The land... from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. — i.e., Judah, from north to south, as in 2 Kings 23:8 it is said, “from Geba to Beersheba.” Geba, modern “Jeba,” is about three hours north of Jerusalem. Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, not Rimmon in Galilee, which was north of Nazareth (Joshua 19:13), nor the rock of Rimmon, north of Jerusalem (Judges 20:45), but Rimmon, modern Umm er Rummanin, four hours to north of Beersheba.
Shall be turned as a plain. — Better, as the plain, called in Hebrew the Hâ Arâbâh, and now in Arabic Al Ghor. It extends with some interruptions from the slopes of Hermon to the Elamitic gulf of the Red Sea.
And it. — viz., Jerusalem. The idea of the lifting up of Jerusalem is suggested by its geographical position, situated, as it is, in a nest of mountains (Psalms 125:2). The language is, of course, figurative, and denotes the religious prominence of Jerusalem. The very name of Jerusalem at the present time, Al Kuds, “the holy place,” is so far a testimony to the truth of the prophecy, in that the nations, by adopting this appellation (Jerusalem ha Kedoshah) from the Jews, acknowledge the holy city to have been the fountain-head of religious knowledge.
In her place. — Comp. Zechariah 12:6.
Benjamin’s gate was doubtless in the northern wall.
The place of the first gate was, perhaps, at the north-eastern corner, and “the corner gate” at the north-western corner (2 Kings 14:13; Jeremiah 31:38). Thus this description denotes the whole breadth of the city, from east to west.
The tower of Hananeel (Jeremiah 31:38; Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 12:39) was at the north corner of the city; and “the king’s wine-presses,” no doubt, in the king’s gardens, at the south end of the city (Nehemiah 3:15); thus these latter are the northern and southern boundaries.