Jeremiah 2:10

10 “Go west and look in the land of Cyprus ; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?

Jeremiah 2:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:10

For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see
Or, "to the isles of Chittim" ^F26; so called from Kittim the son of Javan, ( Genesis 10:4 ) who, as Josephus says ^F1, possessed the island of Chethima, now called Cyprus; and, from that, all islands, and most maritime places, are, by the Hebrews, called Chittim, he observes: it may regard all the islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas: and send unto Kedar;
which was in Arabia, and lay to the east, as Chittim to the west; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

``send to the provinces of the Arabians:''

and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing;
as what is inquired about in the following verse, a change of deities. All this is to be understood of the contemplation of the mind, and not of any corporeal journey to be taken, to inquire into this matter.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 (Myytk yya wrbe) (eiv nhsouv) Sept. "transite ad insulas Cethim", V. L. "ad insulas Cypriorum"; so some in Vatablus; "in insulas", Schmidt.
F1 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.

Jeremiah 2:10 In-Context

8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD ?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.

9 Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the LORD . “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come.

10 “Go west and look in the land of Cyprus ; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?

11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!

12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the LORD .

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew Kittim.