Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of
Jordan
The Targum rightly interprets it of a king and his army, paraphrasing the words thus,
``behold, a king with his army shall come up against them, as a lion comes up from the height of Jordan;''not the king of Edom that should come up against Judea, or to defend himself against those that invaded him; but Nebuchadnezzar and his army that should come up against the Edomites from the land of Judea, where Jordan was, having first subdued that; or should come with that strength, fury, and fierceness, as a lion when forced out of its covert near the river Jordan, by the overflowing of its banks, and obliged to betake himself to higher grounds; who, being enraged, roars and tears in pieces all in his way. Monsieur Thevenot F23 says, that Jordan is beset on both sides with little, thick, and pleasant woods; and Mr. Maundrell F24 observes, that
``there is a first and outermost bank to the river, about a furlong, upon a level, before you come to the second bank, to which it may be supposed the river did, and still does, overflow; and the second bank is so beset with bushes and trees, such as tamarisk, willows, and oleanders that you can see no water till you have made your way through them. In this thicket anciently (and the same is reported of at this day) several sorts of wild beasts were wont to harbour themselves, whose being washed out of the covert, by the over flowings of the river, gave occasion to the allusion, ( Jeremiah 49:19 ) .''So Jerom F25 speaks of lions, in his time, taking up their abode by the river Jordan, near which were desert places, reeds, and sedges: against the habitation of the strong;