Ezekiel 29:3

“Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh. Behold I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (tannin) who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, “My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.” ' ”

To Yahweh Pharaoh (Hophra - Jeremiah 45:30) is but the king of Egypt, but in his own eyes Pharaoh is much more than that. He is the creator of Egypt and of the River Nile which is itself a god and the life blood of Egypt. And he bestrides it and its tributaries like a monstrous crocodile, challenging all who dare to approach, as the self-begotten sun god of Egypt.

There is here a deliberate play on two views, one that Pharaoh is but earthly, a created creature (compare Genesis 1:21), like the crocodile, while in Egypt's view being godlike and associated with the mythical monsters of the world of the gods and thus undefeatable (compare Job 9:13; Job 26:11; Psalms 74:13; Psalms 89:10; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 51:9; Amos 9:3 and note that they cannot stand against Yahweh. But the monsters are often but synonyms for their countries e.g. Rahab can be seen as representing Egypt). Ezekiel under Yahweh's instruction is bringing him down to earth.

It should be noted that while commentators rightly draw attention to this multiplicity of gods, Scripture is regularly silent about them. It does not tend to speak in terms of battles against the gods (compare the Exodus account where mention of them is rare although commentarywise they appear everywhere). It degrades them by not mentioning them, generally leaving them as background knowledge in men's minds. Yahweh is all, and His opponents but earthly and not worthy of mention.