Jeremiah 5:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Horses embody femininity. Consider how you have depicted delight. Observe how they have succumbed to the indecency that brings shame upon creation itself. Witness the unembarrassed mating behavior unique to beasts. The Hebrew text does not explicitly mention the term ‘driven’ but implies that they were compelled by passion.

What could be more reprehensible than such impurity? They, unlike men, engaged in relations with one another's wives; thus, this madness is described as a roaring. Their actions are not merely labeled as fornication, but also as adultery, committed with the same brazen disregard as that of mute creatures.

Our hearts are transformed by wrath, assuming a monstrous form; we are altered by desire, turning animalistic in pursuit of indulgent living. ‘Horses of the wife-beasts are created,’ ignited with fervor for the spouse of another. Psalm 44

The steeds associated with the womanists were directed towards the abode of the immoral, each one with its devoted spouse. Their infidelity was not solely expressed through the worship of their false deities, but also through their engagement in desire and femininity.

Why should I extend mercy to you? Your children have abandoned Me and swear allegiance to false gods. I provided for them, yet they have engaged in infidelity, surrendering themselves to desire within the brothel. The paramours have become as steeds and stallions to the women; each one roars after his neighbor's wife. Will I not bring retribution for this, declares the Lord, and will My soul not take vengeance on such a people? The Lord outlines the transgressions of Jerusalem, questioning what reason He has to show it mercy. He states, Your children have forsaken Me: not My children, but thine; they swear by those who are not deities. I nourished them, and they turned to unfaithfulness. Let those who bask in the prosperity bestowed upon them by God and indulge in lust listen closely.

Which of these acts will I show mercy towards you? He specifies the various forms of wrongdoing, stating that not only do you and your descendants make oaths by false deities, ‘which are not gods,’ but you also summon others through these. Yet I have granted you an abundance of blessings, as indicated in the phrase ‘And I have fed them.’ Furthermore, you disrupt the marriages of others, indulging your desires like (Jeremiah 5:8) ‘the horses of a woman.’ He then brings the discourse to a close.