Jeremiah 6:1

O ye children of Benjamin,.... The tribe of Benjamin was with the tribe of Judah, and continued with that in the pure worship of God when the ten tribes revolted; and in the land of Israel, when they

O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. Benjamin.

CHAPTER 6 God sendeth and strengtheneth the Babylonians against Judah, ; for her oppression and spoils, , and obstinacy; which provoke God’ s wrath and their destruction, . Their covetousness, false confidence, and impudence; people and priests refuse to obey God, . Their hypocritical worship shall not prevent their sure destruction, . The people called to mourn, . The prophet encouraged under their wickedness and the fruitlessness of his ministry among them, . Children of Benjamin: he means either the inhabitants of Jerusalem, because part of it stood in the lot of Benjamin, ; or else he means all Judah, because when the ten tribes fell off, the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah, and was incorporated into them. If it be asked why the prophet rather speaks here to Benjamin than to Judah, the reason probably may be, because he being of Anathoth was of that tribe, and therefore mentions them as his own countrymen. Gather yourselves to flee; spoken either ironically, that they should set themselves in array, and make head against the enemy, that is now at hand; or rather, that they should flee away together at once, make haste out of Jerusalem in troops, as the next expressions intimate; not counselling them what they should do, viz. for succour, ,6, but rather telling them what they must expect, viz. to be forced to flee out of it, if they may escape. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa: q.d. Gather yourselves together by the sound of the trumpet at Tekoa, possibly alluding to the name, which signifies trumpeting; or rather, it being one of those fenced cities twelve miles from Jerusalem that Rehoboam built, and made exceeding strong for and with his warlike provisions, ,11,12, and being built upon the advantage of a hill toward the north of Judea in the way that the Babylonians were to come, q.d. There furnish yourselves out of that armoury, and see if you can make head against them: an irony. A place noted in Scripture, where dwelt that Tekoitish woman that interceded with David for Absalom by the subornation of Joab, ; and also for the herdsmen of whom Amos was, , and (it is probable) a place where in time of danger their were wont, by the sound of the trumpet, to summon the people together. Setup a sign of fire: the word used is of very large extent; maset is used for any thing that is lifted up, neither is there any more in the text. The LXX also render it only a sign and the sign of fire possibly is mentioned rather than any other, by a metonymy of the subject, because, partly in time of danger of invasion it is the most usual and commodious sign, being seen, in regard of its lifting or raising up of itself, at once afar off; q.d. fire a beacon; and a sign whereby the Benjamites themselves once found they were surprised, ,40 2. It is a sign soonest given of any. 3.

Jeremiah 6:1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.Ver. 1. O ye children of Benjamin.] These were the prophet’ s countrymen, for Anathoth was in that tribe; so was also part of Jerusalem itself. He forwarneth them of the enemy’ s approach, and bids them begone. The Benjamites were noted for valiant, but vicious. And blow the trumpet in Tekoah.] A place that had its name from trumpeting; so there is an elegance in the original. See the like, Micah 1:10; Micah 1:14. It was twelve miles from Jerusalem, and six from Bethhaccerem. Here dwelt that wise woman brided by Joab. Set up a sign of fire.] A beacon, or such as the cross of fire is in Scotland, where (for a signal to the people when the enemy is at hand) two firebrands set across, and pitched upon a spear, are carried about the country. Life of Edward VI, by Sir F. Heywood.

VI. (1) The new discourse, or section of a discourse, deals more locally with the coming desolation of Jerusalem. O ye children of Benjamin.—The city, though claimed as belonging to Judah, was actually on the border of the two tribes, the boundary running through the valley of Ben-Hinnom (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16), and its northern walls were in that of Benjamin. It was natural that the prophet of Anathoth should think and speak of it as connected with his own people. Blow the trumpet in Tekoa.—i.e., “give the signal for the fugitives to halt, but not till they have reached the southernmost boundary of Judah.” Tekoa was about twelve miles south of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 11:6). The Hebrew presents a play upon the name Tekoa, as nearly identical with its sound is the verb “blow,” and the town is probably mentioned for that reason. The play upon the name is analogous to those that meet us in Micah 1:10-16. Sign of fire.—Better, signal. The word, though applied to a fire or smoke signal in Judges 20:38; Judges 20:40, does not necessarily imply it. Such signals were, however, in common use in all ancient warfare. Beth-haccerem.—i.e., the house of the vineyard, halfway on the road from Jerusalem to Tekoa. There, too, the signal was to be raised that the fugitives might gather round it. Jerome states (Comm. on Jeremiah 6) that it was on a mountain, and was known in his time as Bethacharma. It has been identified with the modern Jebel Fureidis, or “Hill of the Franks.” Evil appeareth out of the north.—Literally, is bending over us, as looking down on its prey. The word is that used of “righteousness looking down from heaven” in Psalms 85:11.

CHAPTER VI Jeremiah, in the spirit of prophecy, seeing the Chaldeans on their march, bids his people set up the usual signals of distress, and spread the general alarm to betake themselves to flight, 1. Then, by a beautiful allusion to the custom of shepherds moving their flocks to the richest pastures, Jerusalem is singled out as a place devoted to be eaten up or trodden down by the armies of the Chaldeans, who are called up against her, and whose ardour and impatience are so great that the soldiers, when they arrive in the evening, regret they have no more day, and desire to begin the attack without waiting for the light of the morning, 2-5. God is then represented as animating and directing the besiegers against this guilty city, which sinned as incessantly as a fountain flows, 6, 7, although warned of the fatal consequence, 8. He intimates also, by the gleaning of the grapes, that one invasion should carry away the remains of another, till their disobedience, hypocrisy, and other sins should end in their total overthrow, 9-15. And to show that God is clear when he judgeth, he mentions his having in vain admonished and warned them, and calls upon the whole world to witness the equity of his proceedings, 16-18, in punishing this perverse and hypocritical people, 19, 20, by the ministry of the cruel Chaldeans, 21-23. Upon this a chorus of Jews is introduced expressing their fears and alarm, 24, 25; to which the prophet echoes a response full of sympathy and tenderness, 26. The concluding verses, by metaphors taken from the process of refining gold and silver, represent all the methods hitherto used to amend them as wholly ineffectual, 27-30. NOTES ON CHAP. VI Verse 1. O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee] As the invading armies are fast approaching, the prophet calls on the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sound an alarm, and collect all the people to arm themselves and go against the invaders. They are called the children of Benjamin, because Jerusalem was in the tribe of Benjamin. Tekoa] Was a city about twelve miles to the south of Jerusalem. Beth-haccerem] Was the name of a small village situated on an eminence between Jerusalem and Tekoa. On this they were ordered to set up a beacon, or kindle a large fire, which might be seen at a distance, and give the people to understand that an enemy was entering the land. Out of the north] From Babylon. The Scythians. - Dahler.

1. ye children of Benjamin] Jeremiah was himself a Benjamite (ch. Jeremiah 1:1), and Jerusalem was in Benjamin, the boundary between that tribe and Judah lying in the valley of Hinnom, to the south of the city. and blow … Beth-haccherem] these two clauses interrupt the Ḳ ?inah measure, and break into the context which deals with Jerusalem only. Hence Du. and Co. (not so Gi.) consider them a later insertion. “Blow the trumpet” and the proper name Tekoa involve a play on words in the Heb. (tik‘û, tĕ ?koa‘). Tekoa (Tekû’a) is about twelve miles S. of Jerusalem, on a hill forming part of the range which stretches from Hebron towards the Dead Sea. St Jerome writing in Palestine speaks of it as daily before his eyes. It was the birthplace of Amos (Amos 1:1), and it or its inhabitants are mentioned on several other occasions. The ruins which are found there, however, are probably all of Christian times. It is in the direction which would be naturally taken by the inhabitants in the event of flight before an invading host from the north. a signal] Though the Hebrew word has no necessary reference to fire, a word (Massû’ah) closely connected with this one is used in later Hebrew to denote the fire lighted to give notice of the appearance of the new moon. The word used here occurs in Judges 20:38; Judges 20:40, to denote a pillar of smoke agreed upon as a signal. In this clause also a play on words seems intended between the imperative and its object. Beth-haccherem] (House of the vineyard) mentioned elsewhere only in Nehemiah 3:14, and to be identified in position with a conical-shaped hill called the Frank mountain, between Bethlehem and Tekoa, so named as having been used for military purposes in the Crusades; a very suitable spot for a beacon station.

Jeremiah addresses the men of Benjamin, either as being his own tribesmen, or as a name appropriate to the people of Jerusalem, which also was situate in the tribe of Benjamin.

COMING OF THE ARMY, Jeremiah 6:1-5.1. Children of Benjamin — Mentioned either because they were the prophet’s countrymen, or as a designation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the city being situated in the territory of Benjamin.