Ezekiel 29

REVIEW QUESTIONS

Why does Ezekiel devote such a large section of his book to the overthrow of Egypt?

Chronologically, what is the relationship of the Egyptian oracles to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.

What metaphors are used in this section to describe Pharaoh?

What evidence is there here of the self-deification of Pharaoh?

In what way had Egypt been a staff of reed to the house of Israel?

How long would Egypt be politically desolate?

What evidence is there that Nebuchadnezzar actually invaded Egypt? that he took Egyptians captive?

HOW did Ezekiel describe Egypt after its restoration?

Why did God decree that Nebuchadnezzar should conquer Egypt?

What would become of the gods of Egypt in the day of national judgment? How was this fulfilled?

How did Ezekiel use Assyria as a warning lesson to Egypt?

How does Ezekiel picture the mighty nations in Sheol? How far can this be pressed for valid doctrine regarding the afterlife?

What did Ezekiel mean by dying the death of the uncircumcised?

Special Study NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S INVASION OF EGYPT

The Old Testament prophets devote more verses to Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt than to that king’s conquest of Jerusalem.[451] However, whereas Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem is recorded in various documents dating to the sixth century, his invasion of Egypt has been ignored by the ancient historians. Consequently, most Biblical critics before 1900, and a few since that date, have pointed to the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt as an example of error in prophetic anticipation. In the first edition of the illustrious Cambridge, Ancient History, H. R. Hall categorically asserted:

[451] Op cit. p. 108.

We have no warrant to suppose that the Babylonian king ever carried out great warlike operations against Amasis [Pharaoh of Egypt], far less that he conquered or even entered Egypt either personally or by proxy.[452]

[452] Cambridge Ancient History, III, 1925, p. 299.

The first Biblical prophecy of the fall of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar is found in Jeremiah 46. Here Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned by name (Jeremiah 46:13) as is also the Pharaoh he would defeat, Pharaoh Neco (609-593 B.C.). Four Egyptian cities are mentioned here Migdol, Noph (Memphis) and Tahpanhes in northern Egypt, and No (Thebes) in southern Egypt.

Some twenty years after the destruction of Jerusalem Jeremiah again alludes to the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 43:12-13). This oracle emphasizes the destruction of the gods of Egypt. Two Egyptian cities are specifically mentioned Tahpanhes and Beth-shemesh (also called On or Heliopolis).

In his third prophecy against Egypt, dated somewhere between 587 and 585 B.C. Ezekiel names Nebuchadnezzar as the agent of God’s judgment on the land of the Nile. The destruction of the idols of Egypt is specifically mentioned (Ezekiel 30:1-19). In another Egypt oracle dated to 571 B.C. Ezekiel again names Nebuchadnezzar as the invader of Egypt.

The evidence that Nebuchadnezzar did in fact invade Egypt is threefold. First, Josephus[453] relates that in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem (582 B.C.) Nebuchadnezzar fell upon Egypt, slew their king and set up another in his place, Some of the Jewish refugees in Egypt were taken captive back to Babylon. The second piece of evidence is in the form of a small fragment of a Babylonian chronicle first published by Pinches. It shows that Nebuchadnezzar launched an attack against Egypt in his thirty-seventh year, 567 B.C. This text can be found in Ancient Near Eastern Texts edited by James Pritchard, p. 308, The third piece of evidence was pointed out by Driver. A statue in the Louvre represents Nes-Hor, governor of Southern Egypt under Pharaoh Hophra (589-664 B.C.). The inscription thereon seems to state that an army of Asiatics and northern peoples which apparently had invaded Egypt intended to advance up the Nile valley into Ethiopia. However, this invasion of southern Egypt was averted by the favor of the gods. So states Nes-hor.[454]

[453] Antiquities of the Jews. X. 9.7.

[454] Cited in Smith EBP p. 122

Ezekiel 29:1-16

Chapter Fourteen

THE ECLIPSE OF EGYPT 29:1-32:32

In the four Chapter s devoted to Egypt Ezekiel speaks seven words from the Lord. All but one of these words are given specific dating. Why such a large section devoted to this one heathen power? Because the affairs of tiny Judah were so intertwined with that of the superpowers of the sixth century. Egypt had been very much involved in encouraging Judah’s final revolt against Babylon. The main point stressed by Ezekiel and the other Hebrew prophets is that the final destiny of Israel was in the hands of God, not the hands of human monarchs. Furthermore, the prophets dared to preach what was in their day a revolutionary doctrine: even the destiny of the superpowers was determined by God and God was Yahweh! Israel might be little; but Israel’s God was great to the ends of the earth. Israel appeared to be only a pawn in the hands of political strategists; but Israel’s God was powerful, and in reality those strategists were but pawns in His hand. Thus the oracles against Egypt and others like them were not merely designed to vent the frustrations and hostilities which Israel felt toward her neighbors. These oracles served to underscore vital points of theology the sovereignty, omniscience and omnipotence of Israel’s God. In Chapter s 29-32 ninety-seven verses are devoted to the fall of Egypt, more verses than are contained in I Peter, more than II Timothy and more than are in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. With the exception of one paragraph these Chapter s were written during the years 587-585 B.C. The Chapter s follow a similar pattern: a general threat against Pharaoh under some allegorical designation; amplification of the general threat with regard to the instrument of punishment, the destruction of the country and the disposition of its inhabitants; a description of the effect which the fall of Egypt would have on other nations.

I. THE SINS OF EGYPT 29:1-16

TRANSLATION

(1) In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; (3) speak and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, the river is mine, and I myself made it. (4) And I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your rivers to cling to your scales; and I will bring you up from the midst of your rivers, and all the fish of your rivers will cling to your scales. (5) And I will cast you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. Upon the face of the open field you will fall; you will not be gathered nor brought together. To the beasts of the land and the fowl of the heavens I have given you for food. (6) And all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. (7) When anyone takes hold of you with the hand you broke and tore every shoulder;[438] and when they lean upon you, you broke and made all their loins stand up.[439] (8) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you man and beast. (9) And the land of Egypt shall become a desolation and a waste. Then shall they know that I am the LORD: because he has said, The river is mine, and I made it. (10) Therefore, behold I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. (11) No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, and it shall not be in habited forty years. (12) And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of lands that are desolate. And her cities in the midst of cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the lands. (13) For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. (14) And I will turn the fortunes of Egypt, and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; and they shall be there a lowly people. (15) It shall be the lowliest of all kingdoms, and she shall not lift herself up again over the nations; and I will diminish them so that they shall no more rule over the nations. (16) And it shall never again be the confidence of the house of Israel bringing to remembrance iniquity, when they turned after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

[438] Some manuscripts read *hand

[439]* NASB, quake; RSV, shake.

COMMENTS

The first word against Egypt is dated, according to the modern calendar, to January 7, 587 B.C. This was almost exactly a year after the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem began (cf. Ezekiel 24:1), and seven months earlier than the preceding oracle against Tyre (Ezekiel 29:1). This oracle emphasizes the pride of Egypt, and the desolation which God would bring on her for her arrogance.

Ezekiel was to set his face against Pharaoh[440] in a gesture of defiance (Ezekiel 29:2), and announce God’s hostility toward him. Pharaoh is called the great dragon that dwells in the midst of the rivers. The reference is to the crocodile, and to the various branches of the Nile river in northern Egypt. The wealth and in fact the very existence of Egypt depended upon the Nile river. Like the prince of Tyre, Pharaoh regarded himself as more than human. He thought of himself as the creator of all the wealth and prosperity of Egypt. This is undoubtedly what he means when Pharaoh declares that he owns the river, and in fact had created it.

[440] The current Pharaoh was Hophra (Jeremiah 44:30), fourth king of the twenty-sixth dynasty who reigned 589-570 B.C

Pharaoh would fall prey to his enemies. Like a crocodile drug from the river by captors, so Pharaoh would be removed from his domain by his enemies. Along with all his people, allies and mercenaries (fish of the river which stick to your scales; Ezekiel 29:4). There on dry land the wilderness the crocodile and fish joined to it would die. No one would gather up the carcass of the crocodile for burial. The birds and beasts of prey would devour the remains (Ezekiel 29:5). In this demise of Pharaoh the Egyptians would recognize a divine judgment (Ezekiel 29:6 a).

Another metaphor for Egypt is introduced in Ezekiel 29:6. Egypt had proved itself to be a staff of reed[441]* to the house of Israel.* In Israel’s moment of need, when Nebuchadnezzar was literally banging on the gates of Jerusalem, Egypt had failed to send effective aid. This is a clear allusion to the half-hearted assistance which Pharaoh Hophra offered in response to King Zedekiah’s appeal for help (cf. Jeremiah 37:7). The Egyptian foray into Palestine brought only a temporary lull in the siege of the city. This most recent example of the unreliability of Egypt had occurred only six to eight months prior to this oracle, in the summer of 588 B.C. Once again Israel had found to be true through bitter experience what the prophets had emphasized in public exhortation. If one tried to make Egypt his crutch, he was destined for a fall. That crutch would break causing those who were dependent upon it to fall and dislocate their shoulder. They would then have to stand erect (make all their loins to stand erect), and carry their own weight (Ezekiel 29:7).

[441] Just over a century earlier an Assyrian officer gave Egypt a similar description a bruised reed.. which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it (Isaiah 36:6).

Because of Egypt’s arrogance God would bring a sword upon that land, resulting in the destruction of man and beast (Ezekiel 29:8). The fertile land of Pharaoh would be left desolate and waste. Then what would become of the boast that he had made about owning and making the Nile! The gods of Egypt having been discredited, knowledgeable people would be forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of Yahweh (Ezekiel 29:9). God was about to assume an active role as the adversary of Egypt. He would lay waste the land from north to south (Migdol[442] to Syene[443]), even as far as the Ethiopian border (Ezekiel 29:10).

[442] Migdol (Tower) was a frontier fortress at the northeast border of Egypt (cf. Exodus 14:2; Jeremiah 44:1),

[443] Modern Aswan near the Ethiopian border.

The extreme desolation of Egypt as a result of the invading army is set forth in Ezekiel 29:11-12. Even animals would desert the land owing to the lack of pasture (Ezekiel 29:11). In comparison to other countries ravished by war Egypt would stand out as a most unfortunate land (desolate in the midst of countries that are desolate). Egyptian cities would be laid waste, i.e., in a ruinous condition and unpopulated for forty years. During that time the Egyptians would be scattered among the nations (Ezekiel 29:12).

The reference to the forty years of Egypt’s desolation has occasioned lengthy discussion among the commentators. No evidence of mass deportation of Egyptians subsequent to the time of Ezekiel has yet come to light. However, it is known that Nebuchadnezzar made at least two invasions into Egypt. The Jewish historian Josephus tells of an invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar five years after the fall of Jerusalem (582 B.C.). In this invasion the king of Egypt was killed. A fragmentary inscription from the archives of Nebuchadnezzar tells of an invasion of Egypt in the thirty-seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar (i.e., 568 B.C.). It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was aiming to cripple Egypt so as to prevent Pharaoh from ever again meddling in Syria-Palestine. Since it is known that deportations of captive peoples was a standard procedure employed by great empires of that time, one is certainly on safe ground in assuming that it was the Chaldean king who fulfilled the prediction that God would scatter the Egyptians among the nations.

Keil regards the forty years as a symbolic period the period denoted by God for punishment and penitence. However, it is best to regard the forty years as a definite historical epoch. The forty years of Egypt’s desolation may be said to fall between 568 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land, and 530 B.C. In the latter year the Persians entered the land. It may have been they who initiated the policy of reconstruction in Egypt even as they encouraged reconstruction in Judaea (Ezekiel 29:13). However, positive evidence is lacking at this point.

God said through Ezekiel that He would turn the captivity of Egypt. After the forty years Egyptians would return into the land of Pathros, the southern part of the land known as Upper Egypt. This was the land of their origin, i.e., the area in which the Egyptian government first rose to prominence. But the restored Egypt would only be a shadow of the glorious kingdom which once graced the banks of the Nile (Ezekiel 29:14). No more would Egypt be able to dominate other peoples. Egypt would be inferior to all other nations (Ezekiel 29:15). No more would Egypt allure Israel into disastrous alliances. Israel would not repeat the great mistake of her past which was trusting in Egypt rather than in God, Israel in that future day would know assuredly that Yahweh is God (Ezekiel 29:16).

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).