Zephaniah 2:5 Kommentar

In this chapter we have, I. An earnest exhortation to the nation of the Jews to repent and make their peace with God, and so to prevent the judgments threatened before it was too late (Zep 2:1-3), and this inferred from the revelation of God's wrath against them in the foregoing chapter. II. A denunciation of the judgments of God against several of the neighbouring nations that had assisted, or rejoiced in, the calamity of Israel. 1. The Philistines (Zep 2:4-7). 2. The Moabites and Ammonites (Zep 2:8-11). 3. The Ethiopians and Assyrians (Zep 2:12-15). All these shall drink of the same cup of trembling that is put into the hands of God's people, as was also foretold by other prophets before and after.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coasts, the nation of the Cherethites Which is a name of the Philistines in general, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; or these were a particular tribe belonging to them, that inhabited the southern part of their country; see ( 1 Samuel 30:14 1 Samuel 30:16 ) those on the sea coast, the coast of the Mediterranean sea, and so lay between that and Judea: out of this nation, in the times of David and Solomon, were some choice soldiers selected, called the Cherethites and Pelethites, who were their bodyguards, as Josephus F1 calls them; a royal band, which never departed from the king's person; see ( 2 Samuel 15:18 ) ( 2 Samuel 20:7 2 Samuel 20:23 ) . The Septuagint version calls them "strangers of the Cretians"; and are thought by some to be a colony of the Cretians; a people that came originally from the island of Crete, and settled here; but, on the contrary, rather Crete was a colony of the Philistines, and had its name from them; for by the Arabians F2, the country of Palestine, or the Philistines, is called Keritha; and by the Syrians Creth; and, by the Hebrews the inhabitants thereof are called Cherethites, as here, and in ( Ezekiel 25:16 ) and so the south of the Cherethites, in ( 1 Samuel 30:14 ) , is, in ( Ezekiel 25:16 ) , called the land of the Philistines. In all the above places, where they are spoken of as the attendants of Solomon and David, they are in the Targum called "archers"; and it is a clear case the Philistines were famous for archery, whereby they had sometimes the advantage of their enemies; see ( 1 Samuel 31:3 ) and bows and arrows were the arms the Cretians made use of, and were famous for, as Bochart F3 from various writers has shown; the use of which they learned very probably from the Philistines, from whom they sprung; though Solinus F4 says they were the first that used arrows; and, according to Diodorus Siculus, Saturn introduced the art of using bows and arrows into the island of Crete; though others ascribe it to Apollo F5; and it is said that Hercules learnt this art from Rhadamanthus of Crete; which last instance seems to favour the notion of those, that these Cherethites were Cretians, or sprung from them; to which the Septuagint version inclines; and Calmet F6 is of opinion that Caphtor, from whence the Philistines are said to come, ( Amos 9:7 ) and who are called the remnant of the country of Caphtor, ( Jeremiah 47:4 ) is the island of Crete; and that the Philistines came from thence into Palestine; and that the Cherethites are the ancient Cretians; the language, manners, arms, religion and gods, of the Cretians and Philistines, being much the same; though so they might be, as being a colony of the Philistines; (See Gill on Amos 9:7) though a learned man {1}, who gives into the opinion that these were royal guards, yet thinks they were not strangers and idolaters, but proselytes to the Jewish religion at least; and rather Israelites, choice selected men, men of strength and valour, of military courage and skill, picked out of the nation, to guard the king's person; and who were called Cherethites and Pelethites, from the kind of shields and targets they wore, called "cetra" and "pelta": and it is a notion several of the Jewish writers {2} have, that they were two families in Israel; but it seems plain and evident that a foreign nation is here meant, which lay on the sea coast, and belonged to the Philistines. Another learned man F7 thinks they are the Midianites, the same with the Cretians that Luke joins with the Arabians, ( Acts 2:11 ) as the Midianites are with the Arabians and Amalekites by Josephus F8; however, a woe is denounced against them, and they are threatened with desolation. The Vulgate Latin version is, "a nation of destroyed ones": and the Targum, ``a people who have sinned, that they might be destroyed:'' the word of the Lord is against you; inhabitants of the sea coast, the Cherethites; the word of the Lord conceived in his own mind, his purpose to destroy them, which cannot be frustrated. So the Targum, ``the decree of the word of the Lord is against you;'' and the word pronounced by his lips, the word of prophecy concerning them, by the mouth of former prophets, as Isaiah, ( Isaiah 14:29 Isaiah 14:31 ) and by the mouth of the present prophet: O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; Palestine was a part of Canaan; the five lordships of the Philistines before mentioned belonged originally to the Canaanite, ( Joshua 13:3 ) and these belonged to the land of Israel, though possessed by them, out of which now they should be turned, and the country wasted, as follows: I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant; so great should be the desolation; all should be removed from it, either by death or by captivity; at least there should be no settled inhabitant. FOOTNOTES: F1 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 4. and c. 11. sect. 8. Vid. Opitii Exercitat. de Crethi & Plethi. F2 Giggeius apud Bochart. Canaan, l. 1. c. 15. col. 422. F3 Ibid. col. 423. F4 Polyhistor. c. 16. F5 Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 5. p. 334, 341. F6 Dictionary, in the word "Caphtor". {1} Fortunati Scacchi Elaeochrism, Myrothec. l. 3. c. 18, 19. {2} Kimchi & Ben Gersom in 2 Sam. viii. 18. and xv. 18. F7 Texelii Phoenix. l. 3. c. 21. sect. 4. p. 389, 390. F8 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 6. sect. 1.

(Verse 5-7.) Woe to those who dwell by the sea, the nation of the lost: the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be pastures, with shelters for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the remnant of the house of Judah shall possess it; they shall feed on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening; for the Lord their God will visit them and restore their fortunes. LXX: Woe to those who inhabit the edge of the sea, strangers from Crete! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the foreigners; and I will destroy you, and there will be a pasture for flocks in Crete, and a sheepfold for herds. And the edge of the sea shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks in the houses of Ashkelon; in the afternoon they shall rest, for the Lord their God will visit them and turn back their captivity. As for the history, it is not difficult to interpret, because in the previous statements it was said: Gaza will be destroyed (or deserted), and Ascalon will be turned into a desert: Ashdod will be cast out to the south, and Ekron will be uprooted. With these four great cities of Palestine named, now it is evident that the Lord's discourse is directed towards the province itself, and a woe is pronounced on it: Woe to those who dwell by the sea, when the Babylonian comes; for even those who dwell near the sea will perish and be taken away. But it is doubted by no one that the land of the Palestinians is the land of Canaan. And I will destroy you, he says, so that there will be no inhabitant: and you will come to such a great devastation, that you rejoiced in the destruction of Judaea, so that all your well-fortified cities will become grazing grounds for shepherds. And after the Lord has visited his people, and has caused them to return under Zerubbabel and Joshua, and they have built the temple and rebuilt Jerusalem, you will be so uncultivated, and will be covered with thorns and nettles, that shepherds will rest from the remnants of the Jews in Ashkelon in the afternoon, and make their flocks lie down in the once noble city, and this will happen because the Lord will visit his people, and will turn away their captivity, whether it has happened or not, God will see. For our purpose now is not to weave a true history, but to communicate to our own people what we have learned from the Hebrews. However, the spiritual sense and translation of the LXX is difficult to understand, especially because there are discrepancies in interpretation. For where we have translated, nation of the lost, they said, strangers of the Cretans: and what is written in Hebrew as GoiChorethim (), they read as Goi, meaning nation, and Gar, meaning stranger: and for Chorethim, which means lost, they thought it was the name of the island of Crete. Finally, both Aquila and the fifth edition were translated, ἔθνος ὀλέθριον: And Theodotio ἔθνος ὀλεθρίας: Symmachus also ἔθνος ὀλεθρευόμενον, which all together with our interpretation make. Again, where we have said, And the cord of the sea will be the pasture of the shepherds, and all the interpreters agree with this translation, it is written in the LXX: And Crete will be the pasture of the flock, and the sheepfold. Therefore, comparing spiritual things to spiritual things, and holding onto the path once begun of the Vulgate edition, we search if we have read the name of Crete elsewhere in the Holy Scriptures. And, if I am not mistaken, it is quite clear: Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. (Tit. I, 12, 13). They are unstable and easily deceived, carried away by every wind of doctrine, by human trickery, by their cunning in deceitful scheming. Instead of living in the land of confession, which is Judea, they preferred to be foreigners, those Cretans who are constantly battered by the varying waves of the sea and resonate with the sound of the Cretan lyre. According to the Apostle, they are like a tinkling cymbal. (I Cor. XIII, 1). And because the Cretans are foreigners, therefore the word of God, that is, admonition, is directed towards them: and they are called the land of Canaan, always in agitation, always in motion, and the land of the Gentiles: for they are alienated from God, they are tossed to and fro in the cable of the sea, and are situated in the region of Crete. Therefore, the word of God is directed towards them, either at the consummation and end of the world, or daily by ecclesiastical men, and those who are able to say with the apostle: Do you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me? (2 Corinthians 13:3) So that they may be driven out of Crete, and perish from their former dwellings, and that region which previously contained a lost flock, may begin to be the sheepfold of Christ; and let Judas, that is, true confession, dwell in the ropes of the sea. And when the world has now begun to be evening, and out of many who are called, few are chosen, and those who are now called the remnant of the house of Judah, may feed those who were first fed in the sea, and in Crete, and in falsehood: they will turn aside into the houses of Ashkelon, that is, where previously the fire of the devil and the blood of the slain flowed: for Ashkelon is interpreted as the murderous fire. And this will happen because the Lord will visit His people, and those who were easily captured by the sophisms of heretics, like those coming out of captivity, will overcome their adversaries and dwell in their own tabernacles. However, what is read in the Septuagint, 'From the face of the sons of Judah,' we have marked with an obelus, for it is not found in the Hebrew or in any other interpreter, and it disturbs the context and meaning of the chapter: not that it would be difficult in some way to weave in the sentence even with this included; but once we have decided on the truth of the interpretation, we choose the judgement of a more learned reader rather than the opinion of the common people.

The prophet, having declared the judgments which were ready to fall on his people, earnestly exhorts them to repentance, that these judgments may be averted, Zep 2:1-3. He then foretells the fate of other neighboring and hostile nations: the Philistines, Zep 2:4-7; Moabites and Ammonites, Zep 2:8-11; Ethiopians, Zep 2:12; and Assyrians, Zep 2:13. In the close of the chapter we have a prophecy against Nineveh. These predictions were accomplished chiefly by the conquests of Nebuchadnezzar.

The sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites - The sea-coasts mean all the country lying on the Mediterranean coast from Egypt to Joppa and Gaza. The Cherethites - the Cretans who were probably a colony of the Phoenicians. See on Sa1 30:14 (note), and Amo 9:7 (note).

EXHORTATION TO REPENT BEFORE THE CHALDEAN INVADERS COME. DOOM OF JUDAH'S FOES, THE PHILISTINES, MOAB, AMMON, WITH THEIR IDOLS, AND ETHIOPIA AND ASSYRIA. (Zep 2:1-15) Gather yourselves--to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers (Joe 2:16) [GROTIUS]. Or, so as not to be dissipated "as chaff" (Zep 2:2). The Hebrew is akin to a root meaning "chaff." Self-confidence and corrupt desires are the dissipation from which they are exhorted to gather themselves [CALVIN]. The foe otherwise, like the wind, will scatter you "as the chaff." Repentance is the gathering of themselves meant. nation not desired--(Compare Ch2 21:20), that is, not desirable; unworthy of the grace or favor of God; and yet God so magnifies that grace as to be still solicitous for their safety, though they had destroyed themselves and forfeited all claims on His grace [CALVIN]. The Margin from Chaldee Version has, "not desirous," namely of returning to God. MAURER and GESENIUS translate, "Not waxing pale," that is, dead to shame. English Version is best.

inhabitants of the seacoast--the Philistines dwelling on the strip of seacoast southwest of Canaan. Literally, the "cord" or "line" of sea (compare Jer 47:7; Eze 25:16). the Cherethites--the Cretans, a name applied to the Philistines as sprung from Crete (Deu 2:23; Jer 47:4; Amo 9:7). Philistine means "an emigrant." Canaan . . . land of the Philistines--They occupied the southwest of Canaan (Jos 13:2-3); a name which hints that they are doomed to the same destruction as the early occupants of the land.

Exhortation to Repentance in View of the Judgment - Zephaniah 2:1-3:8 Zephaniah, having in the previous chapter predicted the judgment upon the whole world, and Judah especially, as being close at hand, now summons his people to repent, and more especially exhorts the righteous to seek the Lord and strive after righteousness and humility, that they may be hidden in the day of the Lord (Zep 2:1-3). The reason which he gives for this admonition to repentance is twofold: viz., (1) that the Philistians, Moabites, and Ammonites will be cut off, and Israel will take possession of their inheritances (Zep 2:4-10), that all the gods of the earth will be overthrown, and all the islands brought to worship the Lord, since He will smite the Cushites, and destroy proud Asshur and Nineveh (Zep 2:11-15); and (2) that even blood-stained Jerusalem, with its corrupt princes, judges, and prophets, will endure severe punishment. Accordingly, the call to repentance is not simply strengthened by the renewed threat of judgment upon the heathen and the ungodly in Judah, but is rather accounted for by the introduction of the thought, that by means of the judgment the heathen nations are to be brought to acknowledge the name of the Lord, and the rescued remnant of Israel to be prepared for the reception of the promised salvation.