Ezekiel 30

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 30:1-19

III THE IMMINENT FALL OF EGYPT 30:1-19

TRANSLATION

(1) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Wail, woe be the day! (3) For the day is near, yes the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day, it shall be the time of the nations. (4) And a sword shall come upon Egypt, and consternation shall be in Cush, when the slain shall fall in Egypt; and they shall take away her abundance, and her foundations shall be broken down. (5) Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all the mingled peoples, Cub, and the children of the land that are in league, shall fall with them by the sword. (6) Thus says the LORD: those who uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her strength shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall in her by the sword (oracle of the Lord GOD. (7) And they shall be desolate in the midst of lands that are desolate, and her cities in the midst of cities that lie in ruins. (8) And they shall know that I am the LORD when I place a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are shattered. (9) In that day messengers shall go from before Me in ships to terrify the secure Ethiopians; and confusion shall come on them in the day of Egypt; for behold, it comes. (10) Thus says the Lord GOD: I will cause the multitude of Egypt to cease, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. (11) He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall empty their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. (12) And I will make the rivers dry, and I will deliver the land into the hand of evil men; and I will make the land and all that is in it desolate by the hand of strangers; I the LORD have spoken. (13) Thus says the Lord GOD: I will destroy the idols, and cause the non-entities to cease from Noph; and there shall no longer be a prince out of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. (14) And I will make Pathros desolate, and set a fire in Zion; and I will execute judgments in No. (15) And I will pour out My wrath upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. (16) And I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall be in great upheaval, and No shall be torn asunder; and against Noph adversaries shall come by day. (17) The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fail by the sword; and these (cities) shall go into captivity. (18) At Tehaphnehes the day will withdraw itself, when I break there the yokes of Egypt, and the pride of her strength shall cease in her; as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. (19) Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

This prophecy against Egypt is likely to be dated the same as the previous one (see Ezekiel 29:1). The section consists of four carefully constructed oracles. In the first oracle the Egyptians are directly addressed and urged rhetorically to wail over their fate. Egypt’s day of reckoning looms on the horizon (Ezekiel 30:2). The day of the Lord divine judgment day will be a cloudy, gloomy day for the Gentile nations (Ezekiel 30:3). Egypt will be invaded in that day. Her satellite state Ethiopia will fear for her own safety when she sees what transpires across the border in Egypt. The foundations of Egypt the allies and mercenaries upon whom the Egyptian state rested would be broken down (Ezekiel 30:4). Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud (see on Ezekiel 27:10) and Cub, a people not as yet identified, had alliances with Egypt. The multi-racial character of the Egyptian army is indicated by the expression all the mingled people. However, those helpers would fall by the sword of the invaders (Ezekiel 30:5).

Throughout the land of Egypt, from Migdol to Syene (see on Ezekiel 29:10) the slaughter would occur. Egypt’s pride was in her military and economic power. However, this pride would be humbled (Ezekiel 30:6). Desolation would follow invasion (Ezekiel 30:7; cf. Ezekiel 29:12). The desolation caused by war here, as frequently in the Bible, is likened to fire. The fulfillment of this prediction to bring conflagration to Egypt would be a demonstration of the sovereignty of the true God (Ezekiel 30:8). In the day of Egypt’s downfall messengers would be dispatched as though by God Himself. Traveling the waterways to every part of the land of Ethiopia, the messengers would spread the alarming news of Egypt’s fall. Consternation and confusion would fill their land as they contemplated the possibility that their own country might be invaded.

In the third oracle Ezekiel emphasizes that the native population (multitude of Egypt) as well as the mercenary forces would perish in the overthrow of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar is specifically named as the conqueror (cf. Ezekiel 29:19). He and his ruthless warriors (cf. Ezekiel 28:7) would leave a trail of corpses wherever they went (Ezekiel 30:11). The much heralded Egyptian irrigation system would be destroyed by the evil men, i.e., the pitiless and lawless troops, who comprised Nebuchadnezzar’s army. Without irrigation the land would become (temporarily) desolate (Ezekiel 30:12).

In the fourth oracle (Ezekiel 30:13-19) Ezekiel employs a typical prophetic technique of emphasis by enumeration. The complete collapse of Egypt is underscored by reference to the fate of the leading cities of the land. These verses reveal an amazing knowledge of Egyptian geography.[446]

[446] For other examples of geographical enumeration in a judgment context see Isaiah 10:27-32; Micah 1:10-15; Zephaniah 2:4

A new theme emerges in Ezekiel 30:13. The gods of Egypt would prove worthless in the face of the mighty conqueror raised up by the Lord. Noph (Memphis) was famous for its numerous gods and elaborate temples, especially those of Ptah and Apis. But the worthless (lit., things of naught) images would be made to cease from Noph. So it has happened. An enormous, albeit prostrate, figure of Pharaoh Ramases is the only image of note to mark the spot where once stood the magnificent capital of Egypt. Wilbur Smith summarizes the situation well when he writes

The temples of Egypt and the elaborate carvings and drawings of her gods and goddesses are still the wonder of modern students; but her gods are gone. No temple to an Egyptian god or goddess has a priest in attendance today; no offering is presented to any of these once powerful deities representing the sun, the stellar bodies, the river Nile, and the underworld; no one bows the knee to any of these ancient images.[447]

[447] Wilbur Smith, EBP, p. 115

Following her destruction, Egypt would never again be ruled by a native prince. So it has been. Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies, and Remans ruled Egypt in olden times. Today Egypt is ruled by Moslems who invaded the land in A. D. 638. The other place-names in these verses deserve brief comment. Pathros is southern or Upper Egypt extending as far south as Aswan. Zoan, classical Tanis, was an important city in the eastern Nile delta. No (or No-Amon) is classical Thebes (RSV), modern Karnak and Luxor, located about five hundred miles south of Cairo. No was capital of Egypt during much of Egyptian history, and worship center for the sun-god Amen (Ezekiel 30:14). Three prophecies are made about this proud city (1) God will execute judgments there (Ezekiel 30:14); (2) multitudes of No would be cut off, i.e., the place would be uninhabited (Ezekiel 30:15); and No would be rent asunder, i.e., breached and penetrated by an invading army.

Sin (Ezekiel 30:15-16) is probably Pelusium (RSV) on the Mediterranean coast. This stronghold guarded Egypt from attack from the north. Aven (Ezekiel 30:17) is also called On in the Old Testament. In Greek times it was known as Heliopolis, the city of the sun god. The ruins are found in the outskirts of modern Cairo. Pibeseth (Ezekiel 30:17) is the modern Basta about forty miles northeast of Cairo. Like the other cities mentioned in Ezekiel 30:13-18, Pi-beseth was a cultic center. The cat was particularly sacred here. Tehaphnehes (Ezekiel 30:18), spelled Tahpanhes in Jeremiah, was known to the Greeks as Daphni. The modern Tel Defenneh on the Suez canal is the spot to which Ezekiel refers. Jeremiah was taken here after the assassination of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 43:7).

What a dark day that would be for Egypt! A great cloud of despair would hover over that land. The yokes of Egypt the tyranny which Egypt inflicted on other nations would be broken. The daughters of Egypt, i.e., her various cities, would go into captivity (Ezekiel 30:18). The ultimate purpose of these judgments was the vindication of the sovereignty of Israel’s God (Ezekiel 30:19).

Ezekiel 30:20-26

IV. THE FALL OF PHARAOH 30:20-26

TRANSLATION

(20) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (21) Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up to be healed, to put a bandage that it be bound up to become strong that it hold a sword. (22) Therefore, thus says the Lord (;01): Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong, that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. (23) And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through countries. (24) And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will put My sword in his hand; but I will shatter the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan with the groanings of the slain before him. (25) And I will uphold the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD when I put My sword in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt. (26) And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

About four months before the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, (April 30, 587 B.C.) Ezekiel received another revelation against Egypt (Ezekiel 30:20). Pharaoh’s arm had been broken. The allusion is probably to the defeat of Pharaoh Hophra when he tried to come to the aid of beleaguered Jerusalem (cf. Jeremiah 37:1-10). Nebuchadnezzar had inflicted irreparable damage upon the military machine cf Egypt (cf. 2 Kings 24:7). Pharaoh’s arm, symbol of his military might, would not and could not be mended. Never again would he attempt to launch a military offensive against Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 30:21).

This defeat at the borders of Judah indicated that God was opposing Pharaoh. That setback signaled the beginning of a succession of defeats. Both of Pharaoh’s arms, the good one and the bad one, would be broken. The sword would drop from his hand. Egypt would be rendered completely powerless (Ezekiel 30:22). Egyptians would be scattered among the nations (Ezekiel 30:23; cf. Ezekiel 29:12; Ezekiel 30:26). The king of Egypt would decrease, while the king of Babylon would increase in power. Before the advancing army of Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh would appear as helpless as a mortally wounded soldier (Ezekiel 30:24). The king of Babylon would wield the sword of divine judgment against the helpless land of Egypt (Ezekiel 30:25). The dispersement of the Egyptians would establish the sole divinity of Israel’s God (Ezekiel 30:26).