1. Word of the Lord. See on 46:1. The Philistines had persecuted God’s people; now they were to receive a just retribution.
Philistines. People called Philistines were in Palestine as early as the time of Abraham (see on Gen. 21:32; Joshua 13:2), but they came in force in the great migration of Sea Peoples about 1200 (see on Gen. 10:14; also II, 27, 33, 34, 47). They were among the principal opponents of the early Hebrews, but after the time of David they played a much less important role in the affairs of Israel.
Pharaoh smote Gaza. Historical information is too meager to identify this attack positively. There are several periods when such an assault by the Egyptians was possible. It could have occurred during the troubled period between Necho’s accession (610) and the early years of Nebuchadnezzar (604 or a little later), during which the Egyptians repeatedly marched up the coast to fight the Babylonians; or it may have been at the time of Apries’ invasion in 587, during the siege of Jerusalem. The only instance during Jeremiah’s lifetime of an Egyptian attack on Gaza of which there is historical record is that mentioned by Herodotus as being carried out by Necho II after a victory at “Magdolus,” the Greek form of Migdol, which means “fortress.” Its location is unknown. As Herodotus (ii. 159) says: Necho, having come to an engagement with the Syrians on land at Magdolus, conquered them, and after the battle took “the great Syrian city of Cadytis.” “Syria” here includes Palestine, and “Cadytis” is generally taken to be Gaza.
If this is the correct setting of the prophecy, it is to be dated in 609 or slightly later. If, on the other hand, Herodotus’ reference is not to Gaza, then it must be admitted that there is no direct evidence as to when this attack took place.
In Biblical times Gaza was the most important trading center in Palestine. It lay at the southern end of the fertile Philistine Plain, at the convergence of two of the chief highways of Palestine. Here the trade route from the eastern desertâwith its wealth of iron and copper from the mines of Edomâjoined the great Derek hay-yam, or “Way of the Sea,” the coastal highway running north from Egypt. Because of its position on this latter route the city was of great strategic importance. The Egyptians had used this road for almost 1,000 years as the usual route of their repeated invasions into Palestine and Syria. During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasties, when the Egyptians dominated much of Palestine, Gaza was one of their chief administrative centers. In taking Gaza, any Pharaoh who invaded Palestine would thus secure a point from which to dominate the coast line, protect his communications with Egypt, and control much of the commerce of the country.
The fact that this message was given “before that Pharaoh smote Gaza” indicates that it was a predictive prophecy, a warning to the Philistines of impending doom. Compare Jonah’s message to Nineveh (Jonah 3).