Verse 1
1. Because—rather, "Surely"; literally, "(I affirm) that" [MAURER].
night—the time best suited for a hostile incursion (Isaiah 21:4; Jeremiah 39:4).
Ar—meaning in Hebrew, "the city"; the metropolis of Moab, on the south of the river Arnon.
Kir—literally, "a citadel"; not far from Ar, towards the south.
He—Moab personified.
Bajith—rather, "to the temple" [MAURER]; answering to the "sanctuary" (Jeremiah 39:4- :), in a similar context.
to Dibon—Rather, as Dibon was in a plain north of the Arnon, "Dibon (is gone up) to the high places," the usual places of sacrifice in the East. Same town as Dimon (Jeremiah 39:4- :).
to weep—at the sudden calamity.
over Nebo—rather "in Nebo"; not "on account of" Nebo (compare Jeremiah 39:4- :) [MAURER]. The town Nebo was adjacent to the mountain, not far from the northern shore of the Dead Sea. There it was that Chemosh, the idol of Moab, was worshipped (compare Deuteronomy 34:1).
Medeba—south of Heshbon, on a hill east of Jordan.
baldness . . . beard cut off—The Orientals regarded the beard with peculiar veneration. To cut one's beard off is the greatest mark of sorrow and mortification (compare Jeremiah 48:37).
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