Jeremiah 2:23 - Exposition

How canst thou say , etc.? This is not a mere rhetorical fiction equivalent to "or if thou shouldst perhaps say," but probably represents an objection really made by the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah. Their fault was not in neglecting the public worship of Jehovah in his appointed temple, but in superadding to this, idolatrous rites inconsistent with the spiritual religion taught by Jeremiah. The people did not, it seems, regard this as tantamount to "following Baalim," just as some converts to Christianity in our own foreign missions might exclaim against being accused of apostasy, because they secretly carry on certain heathen practices. The prophet, however, applies a more rigorous test to their conduct. Baalim ; the plural of Baal, used for "other gods" ( Jeremiah 1:16 ; comp. on Jeremiah 1:8 ). Thy way in the valley . The valley in this context can only be that of Hinnom (see on Jeremiah 7:31 ), which from the time of Ahaz had been defiled with the rites of "Moloch, horrid king" (see ' Paradise Lost,' 1.392-396). Thou art a swift dromedary . Ewald would attach this half of the verse to verse 24; and there is something to be said for this plan. Swift dromedary is, properly speaking, in the vocative. The ardor of the people for idolatry is expressed by the comparison of it to the uncontrollable instinct of brute beasts. The word rendered "dromedary" is in the feminine gender; it means strictly the young she-camel which has not yet had a foal. Traversing her ways ; rather, interlacing her ways ; i . e . running backwards and forwards at the impulse of passion.