This short but remarkable passage follows closely on what precedes. Jeremiah 46 portrayed Pharaoh and Egypt as entities under God’s judgment. Prior to that verdict being executed by Babylon, however, they will serve as agents of divine judgment against Philistia. The ultimate example of the underlying principle at work here is Babylon, who is both the yoke that Yahweh places upon the nations (ch. 25) as well as the recipient of the severest punishment of all (chs. 50–51).

Jeremiah 46–47 portrays Yahweh as uniquely able to make a nation both an agent and a recipient of divine judgment. There is no god or empire that can rival him, as the doxology of chapter 10 declares:

    Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?

    For this is your due;

    for among all the wise ones of the nations

    and in all their kingdoms

    there is none like you. . . .

    But the Lord is the true God;

    he is the living God and the everlasting King.

    At his wrath the earth quakes,

    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. (10:7, 10)

The God of Judah is strong and victorious even as his people languish in weakness and defeat, culminating in their judgment by the same Babylon that will destroy Egypt.

  X.D.  Concerning Judgment against Philistia (47:1–7)

1.  A Superscription to Jeremiah’s Oracle concerning Philistia (47:1)

2.  Yahweh’s Announcement about a Northern Destroyer’s Arrival (47:2a–c)

3.  The Terror and Helplessness of Philistia against the Northern Destroyer (47:2d–5)

4.  Jeremiah’s Inquiry to Yahweh on the Extent of Philistia’s Destruction (47:6–7)

Although it is the briefest of the “Oracles concerning the Nations,” Jeremiah 47 deserves special attention because of its modern application. In certain circles, prophecy-minded Christians have equated the Philistines spoken of in this chapter with the Palestinians, the mostly Arab descendants of those who lived in the land of Palestine before the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948. Among other OT passages, Jeremiah 47 is then interpreted as divine judgment upon modern Palestinians, whether in addition to ancient Philistines or as the fulfillment of a prophecy against the latter.133 The fact that Philistines and Palestinians are etymologically related may appear to lend support to this idea.

However, several factors make such an interpretation unlikely. First and most important, a key principle in interpreting OT prophecy is that Israelites are not Israelis, and Israelis are not Israelites. That is, members of the ancient state of Israel do not correspond in a one-to-one manner with those of the modern state of Israel (whether we are talking about ethnicity, borders, or politics). Whatever one believes about biblical prophecy or the place of modern Israel in God’s purposes, it is significant to note that this nation is one of the most secular countries in the world, with a majority of the population identifying themselves as either unreligious or atheistic.134 OT prophetic texts, by contrast, consistently make an inextricable link between restoration to the land and repentance toward Yahweh (e.g., Deut. 30:1–10; Jer. 29:12–13). Good Christians will disagree on the timelines of fulfillment, of course. But even if one grants that fulfillment has already begun, it is still a major leap to link OT prophecies about ancient Israel directly to modern Israel. This is no less true in connecting Philistines with Palestinians.

Second, Jeremiah 47, as with many OT prophetic passages, supplies historical clues for the time of its fulfillment. The chapter introduces itself as the divine word “concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza” (v. 1). What follows is a prediction of the disaster that Pharaoh Neco was about to inflict on Philistia. It is true that some OT prophecies have an “already/not-yet” character in referring to near as well as far events, such as Jeremiah’s own prophecy regarding Babylon/Babel in chapters 50–51. But taking chapters 46–47 together leads one to realize that the divine judgment leveled against Pharaoh Neco (46:2) at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC postdates the next chapter’s description of his campaign against Philistia (47:1), referring to Neco’s campaign in Syria when King Josiah of Judah was killed (in 609 BC; 2 Kings 23:29–30). These factors indicate that the prophecy of Jeremiah 47 was fulfilled in the sixth century BC. On this note, it stretches credibility to apply the description of Philistines freely receiving help from seafaring Phoenicians (Jer. 47:4) to modern Palestinians who dwell near the Mediterranean Sea in refugee camps with limited contact with the outside world. We will discuss further the nature of open-ended prophetic fulfillment in the Response section on Jeremiah 50–51, but Jeremiah 47 is unlikely to be an example of this type.Jeremiah 47

Jeremiah 48