Chapter 4 – FAMILIA MUNDIAL
1 [2] Valley of Jehoshaphat: a symbolic name of the place of final judgment (⇒ Joel 4:14). The name Jehoshaphat signifies «Yahweh judges.» This place has been popularly identified with the Kidron Valley.
2 [8] Sabeans: a south Arabian people known for their commerce.
3 [10] This imagery is used in the reverse sense in ⇒ Isaiah 2:4; ⇒ Micah 4:3. Here the warlike weapons are made in response to God’s summons to armies which he selected to expel forever the unlawful invaders from the land of his chosen people.
4 [11] Warriors: the angels; cf ⇒ Zechariah 14:5.
5 [13] Because of their numerous crimes, the nations are ripe for punishment. The use of warlike weapons against them is likened to the onslaught on the fields and vines at harvest time.
6 [18] The Valley of Shittim, or «the ravine of the acacia trees»: perhaps a part of the Kidron Valley southeast of Jerusalem; the prophetic picture of a stream of water flowing from a fountain in the temple of Jerusalem is to be found in ⇒ Ezekiel 47:1. The Shittim east of the Jordan (see note on ⇒ Numbers 25:1) is hardly referred to here.