Jeremiah 49:29

Jer 49:29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear [is] on every side.

Ver. 29. Their tents and their flocks.] For which they were termed scenitae and nomades, as living a pastoral life in tents.

And they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.] Magormissabib might be their word, wherewith, loudly uttered, they might frighten and overcome these enemies; like as the Britons, our ancestors, once overcame a mighty army of Saxons and Picts in this land, by ringing out the word Hallelujah with a courage among the mountains near where the enemy had camped. {a}

{a} Ussier., De Brit. Eccles. Primord.

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.

Because they used to dwell in tents, he nameth the things that pertain thereunto.

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

tents--in which they dwelt, from which they are called Scenites, that is, tent dwellers.

curtains--namely, with which the tents were covered (Jer 4:20; Jer 10:20; Psa 104:2).

they shall cry unto them, Fear, &c.--The foe, on crying, Fear . . ., shall discomfit them (the Kedarenes) by their mere cry.

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 29. Their tents and their flocks] This description of property shows that they were Scenite or Nomad Arabs; persons who dwell in tents, and whose principal property was cattle, especially camels, of the whole of which they were plundered by the Chaldeans.

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

The Prophet, in speaking of tents and curtains, had regard to the way of living adopted by that nation; for the Arabs, we know, dwelt in cabins and tents, as they do at this day, and they were also shepherds. They had no cultivated fields, but led their flocks through the deserts; and they had a great number of camels. This is the reason why the Prophet mentions tents, curtains, camels, and flocks, while speaking of the Kedareans; for they dwelt not in a fertile country, they possessed no arable lands, nor had they much other wealth, neither cities nor palaces. The sum of what is said is, that the Kedareans were doomed to destruction, and were therefore exposed as a prey to their enemies.

But as this was difficult to be believed, he adds, They shall cry to them, Terror on every side By these words the Prophet means, that there would be so much dread, that all would suffer their possessions to be plundered, not daring to make any resistance, because terror on every side would lay hold on them. They who read, “They shall call them terror on every side,” think that this is said metaphorically of the soldiers, as they were terrible. Some also say, “The king of Babylon shall call” or summon “terror on every side against them.” But the former explanation is the most probable, that when enemies called or cried out, Terror, terror, as conquerors, they would overcome them by their voice alone. This is, as I think, the real meaning of the Prophet. 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.

(29) Fear is on every side.—There is a striking individuality in this reproduction of the Magor-missabib cry which had been so prominent in the prophet’s own life and preaching (Jer_6:25; Jer_20:3; Jer_20:10; Jer_46:5).

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

29. curtains] i.e. tent-hangings. See on ch. Jer_4:20.

Terror on every side] See on ch. Jer_6:25.

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.

Their tents and their flocks shall they take away,.... The Kedarenes were a people whose business chiefly lay in feeding flocks, and of which their substance consisted; and they mostly dwelt in tents, which they removed from place to place, for the sake of pasturage for their flocks; hence they were sometimes called Scenites, and sometimes Nomades; see Psa 120:5; but now both their habitations, such as they were, and their flocks too, wherein lay their riches, would be taken away from them:

they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels,

and their camels; their curtains made of skins of beasts, of which their tents were made; or with which they were covered to protect them from the inclemencies of the weather; and all the furniture of them, their household goods; their vessels for domestic use; and utensils for their calling and employment; and their camels, which were much used in those countries for travelling from place to place; on which they put their tents, curtains, and vessels, when they removed from one pasturage to another; these they, not the Kedarenes, should take to themselves, and flee with them; but the Chaldeans should seize on them for themselves, as their booty and prey:

and they shall cry unto them, fear is on every side; or, "magormissabib", "a fear all round", Jer 20:3; this is the word the Chaldeans shall use, and with it frighten the Kedarenes out of their tents; or by the sound of their trumpets, the alarm of war, and by their shouts and cries, and the clashing of their arms, they shall put them in fear all around: or else the Kedarenes and Hazorites, when they shall see the Chaldean army approaching, shall say one to another, fear is on all sides of us; nothing but ruin and destruction attend us from every quarter.

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

Curtains - The hangings of the tents.

Fear is on every side - Magor-missabib (see Jer 6:25 note); a cry, indicating the panic which followed the unexpected onset of the enemy.

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

About. The enemy shall terrify them, and plunder all their riches.

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).

That is, the Chaldeans shall take away the Kedarens’ tents; for they being a people whose cattle were their livelihood, had no fixed houses, but tents, which were movable habitations, covered with skins of beasts; and the curtains which they used to draw before those tents, and served them as sides, as gable ends of houses serve us; and all the furniture of their tents or tabernacles, and their cattle; and either their enemies should fright them with terrible noises and outcries, or they should themselves cry out that they were surrounded with objects of fear.

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

29. Tents and flocks, curtains and vessels and camels make up the wealth of nomads. By “curtains” are meant the hangings of the tent; and by “vessels,” the simple cooking utensils of these wanderers.

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

All the possessions of the nomad are here mentioned first his tents and his flocks; then the hangings of which the tent is composed, (Jer_4:20 Jer_10:20) and the vessels which it contains; and finally the camels which the Arab rides, not to mention their other uses. All this shall be ruthlessly appropriated by the Chaldean invaders. Fear is on every side. Again Jeremiah"s motto recurs. (see on Jer_6:25) It expresses here, not the war cry itself, but the result produced by it.

"Fear on every side.

This is a sadly familiar phrase of Jeremiah"s. It is frequently applicable. The causes of alarm are numerous; so are the sufferers.

I FEAR IS AN EVIL. It is not only the shadow of future calamity; it is evil itself evil even if it is not justified by the event.

1. It is distressing.

2. It is degrading debasing the mind, crushing out all that is noble and unselfish.

3. It is paralyzing. Under the influence of fear we are confused and helpless; all energy is gone.

II THERE ARE MANY OCCASIONS OF FEAR. Jeremiah frequently exclaims, "Fear on every side!" We know not how many dangers surround us political, social, domestic, personal; dangers to property, family, health, and life. The wonder is that they who have no refuge above themselves are so complacent. Such unwarrantable calmness must be traced to moral dullness rather than to true courage. For how truly terrible is the condition of the sinner! The laws of the universe are against him. If he flees from this life new horrors await him in the dread unknown land.

III THE DEEPEST SOURCE OF FEAR IS OUR OWN SIN.

1. This brings the greatest danger upon us the penalty of outraged justice and broken law.

2. This awakens the feeling of terror. Conscience makes cowards of us all.

IV IN GOD IS THE REFUGE FROM FEAR. Men fear God in their guilt. Yet it is he who alone can deliver them from fear,

(1) by removing the evil feared;

(2) or by strengthening them to endure it; and also

(3) by calming the troubled sold as one whom his mother comforteth.

It is well that we should feel fear on every side if it leads us to cry, "What must we do to be saved?" and then to hear and follow the gospel answer, "Trust to the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

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

They - The Chaldeans.

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

terror Heb. מגור (amassment in French). Another explanation: an expression of fear.

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.