Jeremiah 49:30 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor— When the Arabs have drawn upon themselves so general a resentment of the more fixed inhabitants of those countries, that they think themselves unable to stand against them, they withdraw into the depths of the great wilderness, where none can follow them with hope of success. This appears by a passage in Maillet's Letters, (Leviticus 1: p. 24.) and is confirmed by other writers: D'Arvieux particularly informs us, that the Arabs will be ready to decamp in less than two hours' warning, and, retiring immediately into the deserts, render it impossible for other nations, even the most powerful, to conquer them, they not daring to venture far into deserts where the Arabs alone know how to steer their course, so as to hit upon places of water and forage. Is it not then most probable, that the dwelling deep which Jeremiah here recommends to the Arab tribes, means this plunging far into the deserts; rather than the going into deep caves and dens, as Grotius and other commentators suppose? That way of endeavouring to avoid the fury of an enemy was indeed practised, not only before the days of our prophet, as appears from Judges 6:2. 1 Samuel 13:6 but long after, as we learn from the croisade writers: but those learned men will find it extremely difficult, I believe, to produce any passages which shew, that the Arabs who live in tents, were wont to look upon this as a proper method for them to take: their way is to retire far into the deserts, not into the bowels of the earth; and so far are they from making caves their refuge, that it is observed of this nation, that when they possess cities and palaces, they never will dwell in them, looking upon such places rather as traps, than as places of defence, as in similar cases they were looked upon anciently. See Sandys' Travels, p. 158. La Roque Voy. dans la Pal. p. 111 and 1 Samuel 23:7. Wherever the croisade writers speak of retiring into caves to avoid danger, it is of a people who lived a settled kind of life, not a flitting one in tents, like that of the Arabs. That the Hazor, which is here directed to get far off, and to dwell deep, was a nation that lived in tents, appears from this very passage. "Arise," said Nebuchadrezzar to his people, when he conceived a purpose against Hazor, "Get ye up to the wealthy nation which dwelleth without care, which have neither gates nor bars; which dwell alone:" a plain description of the Bedouin way of living; and therefore this dwelling deep hardly admits of any other meaning, if we would interpret the Scriptures from eastern customs. I cannot but observe further, that the words which the prophet uses, perfectly agree with this explication; Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, &c. The caves to which the eastern people have been wont to retire are in their very towns, or in the neighbourhood of their dwelling at least, and not far off. Such was that which Asa made, chap. Jeremiah 41:7. Jeremiah 41:9. As the same term of dwelling deep is applied to the Dedanites, Jeremiah 49:8 it is reasonable to suppose that they also were a tribe of Arabs who lived in tents. The learned, from other considerations, have said the same thing. See Vitringa on Isaiah 21:13. This sense of the original word, according to which deep is used for far off, seems to be confirmed by other passages: Deeply revolting from God, Isaiah 31:6 signifies departing far from him. See the Observations, p. 59.