20 The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel - , (it must, I believe, be rendered,) "which are among the Canaanites, as far as Zarephath, and the captivity of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the South." Obadiah had described how the two tribes, whose were the promises to the house of David, should spread abroad on all sides. Here he represents how Judah should, in its turn, receive into its bosom those now carried away from them; so should all again be one fold.
Zarephath - (probably "smelting-house," and so a place of slave-labor, pronounced Sarepta in Luke) Luke 4:26. belonged to Sidon 1-Kings 17:9, lying on the sea about halfway between it and Tyre. . These were then, probably, captives, placed by Tyrians for the time in safe keeping in the narrow plain between Lebanon and the sea, intercepted by Tyre itself from their home, and awaiting to be transported to a more distant slavery. These, with those already sold to the Grecians and in slavery at Sardis, formed one whole. They stand as representatives of all who, whatever their lot, had been rent off from the Lord's land, and had been outwardly severed from His heritage.
Zarephath - Sarepta, a city of the Sidonians, 1-Kings 17:9. That is, they should possess the whole city of Phoenicia, called here that of the Canaanites.
Which is in Sepharad - This is a difficult word. Some think the Bosphorus is meant; others, Spain; others, France; others, the Euphrates; others, some district in Chaldea; for there was a city called Siphora, in Mesopotamia, above the division of the Euphrates. Dr. Lightfoot says it was a part of Edom. Those who were captives among the Canaanites should possess the country of the Canaanites; and those whom the Edomites had enslaved should possess the cities of their masters. See Newcome and Lowth.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the (p) Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
(p) By the Canaanites, the Jews mean the Dutchmen, and by Zarephath, France, and by Sepharad, Spain.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath,.... That is, the host or army, the great number of the children of Israel, that have been carried captive, upon their return shall possess that part of the land of Israel which was inhabited formerly by the Canaanites, even as far as to Zarephath, said to belong to Zidon, 1-Kings 17:10; and called Sarepta of Sidon; see Luke 4:26. It is mentioned by Pliny (h) along with Sidon, where glass was made; and perhaps this place might have its name from the melting of glass in it, from which signifies to melt metals, glass, &c. it is called by Josephus (i) Sarephtha; who says it was not far from Sidon and Tyre, and lay between them: according to an Arabic geographer (k), it was twenty miles from Tyre, and ten from Sidon. Here the Prophet Elijah dwelt for a time; and in the times of Jerom (l) was shown a little tower, said to be his habitation, which travellers visited. Mr. Maundrell (m) speaks of this place as three hours' journey from Sidon, and is now called
"Sarphan, supposed (he says) to be the ancient Sarephath, or Sarepta, so famous for the residence and miracles of the Prophet Elijah; the place shown us for this city consisted of only a few houses on the tops of the mountains, within about half a mile of the sea; but it is more probable the principal part of, the city stood below, in the space between the hills and the sea, there being ruins still to be seen in that place, of a considerable extent?''
It was once a place very famous for wine; the wine of Sarepta is often made mention of by writers (n); perhaps vines might grow upon the hills and mountains about it; and this being a city of Phoenicia, on the northern border of the land of Israel, is very fitly observed as the limit of the possession of the Israelites this way;
and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south; the Jews, who were carried captive into Babylon, to Sepharad; some place, though unknown, perhaps in the land of Babylon. Calmet (o) conjectures it may be Sippara or Sipparat, in Mesopotamia, a little above the division of the Euphrates: and the Septuagint version renders it Ephratha; which perhaps is a corruption, of the Euphrates in the present copies: the Vulgate Latin version translates it Bosphorus; and so Jerom, who says that the Hebrew that taught him assured him that Bosphorus was called Sepharad; whither Adrian is said to carry the Jews captive. Kimchi and Aben Ezra interpret it of the present captivity of theirs by Titus, who upon their return to their land shall possess the, southern part of it, which originally belonged to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:20. If Sepharad, in the Assyrian language, signifies a border, as Jerom says it does, it denotes, as some think, that part of Arabia which borders on the south of Judea, that shall be inhabited by the Jews. Some render the words, "the captivity of Jerusalem shall possess that which is in Sepharad, and the cities of the south": but this is contrary to the accents, unless the words "shall possess" be repeated, and so two clauses made, "the captivity of Jerusalem shall possess that which is in Sepharad; they shall possess the cities of the south". The Targum and Syriac version, instead of Sepharad, have Spain; and so the Jewish writers generally interpret it. By the Canaanites they think are meant the Germans, and the country of Germany; by Zarephath, France; and by Sepharad, Spain; so Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, fancying that they who are now captives in these countries shall one day possess them: but the prophecy only respects their settlement in their own land, and some parts adjacent to it; or rather the enlargement of the church of Christ in the world. A late learned writer (p), is of opinion that some respect may be had to this passage in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in which the former makes mention of "five brethren" that he had, Luke 16:28; and are by the said writer thus reckoned:
1. the house of Jacob; 2. the house of Joseph, which are said to possess the south, with the mountains of Esau, and the plain; 3. Benjamin, which shall possess Gilead; 4. the captives from the Assyrian captivity; 5. the captives from the Jerusalem captivity, namely, by Titus Vespasian, who shall possess the cities of the south.
(h) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. (i) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 13. sect. 2. (k) Scherif Ibn Idris apud Reland. Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. l. 3. p. 935. (l) Epitaph. Paulae, fol. 51. M. (m) Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 48. Ed. 7. (n) Vid. Roland. ut supra. (o) Dictionary, in the word "Sepharad". (p) Teelmanni Specimen, & Explic. Parabol. p. 517.
the captivity of this host--that is, the captives of this multitude of Israelites.
shall possess that of the Canaanites--MAURER translates, "the captives . . . whom the Canaanites (carried away captive into PhÅnicia) even unto Zarephath, shall possess the south," namely, Idumea as well as the south (). HENDERSON, similarly, "the captives that are among the Canaanites," &c. But the corresponding clauses of the parallelism are better balanced in English Version, "the ten tribes of Israel shall possess the territory of the Canaanites," namely, Western Palestine and PhÅnicia (). "And the captives of Jerusalem (and Judah) shall possess the southern cities," namely, Edom, &c. Each has the region respectively adjoining assigned to it; Israel has the western Canaanite region; Judah, the southern.
even unto Zarephath--near Zidon; called Sarepta in . The name implies it was a place for smelting metals. From this quarter came the "woman of Canaan" (). Captives of the Jews had been carried into the coasts of Palestine or Canaan, about Tyre and Zidon (; ). The Jews when restored shall possess the territory of their ancient oppressors.
in Sepharad--that is, the Bosphorus [JEROME, from his Hebrew Instructor]. Sephar, according to others (). PalÃ&brvbr;ography confirms JEROME. In the cuneiform inscription containing a list of the tribes of Persia [Niebuhr tab. 31.1], before Ionia and Greece, and after Cappadocia, comes the name CPaRaD. It was therefore a district of Western Asia Minor, about Lydia, and near the Bosphorus. It is made an appellative by MAURER. "The Jerusalem captives of the dispersion" (compare ), wherever they be dispersed, shall return and possess the southern cities. Sepharad, though literally the district near the Bosphorus, represents the Jews' far and wide dispersion. JEROME says the name in Assyrian means a boundary, that is, "the Jews scattered in all boundaries and regions."
The captivity - Those of the ten tribes that were carried away captive by Salmanesar. Of the Canaanites - All the country they anciently possessed with this addition, that what the Canaanites held by force, and the Israelites could not take from them, shall now be possessed by these returned captives. Zarephath - Near Sidon. Of Jerusalem - The two tribes carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Sepharad - Probably a region of Chaldea. The cities - All the cities which were once their own.
*More commentary available at chapter level.