Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:19
Stand by the road and watch, O dweller of Aroer! Ask the man fleeing or the woman escaping, ‘What has happened?’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses a female resident of Aroer, commanding her to position herself on a road and observe fleeing survivors. This occurs during the active collapse of Moab's cities and fortresses.
The words — The imperative עִמְדִי (im-di) and וְצַפִּי (ve-tza-pi) literally command "stand" and "watch," fixing the dweller to a specific location. The verb שְׁאָלִי (sha-a-li) means "ask," directing the observer to question the fleeing man (נָס, nas) and escaping woman.
The thread — The road-watcher motif parallels the anxious vigil in 1 Samuel 4:13, while the desperate inquiry "What has happened?" mirrors the battlefield report in 1 Samuel 4:16. The geographic anchor of Aroer near the Arnon Valley is established in Deuteronomy 2:36.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to witness the immediate aftermath of destruction by focusing on a stationary observer questioning fleeing survivors. It leaves the audience to confront the sudden shattering of a community without providing immediate explanation or relief.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
- 1 Samuel 4:16 “I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
- 1 Samuel 4:13 When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
- Numbers 32:34 And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- 2 Samuel 1:3 “Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.
- 2 Samuel 18:24 Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
- 2 Samuel 24:5 They crossed the Jordan and camped near Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and proceeded toward Gad and Jazer.
- 1 Chronicles 5:8 and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.