smite" (q); would do it in a very little time; for the phrase, "thus saith the Lord", is not to be connected with what follows after, but with what goes before; though indeed the next words are the words of the Lord to the Chaldeans:

arise ye, go up to Kedar; in a hostile manner; invade that country, and possess it:

and spoil the men of the east; the Arabians, which lay east of Judea and Babylon: or, "the children of Kedem" (r); the same with Kedemah, another son of Ishmael, Genesis 25:15; whose posterity dwelt still more to the east; so Kimchi; though the Targum renders it "the children of the east".

(p) "ad Cedar", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "contra Kedarem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "contra Arabian", Schmidt. (q) "percussurus est", Junius & Tremellius, Grotius. (r) "filios Chedem", Montanus, Vatablus.

Geneva Study Bible

Concerning {c} Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and lay waste the men of the east.

(c) Meaning the Arabians, and their borders.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

28. Kedar] See on ch. Jeremiah 2:10.

kingdoms of Hazor] Hazor elsewhere is the name of towns in Palestine, but here “is probably a collective term, derived from ḥâẓêr, a ‘village,’ denoting Arab tribes living in fixed settlements or ‘villages,’ ” Dr., as opposed to nomadic life alluded to in Jeremiah 49:29 (“curtains”). Cp. Isaiah 42:11.

children of the east] Arabian tribes E. of Palestine.

28–33 (= LXX. Ch. Jeremiah 30:6-11). Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor

28–33. This utterance, like the last, is rejected by Gi. and Co., though accepted, at any rate as containing a genuine element, by Kuenen, Erbt, and others. As elsewhere in these oracles, there have doubtless been later additions (see on 31 f.); but the reference to Dedan and Tema, tribes in the N. of Arabia, in Jeremiah 25:23, would of itself lead us to expect a prophecy of this kind on Jeremiah’s part, a conclusion which receives support from the mention of Nebuchadrezzar in Jeremiah 49:28; Jeremiah 49:36, although this may be due to a writer’s intentional projection of himself into Jeremiah’s time.

This section may be divided into two subsections, which closely correspond in length, sense, and structure. Each consists of three verses, and the three consecutive thoughts in each are (i) a summons of the enemy to the attack, (ii) a promise of booty, (iii) an intimation that safety would be procured only by flight.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 28-33. - Against the nomad and partly settled Arabs - the former described under the name Kedar (see on Jeremiah 2:10), the latter under that of Hazor (connected with hazer, an unwalled village; comp. Leviticus 25:31). This use of Hazer is remarkable; elsewhere the name denotes towns in Palestine (Joshua 11:1; Joshua 15:23; Nehemiah 11:33). There are two plainly marked strophes, vers. 28-30 and 31-33, both beginning with a summons to the foe to take the field. Verse 28. - Hazer (i.e. the settled Arabs) is said to have kingdoms. "King" is used in Hebrew in a wider sense than we are accustomed to (comp. Jeremiah 25:24, "All the kings of Arabia"). The "kings" of Hazer would be mere sheikhs or emirs. Shall smite; rather, smote. There is no justification whatever for the future. The statement is obviously a later addition, to show that the prophecy was fulfilled. On the form "Nebuchadrezzar," see on Jeremiah 21:2. The men of the east. A general designation of the inhabitants of all the countries in the east of Palestine (Genesis 29:1; Judges 6:3; Job 1:3). Jeremiah 49:28

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Concerning Kedar and the Kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon smote." (The Kethib נבוּכדראצּור is perhaps merely an error in transcription occasioned by the occurrence of the preceding חצור). Kedar, the Kedarenes, a Bedouin nation descended from Ishmael, dwelling in tents throughout the region between Arabia Petraea and Babylonia (see on Genesis 25:13 and Ezekiel 27:21), is here, no doubt, a general name for all the nomadic tribes and shepherd nations of Arabia. Hazor elsewhere occurs only as the name of various cities in Palestine (Joshua 11:1; Joshua 15:23, Joshua 15:25; Joshua 19:23; Nahum 11:33), of which we need not think here, since it is Arabians who are spoken of. No locality or region of this name in Arabia is known. Jeremiah appears to have formed the name for the purpose of designating those Arabians who dwelt in חצרים, "courts" or "villages," and who thus differed from the Bedouins proper, or nomads and dwellers in tents; cf. Isaiah 42:11 with Genesis 25:16. The settled Arabians are to this day called Hadarijeh, in contrast with Wabarijeh, who dwell in tents. "Hadar, חצר, is the settled dwelling-place, in contrast with bedû, the steppe, where the tents are pitched, sometimes here, sometimes there, and only for a time" (Delitzsch on Isaiah 42:11). "The kingdoms of Hazor" are the regions of the settled tribes, ruled by their own princes or sheiks; cf. Jeremiah 25:24.

(Note: According to Mrc. v. Niebuhr, Gesch. Ass. u. Bab. p. 210, "Hazor is the modern Hajar, a region which occupies the whole north-eastern corner of the Nejed, and to which, in the wider sense, Lascha, the region on the coast, also belongs" But חצור, from חצר, which corresponds to Arab. htsr or hdr, is fundamentally different from Arab. hjr or ḥjr.)

In the prophecy, the general designation, "children of the east," i.e., Orientals, alternates with Kedar: the former is the most common name given to the tribes living to the east of Palestine, in the wilderness: cf. Judges 6:3; Job 1:3; Ezekiel 25:4. Instead of this name, Josephus uses the designation "Arabians" (Ant. Ezekiel 25:6. 1); later, "Nabateans" or "Kedarenes" became common. Here also (Jeremiah 49:32) is used the special designation קצוּצי פאה cut (at) the corner (of the hair), which points to the custom, usual among several of these Bedouin tribes, of cropping the hair of the head and beard; see on Jeremiah 9:25 and Jeremiah 25:23.

Jeremiah 49:28

"Thus saith Jahveh, Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east. Jeremiah 49:29. Their tents and their flocks shall they take: their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels shall they carry away for themselves; and they shall cry over them, Fear is on every side. Jeremiah 49:30. Flee! wander far, dwell deep, ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jahveh; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath devised a plan against them. Jeremiah 49:31. Arise! go up against a nation at ease, dwelling carelessly, saith Jahveh; it has no gates nor bars - they dwell alone. Jeremiah 49:32. And their camels shall be a prey, and the multitude of their herds a spoil; and I will scatter them to every wind who have cut the corner [of their beards], and from all sides will I bring their destruction, saith Jahveh. Jeremiah 49:33. And Hazor shall be an habitation of jackals, a desolation for ever. No man shall dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn in it."

This prophecy consists of two brief strophes, which begin with a summons to the army of the enemy to wage war on the Arabians (Jeremiah 49:28 and Jeremiah 49:31), and then announce the execution of this order; the arrangement, moreover, is such that there is attached to the first strophe a summons to the Arabians to save themselves by flight (Jeremiah 49:30), while the other concludes with the threat that their territory shall be destroyed (Jeremiah 49:33).

Jeremiah 49:28-30

עלה is used with אל instead of על, to signify hostile advance against a nation or city. שׁדדוּ with Qametz-Hatuph (without Metheg) is imperative; cf. Ewald, 227, i, with 251, c. The verbs יקּחוּ and ישׂאוּ in Jeremiah 49:29 are not jussives (Ewald, Umbreit, etc.), but imperfects, describing what takes place in consequence of the order given. Tents and flocks of sheep and goats, curtains and vessels, together with camels, form the property and wealth of the nomads. נשׂא, to take away, carry off; להם, sibi. They call out over them, as if it were a watch-cry, "Horror around:" on this expression, see Jeremiah 6:25. This justifies the call addressed to them, "Flee," etc. To נסוּ is added נדוּ for the purpose of intensifying, and this again is further strengthened by appending מאד: "Use every effort to flee." העמיקוּ as in Jeremiah 49:8. A reason is given for the summons, in the statement that Nebuchadnezzar, as the instrument of Jahveh, has formed a plan against them; cf. Jeremiah 49:20 and Jeremiah 18:11. Instead of עליהם, many MSS and the ancient versions have עליכם, in conformity with the first member. In all probability, the original reading is "against them," inasmuch as "the discourse, as in other instances, makes a transition, in the last portion, from direct address to a calmer style of speaking" (Ewald).