Jeremiah 2:18

“And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, etc.] By worshipping of idols, in imitation of them; or by sending ambassadors thither for help, when they had their Lord, their God, so nigh, had they not forsaken him; nor had Josiah any business to go out against Pharaohnecho, (<143521>2 Chronicles 35:21) and, contrary to the express word of God by the Prophet Jeremy, did the Jews which remained in Judea go into Egypt, (<244219>Jeremiah 42:19 43:1-7). To drink the waters of Sihor? which is the river Nile, as Jarchi interprets it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it “the waters of Geon”, or “Gihon”: and this also is the same with the Nile, as Josephusf34 affirms, who says, “Geon,…”

“now--used in a reasoning sense, not of time. the way of Egypt--What hast thou to do with the way, that is, with going down to Egypt; or what . . . with going to Assyria? drink . . . waters--that is, to seek reinvigorating aid from them; so Jer 2:13, Jer 2:36; compare "waters," meaning numerous forces (Isa 8:7). Sihor--that is, the black river, in Greek, Melas ("black"), the Nile: so called from the black deposit or soil it leaves after the inundation (Isa 23:3). The Septuagint identifies it with Gihon, one of the rivers of Paradise. the river--Euphrates, called by pre-eminence, the river; figurative for the Assyrian power. In 625 B.C., the seventeenth year of Josiah, and the fourth of…”

“Sihor - The Nile. To lean upon Egypt was a violation of the principles of theocracy. The two rivers are the two empires, and to drink their waters is to adopt their principles and religion. Compare also Isaiah 8:6-7. return to 'Top of Page'”

“And now - What business hast thou there? Sihor - The Nile: it signifies black, called Melas by the Greeks, either from the blackness of the land it passed through, or of the soil it casts up. The waters - Here and by the same words before is meant, to seek help from either place. River - Euphrates, often called so by way of eminency. Jeremiah 2:19”

“2:18 Israel’s alliances with Egypt and covenants with Assyria (2 Kgs 15:19–19:37) provided no benefits, only sorrow. Neither the Nile in Egypt nor the Euphrates in Assyria ever helped Israel (Isa 30:1-3; Hos 5:13).”

“what hast: Jer 2:36, Jer 37:5-10; Isa 30:1-7, Isa 31:1; Lam 4:17; Eze 17:15; Hos 7:11 Sihor: Jos 13:3 or what hast: Kg2 16:7-9; Ch2 28:20, Ch2 28:21; Hos 5:13 Jeremiah 2:19”