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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
47:1-7 God Will Judge Philistia. Philistia was one of Israel's most ancient foes (Josh. 13:2-3; Judg. 3:31; 13:1). This brief chapter asserts that God will destroy the Philistines (Jer. 47:1-4) at the hands of a foe from the north, for his sword cannot rest until then (vv. 5-7). Evidence of such a conflagration appears in the excavations of Ashkelon. Remains from the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar in include a layer with much smashed pottery and a male skeleton with a crushed skull.
47:1 before Pharaoh struck down Gaza. It is uncertain when this event occurred. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Ashkelon, one of Philistia's major cities (alongside Gaza, Ekron, Gath, and Ashdod), in Philistia sent no envoy to the multinational meeting (27:3) held in Jerusalem early in Zedekiah's reign (), so Gaza's defeat may have come prior to that time.
47:2 Babylon comes against Gaza like flood waters that overflow the land and all that fills it. Isaiah 8:8 and 28:17 use similar imagery to describe Assyria's invasion of Judah.
47:3 The swiftness and noise of the approaching army will leave fathers helpless to aid their children (46:5).
47:4 because of the day. This day of loss is a day of God's judgment (46:10). Tyre and Sidon. These Phoenician cities were likely Gaza's allies. Coastal cities were often the last places to fall in land-dominated wars. coastland of Caphtor. The original home of the Philistines (Amos 9:7). Perhaps Crete and the Aegean islands. The Philistines were well settled in Palestine by the
47:5 Baldness. This means either that Gaza's citizens shaved their heads as part of a mourning ritual (cf. Isa. 22:12; Amos 8:10) or that the land was shaved clean of inhabitants and cities. Ashkelon has perished. See Jer. 47:1. gash yourselves. Either as a sign of mourning (41:5) or when praying to one's gods (1 Kings 18:28).
