Jeremiah 46:9

“Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots, etc.] These are either the words of Pharaoh, giving orders to his cavalry and charioteers to make haste and come up to battle, not doubting of victory: or rather of the Lord by the prophet, ironically calling upon the horsemen in the Egyptian army to come on and engage with the enemy, and behave gallantly; and those in the chariots to drive, Jehu like, (<120920>2 Kings 9:20), with great swiftness, force, and fury, to make their chariots rattle again, and run about here and there like madmen, as the wordf813 signifies, to throw the enemy into confusion and disorder if they could: and let the mighty men come forth: out of the land of Egypt, as…”

“Ironical exhortation, as in Jer 46:3. The Egyptians, owing to the heat of their climate and abstinence from animal food, were physically weak, and therefore employed mercenary soldiers. Ethiopians--Hebrew, Cush: Abyssinia and Nubia. Libyans--Phut, Mauritania, west of Egypt (compare Gen 10:6). shield--The Libyans borrowed from Egypt the use of the long shield extending to the feet [XENOPHON, CyropÃ&brvbrdia, 6 and 7]. Lydians--not the Lydians west of Asia Minor (Gen 10:22; Eze 30:5), but the Ludim, an African nation descended from Egypt (Mizraim) (Gen 10:13; Eze 30:5; Nah 3:9). handle and bend the bow--The employment of two verbs expresses the manner of bending the bow, namely, the foot being…”

“Rather, Go up, advance, ye horses; and drive furiously, ye chariots; and let the mighty men go forth. They march out of Egypt, arranged in three divisions, cavalry, chariots, and infantry, to begin the campaign. The armies of Egypt were composed chiefly of mercenaries. Cush (see the margin), the Nubian negro, and Phut, the Libyans of Mauritania, supplied the heavy-armed soldiers Jeremiah 46:3; and Ludim, the Hamite Lydians of North Africa (see Genesis 10:13 note), a weaker race, served as light-armed troops. return to 'Top of Page'”

“And the Lydians - They were all auxiliaries to the Egyptians in this expedition. Jeremiah 46:10”

“46:9-10 The Lord had decreed that Egypt would lose the battle, so allies would be of little help. The battle of Carchemish was pivotal to the rise of Babylon as the great empire of the area.”

“rage: Nah 2:3, Nah 2:4 Ethiopians: Heb. Cush and Put, Gen 10:6, Phut, Co1 1:8; Eze 27:10, Phut, Nah 3:9, Lubim, Act 2:10 Lydians: Gen 10:13; Ch1 1:11, Ludim, Isa 66:19; Eze 27:10, Lud, Jer 30:5 Jeremiah 46:10”