Jeremiah 8:16

Jer 8:16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

Ver. 16. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan.] See Jer 4:15. This caused in the Jews’ hearts a motion of trepidation. {cf. Job 39:20} It is the privilege of believers in nothing to be terrified by their adversaries, {Php 1:28} but with the horse spoken of, {Job 39:22} to mock at fear, and not to turn back from the dint of the sword.

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.

Jer 8:16. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan — Dan was situated in the northern extremity of Palestine, on the side whence the Chaldeans were to come against Jerusalem. Accordingly, Grotius observes, after Jerome, that Nebuchadnezzar, having subdued Phenicia, passed through the tribe of Dan in his way to Judea. When the enemy therefore was advanced so near, it was time for the people of Judah to take the alarm, and to provide for their own safety. The whole land trembled at the neighing of his strong ones — The word אביריו, here rendered strong ones, signifies horses in several places, and is so rendered here by Dr. Waterland, (see Jdg 5:22; Jer 47:3,) and is so understood by the LXX. By the whole land trembling is meant the inhabitants being terrified at the vast number of horses that were in the Chaldean army, the neighing of which they heard; which struck them with great dread, as they had few or no horses in Judea to oppose to them. For they have devoured the land, and all that is in it — All the fruits, and all the forage, they have devoured or taken away. It is to be observed, that the prophet speaks of it as already done, because it was so represented to him in his vision. The city, and those that dwell therein — Both town and country are laid waste before them, and not only the wealth, but the inhabitants of both are taken or destroyed. Jerusalem is here chiefly meant by the city, for, though the taking of other cities was attended with a slaughter of the inhabitants, the sacking of Jerusalem was the greatest of all their calamities, as being the metropolis, and the richest and most populous of all their cities.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:16 See 6:22-23.

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

Read Jer. 4:15.

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

his horses--the Chaldean's.

was heard--the prophetical past for the future.

from Dan--bordering on Phœnicia. This was to be Nebuchadnezzar's route in invading Israel; the cavalry in advance of the infantry would scour the country.

strong ones--a poetical phrase for steeds, peculiar to Jeremiah (Jer 47:3; compare Jer 4:13, Jer 4:29; Jer 6:23).

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 16. The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan:] Dan lay in the way from Babylon to Jerusalem; and it was by this city, after the battle of Carchemish, that Nebuchadnezzar, in pursuing the Egyptians, entered Palestine.

The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones] Of his war horses. This is a fine image; so terrible was the united neighing of the cavalry of the Babylonians that the reverberation of the air caused the ground to tremble. This is better, and more majestic, than the celebrated line of Virgil:-

Quadrupe-dante pu-trem soni-tu quatit ungula campum. It would be much easier to shake the ground with the prancings of many horses, than to cause an earthquake by the sound of the neighing of the troops of cavalry.

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

He says, Heard has been the snorting of horses from Daniel Dan was on the extremities, as it is well known, of the land of Canaan. Some think that the loudness of the noise is intended, as it was heard from such a distance in the holy city itself; but I know not whether this can be gathered from the words of the Prophet. The simpler and the correcter meaning then is, that though Jerusalem rested securely, they were not yet in a quiet state on the borders of the land, for they were disturbed by the snorting of the enemies’ horses. From Dan then has been heard a snorting When the inhabitants of a city indulge in pleasures, while the borders of the land are assailed by enemies, it might be pertinently said to them, “Why do ye here live at your ease? your neighbors and your brethren are exposed to the assaults of enemies: war therefore ought to be waged in your land, though it has not yet reached your gates and your walls.” So the Prophet speaks here: “From Dan has been heard the snorting of his horses.” The relative “his” may be applied to the Assyrians; for the Hebrews often use relatives without antecedents. But it is more probable that Jeremiah refers to the first mover of the war, even God; as though he had said, — “God will send forth hostile armies, which will disturb the borders of your land.” He then calls them the horses of God; for the Chaldeans did not wage that war, but under the authority of God, as we have often seen, and shall have to notice often again.

Then he says, At the noise of the neighings of his strong ones, etc. He calls the horses “strong,“ אבירים, abirim; and as he had not described them, he now does so. Trembled, he says, has the land at the noise of the neighings of his strong ones As he mentions the neighings of horses, we must understand “strong” as referring to the horses themselves. Come, he says, shall they, and shall devour the land and its fullness, the city and its inhabitants Here is an irregularity as to the number; for he puts city for cities, as he threatens not only Jerusalem, but also the neighboring cities. Whatever then might be the abundance in the land, the enemies would devour it; and he says also, that they would devour the cities and their inhabitants. It 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.

(16) Heard from Dan.—As in Jer_4:13, the invasion by an army of which cavalry and war chariots formed the most terrible contingent was a special terror to Israelites. Even at Dan, the northern boundary of Palestine (see Note on Jer_4:15), there was a sound of terror in the very snortings of the horses. The patristic interpretation that the prophet indicates the coming of Antichrist from the tribe deserves a passing notice as one of the eccentricities of exegesis.

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

16. Dan] See Jer_4:15.

strong ones] i.e. war-horses. The same epithet is used as a substitute for the noun, chs. Jer_47:3 (“strong ones”), Jer_50:11 (“strong horses”). The horse was the embodiment of strength. See Job_39:19; Psa_33:17; Psa_147:10.

land] or, earth.

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.

For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you,.... The Chaldeans, comparable to these noxious and hurtful creatures, because of the mischief they should do unto them. The Targum is,

"for, lo, I will raise up against you people that kill as the destroying serpents.''

These were raised up by the Lord, and sent by him, just as he sent fiery serpents among the Israelites in the wilderness, when they sinned against him; there literally, here metaphorically.

Which will not be charmed: Jarchi says, at the end of seventy years a serpent becomes a cockatrice, and stops its ear, that it will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, according to Psa 58:4, the meaning is, that these Chaldeans would not be diverted from their purposes in destroying of the Jews by any arts or methods whatever; as not by force of arms, so not by good words and entreaties, or any way that could be devised.

And they shall bite you, saith the Lord; that is, kill them, as the Targum interprets it; for the bite of a serpent is deadly.

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

Dan - i. e. the northern boundary of the land.

His strong ones - i. e., “his war-horses.”

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

Dan, by which the Chaldeans must pass, chap. iv. 15. Many have hence inferred that antichrist will be the serpent (ver. 17.) of the tribe of Dan, Genesis xlix. 17. (Calmet)

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).

The fury of the Chaldeans’ march is described by the snorting of their horses, which is a noise they make through their nostrils, when they are chafed and fretted.

Was heard from Dan, i.e. even to Jerusalem: q.d. The dreadfulness of the noise shall be heard from far: or rather, Though Jerusalem seem to be secure, yet the farthest coasts of the land are in great consternation, viz. the outmost boundary of Canaan northward, through which the Chaldean army was to march: see Jer 4:15; or it is said to be heard, either the noise itself, or the fame of it, Jer 6:24.

His strong ones; his choice horses or cavalry; or his stout and sturdy ones, as the word signifies, and expressed by their brisk frolicsomeness and courage in the word neighing, properly applied to horses, understanding here the chief of them; and the word for strong ones is applied to any thing that excels, as to man, Job 34:20; to angels, Psa 78:25, angels’ food, or the bread of the mighty; and for horses, as here, and Jdg 5:22; Jer 47:3.

All that is in it, Heb. the fulness of it, the trees, and fruits. and wealth of the land; they are entered upon their spoil, and will leave nothing in the land, Jer 4:20. It is spoken in a prophetical style, who use to express the certainty of what shall be as if it actually were already. The city, viz. Jerusalem; or rather the cities, with all their inhabitants, as well as the country, the singular number being put for the plural, as Isa 27:10.

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

16, 17. From Dan — The northern boundary of the land, and hence the place where the alarm of an enemy coming from the north would first be given.

Strong ones — War horses. See Jer_4:13; Jer_4:29, etc.

Cockatrices — Basilisks. From Isa_59:5, we learn that they were oviparous, and from Isa_11:8, that they were subterranean in habit.

It would also appear from this and other passages that they were incapable of being charmed. Ecc_10:11; Psalm 58:45.

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

The invader is introduced with the same mysterious indefiniteness as in Jer_4:13. From Dan; i.e. from the northern frontier. (see on Jer_4:15) Trembled; rather, quaked. (so Jer_49:21) His strong ones. The phrase "strong ones" generally denotes oxen, but here (as in Jer_47:3 Jer_1:11) horses.

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

The snorting - The fury of the Chaldeans march is described by the snorting of their horses, which is a noise they make through their nostrils. Heard - Even to Jerusalem. Have devoured - It is spoken in a prophetical style, who use to express the certainty of what shall be, as if it actually were already.

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

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues his message about the punishment coming to Judah.

General Information:

The words "his" and "they" in these verses refer to the enemies of Judah.

The snorting of his stallions is heard from Dan

This can be expressed in active form. AT: "The people of Dan hear the snorting of his stallions" (See: Active or Passive)

snorting

a loud sound that a horse makes with its nose

stallions

adult male horses

The whole earth shakes

This is an exaggeration that is a metaphor for the people of Judah trembling with fear. AT: "All the people of the land shake with fear" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Metaphor)

at the sound of the neighing of his strong horses

"when they hear the sound of the enemy's strong horses"

neighing

a sound that a horse makes

they will come and consume

Here the word "consume" means to eat up. It is an idiom for how the enemies come and destroy the land and its inhabitants. AT: "they will come and destroy" (See: Idiom)

For see

"Now pay attention"

I am sending out snakes among you, vipers that you cannot charm. They will bite you

The snakes and vipers represent the enemy soldiers, and their bite represents the enemy attacks. AT: "I am sending out enemy soldiers among you, beyond your control. They will attack you" (See: Metaphor)

vipers that you cannot charm

To charm means to sing or make music in order to control snakes.

this is Yahweh's declaration

Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 1:8. AT: "this is what Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

translationWords

Dan

earth

horse

consume

send

serpent

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

From Dan is heard Because they worshipped the calf that was in Dan.

the snorting of their horses The sneezing of his nostrils.

the neighing of their stallions The neighing of joy of his horses, and we find elsewhere that horses are called אבּירים (Jud. 5:22) by reason of the prancings, “the prancings of their mighty ones (אבּיריו),” an expression of (Nahum 3:2) “a prancing horse.” And Jonathan renders: from the sound of the steps of their mighty ones.

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.