Jeremiah 49:1

1 To the sons also of Ammon. The Lord saith these things. Whether no sons be of Israel, either an heir is not to it? why therefore wielded Malcham the heritage of Gad, and the people thereof dwelled in the cities of Gad? (And about the Ammonites, the Lord saith these things. Did Israel have no children, or hath he not left an heir? and so why did Milcom possess the inheritance of Gad, and his people live in the cities of Gad?)

Jeremiah 49:1 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:1

Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the Lord
Or, "to the Ammonites" ^F21; or, "against" them ^F23; it will bear to be rendered either way, and all is true; for what is said by the Lord, as follows, is concerning them, their sins, and their punishment, and is directed to them, and is a threatening against them: hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir?
certainly he has, and who ought to possess the land; this is to be understood not of the ten tribes, sometimes called Israel, as distinct from the other two; for these had been long ago carried captive, and left no heirs of their tribes; but of all Israel, including the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; who, though their brethren of the ten tribes were carried captive, and left no children to inherit, yet, being next in blood, were the lawful heirs of their lands and possessions: why [then] doth their king inherit Gad?
that part of the land of Israel which belonged to the tribe of Gad; this, when the ten tribes were carried captive by the king of Assyria, and the Gadites among the rest, was seized on by the Ammonites, with their king at the head of them, lying near unto them; who might also pretend relation, as being the children of Lot, the brother's son of Abraham; or claim it, as having been their own formerly, and so were the lawful heirs of it, as they imagined; when it of right belonged to the children of Judah and Benjamin: or, "why doth Malcam inherit Gad?" ^F24 the same with Milcom or Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, the idol they worshipped, ( 1 Kings 11:5 1 Kings 11:7 ) ; so Jarchi interprets it. The Ammonites having got possession of the land, set up their idol in it, where temples were built for him, and altars erected, and sacrifices offered to him, so that he might be said to inherit it; and which must be very offensive to, and highly resented by, the God of Israel: and his people dwelt in his cities:
the Ammonites dwelt in the cities belonging to the tribe of Gad, as if they were their own; who are called the people of Milcom, or Molech, just as the Moabites are called the people of Chemosh, from the idol they worshipped, ( Jeremiah 48:46 ) .

---

FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Nwme ynbl) "ad filios Ammon", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.
F23 "Contra filios Ammonis", Schmidt; "de [vel] contra", Vatablus; "contra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F24 (dg ta Mklm vry ewdm) "cur igitur haereditate possedit Melchom Gad?" V. L. Lutherus, Sanctius, Castalio.

Jeremiah 49:1 In-Context

1 To the sons also of Ammon. The Lord saith these things. Whether no sons be of Israel, either an heir is not to it? why therefore wielded Malcham the heritage of Gad, and the people thereof dwelled in the cities of Gad? (And about the Ammonites, the Lord saith these things. Did Israel have no children, or hath he not left an heir? and so why did Milcom possess the inheritance of Gad, and his people live in the cities of Gad?)

2 Lo! days come, saith the Lord, and I shall make the gnashing of battle heard on Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; and it shall be destroyed into noise, and the villages thereof shall be burnt with fire, and Israel shall wield his wielders, saith the Lord. (Lo! days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make the gnashing of battle heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be destroyed unto heaps of rubble, and its villages shall be burned down, and then Israel shall overcome his overcomers, saith the Lord.)

3 Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with hair-shirts, wail ye, and compass by hedges; for why Malcham shall be led into passing over, the priests thereof and princes thereof together. (Yell, ye Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with hair-shirts, wail ye, and go around by the hedges; for Milcom shall be led into captivity, together with its priests and its princes, or its leaders.)

4 What hast thou glory in valleys? Thy valleys floated away, thou delicate daughter, that haddest trust in thy treasures, and saidest, Who shall come to me? (Why hast thou glory over rich valleys? For thy valleys have floated away, thou delicate daughter, ye who haddest trust in thy treasures, and saidest, Who shall come against me?)

5 Lo! I shall bring in dread on thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, of all men that be in thy compass; and ye shall be scattered, each by himself, from your sight, and none shall be, that gather them that flee. (Lo! I shall bring in terror upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, from all who be around thee; and ye shall be scattered, each person by himself, from your sight, and there shall be no one, who shall gather together them who flee.)