XXIX. The series of prophecies against Egypt, occupying the four following Chapter s, and containing seven separate prophecies, were all delivered in regular order, except the short one at the close of this chapter (Ezekiel 29:17), which was much later. The prophecy of Ezekiel 30:1 is indeed undated... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE TENTH YEAR, IN THE TENTH MONTH. — This was exactly a year and two days after the investment of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 24:1; 2 Kings 25:1), and about six months before its fall, or seven before its destruction (2 Kings 25:3). It must have been, therefore, after the time when the... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREAT DRAGON. — This word is usually translated _dragon_ in the English version, but sometimes _whale_ (Ezekiel 32:2), and (in a slightly modified form) _serpent_ (Exodus 7:9; Exodus 7:12). It unquestionably means _crocodile,_ the characteristic animal of Egypt, in some parts hated and destroyed... [ Continue Reading ]
HOOKS IN THY JAWS. — An allusion to the ancient way of taking and destroying the crocodile, otherwise invulnerable to their arms. FISH OF THY RIVERS SHALL STICK UNTO THY SCALES. — As the crocodile, the lord of the Nile, represents the royal power of Egypt, so the fish represent the people dependent... [ Continue Reading ]
OPEN FIELDS is synonymous with “wilderness” in the previous clause. The crocodile and the fish together, drawn from the river, are to be thrown upon the sands of the neighbouring desert, to be devoured by the birds and beasts of prey: thus representing that Pharaoh and his people, uprooted from thei... [ Continue Reading ]
A STAFF OF REED. — In Isaiah 36:6 the dependence of Judah upon Egypt is described as trust “in the staff of this broken reed;” but notwithstanding all warnings, they still trusted, especially at the time of this prophecy, and proved in their experience the truth of the Divine word. The figure is tak... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THEIR LOINS TO BE AT A STAND. — The expression is a difficult one, but the more probable sense is, _all their loins to shake._ The reed breaks under the weight of the man who leans upon it, and pierces his shoulder as he falls, while in his consternation his loins tremble.... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE HE HATH SAID. — Again, as in Ezekiel 29:6, the division of the verses is very unfortunate. The expression “shall know that I am the Lord,” so common in Ezekiel, always closes a train of thought. The new sentence begins with the reason for the judgment upon Egypt — because of its pride.... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE. — The word here translated “tower” is a proper name, Migdol, a town, mentioned in Exodus 14:2, near Suez. Syene has in the original the affix denoting _towards,_ and the translation should therefore be, _from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia;_ in other words... [ Continue Reading ]
NEITHER SHALL IT BE INHABITED FORTY YEARS. — In Ezekiel 29:9 a state of desolation is predicted for Egypt, which, if understood in the literal sense of the words, has certainly never been fulfilled. In Ezekiel 29:9 it is said that it “shall be desolate and waste,” and this is repeated with emphasis... [ Continue Reading ]
SCATTER THE EGYPTIANS AMONG THE NATIONS. — Megasthenes and Berosus state that Nebuchadnezzar on his conquest of Egypt, sent great numbers of the people captive to Babylon; others doubtless, as in similar cases, took refuge in Ethiopia, Libya, and other neighbouring lands. The kind of desolation fore... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THE END OF FORTY YEARS. — See Note on Ezekiel 29:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAND OF PATHROS. — Comp. Isaiah 11:11. Pathros is Upper Egypt, the Thebaid. In the following clause this is described as “the land of their birth” (_Marg._). According to ancient testimony and the opinion of many moderns, this was the original seat of Egyptian power. It may, however, be put only... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CONFIDENCE OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. — Here the result of this judgment in God’s providence concerning His people is brought out: they had hitherto continually transgressed by looking to Egypt for aid; now this temptation should be entirely removed. This trust of Israel in Egypt had continually br... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE SEVEN AND TWENTIETH YEAR. — This is the latest date among all Ezekiel’s prophecies, and is more than sixteen years after the prophecy of the former part of the chapter. This date corresponds with the thirty-fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (see 2 Kings 25:2; 2 Kings 25:8), and, from Ezeki... [ Continue Reading ]
YET HAD HE NO WAGES. — The siege of Tyre is here represented as a service to God, for which Nebuchadnezzar had not yet received his reward. This is quite in accordance with the whole Scriptural representation of that monarch, as a man raised up to execute God’s judgments. He was himself unconscious... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL GIVE. — In the original this is in the form of a participle; literally, _I am giving._ This form is often used of the future, but with especial appropriateness of the immediate future. The other tenses, according to the Hebrew usage, take the temporal meaning of the principal verb. This seems... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THAT DAY. — The tenses here change to the future, indicating that if the conquest of Egypt had already taken place, its consequences to Israel were to be only gradually developed. These consequences were primarily the conviction of the futility of trust in any earthly aid, and hence a turning to... [ Continue Reading ]