(4) To the men of the east.--Literally, sons of the east, i.e., the various nomadic tribes inhabiting the Eastern deserts, who occupy the country to this day. They are described as its possessors, not its conquerors; the conquest was effected by Nebuchadnezzar. In Ezekiel 21:20-23 he was represented as hesitating whether to attack first Judah or Ammon, and determined to the former by the Divine direction; in this attack some of the Ammonites joined his army, but he nevertheless afterwards carried out his purpose and desolated their country. (See Ezekiel 21:28.)
Palaces.--The word properly means an enclosure for folding cattle. The same word is used in connection with tribes of the desert in Genesis 25:16; Numbers 31:10, and in both is translated castles, a singularly inappropriate sense. It afterwards came to mean a dwelling-place of any kind. The Ammonites and Moabites appear to have practically constituted one nation, the latter being, for the most part, the settled, and the former the nomadic portion. After the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar the Ammonites gradually dwindled away, until lost from history. The Ptolemies founded the city Philadelphia on the site of Rabbah, and there are still extensive ruins there belonging to the period of the Roman occupation; but the Ammonites had no part in either of these successive cities. The place is now utterly without inhabitants, and the most recent traveller says, "Lonely desolation in a rich country was the striking characteristic."
Verses 4, 5. - The men of the east; Hebrew, children of the east. The name is applied in Genesis 29:1; 1 Kings 4:30; Job 1:3; Judges 6:3, 33; Judges 7:12; Judges 8:10, to the nomadic tribes, Midianites and others, which roamed to and fro in the wilderness east of Ammon and Moab, after the manner of the modern Bedouins, with their sheep and camels, and were looked upon as descendants of Ishmael. Palaces; better, with the Revised Version, encampments, or tent-villages. The word is found, in this sense, in Genesis 25:16; Psalm 69:25; Numbers 31:10. This was, probably, the immediate result of Nebuchadnezzar's march. Rabbah was left undefended, and became a stable for the camels of the Midianites and other tribes (Judges 6:5). The prediction has been slowly fulfilled. Under the Greece-Egyptian rule the city revived, was named after Ptolemy Philadel-phus, and was flourishing under the Roman Empire. Remains of temples, theatres, houses, are still found on its site, but its present desolate condition agrees with the picture drawn here by Ezekiel and in Jeremiah 49:2. The language of Jeremiah 49:6 implies captivity and a partial return from it.
25:1-7. It is wicked to be glad at the calamities of any, especially of God's people; it is a sin for which he will surely reckon. God will make it appear that he is the God of Israel, though he suffers them for a time to be captives in Babylon. It is better to know Him, and to be poor, than to be rich and ignorant of him.
Behold, therefore, I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession,.... The Chaldeans and Syrians, which were on the east side, as Jarchi; or the Medes and Persians, as Kimchi, which lay more eastward; or it may be the Arabians, who are commonly called the men of the east; who were a part of Nebuchadnezzar's army, and whom he might reward with this country, when taken by him; for this prophecy, according to Josephus (q), was fulfilled five years after the destruction of Jerusalem:
and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; or, "their camps and their tents" (r); and so the Syriac version renders it, their armies and their tents; who should subdue them, and take possession of their cities and fields, and enjoy what they found there:
they shall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk; the fruit of their land, their vineyards and fields, and the milk of their flocks and herds, which was commonly drank in those countries; these are put for the whole of their substance. So the Targum,
"they shall eat the good of thy land, and spoil thy substance.''
(q) Antiqu. l. 16. c. 9. sect. 7. (r) "arces suas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Coeccius. "tentoria sua", V. L. "tabernacala sus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Cocceius, Starckius.
Palaces.--The word properly means an enclosure for folding cattle. The same word is used in connection with tribes of the desert in Genesis 25:16; Numbers 31:10, and in both is translated castles, a singularly inappropriate sense. It afterwards came to mean a dwelling-place of any kind. The Ammonites and Moabites appear to have practically constituted one nation, the latter being, for the most part, the settled, and the former the nomadic portion. After the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar the Ammonites gradually dwindled away, until lost from history. The Ptolemies founded the city Philadelphia on the site of Rabbah, and there are still extensive ruins there belonging to the period of the Roman occupation; but the Ammonites had no part in either of these successive cities. The place is now utterly without inhabitants, and the most recent traveller says, "Lonely desolation in a rich country was the striking characteristic."
and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee; or, "their camps and their tents" (r); and so the Syriac version renders it, their armies and their tents; who should subdue them, and take possession of their cities and fields, and enjoy what they found there:
they shall eat thy fruit, and drink thy milk; the fruit of their land, their vineyards and fields, and the milk of their flocks and herds, which was commonly drank in those countries; these are put for the whole of their substance. So the Targum,
"they shall eat the good of thy land, and spoil thy substance.''
(q) Antiqu. l. 16. c. 9. sect. 7. (r) "arces suas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Coeccius. "tentoria sua", V. L. "tabernacala sus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus, Cocceius, Starckius.