Jeremiah 49

This chapter is one of the "oracles against the nations" that run from chapter 46 through chapter 51 of Jeremiah. Following the oracle against Moab in Jeremiah 48, it presents in turn messages concerning five peoples and regions.

Structure

• Verses 1–6 A message concerning the children of Ammon. It rebukes Malcam for taking possession of the land of Gad and declares that Rabbah will be made desolate and that Malcam, together with his priests and princes, will go into captivity. Afterward God promises to bring back their captives.
• Verses 7–22 A message concerning Edom. Teman, Dedan, and Bozrah will suffer calamity, and the pride of Edom, which dwells in the clefts of the rock and on the mountain heights, will be brought down, so that the land will be left uninhabited like Sodom and Gomorrah. God nevertheless promises to preserve the fatherless and the widows.
• Verses 23–27 A message concerning Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, and fire will be kindled in the wall of Damascus, consuming the palaces of Ben-hadad.
• Verses 28–33 A message concerning Kedar and Hazor, which were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar. Their tents, flocks, and camels will be taken, and Hazor will become a dwelling place for jackals.
• Verses 34–39 A message concerning Elam, received at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. God will break the bow of Elam and scatter its people in every direction, yet in the latter days He will bring back their captives.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 49:6 "And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD." — A promise of restoration after judgment, paralleled by the oracle concerning Elam in verse 39.
• Jeremiah 49:16 "Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart" — The central verse of the oracle against Edom, pointing out that Edom's sense of security in dwelling on high had turned into pride.

People and Places

• Malcam: A god worshiped by the Ammonites. Because the Hebrew can also be read as "their king," translations render the term differently.
• Rabbah: The capital of Ammon, generally identified with the site of modern Amman in Jordan.
• Teman and Bozrah: A region and a city of Edom. Teman was renowned for its wisdom.
• Esau: The ancestor of the Edomites.
• Hamath and Arpad: Cities in northern Syria.
• Ben-hadad: A name borne by Aramean kings whose realm centered on Damascus.
• Kedar and Hazor: Nomadic peoples of the eastern desert and their settlements. Many scholars regard this Hazor as distinct from the Hazor in northern Canaan.
• Elam: A nation east of Babylon, in what is now southwestern Iran.

Points for Reflection

• The oracle against Edom (verses 9 and 14–16) closely resembles the wording of Obadiah 1–5. Scholars differ on which text came first or whether both drew on a common tradition.
• The "cup" in verse 12 connects with the cup of wrath in Jeremiah 25.
• Some interpreters link the restoration of Elam (verse 39) with the record that Elamites were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:9). The text itself, however, does not make this connection directly.