Jeremiah · chapter 47 of 52
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Jeremiah 47 is a short oracle against the Philistines, Judah's neighbors on the coast. The Lord announces waters rising from the north that sweep over the land, with such terror that fathers do not turn back to their children. Gaza shaves her head in mourning and Ashkelon is silenced. The Lord's sword will not rest, because he himself has sent it against the coast.
After the oracle against Egypt, Jeremiah turns to the Philistines, one of Israel's oldest enemy nations. It is one of the shortest chapters of the book. It shows that God's judgment also reaches neighboring peoples, and that the storm falling on the region has a direction: it comes from the north.
The heading says it is the word of the Lord to Jeremiah concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza. The text does not specify which pharaoh or what moment is meant, so scholars debate the exact historical setting.
The Lord announces that waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent: they flood the land and everything in it, the cities and their inhabitants. People cry out and every inhabitant of the land wails. At the noise of the stamping of the horses' hooves, the rumbling of chariots and the clatter of wheels, fathers do not turn back to their children, because their hands have grown weak.
It is the day to destroy all the Philistines and to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains. The Lord will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. Gaza will shave her head in mourning, and Ashkelon will be silenced, along with the rest of her valley. The prophet asks how long they will gash themselves.
Then the prophet addresses the sword of the Lord and asks when it will rest: let it go back into its scabbard, be still and quiet. The answer is that it cannot rest, because the Lord has given it a command, and has directed it against Ashkelon and the seacoast.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord says waters are rising from the north and becoming an overflowing torrent that floods the land and its inhabitants. The image portrays an invading army: an unstoppable force, like a flood, falling on everything in its path.
Fathers do not turn back to their children because their hands grow weak. The picture of terror is extreme: at the noise of chariots and horses, no one can protect anyone, not even their own.
The prophet asks the sword of the Lord when it will rest, and the answer is that it cannot, because the Lord gave it a command against Ashkelon and the coast. War is not only a political tragedy: the text presents it under God's command.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The Philistines. — Jeremiah 47:1
Answer: From the north. — Jeremiah 47:2
Answer: They do not turn back to their children, because their hands grow weak. — Jeremiah 47:3
Answer: From Tyre and Sidon. — Jeremiah 47:4
Answer: Gaza shaves her head and Ashkelon is silenced. — Jeremiah 47:5
Answer: How long until it rests, and he asks it to go back into its scabbard. — Jeremiah 47:6
Jeremiah 47 is a short, hard chapter, but it teaches something important: God governs the history of all nations, and none lies outside his gaze. In a small group you can talk about how to read news of war and violence with faith, neither lightly nor in despair, remembering that God is still Lord.
It also calls for humility. No city, however strong, is safe from the storm when God decides to judge it. Pray for those who suffer from violence in the world, and ask the Lord to bring the peace only he can give.
The oracle against the Philistines is brief and ends with the sword that does not rest. In chapter 48 the word of the Lord turns to Moab, which had felt secure for a long time and trusted in its works and riches.
A people of the southwest coast of Canaan, with cities like Gaza, Ashkelon and Ashdod, who were frequent rivals of Israel from the time of the judges. The Bible indicates they came from Caphtor, probably the island of Crete or its region.
The text does not name it in this chapter. In the context of the book, the enemy from the north is Babylon, but some scholars think it could refer to another campaign, since it is unclear which pharaoh and moment the heading means.