“Their horses
Are swifter
Than leopards.
They are more menacing
Than evening wolves.
Their horsemen
Come from far away.
They fly
Like an eagle,
Swift to devour.”
The Chaldean horses and riders were extraordinary. Their horses were quicker than leopards and more menacing than wild wolves at sunset. The cavalry horsemen came from distant places. They seemed to fly on their horses like fast eagles ready to devour their prey.
“But I will have pity
On the house of Judah.
I will save them
By Yahweh,
Their God.
I will not save them
By bow,
Or by sword,
Or by war,
Or by horses,
Or by horsemen.”
Apparently, this was a later insertion that Yahweh was still going to have pity on the southern kingdom of Judah. Yahweh, their God, would save them, but this was Yahweh speaking. He was not going to save them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen. In other words, he would not interfere, but at the same time still save the house of Judah, because he loved and pitied them.
“At the time of the end,
The king of the south
Shall attack him.
But the king of the north
Shall rush upon him
Like a whirlwind,
With chariots,
With horsemen,
With many ships.
He shall advance
Against countries.
He shall pass through
Like a flood.”
Gabriel then made another prediction about King Antiochus IV. He said that the king of the south, King Ptolemy V, would invade the north, but be defeated because of the great military of King Antiochus with his chariots, horsemen, and ships. In fact, this northern king would advance through countries like a moving flood storm. This apparently never happened, as opposed to the preceding that actually took place.
“Come now!
Make a wager
With my master
The king of Assyria.
I will give you
Two thousand horses,
If you are able,
On your part,
To set riders on them.
How then can you repulse a single captain
Among the least of my master’s servants?
You rely on Egypt for chariots.
You rely on Egypt for horsemen.
Moreover,
Is it without Yahweh
That I have come up
Against this land to destroy it?
Yahweh said to me.
‘Go up against this land!
Destroy it!’”
In words that are word for word from 2 Kings, chapter 18, Rabshakeh presents a wager. He said that Judah would not have enough horsemen even if he gave them 2,000 horses. How could they fight against his army? He wanted to know where the chariots and horsemen that came from Egypt were. He mocked them for saying he had not relied on Yahweh. In fact, he said that Yahweh had come to him to tell him to destroy this land of Jerusalem.
“Meanwhile King Trypho embarked on a ship as he escaped to Orthosia. Then King Antiochus made Cendebeus the commander-in-chief of the coastal country. He gave him troops of infantry and cavalry. He commanded him to encamp against Judea. He commanded him to build up Kedron and fortify its gates. He was to make war on the people. However, the king was going to pursue Trypho. So Cendebeus came to Jamnia. He began to provoke the people and invade Judea. He took the people captive and killed them. He built up Kedron. Then he stationed horsemen and troops there, so that they might go out and make raids along the highways of Judea, as the king had ordered him.”
The siege at Dor did not work that well. King Trypho escaped from King Antiochus VII as he got on a boat and went to Orthosia, which was north of Tripolis. At the same time, King Antiochus VII was concerned about Simon and Judea. He made Cendebeus the commander of the coastal country with cavalry troops and infantry. His orders were to harass Judea, while the king went after King Trypho, so that he could claim the throne. Cendebeus built up the town of Kedron, probably southwest of Ekron, where he stationed horses and troops so that they could go out and make raids on the Judea highways, as he had been ordered to do.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 