Sefer Yirmiyahu, chapter 46. "That which was the word of Hashem to Yirmiyahu the prophet concerning the nations." The Metzudat David explains that Scripture is telling of that which was the word of Hashem to Yirmiyahu the prophet concerning the nations. The Malbim says that the prophecies from here until chapter 52 are prophecies concerning the nations that Nevuchadnetzar conquered. Yirmiyahu is a prophet to the nations as well, not only to us, and he delivers prophecies and messages also to the nations.
"Concerning Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Perat in Karkemish, which Nevuchadretzar king of Bavel struck in the fourth year of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu king of Yehudah." The Radak says that at first he prophesies a calamity upon the king of Egypt, and later a calamity that will come upon him within his own land. The emphasis here is "outside his land," for later on we will see a prophecy about a calamity that will come upon him within his land.
The calamity that came upon him outside his land was when he was by the river Perat in Karkemish. "By the river Perat in Karkemish" refers to after the king of Ashur and the king of Aram captured the place; Pharaoh king of Egypt, Pharaoh Necho, went there in the days of Yoshiyahu, and there they laid siege against him until the fourth year of Yehoyakim, and then Nevuchadnetzar came up against him, and there this prophecy was spoken about him: that in the end, you Pharaoh who went there to war, you will fall into the hands of Nevuchadnetzar.
What is "Pharaoh Necho"? The Targum renders Pharaoh Necho as "Pharaoh chagira." "Chagira" means lame, limping. Chazal explain why he was called Pharaoh Necho: they say that when the throne of Shlomo was exiled, Pharaoh wanted to ascend it, but Pharaoh did not know the code, so to speak, of the operating system of the throne, and somehow when he stepped onto the throne the lion immediately struck him. In fact, when Shlomo would ascend the throne, it is written that the animals would sound out and eagles above him, or doves (I do not recall exactly), would come and place a crown upon his head. Everything there operated, in the language of the Midrash, "through mechanisms." Whoever wishes may listen to our disc on Sefer Melachim, where we detail the throne of Shlomo and how unique it was. There were special mechanisms, and he knew where to step and in what manner to act so that the throne would function by the power of those mechanisms. Pharaoh did not know this, and as a result of the lion's strike that struck him, he became lame. Therefore he is called Pharaoh Necho on account of this matter, "chagira," that he was stricken in his foot. So the simple understanding is that this refers to that same Pharaoh; and even if we say that time had passed since then and this is not the same Pharaoh, often the succeeding kings were called by the name of the previous king, as with the Pharaohs, and so on.
And now he prophesies a prophecy to them. Let us note that this is not a pleasant prophecy; it is a harsh prophecy, and the reason he prophesies a harsh prophecy against them is that there is in it an element of vengeance for the fact that Pharaoh killed Yoshiyahu. He killed Yoshiyahu, "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, was captured in their pits," when Yoshiyahu wanted to prevent Pharaoh from passing through his land. Pharaoh nonetheless insisted on passing through, and Yoshiyahu was certain that "no sword shall pass through your land," which was said about his generation, and therefore he tried to stop him. In the end Pharaoh struck Yoshiyahu and killed him, and now this is the prophecy about the punishment that Pharaoh will ultimately receive for this matter.
"Set in order shield and buckler, and draw near to battle." The Radak, and also the Metzudat David, explain that here the prophecy was actually spoken in a sarcastic and mocking manner toward the king of Egypt. "Set in order shield and buckler and draw near to battle" - as if to say to them: get yourselves organized, arrange yourselves, put on shield and buckler, strengthen yourselves, draw near to battle against the Kasdim who are fighting against you. The Malbim explains that here, figuratively, he portrays Egypt as not yet having even begun to go out to war, for it is brought in Melachim II chapter 24 verse 7: "And the king of Egypt did not go out again from his land, for the king of Bavel had taken from the brook of Egypt to the river Perat." Nevertheless he says to him: set in order the shield and draw near to battle. That is to say, according to the Malbim there is here a kind of command, that he commands him, as it were, from the outset, even before he went out to fight at Karkemish.
What is the difference between "magen" (shield) and "tzinah" (buckler)? The Malbim explains that a magen is something that stands to protect against the bow, while a tzinah is a shield against sword and spear. The magen is on one side, whereas the tzinah protects from three directions. That is, it is like a letter chet, and when he takes it up, they cannot strike him with a sword even from his sides. Rashi says that the magen was made of leather, of tanned leather, and this leather they would anoint with oil, as the Baalei Mussar bring, that scoffing is like a shield anointed with oil, at which they shoot arrows and the arrows slip off. Why did they make the magen of leather? Because leather was light. They would make only a light outer frame of wood, stretch leather over it, and then the shield would not weigh down the warrior. By contrast, if you take a metal shield, it is bound to be heavy and then it weighs down the warrior. So they would take a leather magen, and the tzinah was of wood, according to the opinion of the Malbim (which is Rashi's), like the form of our "terisin." "Terisin" means shields.
"Harness the horses, and mount, you horsemen, and stand forth with helmets; polish the spears, put on the coats of mail." "Harness the horses and mount, you horsemen" means that the horsemen mounted the horses to ride, after they harnessed the horses. When one wants to ride a horse, one harnesses it, meaning one binds to it all the parts needed for riding, that is, the bridle and the saddle and everything connected to that. So they harnessed the horses and prepared them for riding, and the horsemen mounted them and stood forth with helmets, as if you are preparing to go out, even though they are not yet drawing near to battle, but in any case, prepare yourselves. "Polish the spears": a sword, when it is not used, rusts. So he said to them, polish the spears, meaning polish them so that they will be ready for use, and put on the coats of mail. "Siryonot" is like "shiryonot" (armor). The Metzudat Tziyon says it is like a garment made of iron to protect against the blow of sword and spear, as in scale armor. They had two types of armor. There was the armor - whoever has seen it in pictures, in drawings of the Vikings, sees that it was made entirely of plate, a full plate that covered the chest, protected the arms, and it had a hinge that folded at the elbows, but it was made of plate. And there was armor that was lighter, which was essentially a garment, only that it was a garment made entirely like a mesh, and upon it were rings; rings connected all over, and then it created a kind of scale effect. And this caused that when one bends, the garment bends with him, whereas the first armor greatly hindered movement and motion in it. This is called scale armor, meaning that it is entirely covered with a kind of coins, scales, so that when it receives a blow from a sword, those coins stop the sword and do not allow it to penetrate.
"Why have I seen them dismayed, drawing back? Their mighty ones are beaten down, and they have fled in flight and have not turned around; terror is all around, says Hashem." Why have I seen them dismayed, drawing back? They have faintheartedness. They draw back like a person in whom not only is there faintheartedness in his heart, but the faintheartedness is also in practice. "Chatim" is from the language of being broken; their heart is broken, their heart is soft, and not only that, but they also draw back, they also flee. And more than that: "their mighty ones are beaten down" - those who are truly mighty, from whom we would at least expect that there would be a fight, that they would, as it is said, "put up a fight," but even they do not fight; their mighty ones are beaten down. "And they have fled in flight and have not turned around" - and they flee, and out of great fear they do not even look back to see if there is anyone. That is, their fear is so terrible that "they have fled and have not turned" - one flees and does not even turn his head backward. Why is this? So the prophet asks, and the answer is: "terror is all around, says Hashem." Since Hashem brought upon them terror and fear - "magor" is from the language of fear, as in "do not fear (lo taguru) before any man." There is an additional explanation that "magor" is from the matter of gathering, since they gathered against them all around. "Terror all around" means that they gathered around them to fight against them; so "magor" is like "do not fear before any man," one of the explanations there being "do not store up (ta'aguru) your words." What is "ta'aguru"? Bring inside, from the language of storing, from the language of gathering. So here too it is from the language of gathering: they gathered around them in order to fight against them.
"Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; toward the north by the river Perat they have stumbled and fallen." He says to them: you flee in vain, for even one who is swift of foot, let him not flee, and even the mighty man will not escape by his might. "Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape" - for "toward the north by the river Perat they have stumbled." He says to them: you are in the north, by the river Perat. The meaning, the Malbim explains, is that they should have fled to the south side, which is the direction of Egypt, but instead they flee to the north side, toward the river. And then what happened was that the enemy came behind them, and since you fled toward the river, he pressed them toward the river's side, and there they all fell, when there is no place of escape, they reach the water and there they drown. And this is what happened to them: the river closed off the road before them, and therefore "by the river Perat they have stumbled and fallen."
"Who is this that rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss like the rivers?" Here he turns to Pharaoh in a mocking manner, as the Radak says. Who is this that used to rise up from the land like the Nile, as the Nile rises and spreads over the land, as is known that the Nile would overflow its banks and water the fields. "Who is this that rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss like the rivers" - like the great rivers whose waters foam and sweep along. Here this is a metaphor for the "waters" of Pharaoh, the armies of Pharaoh, who used to rise up with such might. Behold, this is Pharaoh who used to rise up like the Nile, whose waters toss like the rivers, and now see how he falls in such a shameful manner, how he stumbled before Nevuchadnetzar.
The Malbim explains that "rises up like the Nile" comes to express that just as the Nile rises and covers the land, so too Pharaoh would cover the land with the multitude of his armies. When he would arrive, his armies covered the land. "Whose waters toss like the rivers" the Malbim explains: just as a river's waters flow with force, so too his men would arrive in a flood and flood all the kingdoms; when Pharaoh arrived he left nothing, he flooded everything. And the Malbim explains that in the Holy Tongue there is a difference between a "nahar" (river), a "nachal" (stream), and a "yeor" (Nile/canal). The yeor is that which fills up from rainwater and covers the land, overflows its banks and floats up and covers the land, like the Nile. And for the Nile they would make many canals, as is known that Egypt was very, very advanced in its agriculture, for they would build pools around the Nile, and when the Nile rose those pools would fill up, and from those pools they would make channels to water all the fields. So it emerges that the yeor is the place where the waters fill up on account of the rise of the rains. So when he wants to liken him to a rising, "rises up like the Nile," this rises up like the Nile. By contrast, the nahar and the nachal do not overflow their banks; they always remain within the wadi, within the valley, they do not rise upward, since they do not depend on rain, their flow is constant. Only the nahar pulls with force, in contrast to the nachal, for the nachal flows gently, as in "like streams (nechalim) that stretch out," that the streams flow gently, and therefore it is written that they would take to appoint kings by the stream, for just as the stream draws its waters gently, so too their kingship will be a kingship of tranquility. As opposed to the nahar, which surges and foams. Therefore he does not liken him to a nachal; he likens him to a nahar, which comes and floods with force all that is in its path.
And this is what he continues and says: "Egypt rises up like the Nile, and its waters toss like the rivers; and he said, I will rise up, I will cover the land, I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it." "Egypt rises up like the Nile" constantly; Egypt was in the aspect of "rises up like the Nile," and this is the answer to the question "who is this?" It tells you: it is Egypt, who are accustomed to rising up like the Nile. "Rises up like the Nile," and then he says: "I will rise up, I will cover the land," like the Nile which covers the land with water. "And its waters toss like the rivers," and the rivers, as it were, say: "I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it." The Malbim explains that the clauses of the verse are parallel. That is, what is written at the beginning, its continuation is later in the verse. We have explained this several times in Iyov, we return to this recurringly there in order: the clauses of the verse are parallel, as it were the verse is divided into four, it has four statements, and then we do not say that it is built in a sequential form of statement after statement, but rather we say that statement number one, its continuation is statement number three, and statement number two, its continuation is statement number four. So in effect the verse here should, as it were, be read: "Egypt rises up like the Nile" and "he said, I will rise up, I will cover the land," for the Nile rises up and it wants to cover the land; and "its waters toss like the rivers" and it is like rivers whose waters toss, there the rivers want "I will destroy the city and those who dwell in it," for they want to destroy the city and all who dwell in it, like the flooding river that destroys everything.
"Come up, you horses, and rage, you chariots, and let the mighty men go forth: Kush and Put who handle the shield, and the Ludim who handle and bend the bow." Now when the army of Nevuchadnetzar arrives, "come up, you horses" means, the Radak explains, let us see what you, the horses, the horses of Egypt, will do against the army that comes upon you; for you were always, as it is said, the first attackers. Let us see how you will now behave, how you will respond to the attacks of Nevuchadnetzar. "And rage, you chariots," that is, as you used to do at first - "the chariot" is an inclusive term that includes the chariotry - as it were he commands them and says to them once again, in a manner of mockery and sarcasm: come up, you horses, rage, you chariots, well, where are you, Egypt, where is your strength? Behold, please, come up, enter into them, show them what you know. He says that in practice that time will be a day of vengeance, as we will see in the next verse. That is, those Egyptians from whom war was expected, those Egyptians who were always feared - behold, please, come and fight, show what you are capable of and what you know. But as we said, they have no strength at all, since the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered them up, as we will see in the next verse.
"And that day is to the Lord Hashem of hosts a day of vengeance, to avenge Himself of His adversaries; and the sword shall devour and be sated and drunk with their blood, for the Lord Hashem of hosts has a sacrifice in the land of the north by the river Perat." And then he says: this day before Hashem is a day of vengeance, and since it is so, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were commands them: come up, you horses, rage, you chariots, let the mighty men go forth, for this is a day on which Hashem wishes to exact retribution from Egypt. So in order to exact retribution from Egypt, He must bring them out to the place of battle so that there they will fall. According to the Malbim, "come up, you horses" is a command. It is not in a manner of mockery as the Radak explains, as if to say to them, behold, come, come fight, show them what you know, in order to mock them, so to speak, over how weak they are. No; rather, according to the Malbim there is here a command, that the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were drew them by the nose to bring them there, and commanded them: come up, you horses, rage, you chariots, and let the mighty men go forth: Kush, Put who handle the shield, and the Ludim, all of whom came with them to fight alongside them. To all of these Hashem calls out to come up to war. And why? Because it is a day "to avenge Himself of His adversaries." This is a day on which Hashem will cause the sword to devour the flesh of the Egyptians, "and be sated" - it will be an eating that has satiety in it, meaning an abundant eating - "and drunk with their blood," meaning much blood will be spilled of the men of Egypt, and then the sword, as it were, will also be sated with their blood, drunk like an intoxicated person. And this time is a sacrifice to the Lord Hashem of hosts. As it were, the Malbim explains, the Holy One, blessed be He, as if prepared a sacrifice for the river Perat. They were accustomed to sacrifice to the river, like the Egyptians who worshiped the Nile; the river was a source of life, so they would offer sacrifices to it. So he says this is a sacrifice, as it were, "in the land of the north by the river Perat" - the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were offers a sacrifice, brings a sacrifice to the river. What does this mean? As we saw above, that they fled toward the river, and what this caused was that the enemy pressed them there and they all drowned there in the river; there were dead corpses there, there they were defeated. It emerges, then, that this is like a sacrifice, as it were the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to the river some gift, some sacrifice, He gave the river to eat and be sated with their blood.
"Go up to Gilad and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt; in vain do you use many medicines, there is no healing for you." "Go up to Gilad," as it were he says to her: go to Gilad and take balm. Gilad was a place, a medical center was there in Gilad, where they would grow all kinds of remedies, and therefore "is there no balm in Gilad," and so on, as we discussed above. And therefore he says, "go up to Gilad and take balm." As we said according to the Radak, everything here is said sarcastically, so he as it were says to them: please, go to Gilad, search there for remedies, perhaps something will help you, "go up to Gilad and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt." And here he says, do not waste your time, "in vain do you use many medicines, there is no healing for you" - in vain will you take remedies for your wound, there is no healing for you. What is "te'alah"? The expression "refuat te'alah" (a remedy of healing), according to the Radak, means: "te'alah" is an additional expression for healing, and this comes to say that even if you go to Gilad and to other places to seek out additional nations to help you, to aid you in winning the battle, like Kush and Put and Lud as we saw above, this healing, this thing, will not give you healing; there is no healing for you. Some define "virgin daughter of Egypt": why does he call her "virgin daughter of Egypt"? The Metzudat David explains that since Egypt was never conquered by any nation, she is like a virgin who has not been conquered by any man, and therefore he calls her "virgin daughter of Egypt," as if to say, until today you have had no defeat. And this intensifies the prophecy even more, for to prophesy a prophecy against a nation that has had downfalls, there is no greatness in that; it has had downfalls, so you say it will have another downfall, well, fine, that is logical. But a nation that has never fallen, to come and prophesy that it will fall, this is truly powerful. And so this is what he says to her here: even though you are the virgin daughter of Egypt, now take into account that your time has come, your fall has come. The Malbim explains that after Pharaoh's downfall Pharaoh still wished to strengthen himself in the government that he still had in the land of Syria; from Syria to the Jordan Pharaoh had a government there, and the head of that government was Gilad. Regarding this he comes to portray, as it were, that he is going to take balm for his wound from Gilad, for in Gilad the balm grew. And regarding this he says to him, "in vain do you use many medicines" - through all kinds of remedies and kinds of drugs, "there is no healing for you." What is "there is no healing (te'alah) for you"? The Malbim, in contrast to the Radak, does not explain "refuat te'alah" as an expression for healing, but rather explains that "te'alah" is the marrow within the bones, the natural moisture. So he says: you have no remedy to cure the dryness that is already in your bones; the vision of the dry bones, dryness in the bones, this already indicates death. So he says: you have no remedy, "te'alah," a healing that would give a cure to the marrow within the bones, to the natural moisture that has already been lost. In simple words: even if you have now returned to Syria and Transjordan and Gilad in order to bring from there helpers and aiders, do not expect that other nations will stand at your side after the choicest of your mighty men have fallen.
"The nations have heard of your shame, and your cry has filled the land; for mighty man against mighty man has stumbled, and they have fallen, both of them together." They will not come to help you, for they understand that your story is finished, and no one wants to join someone who is failing, a dead horse. All the media are always for the winner; they determine who is supposed to win, and afterward they are also for him. But no one finds it pleasant to be with someone considered a failure, for what, you were for him and he fell, so if he fell, you fell too. And therefore he says: the nations will not come; you expect that they will come to aid you, but "the nations have heard of your shame" - they have heard of your disgrace, and besides what they heard, "your cry has filled the land," that is, your cry, that you cry out at the magnitude of your trouble, has filled the land. So the trouble here is already a well-known trouble that everyone knows about. And not only that: not only are you pursued by the nations, but your disgrace, your shame here, is far greater, for after all, if you were pursued by the nations, then a nation pursued you. But here "mighty man against mighty man has stumbled" - he says, among you there was a tumult among your mighty men, and then, as it is said, they were killed by friendly fire, out of the great state of chaos and tumult among you, they killed one another. Is there a greater disgrace than this? That is, there was no longer even need for the enemy to kill among them; you did the work yourselves. So "the nations have heard of your shame" - do you think this will encourage them to come help you? Who will come to help a dead horse.