Jeremiah 31:39

Jer 31:39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

Ver. 39. Upon the hill Gareb.] Versus collem scabiosi, toward the hill of the scabby, so Tremellius rendereth it; and Junius thinks it was so called because thither they used to send their lepers and lazars. {poor and diseased person} At Geneva in times of Popery there, they had in an empty place certain cottages set up whereunto they sent their lepers, wherewith that city then abounded, through the horrible filthiness that was there in those days committed. But from the year 1535, wherein they embraced the purity of the gospel, there hath been not above one leper seen in that city. So testifieth Matthaeus Cottherius in his Exposition of the Revelation, printed at Sedan in France, A.D. 1625.

And shall compass about to Goath,] alias Golgotha, as some think, but these places here mentioned, as also those Zec 8:3; Zec 14:4, as they were known to the ancients, so to us at this day they are unknown. Travellers tell us that Jerusalem is now a poor obscure place, governed by a Turkisk Sanzak, and that Golgotha, or Calvary, is in the very midst of the town.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:39 Gareb and Goah do not appear elsewhere in Scripture, but they were probably on the west side of the city.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

measuring-line-- (Eze 40:8; Zac 2:1).

Gareb--from a Hebrew root, "to scrape"; Syriac, "leprosy"; the locality outside of the city, to which lepers were removed.

Goath--from a root, "to toil," referring to the toilsome ascent there: outside of the city of David, towards the southwest, as Gareb was northwest [JUNIUS].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 39. Upon the hill Gareb] Gareb and Goath are out of the limits of this city. The latter is supposed to be Golgotha; that is, the heap of Gotha, which, being the place where our Lord was crucified, was without the city. These hills were a little to the north-west of the old city walls: but are destined to be within the new city. See Dr. Blayney on all these verses.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He afterwards adds, Yet go forth shall the line of measure before him Some apply this to the gate, because from the gate the line was to be extended to the hill Gareb, and go round to Goath Of these names of places I cannot say much, for we do not know the ancient situation of the city; and the Jews themselves, when they make conjectures about these uncertain things, shew only their own ignorance. However, the greater part of interpreters understand this, — that the city was to be large, as though God promised that he would extend it beyond the walls; and this they illicit from the verb יצא itsa, go forth shall the line, or cord, of measure But when the Prophet says yet, he compares the ancient greatness of the city with that which he perceives it to be hereafter. Then Zechariah seems to promise that it would be such a city as would contain the same measure; for he says,

“Inhabited shall the city be under itself,”

or in its own place. (Zechariah 12:6) As then Zechariah promises that the city would occupy the same place as formerly, I do not conclude anything else from the words of our Prophet, especially as the particle yet intimates the same thing. When it is said before him, I apply this to God and not to the gate; for mention is previously made of God, Built shall be the city to Jehovah; and then he adds, before him I have no doubt but that the Prophet here bids the Israelites to raise up their eyes to God, that they might expect from him what was incredible according to the comprehension of men and of the flesh: then before him, that is, when God restores the city, then Go forth shall the line, that is, he will extend the line to the hill Gareb, and surround Goath

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(39) The hill Gareb . . .—Neither of the two localities named is mentioned elsewhere, and their position is accordingly simply matter for conjecture. The name of the first, as signifying “the leper’s hill” (the term being one that includes leprosy as well as other skin-diseases, Lev_21:20; Lev_22:22), indicates probably a position outside the walls assigned as a dwelling to persons suffering from that disease, corresponding, as some think, with the hill on the north side of Jerusalem which Josephus describes as Bezetha (Wars, v. 4, § 2). Others, however, assign its position to the south-west corner of the walls. The name Gareb appears in 2Sa_23:38 as belonging to one of David’s thirty heroes, but there is nothing to connect him with the locality. Goath is a word of doubtful etymology. Some scholars (Hitzig) interpret it as “high-towering,” and refer it to the height overlooking Kidron, afterwards surmounted by the tower Antonia. The Targum, however, paraphrases it as “the pool of the heifers,” and connects the name with the verb for the lowing of that animal. By some writers it has been identified with Golgotha, but both topography and etymology are against this view.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

39. This v., continuing the description from the N. W. corner, takes the W. side of Jerusalem and promises an extension in that direction also towards the valley of Hinnom southwards.

Gareb] Nothing further is known of this name or of “Goah.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it,.... Or, "before it" (p); the gate proceeding right on from it; of the length of the measuring line, or reed; see Eze 40:5; though some render it, "before him" (q); before the Lord, under whose direction and powerful providence the work went on; so the city gates and walls of the New Jerusalem are said to be measured with a reed, Rev 21:15;

upon the hill Gareb; which signifies a "scab", so called, as is supposed, from scabby and leprous persons sent here to dwell, which was a "lazaretto" for them. Lightfoot, following Lyra, takes it to be the same with Mount Calvary: it was on the north side of the city, bending to the west; and, if the same with Calvary, it was on the west side. The Targum renders it,

"the hill which was near to Gareb:''

and shall compass about to Goath; so called perhaps from the difficulty of its ascent, it being a laborious work to go up to it, enough to make a man breathe. Lyra takes it to be Golgotha, which is not very likely; it seems to be at some distance from the former; since from that there was a round about, a compass fetched to this: it is supposed to lie on the west side of the city, towards the south. The Targum renders it the calves' pool, or the round pool; it is thought by some more likely to be the hill Josephus (r) speaks of, that hung over the valley of Siloam.

(p) "ante ipsam", Tigurine version, Gataker (q) "Coram eo", Pagninus, Montanus; "coram ipso", Calvin. (r) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 12. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Over ... Gareb - Or, straight along the hill Gareb. Probably the hill of lepers, outside the old walls, toward the southwest.

Goath - Goah. Unknown.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That is, it shall be built round about upon its old foundations: see Ne 3. We are ignorant of the ancient situation of the city, so are the Jews themselves, therefore it is vain to pretend to an exact skill in these names of places; some say

Gareb signifies a scab, and the hill had its name from leprous persons lying there.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

39. Gareb — Cannot be certainly identified. Probably the etymology of the word (itching) correctly points to a locality set apart for lepers, and hence outside of the city; perhaps toward the southwest. As to Goath nothing is known.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Over against it upon the hill Gareb; rather, straight forward unto the hill Gareb. The hill of Gareb is not mentioned elsewhere; its meaning is probably "Leper"s Hill." It must, of course, have been outside the city, and may be identified (after Schleussner and Hitzig) with "the fourth hill, which is called Bezetha" (Josephus, "De Bell. Jud:," 5:4, 2). To Goath; rather, to Goah. But the reading of the Peshito, "to Gibeah," should probably be adopted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The line - That is, it shall be built round about upon its old foundations.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.