The Meaning of Jeremiah 47:5 Explained

Jeremiah 47:5

KJV: Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

YLT: Come hath baldness unto Gaza, Cut off hath been Ashkelon, O remnant of their valley, Till when dost thou cut thyself?

Darby: Baldness is come upon Gazah; Ashkelon is cut off, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

ASV: Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nought, the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Baldness  is come  upon Gaza;  Ashkelon  is cut off  [with] the remnant  of their valley:  how long wilt thou cut  thyself? 

What does Jeremiah 47:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Gaza and Ashkelon, in the southern part of Philistia, would suffer ruin, and the Philistines in that area would mourn and wail for a long time. Shaving the head and cutting oneself were signs of mourning (cf. Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 48:37).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 47

1  The destruction of the Philistines

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 47:5 mean?

Has come Baldness upon Gaza is cut off Ashkelon [with] the remnant of their valley how long will you cut yourself -
בָּ֤אָה קָרְחָה֙ אֶל־ עַזָּ֔ה נִדְמְתָ֥ה אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן שְׁאֵרִ֣ית עִמְקָ֑ם עַד־ מָתַ֖י ؟ תִּתְגּוֹדָֽדִי ס

בָּ֤אָה  Has  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
קָרְחָה֙  Baldness 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קָרַח  
Sense: baldness, bald.
אֶל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עַזָּ֔ה  Gaza 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עַזָּה  
Sense: another name for ‘Gaza’, a city of the Philistines located in the extreme southwest of Palestine close to the Mediterranean.
נִדְמְתָ֥ה  is  cut  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: דָּמָה 
Sense: to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish.
אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן  Ashkelon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשְׁקְלֹון  
Sense: a maritime city of the Philistines, southwest of Jerusalem.
שְׁאֵרִ֣ית  [with]  the  remnant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שְׁאֵרִית  
Sense: rest, residue, remainder, remnant.
עִמְקָ֑ם  of  their  valley 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
עַד־  how 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
מָתַ֖י  long 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מָתַי  
Sense: when?.
؟ תִּתְגּוֹדָֽדִי  will  you  cut  yourself 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: גָּדַד 
Sense: to penetrate, cut, attack, invade.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation