Saturday, January 30, 2010

Sat 100130 am Jer 52

Jeremiah 52
52.1  in the sight of the Lord...
Jehoiakim...
Meaning: he whom Jehovah has set up
the second son of Josiah, and eighteenth king of Judah, which he ruled over for eleven years (B.C. 610-599).  His original name was Eliakim (q.v.).
     On the death of his father his younger brother Jehoahaz (=Shallum, Jer. 22:11), who favored the Chaldeans against the Egyptians, was made king by the people; but the king of Egypt, Pharaoh-necho, invaded the land and deposed Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:33, 34; Jer. 22:10-12), setting Eliakim on the throne in his stead, and changing his name to Jehoiakim.
     After this the king of Egypt took no part in Jewish politics, having been defeated by the Chaldeans at Carchemish (2 Kings 24:7; Jer. 46:2). Palestine was now invaded and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim was taken prisoner and carried captive to Babylon (2 Chr. 36:6, 7). It was at this time that Daniel also and his three companions were taken captive to Babylon (Dan. 1:1, 2).
     Nebuchadnezzar reinstated Jehoiakim on his throne, but treated him as a vassal king. In the year after this, Jeremiah caused his prophecies to be read by Baruch in the court of the temple. Jehoiakim, hearing of this, had them also read in the royal palace before himself. The words displeased him, and taking the roll from the hands of Baruch he cut it in pieces and threw it into the fire (Jer. 36:23). During his disastrous reign there was a return to the old idolatry and corruption of the days of Manasseh.
     After three years of subjection to Babylon, Jehoiakim withheld his tribute and threw off the yoke (2 Kings 24:1), hoping to make himself independent. Nebuchadnezzar sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, and Ammonites (2 Kings 24:2) to chastise his rebellious vassal. They cruelly harassed the whole country (compare Jer. 49:1-6). The king came to a violent death, and his body having been thrown over the wall of Jerusalem, to convince the beseieging army that he was dead, after having been dragged away, was buried beyond the gates of Jerusalem "with the burial of an ass," B.C. 599 (Jer. 22:18, 19; 36:30). Nebuchadnezzar placed his son Jehoiachin on the throne, wishing still to retain the kingdom of Judah as tributary to him.     --WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net

52.7  Arabah...
Hebrew: “arabah.” / Meaning: plain (in the sense of sterility); a desert
This name appears in only one verse of the King James Bible (KJV) (Josh. 18:18), but it appears many times in other versions. Except for Josh. 18:18 and Amos 6:14, the KJV always translates “arabah” as “plain.” In Amos 6:14, the KJV translates it as “wilderness.”
    This name was especially associated with the generally sterile and hollow depression through which the Jordan flows from the Lake of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The Arabs later called it el-Ghor. But the Ghor is sometimes spoken of as extending 10 miles south of the Dead Sea, and from there to the Gulf of Akabah on the Red Sea it is called the Wady el-Arabah.       --WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net
52.9  Riblah...
Meaning: fruitful;  an ancient town on the northern frontier of Palestine, 35 miles northeast of Baalbec, and 10 or 12 south of Lake Homs, on the eastern bank of the Orontes, in a wide and fertile plain
     Here Nebuchadnezzar had his headquarters in his campaign against Zedekiah and Jerusalem, and here also Necho fixed his camp after he had routed Josiah's army at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-35; 25:6, 20, 21; Jer. 39:5; 52:10).
     It was on the great caravan road from Palestine to Carchemish, on the Euphrates. It is described (Num. 34:11) as "on the eastern side of Ain." A place still called el Ain, i.e., “the fountain”, is found in such a position about 10 miles distant.     ---WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net
52.12-23  an extensive description of the temple treasures taken.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Fri 100129 pm Jer 50-51

Jeremiah 50
50.19 Carmel...
Meaning: a park; generally with the article, “the park”:  A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of some 12 miles or more. At the east end, in its highest part, it is 1,728 feet high, and at the west end it forms a promontory to the bay of Acre about 600 feet above the sea. It lay within the tribe of Asher.
     It was here, at the east end of the ridge, at a place called el-Mukhrakah (i.e., the place of burning), that Elijah brought back the people to their allegiance to God, and slew the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Here were consumed the “fifties” of the royal guard; and here also Elisha received the visit of the bereaved mother whose son was restored by him to life (2 Kings 4:25-37).
     "No mountain in or around Palestine retains its ancient beauty so much as Carmel. Two or three villages and some scattered cottages are found on it; its groves are few but luxuriant; it is no place for crags and precipices or rocks of wild goats; but its surface is covered with a rich and constant verdure." "The whole mountain-side is dressed with blossom, and flowering shrubs, and fragrant herbs."
     The western extremity of the ridge is, however, more rocky and bleak than the eastern. The head of the bride in Song of Songs 7:5 is compared to Carmel.
     It is ranked with Bashan on account of its rich pastures (Isa. 33:9; Jer. 50:19; Amos 1:2).  --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net

50.19  Bashan...
Meaning: light soil;  A biblical place first mentioned in Gen. 14:5, where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates “smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth,” where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed (Num. 21:33-35; Deut. 3:1-7). This country extended from Gilead in the south to Hermon in the north, and from the Jordan on the west to Salcah on the east. Along with the half of Gilead it was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 13:29-31). Golan, one of its cities, became a “city of refuge” (Josh. 21:27).  --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
50.20  Merathaim...Pekod...
The Lord commanded Babylon's destroyers to go up against the land of double rebellion, the meaning of "Merathaim." Babylon was doubly rebellious (i.e., more rebellious) than other cities and nations through its idolatry and pride. Assyria and Babylon both came from the same general area, Mesopotamia, and both nations had rebelled against Him. He gave their land the name Pekod, meaning "punishment." Divine  punishment would mark Mesopotamia. The destroyer should carry out the Lord's directions exactly by slaying and completely destroying the Babylonians. The Persians did not do this.       --Dr. Thomas Constable's Expository Notes on Jeremiah
   
Jeremiah 51
51.1  Leb-kamai... (lit. heart of my adversaries) was a code name (atbash) for Chaldea (cf. v. 41; 25:26). Here it functions as a poetic synonym.
51.27

Ararat...
Meaning: sacred land or high land;  The name “Ararat” is mentioned four times in the Bible's original manuscripts (Gen. 8:4; 2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38; Jer. 51:27). This was the name of a country. On one of its mountains Noah's ark rested after the Flood subsided (Gen. 8:4). Most researchers believe that the “mountains” mentioned were probably the Kurdish range of South Armenia in Turkey. In the King James Bible, 2 Kings 19:37 and Isa. 37:38 translate the word “Ararat” as “Armenia.” However, other versions, including the New King James Version, simply say “land of Ararat.”      --WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net
Minni...
only in Jer. 51:27;  the name of a province in Armenia, which was at this time under the Median kings. Armenia is regarded by some as = Har-minni i.e., the mountainous country of Minni.      --WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net
Ashkenaz...
one of the three sons of Gomer (Gen. 10:3), and founder of one of the tribes of the Japhetic race;  They are mentioned in connection with Minni and Ararat, and hence their original seat must have been in Armenia (Jer. 51:27), probably near the Black Sea, which, from their founder, was first called Axenus, and afterwards the Euxine.    --WebBible Encyclopedia - Christiananswers.net   

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Thurs 100129 pm - Jeremiah 48-49

Jeremiah 48
48.3 Horonaim...
Horonaiam  Meaning: two caverns; a city of Moab to the south of the Arnon, built, apparently, upon an eminence, and a place of some importance (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:3, 5, 34)  --WebBible Encyclopedia--christiananswers.net
48.5  Luhith...
Luhith: Meaning: made of boards; a Moabitish place between Zoar and Horonaim (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5)  --WebBible Encyclopedia--christiananswers.net
48.7 Chemosh...
Chemosh: Meaning: the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god; the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46); The worship of this god, “the abomination of Moab,” was introduced at Jerusalem by Solomon (1 Kings 11:7), but was abolished by Josiah (2 Kings 23:13). On the “Moabite stone” (q.v.), Mesha (2 Kings 3:5) ascribes his victories over the king of Israel to this god, “And Chemosh drove him before my sight.”  --WebBible Encyclopedia--christiananswers.net
49.8  Dedan...
An Arabian people named in Genesis 10:7 as descended from Cush; in Genesis 25:3 as descended from Keturah. Evidently, they were, like the related Sheba (Sabaeans), of mixed race (compare Genesis 10:7,28). In Isaiah 21:13 allusion is made to the "caravans of Dedanites" in the wilds of Arabia, and Eze mentions them as supplying Tyre with precious things (Ezekiel 27:20; in verse 15, "Dedan" should probably be read as in Septuagint, "Rodan," i.e. Rhodians). The name seems still to linger in the island of Dadan, on the border of the Persian Gulf. It is found also in Min. and Sab. inscriptions (Glazer, II, 392).  --International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
48.10  with slackness...  This reminds me of the parable of the talents where the last servant says that he knows that his master was a severe master even though the context here is probably different.
48.11  dregs...
Main Entry: dreg 
Pronunciation: \dreg\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse dregg; perhaps akin to Latin fraces dregs of oil
Date: 14th century
1 : sediment contained in a liquid or precipitated from it : lees —usually used in plural
2 : the most undesirable part —usually used in plural
3 : the last remaining part : vestige —usually used in plural
— dreg·gy  \dre-gē\ adjective   --Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
48.18  Dibon...
A city in Moab (Num. 21:30); called also Dibon-gad (33:45), because it was built by Gad and Dimon (Isa. 15:9). It has been identified with the modern Diban, about 3 miles north of theArnon and 12 miles east of the Dead Sea.   --WebBible Encyclopedia--christiananswers.net
48.19  Aroer!...
A city of the Amorites which stood on the northern edge of the Arnon (Deuteronomy 2:36, etc.). Taken by Israel, it shared the vicissitudes of the country north of the river, and when last named (Jeremiah 48:19) is again in the hands of Moab. It is one of the cities which Mesha claims to have built, i.e. fortified. It was within the territory allotted to Reuben, yet its building (fortification) is attributed to Gad (Numbers 32:34). Thus far came the Syrian, Hazael, in his raid upon Israel (2 Kings 10:33). The Roman road across the valley lay about an hour to the West of Khirbet `Ara`ir.  --W. Ewing in ISBE
48.31 & 36 Kir-haraseth...  Meaning: built fortress; a city and fortress of Moab, the modern Kerak, a small town on the brow of a steep hill about 6 miles from Rabbath-Moab and 10 miles from the Dead Sea; called also Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth, Kir-heres (Isa. 16:7, 11; Jer. 48:31, 36).
     After the death of Ahab, Mesha, king of Moab (see Moabite Stone, threw off allegiance to the king of Israel, and fought successfully for the independence of his kingdom. After this Jehoram, king of Israel, in seeking to regain his supremacy over Moab, entered into an Alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and with the king of Edom. The three kings led their armies against Mesha, who was driven back to seek refuge in Kir-haraseth. The Moabites were driven to despair. Mesha then took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his stead, and offered him as a burnt-offering on the wall of the fortress in the sight of the allied armies. "There was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land." The invaders evacuated the land of Moab, and Mesha achieved the independence of his country (2 Kings 3:20-27).
48.32  Jazer...  
In some cases, e.g. Numbers 21:32, the King James Version reads "Jaazer." This was a city of the Amorites East of the Jordan taken, along with its towns, by Moses, and occupied by the tribe of Gad (Numbers 21:32; 32:35). The country was very fertile, and its spacious pasture-lands attracted the flock-masters of Gad (Numbers 32:1), the southern border of whose territory it marked (Joshua 13:25). It was assigned to the Merarite Levites (Joshua 21:39; 1 Chronicles 6:81). The place was reached by Joab when taking the census (2 Samuel 24:5). In the 40th year of King David mighty men of valor were found here to whom he entrusted the oversight in Reuben and Gad "for every matter pertaining to God, and run the affairs of the king" (1 Chronicles 26:32). The fruitfulness of the country is alluded to in Isaiah 16:8; Jeremiah 48:32. (Note: "Sea of" Jazer in this verse has arisen through accidental repetition of yam, "sea," from the preceding clause.) The city was taken from the Ammonites by Judas Maccabeus, and burned (1 Macc 5:7,8; Ant, XII, viii, 1).    --International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
48.32  Sibmah... 
se'-bam (sebham; Sebama; the King James Version Shebam):  A town in the upland pasture land given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. It is named along with Heshbon, Elealeh and Nebo (Numbers 32:3). It is probably the same place as Sibmah (the King James Version "Shibmah") in Numbers 32:38 (so also Joshua 13:19). In the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah it was a Moabite town, but there is no record of how or when it was taken from Israel. It appears to have been famous for the luxuriance of its vines and for its summer fruits (Isaiah 16:8; Jeremiah 48:32).   --International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
48.34  
Heshbon... 
Meaning: intelligence; a city ruled over by Sihon, king of the Amorites (Josh. 3:10; 13:17);
     It was taken by Moses (Num. 21:23-26), and became afterwards a Levitical city (Josh. 21:39) in the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:37). After the Exile it was taken possession of by the Moabites (Isa. 15:4; Jer. 48:2, 34, 45). The ruins of this town are still seen about 20 miles east of Jordan from the north end of the Dead Sea. There are reservoirs in this district, which are probably the “fishpools” referred to in Song of Songs 7:4.  
--International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
48.34 Elealeh...  
Lay in the country taken from Sihon and within the lot given to Reuben (Numbers 32:3,17). "Their names being changed" seems to apply to all the towns mentioned. There is no indication of the other names. Elealeh is noticed with Heshbon in the oracles against Moab in Isaiah 15:4; 16:9; Jeremiah 48:34. --International Standard Encylopedia (1913) Zoar...  The name of the city to which Lot escaped from Sodom (Genesis 19:20-23,30), previously mentioned in Genesis 13:10; 14:2,8, where its former name is said to have been Bela. In 19:22, its name is said to have been given because of its littleness, which also seems to have accounted for its being spared. The location of Zoar has much to do with that of the cities of the Plain or Valley of Siddim, with which it is always connected. In Deuteronomy 34:3, Moses is said to have viewed "the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, unto Zoar," while in Isaiah 15:5 and Jeremiah 48:4 (where the Septuagint reads unto "Zoar," instead of "her little ones") it is said to be a city of Moab. The traditional location of the place is at the south end of the Dead Sea.   --International Standard Encylopedia (1913) 48.34 Horonaim...  
an unidentified place in the South of Moab. It is named in Jeremiah 48:5. Isaiah (15:5) and Jeremiah (48:3) speak of "the way to Horanaim"; and Jeremiah (48:5) of the , "descent," or "going down" of Horonaim. Mesha (MS) says he was bidden by Chemosh to "go down" and fight against Choronem. Probably, therefore, it lay on one of the roads leading down from the Moabite plateau to the Arabah.  --International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
  
Jeremiah 49
49.1  Milcom...
(Malcam, Malkam, Malcham, Milkowm) Meaning: High king; their king;  This was the name of the god of the Ammonite people. 2 Kings 23:13 calls it “the abomination of the children of Ammon.” This was one of the idols that the disobedient King Solomon honored with a high place building on the Mount of Olives (1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33). Good King Josiah later destroyed the structure (2 Kings 23:13). Milcom may also have been known as Molech or Moloch (1 Kings 11:7)  WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
49.2  Rabbah...
This alone of the cities of the Ammonites is mentioned in Scripture, so we may take it as the most important. It is first named in connection with the "bed" or sarcophagus of Og, king of Bashan, which was said to be found here (Deuteronomy 3:11). It lay East of the territory assigned to Gad (Joshua 13:25).
     In the utterances of the prophets against Ammon, Rabbah stands for the people, as their most important, or perhaps their only important, city (Jeremiah 49:2,3; Ezekiel 21:20; 25:5; Amos 1:14). Jeremiah 49:4 speaks of the "flowing valley"--a reference perhaps to the abundance of water and fruitfulness--and the treasures in which she gloried. Ezekiel 21:21 represents the king of Babylon at "the head of the two ways" deciding by means of the divining arrows whether he should march against Jerusalem or against Rabbah. Amos seems to have been impressed with the palaces of Rabbah.
49.7  Teman...
The name of a district and town in the land of Edom, named after Teman the grandson of Esau, the son of his firstborn, Eliphaz (Genesis 36:11; 1 Chronicles 1:36). A duke Teman is named among the chiefs or clans of Edom (Genesis 36:42; 1 Chronicles 1:53). He does not however appear first, in the place of the firstborn. Husham of the land of the Temanites was one of the ancient kings of Edom (Genesis 36:34; 1 Chronicles 1:45). From Obad 1:9 we gather that Teman was in the land of Esau (Edom). In Amos 1:12 it is named along with Bozrah, the capital of Edom. In Ezekiel 25:13 desolation is denounced upon Edom: "From Teman even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword." Dedan being in the South, Teman must be sought in the North Eusebius, Onomasticon knows a district in the Gebalene region called Theman, and also a town with the same name, occupied by a Roman garrison, 15 miles from Petra. Unfortunately no indication of direction is given. No trace of the name has yet been found. It may have been on the road from Elath to Bozrah.
     The inhabitants of Teman seem to have been famous for their wisdom (Jeremiah 49:7; Obadiah 1:8). Eliphaz the Temanite was chief of the comforters of Job (2:11, etc.). The manner in which the city is mentioned by the prophets, now by itself, and again as standing for Edom, shows how important it must have been in their time. --International Standard Encylopedia (1913)
49.23  Hamath...

     The kingdom of Hamath comprehended the great plain lying on both banks of the Orontes from the fountain near Riblah to Assamea on the north, and from Lebanon on the west to the desert on the east. The “entrance of Hamath” (Num. 34:8), which was the north boundary of Palestine, led from the west between the north end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh mountains.    --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
49.23  Arpad...
Meaning: support (Isa. 10:9; 36:19; 37:13), also Arphad.;  a Syrian city near Hamath, along with which it is invariably mentioned (2 Kings 19:13; 18:34; Isa. 10:9), and Damascus (Jer. 49:23)   --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
49.27  Ben-hadad...
The name of three kings of Syria mentioned in the historical books. Hadad is the Syrian god of storms, and is apparently identical with Rimmon (2 Kings 5:18), the Assyrian Rammanu, "the Thunderer," whose temple was in Damascus. The name Benhadad, "son of Hadad," accords with the custom which obtained in Semitic mythology of calling a king or a nation the son of the national god, as we have Mesha`, son of Chemosh, and the Moabites, children of Chemosh. Benhadad seems to have become a general designation for the kings of Syria (Amos 1:4; Jeremiah 49:27).  --International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
49.28  Kedar...
Meaning: dark-skinned:  It is the name for the nomadic tribes of Arabs, the Bedouins generally (Isa. 21:16; 42:11; 60:7; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:21), who dwelt in the northwest of Arabia. They lived in black hair-tents (Song of Songs 1:5). To “dwell in the tents of Kedar” was to be cut off from the worship of the true God (Ps. 120:5). The Kedarites suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 49:28, 29).  --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
49.30  Hazor...
A district in Arabia (Jer. 49:28-33), supposed by some to be Jetor, i.e., Ituraea  --WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net
49.35  Elam...

Meaning: highland; The name Elam is an Assyrian word meaning “high.”:  the son of Shem (Gen. 10:22), and the name of the country inhabited by his descendants (14:1, 9; Isa. 11:11; 21:2, etc.) lying to the east of Babylonia, and extending to the shore of the Mediterranean, a distance in a direct line of about 1,000 miles
     "The inhabitants of Elam, or ‘the Highlands,’ to the east of Babylon, were called Elamites. They were divided into several branches, speaking different dialects of the same agglutinative language. The race to which they belonged was brachycephalic, or short-headed, like the pre-Semitic Sumerians of Babylonia.
     "The earliest Elamite kingdom seems to have been that of Anzan, the exact site of which is uncertain; but in the time of Abraham, Shushan or Susa appears to have already become the capital of the country. Babylonia was frequently invaded by the Elamite kings, who at times asserted their supremacy over it (as in the case of Chedorlaomer, the Kudur-Lagamar, or ‘servant of the goddess Lagamar,’ of the cuneiform texts).
     "The later Assyrian monarchs made several campaigns against Elam, and finally Assur-bani-pal (about B.C. 650) succeeded in conquering the country, which was ravaged with fire and sword. On the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Elam passed into the hands of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce).  This country was called by the Greeks Cissia or Susiana.  
--WebBible Encyclopedia - http://christiananswers.net