Jeremiah 47:2 - Exposition

Waters rise up. The prophets think in figures, and no figure is so familiar to them (alas for the unstable condition of those times!) as that of an overflowing torrent for an invading army (see on Jeremiah 46:8 , and add to the parallel passages Isaiah 28:18 ; Ezekiel 26:19 ; Daniel 11:10 ). Out of the north. To suppose that this refers to Pharaoh-necho returning from Carchemish seems forced and unnatural. If Necho conquered Gaza at the period supposed, it would be on his way to Carchemish, and not on his return. Besides," the north" is the standing symbol for the home of the dreaded Assyrian and Babylonian foes (see on Jeremiah 1:14 ). Isaiah had uttered a very similar prediction when the Assyrian hosts were sweeping through Palestine ( Isaiah 14:31 ). An overflowing flood; rather, torrent. The same phrase occurs in Isaiah 30:28 , where the "breath" of the angry God is described with this figurative expression. It is in autumn time that the torrents of Palestine become dangerous, and water courses, dry or almost dry in summer (comp. Jeremiah 15:18 ), become filled with a furiously rushing stream.