Jeremiah 47:5

“Baldness is come upon Gaza, etc.] The Targum is, “vengeance is come to the inhabitants of Gaza.” It is become like a man whose hair is fallen from his head, or is clean shaved off; its houses were demolished; its inhabitants slain, and their wealth plundered; a pillaged and depopulated place. Some understand this of shaving or tearing off the hair for grief, and mourning because of their calamities; which agrees with the latter clause of the verse: Ashkelon is cut off [with] the remnant of their valley; this was one of the live cities of the Philistines; it lay north of Gaza. Herodotusf863 calls Ashkelon a city of Syria, in which was the temple of Urania Venus, destroyed by the Scythians;…”

“Baldness . . . cut thyself--Palestine is represented as a female who has torn off her hair and cut her flesh, the heathenish (Lev 19:28) token of mourning (Jer 48:37). their valley--the long strip of low plain occupied by the Philistines along the Mediterranean, west of the mountains of Judea. The Septuagint reads Anakim, the remains of whom were settled in those regions (Num 13:28). Joshua dislodged them so that none were left but in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod (Jos 11:21-22). But the parallel (Jer 47:7), "Ashkelon . . . the sea-shore," established English Version here, "Ashkelon . . . their valley."”

“Baldness - Extreme mourning (see Jeremiah 16:6). Is cut off - Others render, is speechless through grief. With the remnant of their valley - Others, O remnant of their valley, how long wilt thou cut thyself? Their valley is that of Gaza and Ashkelon, the low-lying plain, usually called the Shefelah, which formed the territory of the Philistines. The reading of the Septuagint is remarkable: “the remnant of the Anakim,” which probably would mean Gath, the home of giants 1 Samuel 17:4. Jeremiah 47:6. Or, Alas, Sword of Yahweh, how long wilt thou not rest? For the answer, see Jeremiah 47:7. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical…”

“The remnant - Those who lived in the valleys near Ashkelon. But thyself - Why will you afflict yourselves, when all your mourning will do you no good. Jeremiah 47:6”

“47:5 Gaza was a major Philistine city. • head shaved bald: The city’s people expressed their grief by following this ritual (cp. Isa 15:2; Mic 1:16). • Ashkelon, another Philistine city a few miles north on the coast, would be emptied.”

“Baldness: Jer 48:37; Isa 15:2; Eze 7:18; Mic 1:16 Gaza: Jer 47:1; Amo 1:6-8; Zep 2:4-7; Zac 9:5-7 the remnant: Jer 47:4, Jer 25:20; Eze 25:16 how: Jer 16:1, Jer 41:5, Jer 48:37; Lev 19:28, Lev 21:5; Deu 14:1; Kg1 18:28; Mar 5:5 Jeremiah 47:6”

“The prophet sees, in the spirit, the threatened desolation as already come upon Philistia, and portrays it in its effects upon the people and the country. "Baldness (a sign of the deepest and most painful sorrow) has come upon Gaza;" cf. Mic 1:16. נדמתה is rendered by the Vulgate conticuit. After this Graf and Ngelsbach take the meaning of being "speechless through pain and sorrow;" cf. Lam 2:10. Others translate "to be destroyed." Both renderings are lexically permissible, for דּמה and דּמם have both meanings. In support of the first, the parallelism of the members has been adduced; but this is not decisive, for figurative and literal representations are often interchanged. On the whole, it…”