Jeremiah 46:9

Jer 46:9 Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle [and] bend the bow.

Ver. 9. Come up, ye horses,] i.e., Ye horsemen, all the cavalry of Egypt. {as Exo 14:7}

And rage.] Or, Bestir yourselves as if ye were wild or mad: instar furiarum discurrite per campos.

The Ethiopians and the Lybians.] The Africans that were confederates and auxiliaries to the Egyptians.

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.

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.

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

For these nations took part with the Egyptians.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

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, Cyropædia, 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 pressed on the center, and the hands holding the ends of it.

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 9. The Ethiopians] Heb. Cush, Phut, and the Ludim. This army was composed of many nations. Cush, which we translate Ethiopians, almost invariably means the Arabians; and here, those Arabs that bordered on Egypt near the Red Sea. Phut probably means the Libyans; for Phut settled in Libya, according to Josephus. Phut and Cush were two of the sons of Ham, and brothers to Mitsraim, the father of the Egyptians, Ge 10:6; and the Ludim were descended from Mitsraim; see Ge 10:13. Bochart contends that the Ludim were Ethiopians, and that they were famous for the use of the bow. Phaleg, lib. iv. 26.

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

He goes on with the same subject, and enumerates whatever might discredit his prophecy. For when the faithful saw that the Egyptians went on that expedition not only with immense forces, but had also, as foreign aids, the Ethiopians and the Libyans, and even transmarine soldiers from Lydia, — when they saw hired soldiers from all parts joined to the Egyptians, it was hardly credible that such an army could be put to flight. Then the Prophet says here, that though Pharaoh hired the Ethiopians, the Libyans, and the Lydians, yet with all these forces he would perish.

He again speaks in the name of Pharaoh, Ascend, ye horses; toss, ye chariots, and let the valiant come forth This coming forth may refer to the lands whence they came. He mentions first the Ethiopians, who were near the Egyptians, though separated from them. Then he adds the people of Libya, who were Africans, or who were in the middle between Egypt and Africa. Then he says, that they laid hold on the shield. He points out their principal armor, not that they were without a helmet and sword and other arms, but they mainly trusted in their shields. As we know that the Macedonians wore the pelta, and were remarkable for that piece of armor, so the Prophet says that the Ethiopians and Libyans were furnished with bucklers or shields. He mentions also the Lydians, who were from another part, even from the opposite shore of the sea; for we know that the Lydians were in Asia Minor, while the Egyptians were in the middle between Africa and Judea. The Mediterranean Sea was therefore between them. It hence appears, that auxiliaries from a distance, and with great expense, were procured by Pharaoh when he undertook this war. And it is also probable that other nations were hired; but the Prophet mentions only the Ethiopians, Libyans, and Lydians: and he says, that those named last laid hold on the bow, because they were the best archers. It now follows, —

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.

(9) The Ethiopians and the Libyans.—In the Hebrew, Cush and Put. The verse describes the prominent elements in the composition of the Egyptian army. The “chariots and horses” had long been proverbial (1Ki_10:28-29; 2Ch_1:16; Exo_15:19). The Cushites were the Ethiopians of the Upper Valley of the Nile, sometimes, as under Zerah (2Ch_14:9) and Tirhakah (2Ki_19:9), asserting their independence, but at this time subject to Necho. The name Phut meets us, with Cush and Mizraim, in the list of the sons of Ham in Gen_10:6; and presumably, therefore, belongs to an African people. Wherever it is mentioned by the prophets it is as an ally or tributary of Egypt (Nah_3:9; Eze_27:10; Eze_30:5; Eze_38:5). The LXX. version renders it by Libyan, and is followed by the Vulgate and the English. In Nah_3:9, however, Phut is distinguished from the Libyans (= Lubim); and the LXX. has but one word for both. The word PET is found on Egyptian inscriptions, both as meaning a “bow”and as the name of a people, and this may correspond to the Put of the Hebrew text. The Lydians, or Ludim, are named in the list of Hamite nations as descended from Mizraim (Gen_10:13); the name is joined with Phut in Eze_27:10, with Cush and Phut in Eze_30:4-5. This would seem to point to an African rather than an Asiatic people like the Lydians. On the other hand, we learn from Herodotus (ii. 153) that, some thirty or forty years before the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Psammetichus I. had settled a large colony of Ionian and Carian emigrants on both banks of the Nile, between Bubastis and the Pelusiac mouth of that river, and that Amasis afterwards formed them into a bodyguard at Memphis. It is obvious that the fame of the monarchy which had its capital at Sardis might easily lead to these Greeks being classed as Lydians, and that thus the name (without entering into its earlier ethnological significance) would acquire a new prominence at the time when the prophets wrote in connexion with Egypt.

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

9. Probably a continuation of Pharaoh’s appeal to his warriors, as put into his mouth by Jeremiah.

Go up] The summons is to cavalry, chariots, and infantry that they should set forth from Egypt.

Cush and Put … and the Ludim] the mercenary troops, who formed from the days of Psammetichus the chief part of the Egyptian armies. The Ethiopians (Cush) were children of Ham (Gen_10:6). The situation of Put is doubtful. It is generally placed on the N. coast of Africa, W. of Egypt, but may have been Punt, a country on the Red Sea. The Ludim (see Gen_10:13) were also Africans. Possibly, however, we should read Lubim here, as in Nah_3:9, i.e. the people of Libya (W. of Egypt). We have the three peoples here mentioned spoken of again as Egyptian mercenaries in Eze_30:5.

bend] literally, tread, string.

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.

Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots,.... 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, Kg2 9:20, with great swiftness, force, and fury, to make their chariots rattle again, and run about here and there like madmen, as the word (u) 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 Abarbinel; or let them come forth, and appear in the field of battle with courage and greatness of mind, and do all their might and skill can furnish them with, or enable them to do:

the Ethiopians and the Lybians, that handle the shield; or Cush and Phut, both sons of Ham, and brethren of Mizraim, from whence Egypt had its name, Gen 10:6; the posterity of these are meant. The Cushites or Ethiopians were near neighbours of the Egyptians, and their allies and confederates. The Lybians or Phuteans, as the Targum, were the posterity of Phut, who dwelt to the westward of Egypt, and were the auxiliaries of that nation, and with the Ethiopians and Lydians are mentioned as such in Eze 30:4; as here. The shield was a weapon they much used in war, and were famous for their skill in it, and are described by it. The Egyptians were remarkable for their shields: Xenophon (w) describes them as having shields reaching down to their feet; and which covered their bodies more than the breast plates and targets of the Persians did; which helped them to push forward, having them on their shoulders, so that the enemy could not withstand them:

and the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow; these were the posterity of Ludim the son of Mizraim, Gen 10:13; and were the Lydians in Africa, and not in Asia, who sprung from Lud the son of Shem, Gen 10:22; they were famous for their skilfulness in the use of bows and arrows; see Isa 66:19; now these are called together to use their military skill, and show all the courage they were masters of; and yet all would be in vain. Bochart (x) endeavours to prove, by various arguments, that these Lydians were Ethiopians; and, among the rest, because they are here, and in Isa 66:19; described as expert in handling, bending, and drawing the bow; which he proves, by the testimonies of several writers, the Ethiopians were famous for; that bows were their armour; and that theirs were larger than others, even than the Persians, being four cubits long; that they were very dexterous in shooting their arrows; took sure aim, and seldom missed.

(u) "insanite", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Schmidt; "insano impetu agitamini", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (w) Cyropaedia, l. 6. c. 14. & l. 7. c. 9. (x) Phaleg. l. 4. c. 26. col. 266.

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

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 Jer 46:3; and Ludim, the Hamite Lydians of North Africa (see Gen 10:13 note), a weaker race, served as light-armed troops.

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

Men. Soldiers formed one of the principal classes among the Egyptians. (Herodotus ii. 164.) --- Ethiopians. Hebrew, "Cush," in Lower Egypt, on the Red Sea. --- Lybians. Hebrew, "Phut, another son of Cham, inhabiting the Nome Phtenethu," Ezechiel xxx. 5., and Nahum iii. 2. --- Lydians. Their situation is not known.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Their ancient way of fighting was with chariots and bows; the prophet calls, in the name of the commanders of the Egyptian armies, to the horses and chariots to come on, and engage in the fight. The

Ethiopians were the Cushites, who were neighbours to the Egyptians, so were the Libyans; both of them it should seem were famous for handling the shield: the

Libyans were descended from Phut; both the Cushites and the Phutites or Libyans were descended from Ham, Gen 10:6. The

Lydians were as famous for the use of the bow in war; they were descended from Mizraim or Shem, Gen 10:13,22; the Lydians here meant are thought to be those descended from Mizraim, and some think these were Ethiopians. They were all auxiliaries to the Egyptians in this expedition.

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

9. Ethiopians… Libyans… Lydians — Auxiliaries or mercenaries, because the Egyptians were not themselves of such physical vigour as to make a nation of soldiers. There is a similar description of the Egyptian army in Eze_30:5.

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

A call to the army, particularizing its two grand divisions, viz. the warriors in chariots, and the light and heavy armed infantry. M. Piorret, of the Egyptian Museum at the Louvre, writes thus: "The army was composed

(1) of infantry equipped with a cuirass, a buckler, a pike or an axe, and a sword; they manoeuvred to the sound of the drum and the trumpet;

(2) of light troops (archers, slingers, and other soldiers carrying the axe or the tomahawk);

(3) warriors in chariots. Cavalry, properly so called, was not employed ... The Egyptians also enlisted auxiliaries, such as Mashawash, a tribe of Libyans, who, after the defeat of a confederation of northern peoples hostile to Menephtah, into which they had entered, refused to leave Egypt, and entered the Egyptian army; the Kahakas, another Libyan tribe; the Shardanas (Sardinians); the Madjaiu, who, after having been in war with the Egyptians under the twelfth dynasty, enrolled themselves under the standard of their conquerors, and constituted a sort of gendarmerie," etc. ("Dictionnaire d"Archdologie Egyptienne," pp. 64, 65). Among the mercenaries mentioned by Jeremiah, the Ludim deserve special mention. They are generally supposed to be a North African people. (and so Eze_30:5) Professor Sayce, however, thinks they may be the Lydian soldiers by whose help Psammetichus made Egypt independent of Assyria, and his successors maintained their power (Cheyne"s "Prophecies of Isaiah," 2:287). Come up, ye horses; rather, bound (or, prance), ye horses. The verb is literally go up, and seems to be used in the same sense, only in the Hiphil or causative conjugation, in Nah_3:3 (which should begin, "Horsemen making (their horses) to rear"). Ewald and others render, "Mount the horses," the phrase being substantially the same as in ver. 4 (see above). But the parallelism here is opposed to this; and the prophet has evidently been a reader of the prophecy of Nahum, as the very next clause shows. Rage, ye chariots; rather, rush madly, ye chariots. (alluding to Nah_2:5) The Ethiopians; Hebrew, Cush; often mentioned in connection with Egypt. The whole Nile valley, as far as Abyssinia, had been reduced to an Egyptian province. At last Cush had its turn of revenge, and an Ethiopian dynasty reigned in the palaces of Thebes (s.c. 725-665). The Libyans; Hebrew, Put. (which occurs in combination with Lud, as here with Ludim, in Eze_27:10 Eze_30:5) This appears to be the Egyptian Put (nasalized into Punt), i.e. the Somali country on the east coast of Africa, opposite to Arabia (Brugsch).

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

And the Lydians - They were all auxiliaries to the Egyptians in this expedition.

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

and rush madly Heb. והתהללו, an expression of folly.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.