*H And I will break thy bow in thy left hand, and I will cause thy arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Ver. 3. Arrows. Cambyses thought himself the most skilful at shooting. This was the usual weapon of the Persians (C.) and Parthians. H.
*H Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and thy nations that are with thee: I have given thee to the wild beasts, to the birds, and to every fowl, and to the beasts of the earth to be devoured.
Ver. 4. Fall. In every part some shall resist Antichrist, who shall be overpowered. W. — Cambyses died at Carmel.
*H And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell confidently in the islands: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Ver. 6. Islands; in the naval forces, or in the places of his dominion where discord shall prevail. C. — Cambyses resolved to attack Ethiopia, the people near the temple of Ammon, and the Carthaginians: but his troops refused to go against the latter, and many were smothered in the sands, or starved to death in the other expeditions. Just. i. Lucan x. &c.
*H And the inhabitants shall go forth of the cities of Israel, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, the shields, and the spears, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the pikes: and they shall burn them with fire seven years.
Ver. 9. Years; for a long time. v. 12. Little fuel is necessary there. Mariana (Hist. xi. 24. A. 1212.) mentions, that the arms of the Moors supplied Spain four years with fuel. C.
*H And they shall not bring wood out of the countries, nor cut down out of the forests: for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and shall make a prey of them to whom they had been a prey, and they shall rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.
Ver. 10. Prey. The Jews relate that Zorobabel went out to oppose these nations, and took so much plunder as to be able to begin the temple. Theod.
*H And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give Gog a noted place for a sepulchre in Israel: the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea, which shall cause astonishment in them that pass by: and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and it shall be called the valley of the multitude of Gog.
Ver. 11. East of the Mediterranean and of Carmel, the high road from Assyria to Egypt, (Gen. xxxvii. 2. C.) where the Romans had a station at Legion. Eus. — Called, or shall be. Is. vii. 14. and lx. 14. C. — Valley. Sept. "Gai, the grave of Gog." Prot. "the valley of Haman-Gog." v. 16. H. — Antichrist will not be burnt with material fire. But Catholics shall resist him zealously, and gain the victory. W.
*H And the house of Israel shall bury them for seven months to cleanse the land.
Ver. 12. Land, to prevent infection, and to comply with the law. Num. xix. 16.
*H And all the people of the land shall bury him, and it shall be unto them a noted day, wherein I was glorified, saith the Lord God.
Ver. 13. Day. It does not occur in the calendar. Yet Comestor and the Carthusian mentions Cambysa, the day when Bethulia was delivered. Jud. xvi. 31. The history of Judith may perhaps relate to the defeat of this prince. The embellishments will not injure the truth. The Jews immediately after his death recommence the building of the temple, (1 Esd. iv. Agg. i. 14.) which they are forced to discontinue, till Hystaspes confirmed the decree of Cyrus. This was the grand object of their desires, and therefore the day when Cambyses fell was ever memorable to them. C. Diss. — So will that be for Christians, when Antichrist shall be no more. M.
*H And they shall go about passing through the land: and when they shall see the bone of a man, they shall set up sign by it, till the buriers bury it in the valley, of the multitude of Gog.
Ver. 15. Buriers. These might be foreign slaves, or Jews, who followed this employment. C. — They would be habitually (H.) unclean, and their company would be carefully avoided. Those who sought after the dead remains, contracted no uncleanness. C.
*H And the name of the city shall be Amona, and they shall cleanse the land.
Ver. 16. Amona. Heb. hamon, (H.) means "a multitude." C. — Sept. "a place for many graves:" ` poluandrion. H. — So many would be buried there, that the place might justly receive such a name; though we find no such city in the neighbourhood. C. ~emdash ~ Rabbath, of Ammon, was sometimes so called. H.
*H You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and you shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, and of lambs, and of he goats, and bullocks, and of all that are well fed and fat.
Ver. 18. That are. Heb. "and of meries, (a species of oxen, in Syria. Bellon. ii. 50.) all of them from Basan," beyond the Jordan, a most fertile country. Sept. "all calves fattened."
*H And the nations shall know that the house of Israel were made captives for their iniquity, because they forsook me, and I hid my face from them: and I delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they fell all by the sword.
Ver. 23. Sword. I could as easily have protected them against the Chaldeans as against this prince, if their sins had not been in the way. C. — These bring on the ruin of God's people more than the power of the enemy. W.
*H Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and will have mercy on all the house of Israel and I will be jealous for my holy name.
Ver. 25. Israel. All who please may now return. Hystaspes was very favourable to them. He married Esther, raised Mardochai to great power, and sent Esdras into Judea with ample privileges. Many returned under him, Artazerxes, and Alexander. — Jealous. I will restore the people to favour, and will protect them (C.) like a husband. H.
*H And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I caused them to be carried away among the nations; and I have gathered them together unto their own land, and have not left any of them there.
Ver. 28. There, except such as refused to return. They have entire liberty. This and what follows was not fully accomplished till the propagation of the gospel. God wished all to embrace it; and though Israel has been partly blind, they will enter the Church after the Gentiles. Rom. xii. 26. C.