Ezekiel 29:7-21

II. THE PRIZE OF EGYPT 29:7-21

TRANSLATION

(17) And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (18) Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet neither he nor his army received any wages from Tyre for the service which he performed against it; (19) therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to give to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon the land of Egypt; and he shall carry off her abundance, take her spoil and seize her prey; and she shall be the wages for his army. (20) I have given him the land of Egypt as his hire for which he served, because they did it for Me (oracle of the Lord GOD). (21) In that day I will cause a horn to shoot up unto the house of Israel, and I will give you the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

The second Egypt oracle dates to New Years day (April, 26 571 B.C.) (Ezekiel 29:17), It is the latest oracle in the entire book. The placement here is appropriate, however, because the oracle connects the invasion of Egypt with the cessation of the Babylonian siege of Tyre which took place about 574 B.C.

Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years, and in so doing he had rendered a great service to God. His soldiers were weary with that warfare. Bald spots worn by ill-fitting helmets marked the heads of the besiegers. The skin of their shoulders was raw from carrying heavy loads of timber and stone to construct the siege works. But in spite of his determined effort to cross the narrow arm of the sea and reach the island fortress, Nebuchadnezzar had been unsuccessful.[444] Neither he nor his troops had been enriched through the spoils of war which generally made a lengthy siege operation rewarding (Ezekiel 29:18).

[444] What exactly took place a t Tyre is uncertain. Ezekiel does not actually say Nebuchadnezzar was unsuccessful there. He only indicates that the material reward for his siege efforts was not sufficient.

To compensate Nebuchadnezzar for the service he rendered at Tyre, God decreed that he should be given the land of Egypt.[445] The spoils of that great north African nation would fall into the hands of the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 29:19). Nebuchadnezzar was entitled to this booty, for all that he had done at Tyre he had done in the service of the Lord (they worked, for me, Ezekiel 29:20).

[445] Jeremiah also foretold Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt. Cf. Jeremiah 41:8-13; Jeremiah 46:1-25.

A Babylonian force invaded Egypt in 568 B.C. Owing to the damaged state of the inscription which alludes to this campaign it is impossible to accurately gage the success of the effort. It is known that Pharaoh Ahmose II came to terms with the invaders.

In Ezekiel 29:21 Ezekiel indicates three results of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt (1) a horn, symbol of power and prosperity would spring forth for the house of Israel. This prophecy seems to be saying that Israel's restoration would correspond to Egypt's humiliation. Egypt's period of humiliation ended in 530 B.C. Israel's period of restoration began some eight or nine years earlier when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return home. (2) Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt in 568 B.C. would cause Ezekiel's dumbness to be removed. His prophetic ministry would be vindicated. No longer would he feel his tongue restrained by the skepticism of his people. (3) They would know that Yahweh is God, and that He truly had revealed Himself to Ezekiel His messenger (Ezekiel 29:21).