Ezekiel 32

Ezekiel 32 OF EGYPT’ S OVER PHARAOH Ezekiel 32:1-16 Introduction (Ezekiel 32:1-2 a): It came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 32:2) Son of man, lift up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt. The last oracle against Egypt is dated about a year-and-a-half after the fall of Jerusalem. The date, according to the modern calendar, is March 4, 585 B.C. (Ezekiel 32:1). The prophet is told to take up a lamentation—a prophetic doom-song— over Pharaoh. This lament recapitulates the previous judgment messages. Ezekiel emphasizes Egypt’s false pride. He bewails the fate of judgment. Captured Crocodile (Ezekiel 32:2-6) The truth about Pharaoh (Ezekiel 32:2-3) He is a clumsy crocodile (Ezekiel 32:2 b): Say unto him, You likened yourself to a young lion of the nations, but you are like a crocodile in the seas. You burst forth in your rivers. You troubled the waters with your feet. You polluted their rivers. Pharaoh fancied himself to be like a lion roaming among the nations. He struck fear into all who saw him.

In reality Pharaoh was more like a crocodile (see on 29:3), whose movement was restricted to the waters. Occasionally Egypt’ s army bursts forth from his waters, i.e., ventures forth beyond the national frontiers. Moving into yet other rivers, the Egyptian crocodile will thrash about, churning up the waters and befouling them.He is a captured crocodile (Ezekiel 32:3): Thus says the Lord GOD: I will spread out over you my net with a company of many peoples. They will bring you up in my net. God had decreed the end of the disruptive crocodile. He will spread out his net to capture and immobilize the vicious beast.

A company of many people— Babylon and her allies— will assist in drawing up that divine net. The demise of Pharaoh (Ezekiel 32:4-6): I will leave you in the land. Upon the field I will cast you forth. I will cause all the birds of the heaven to remain upon you. and fill the beasts of all the earth with you. (Ezekiel 32:5) I will put your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height. (Ezekiel 32:6) I will water the land where you swim with your blood, even to the mountains. The rivers will be full of you. The crocodile will be cast upon dry land, out of his natural habitat. Thus his doom is sealed. The birds of prey and beasts of the field take their fill of him (Ezekiel 32:4). The carnage is great. The mountains and valleys are filled with the long carcass of the crocodile (Ezekiel 32:5). The blood of the beast saturates the land and fills the rivulets (Ezekiel 32:6). Darkened Luminaries (Ezekiel 32:7-10) Egypt’s light extinguished (Ezekiel 32:7-8): When you are extinguished, I will cover the heavens, make their stars dark, and cover the sun with a cloud. The moon will not give its light. (Ezekiel 32:8) All the light-bearing bodies in the heavens I will make dark over you. I will set darkness over your land (oracle of the Lord GOD). A second figure depicts the demise of Egypt. The once bright star (Egypt) will be extinguished. This day of divine judgment is depicted as a day of darkness.

The sun, moon and stars will refuse to give their light (Ezekiel 32:7-8). Earth-shaking events are heralded by cosmic calamity. Such passages are not to be interpreted literally, but rather are the traditional way of depicting the fall of a great nation.Impact on other nations (Ezekiel 32:9-10): I will provoke the heart of many people, when I bring your destruction among the nations, unto countries that you have not known. (Ezekiel 32:10) I will make many people astonished concerning you. Their kings will be horrified on account of you, when I unsheathe my sword before them. They will tremble at every moment, each man for his life, in the day of your fall. Many other nations, including some unknown to Egypt, will be terrified by the news of the destruction of that empire (Ezekiel 32:9).

Other kings will tremble before the sword of God— the agent of God’ s judgment upon the world (Ezekiel 32:10).Explanation of Pharaoh’s Fall (Ezekiel 32:11-16) Invasion (Ezekiel 32:11-12): For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon will come upon you. (12) By the swords of the mighty, I will cause your multitude to fall. The most ruthless of the nations are all of them. They will spoil the pride of Egypt. All her multitude will be destroyed. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel regarded Nebuchadnezzar as the Lord’s servant (Ezekiel 32:11; cf. Ezekiel 30:24).

The Babylonians are called the mighty, the ruthless of the nations (cf. Ezekiel 28:7). The pride of Egypt— all the multitude of her population—will be spoiled by the northern invaders (Ezekiel 32:12).Destruction (Ezekiel 32:13-14): I will destroy all her cattle from beside many waters. The foot of man will not trouble them any more, nor will the hoofs of cattle trouble them. (Ezekiel 32:14) Then I will make their waters to settle. Their rivers I will cause to go as oil (oracle of the Lord GOD). Even the cattle that fed along the banks of the Nile and its canals will be destroyed.

Neither man nor beast will befoul the waters of the land anymore. The land will be temporarily desolate (Ezekiel 32:13). The undisturbed waters will flow as smoothly as a river of olive oil (Ezekiel 32:14).Desolation (Ezekiel 32:15): When I make the land of Egypt a desolation and waste, a land devoid of fullness, when I smite all the inhabitants in it, then will they know that I am the LORD. By smiting Egypt with desolation, God will cause men to recognize His sovereignty.Lamentation (Ezekiel 32:16): With this lamentation will they lament over it. The daughters of the nations will lament over her. On account of Egypt and all her multitude, they will lament her (oracle of the Lord GOD).

The oracle closes as it began (Ezekiel 32:1), with a reminder that it is a lamentation. The daughters of the nations—the professional mourners— will take up this lamentation over Egypt. DESCENT INTO SHEOL Ezekiel 32:17-32 Lofthouse calls the sixteen verses of the final Egyptian oracle “ the death song of the world in which Israel had grown up.” The language here is highly poetical and one must be careful not to press it too far in formulating the biblical doctrine of the afterlife. In this chapter, Sheol is envisioned as consisting of compartments where nations lie together in graves gathered about their king. Warriors who experienced proper burial are thought of as occupying a higher status than those who did not. Introduction (Ezekiel 32:17-18): And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 32:18) Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt. Cast them down, even her and the daughters of the mighty nations, unto the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down to the pit. The month is missing in the Hebrew text of Eze 32:17. The Greek version supplies the first month. However, it is more likely that this oracle should be dated to the same month as the preceding one, viz., the twelfth month. It will then have been composed two weeks after the oracle contained in Ezekiel 32:1-16. According to the modern calendar the date is March 18, 585 B.C. Ezekiel is told to wail over Egypt.

A prophetic lament had the power to actually set in motion the wheels of judgment. In this sense Ezekiel is to cast down the multitude of Egypt into the lower parts of the earth. This is Sheol, the abode of the dead, in which the once powerful nations on earth are thought of as continuing their collective identity. The daughters of the mighty nations are the countries that share the fate of Egypt in going down to Sheol. The pit is still another designation for Sheol (Ezekiel 32:18). The Death of Egypt (32:19-21): Who do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid with the uncircumcised. (Ezekiel 32:20) They will fall in the midst of those who fall with the sword. To the sword she is given.

Draw her down, and all her multitude. (Ezekiel 32:21) The strong ones among the mighty will speak to him from the midst of Sheol with his helpers: They have gone down. They lie still, even the uncircumcised, those slain by the sword! The rhetorical question cuts Egypt down to size. Egypt is in no way superior to the other powers of that day. Though it is a beautiful land, Egypt is not exempt from national death. She will go down in defeat. She will lie with the uncircumcised, those who have experienced the most dishonorable death (v 19). Egyptian soldiers will fall by the sword.

Their corpses are abandoned on the field of battle. Nations already in Sheol are exhorted to drag the slain Egyptian forces on down into their midst (draw her down and all her multitude; v 20). The irony here is obvious. No nation in history put more emphasis on life after death— the elaborate pyramids and subterranean burial vaults; the art of embalming; the amassing of enormous wealth and every conceivable provision for abundant life in the world to come. None of this, however, will prevent the mighty Pharaohs from being brought down in shame to the pit. The leaders of nations already in Sheol are represented as greeting Pharaoh and his allies with mocking words upon their arrival in the pit.

The mighty Egyptians have died an ignominious death— the death of the uncircumcised— by the sword (v 21).Occupants of Sheol (Ezekiel 32:22-30): Ezekiel names three great nations that lie in the place of dishonorable burial (Ezekiel 32:22-28). He then depicts the fate of some of the lesser nations of his day (vv. 29-30). Assyria (Ezekiel 32:22-23): Assyria is there and all her company. Round about them are their graves, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, (23) whose graves are in the uttermost parts of the pit. Her company is round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword who caused terror in the land of the living. Egypt has joined Assyria and her allies in Sheol. The Egyptian graves lie scattered about those of the Assyrians (Ezekiel 32:22) in the uttermost part of the pit. This expression may point to degrees of ignominy in the afterlife.

The great nations that terrorized the earth have been permanently and totally removed from the world of the living. They are now only a bad memory. The graves of satellite nations surround that of Egypt itself in those inaccessible regions (Ezekiel 32:23). Seven times in Ezekiel 32:23-32 the prophet repeats the charge that these nations caused terror in the land of the living. The ancients bragged about their brutality. Elam (Ezekiel 32:24-25): There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised unto the lower parts of the earth, who caused terror in the land of the living. Yet they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit. (Ezekiel 32:25) They have put for her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are round about them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they caused terror in the land of the living. Yet they have borne their shame, with those who go down to the pit. They are put in the midst of the slain. Other once powerful nations lie quietly in Sheol far removed from the land of the living where once they spread terror.

Elam rests in shame there (Ezekiel 32:24-25) after having spread terror in the land of the living. Furthermore, Elam had gone uncircumcised to its grave. The capital of Elam was Susa. During the last half of the seventh century B.C. there was a great struggle for power between Assyria and Elam. It was the Assyrian Ashurbanipal who delivered the death blow to Elam in 640 B.C. Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 32:26-28): There is Meshech, Tubal and all her multitude. Her graves are round about them, all of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword; because they caused their terror in the land of the living. (Ezekiel 32:27) The ones who are inferior to the uncircumcised will not lie down with the mighty ones who went down to Sheol with all their war weapons, with their swords laid under their heads, and their iniquities upon their bones; because the terror of the mighty ones was in the land of the living. (Ezekiel 32:28) But you, in the midst of the uncircumcised will be broken. They will lie with those slain by the sword. Meshech and Tubal were once powerful kingdoms located south and southeast of the Black Sea. Other warlike powers descended into Sheol with their military equipment. Meshech and Tubal, however, met with an even more humiliating end.

They rest among those who had been stripped of their arms and who were uncircumcised. Ezekiel does not specify the particular crimes that justified this more severe humiliation of Tubal and Meshech (Ezekiel 32:26-27). Apparently Pharaoh will experience still a worse fate. He will lie among those slain by the sword, but not, apparently, with the mighty ones mentioned in the preceding verses (v 28). Other nations (Ezekiel 32:29-30): There was Edom, her kings and all her princes who in their might are put with those slain by the sword. They, with the uncircumcised, will lie with those who go down to the pit. (Ezekiel 32:30) There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians who went down with the slain, ashamed for the terror that was caused by their might. They lie down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. They bear their shame with those that go down to the pit. Pharaoh will lie among the leaders of Edom, the princes of the north (Babylonian satellite kings) and the Sidonians (Phoenicians). These all lie uncircumcised, i.e., they have experienced the ignominious death of those slain in battle and left unburied (Ezekiel 32:29-30).

Conclusion (Ezekiel 32:31-32): Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted concerning all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, (oracle of the LORD). (Ezekiel 32:32) For I have put my terror in the land of the living. He will be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude (oracle of the Lord GOD). Pharaoh, unmentioned since Ezekiel 32:2, is named three times in Ezekiel 32:31-32. The verses ooze with irony. Pharaoh will take some measure of comfort in the fact that others have shared Egypt’ s fate (Ezekiel 32:31). All the mighty powers that terrorize the land of the living will ultimately be brought to naught. Ultimately God’ s power prevails on earth. The fall of Pharaoh and his host will be another indication of this grand truth (Ezekiel 32:32). A fitting conclusion to this section dealing with Egypt is found on the final page of Breasted’ s monumental History of Ancient Egypt:The fall of Egypt and the close of her characteristic history, were already an irrevocable fact before the relentless Cambyses knocked at the doors of Pelusium, The Saitic state was a creation of rulers who looked into the future, who belonged to it, and had little or no connection with the past. They were as essentially non Egyptian as the Ptolemies who followed the Persians. The Persian conquest in 525 B.C., which deprived Psamtik III, the son Amasis, of his throne and kingdom, was but a change of rulers, a purely external fact. And if a feeble burst of national feeling enabled this or that Egyptian to thrust off the Persian yoke for a brief period, the movement may be likened to the convulsive contractions which sometimes lend momentary motion to limbs from which conscious life has long departed. With the fall of Psamtik III, Egypt belonged to a new world, toward the development of which she had contributed much, but in which she could no longer play an active part. Her great work was done, and unable, like Nineveh and Babylon, to disappear from the scene, she lived on her artificial life for a time under the Persians and the Ptolemies, ever sinking, till she became merely the granary of Rome, to be visited as a land of ancient marvels by wealthy Greeks and Romans, who have left their names scratched here and there upon her hoary monuments, just as the modern tourists, admiring the same marvels, still continue to do.

Special Study ’ S OF EGYPTThe Old Testament prophets devote more verses to Nebuchadnezzar’ s invasion of Egypt than to that king’ s conquest of Jerusalem. 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 Cambridge Ancient History, H.R. Hall categorically asserted: 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.

The first biblical prophecy of the fall of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar is found in Jeremiah 46. Here Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned by name (v 13), as is also the Pharaoh he will defeat, viz., Pharaoh Neco (609-593 B.C.). Four Egyptian cities are mentioned here: Migdol, Noph (Memphis) and T ahpanhes 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 second and third prophecies against Egypt (571 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 29:17-21; Ezekiel 30:10-12). The evidence that Nebuchadnezzar did in fact invade Egypt is threefold: (1) Josephus 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. (2) A small fragment of a Babylonian chronicle first published by Pinches shows that Nebuchadnezzar launched an attack against Egypt in his thirty-seventh year, 568 B.C. This text can be found in Ancient Near Eastern Texts edited by James Pritchard, p. 308. (3) Driver pointed out a statue in the Louvre representing 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, that 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.Ezekiel Chapter Thirty-Two Verse 1 FINAL CHAPTER AGAINST EGYPT WITH ORACLES (6) Ezekiel 32:1-16 AND (7) Ezekiel 32:17-32 This chapter has the final two of seven oracles against Egypt in Ezekiel 29-32. The first of these, Ezekiel 32:1-16 is a prophecy of the, “Monster of Egypt, caught, slain and devoured."[1] There are two parts of this, (a) the allegorical representation of it (Ezekiel 32:1-10), and (b) a literal explanation of what that meant (Ezekiel 32:11-16). The final oracle recounts the transfer of Egypt and his multitude to Sheol, the realm of the dead, a remarkable paragraph which constitutes the most extensive discussion in the Old Testament on the subject of the Underworld. “It has the most graphic portrayal of the Pit, or Sheol, in the Old Testament."[2]Cooke stated that it illustrates more vividly than any other passage in the Old Testament the notions of the Underworld current in those times.[3] (1) It is international and universal. Great and small, foreign and remote peoples are all there. (2) It is conceived of as “in the depths of the earth.” The grave is only six feet deep; but in the sense of its significance it indeed goes to the “heart of the earth,” as Jesus stated in Matthew 12:40. (3) The dead lie there prostrate, harmless and extinct. (4) Such distinctions as race and rank so visible on earth seem still to be retained in death. (5) Isaiah even conceived of the dead as being capable of emotions, and even of speech (Isaiah 14), using such a conception to teach spiritual truth, but perhaps not intending that we should understand that there is any capability whatever pertaining to the dead. Two dates are given for the chapter: March 15,586 B.C. from the LXX, and March 3,585 B.C. from the text here. Brace preferred that in the LXX;[4] and Keil vigorously supported our text in ASV.[5] At this time, Jerusalem had already fallen. THE ; SLAIN; AND (Ezekiel 32:1-10) Ezekiel 32:1-10“And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet thou art as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubleth the waters with thy feet, and foulest thy rivers. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will spread out my net upon thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the field, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee. And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.

All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah. I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction upon the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.““Thou wast likened unto a young lion …” (Ezekiel 32:2). Pharaoh probably looked upon himself as a young lion among the nations'; but God here told him what he was really like. "Yet thou art as a monster in the seas ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/3" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:3</a>). "The seas here, as in <a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/29/3" class="green-link">Ezekiel 29:3</a> where it reads monster in the midst of the rivers,’ is the Nile and its spangled delta exits. The monster' is the crocodile."[6]It is a totally unchristian viewpoint that drags Babylonian mythology into this prophecy. See our comment in the previous chapter regarding the errors involved in seeking evidence of mythological connections in the prophecies of God. Bunn's allegation was that "the monster" of this passage, "May stand for the great dragon Tiamat in Babylonian mythology, or perhaps Apophis, the primordial god of chaos in Egyptian mythology ... more likely it is the latter."[7]If such imaginary characters had been intended by Ezekiel, would he not have named them? On the contrary, he used a word which in Hebrew means any large sea-creature, including the crocodile. Or, could Bunn possibly have meant that Jehovah himself, mentioned in the same breath as the author of this statement, recognized the actual existence of mythological creatures like Apophis or Tiamat? Whatever he meant by this, his comment must be disallowed as inaccurate and untrustworthy. As Keil noted, "Pharaoh is here compared to a crocodile, which stirs up the streams, muddying and fouling them, doing so with his mouth and his feet, rendering turbid all that was pure."[8]"And I will leave thee upon the land ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/4" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:4</a>). The picture of what would happen to the crocodile was thus described by Pearson, "He would be taken in a great net, dragged out of his river retreat and left to die, out of his element, on the dry land, and his dead carcass would be left to provide food for the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth."[9]The darkening of the sun, moon and stars is a figure often encountered in the Scriptures. It carries the meaning of the destruction of all of the great leaders and public officials of a nation or kingdom. In the following verses (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/11" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:11-16</a>), "All metaphors are abandoned, and the desolation of Egypt is announced in literal language as something to be accomplished by the sword of Babylon, the most terrible of the nations.’"[10]Verse 11 “For thus saith the Lord Jehovah; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to naught the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah, When I shall make the land desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Jehovah. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament: the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord Jehovah.““The divine judgment against Egypt will take the form of Babylonian invasion, slaughter and captivity. The Nile will flow quiet and clear, untouched henceforth by man or beast,"[11]“I will destroy all the beasts thereof …” (Ezekiel 32:15).

This was always an inevitable consequence of any invasion by a hostile foreign power. All animals were slaughtered wholesale to provide food for the invading soldiers, as well as to deprive the inhabitants. General Sherman did the same thing in his march to the sea, during the Civil War. “Their rivers to run like oil …” (Ezekiel 32:14) This is the only instance of the use of this particular metaphor in the Bible. “These rivers of oil' were symbols of ethical blessedness (<a href="/bible/parallel/JOB/29/6" class="green-link">Job 29:6</a> and <a href="/bible/parallel/DEU/32/13" class="green-link">Deuteronomy 32:13</a>)." Keil applied this to the righteous rule of Nebuchadnezzar; but Plumptre believed there are echoes of the future Messianic kingdom in the passage.[12]"The rivers of oil here are not rivers that flow quietly like oil, but rivers which contain oil and not water; they are symbolical of the rich blessings of God."[13] It should be noted that the great blessing to come to Egypt in future times is that they shall know that Jehovah is indeed God, and that there is none else beside him (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/15" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:15</a>). Verse 17 "It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of the slain, fallen by the sword; whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave, all of the slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit."EGYPT WAS TO THE (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/16" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:16-32</a>) "Twelfth year, fifteenth day of the month ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/17" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:17</a>). "This date is April 27,586 B.C."[14] Bruce supplemented the data given here by accepting the "twelfth month" indication from the LXX. "This was only about two weeks later than the oracle in the first half of the chapter."[15]The thought presented here is doleful indeed. Just as all the other mighty nations of human history have enjoyed their brief glory and then gone down in the oblivion of the grave, just so it was to be with Egypt. The picture that emerges here should not deceive us into thinking that Sheol is a place either of intelligence or activity of any kind. The intimations of such things are only designed to stimulate our estimation of the place as totally undesirable. The purpose is to contrast the arrogance and conceit of those powers which "in the land of the living" produced so much terror, sorrow, and human misery, with their peaceful harmlessness after they have gone down into Shed! God's perfect answer to all of that is Sheol, the Pit, the grave I This lament is to remind Egypt that she too shall also receive the treatment that came to other evil powers, several of whom are mentioned here as a kind of "reception committee" for Pharaoh! "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/32/21" class="green-link">Ezekiel 32:21</a>). Yes indeed, there shall really be some of the Big Shots’ of history on hand in Sheol to welcome Pharaoh who is scheduled to arrive soon! “Asshur is there …” (Ezekiel 32:22). Look! Even the wicked and ruthless Assyrians are there! How peaceful they are; no one is afraid of them now! Their reign of terror had ended in 612 B.C., on that very night when the king was having a big banquet to celebrate his victory! An unexpected flood destroyed a section of the city wall; and the whole Babylonian army came in and destroyed Nineveh. (See our Commentary on Nahum). “Elam is there …” (Ezekiel 32:24). They had been there ever since they were conquered by the Assyrians in 643 B.C.[16] The Elamites were a nation of terrorists living east of the Tigris River and north of the Persian Gulf. At one time, they had been the scourge of Mesopotamia. Behold, how quiet and harmless they are now! Note also that the text states that they took their shame with them. They never got rid of it merely by descending into Sheol. A further word on Elam is given in Ezekiel 32:25. Verse 25 “They have set her in a bed of the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain.“How appropriate that those who have caused so many to die and descend into Sheol are, in fact, themselves to inherit a grave among those very peoples whom they have destroyed! Elam will get a bed in the midst of the slain! His shame shall go with him even into the grave. “There is Mesheeh, Tubal” (Ezekiel 32:26). “These participated in the Scythian invasion of 626 B.C., causing great panic in Syria and Mesopotamia. They were now very peaceful citizens in Sheol!"[17] The prophet described them in Ezekiel 32:26-28. Verse 26 “There is Mesheeh, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword.“Verse 29 “There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all of the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame: and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.““There is Edom …” (Ezekiel 32:29). Edom was made to be a type of the wicked nations of all mankind by Isaiah (Isaiah 34); and the description of their punishment at the time of the eternal judgment also carries very significant overtones of that Final Day. “The princes of the north are there …” (Ezekiel 32:30). These include the Sidonians, of course; in fact they are ALL going to be there; and this is leading up to the sarcastic statement in Ezekiel 32:30, below, that Pharaoh will be “comforted.” “What is meant is that Pharaoh who cherished military and ambitious slaughter of many peoples on earth will have nothing to complain about; for he will find many worthy companions in Sheol!"[18]Verse 31 “Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword saith the Lord Jehovah. For I have put his terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.“Certainly a dirge of this kind must have received the intense attention of all who heard it. Not only had God prophesied in these chapters the utter destruction of Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, but he had also launched among the populations of the earth a lamentation celebrating his death! THE OF THESE Every student of the Bible is aware that history affords no elaborate details of just how all of Ezekiel’s prophecies were fulfilled; and, of course, that has allowed many radical critics to voice their unbelieving denials that they ever really came to pass at all. We have already addressed this problem earlier, pointing out, that the most convincing proof of all that it happened exactly like the prophet declared that it would happen is simply the undeniable truth that Egypt did indeed come to know that “The Lord is Jehovah, the God of gods, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.” The ancient pantheon of Egypt’s pagan deities was indeed vanquished, not a one of them ever having been worshipped during the thousands of intervening years. Why? The only adequate explanation of that undeniable fact, as far as we can see must be sought in the fulfillment of these prophecies by Ezekiel. Nevertheless, historical proof is also available. “Sufficient evidence has been found that Nebuchadnezzar indeed invaded and conquered Egypt. The silence of Herodotus (and other Greek historians) regarding such an invasion goes for little or nothing. Herodotus could not even read the Egyptian records, deriving all of his knowledge through priests by means of an interpreter. It was the custom of those priests to draw a veil over every disaster. He did not even mention one of the most decisive battles of all history, that of Carchemish in 605 B.C."[19]Skinner also reports the discovery of “a cuneiform fragment reporting a battle between Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Egypt in the “thirty-seventh year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, which was in the year 568 B.C."[20] We have included these quotations here, not for true believers who do not need to have historical confirmation of what is taught in the scriptures, but in the hope of aiding those whose timid faith might be sustained and strengthened by them.

Ezekiel 32:1

Ezekiel 32:1. Twelfth year is dated from the time Ezekiel was taken to Babylon. This would correspond with the year following the death of Zedekiah who was the last king to sit on the temporal throne of Judah.

Ezekiel 32:2

Ezekiel 32:2. Say unto him. [Pharaoh], See the comments at Ezekiel 31:2 for explanation of such an expression. Take up a lamentation denotes that the fate of Pharaoh is to be lamented. A lion on land or a monster in the water would be something to be feared, and the king of Egypt is likened to them. A troublesome creature in the waters would cause them to be defiled, and likewise the king of Egypt had caused a defilement among the nations.

Ezekiel 32:3

Ezekiel 32:3. This verse is a direct prophecy of the invasion into Egypt of the forces of Babylon, The Lord calls them His net because the actions of the army of Nebuchadnezzar will be by the divine decree.

Ezekiel 32:4

Ezekiel 32:4. This verse is the same in thought as Ezekiel 29:5.

Ezekiel 32:5

Ezekiel 32:5. Height is from which Strong defines, “ A heap (of carcases),” The verse is a strong statement of the extent of the slaughter that will be made of the Egyptians by the Babylonians.

Ezekiel 32:6

Ezekiel 32:6. The terms are used figuratively and are based on the literal conditions and facts of the land of Egypt. The Nile furnished the main resource for agricultural assurance, and the king and his people were boastful of their fortunate lot. With this in view, the prediction threatened to reverse the conditions, and instead of the water of the river of which the king boasted (wherein thou sivim- <mest), the land was to he moistened with the blood of the people. This is said with reference to the bloodshed that will be done by the Babylonians. The terms are strong as most figures of speech are, but the amount of bloodshed was really bound to be great,

Ezekiel 32:7

Ezekiel 32:7. The literal things predicted are the overthrow of Pharaoh and the slaying of his people. Put thee out is rendered “extinguish” in the margin of the Bible and tiie lexicon agrees with it. This national blackout Is ex-pressed in the figurative use of terms connected with the natural universe.

Ezekiel 32:8

Ezekiel 32:8. The figurative description continues to be used with reference to the general defeat of Pharaoh and his country. If the sun and other lights in the heavens above the earth should be put out the earth would be thrown into darkness. Likewise, when Pharaoh and his leading men are put down by the predicted invasion, the country will be thrown into political darkness.

Ezekiel 32:9

Ezekiel 32:9. The attack that Nebuchadnezzar will make upon Egypt will cause her people to be scattered among the various nations. The original word for vex has a stronger sense than this, and the lexicon says it means “ to trouble; by implication to grieve, rage, be indignant.” When people are driven from their native homes and virtually “ wished” on strange communities, the circumstance will not be taken favorably.

Ezekiel 32:10

Ezekiel 32:10. Amused is from SHAMEM and the first definition of Strong is, “to stun.” The overthrow of an ancient and powerful kingdom such as Egypt will have this stunning effect on other nations. Tremble , . . every man for his own life will be a natural result, for when so great a. revolution is brought before their eyes the question will arise whether a similar calamity may come upon them.

Ezekiel 32:11

Ezekiel 32:11, The sword of the king of Babylon will be what Pharaoh will see, but it will also be the Lord’ s sword since He will be using that king as an instrument to execute the divine decree against the nation deserving the chastisement.

Ezekiel 32:12

Ezekiel 32:12. The mighty means the army of Nebuchadnezzar because it is a very strong military force. Spoil is from a word that is defined “to ravage” in the lexicon. (See the comments and historical note at Ezekiel 29:12-13.)

Ezekiel 32:13

Ezekiel 32:13. The streams of Egypt were held sacred by the people, hence anything that would lower their importance or use would be regarded as a reproach. Trouble occurs twice in this verse but they come from different originals. The first means “confusion or uproar” ; the second is defined “to roil [stir up the dregs] water.” A beast would onty defile a stream of water, while a man could create an uproar or commotion even though he was near one of these bodies of water that he professed to worship, The meaning of the prediction is that neither of these activities will be done for a period because both man and beast will be removed by the invader.

Ezekiel 32:14

Ezekiel 32:14. Deep is from shaqa and Strong’s first definition is “to subside.” If the men and beasts are removed from the land by a foreign army, the described condition of the water will cease and it will be allowed to become deep or settled. The movement of oil would be smooth and it is used to compare the condition of the streams after the men and beasts have been taken from the land.

Ezekiel 32:15

Ezekiel 32:15, The main purpose of the chastisement from God is again stated, that the people of the land may be taught fo know that I am the Lord. Verse lfi. Lamentation is from qivnAH which Strong defines, “ A dirge (as accompanied by beating the breasts or an instrument).’ ’ These literal performances are used to illustrate the attitude of the daughters o the nations at the desolation of Egypt.

Ezekiel 32:17

Ezekiel 32:17. The following prediction was made in the same year as the one we have just considered but was a few days later. The prophet is always careful to let us know the source of his information; that it is the word, of the Lord.

Ezekiel 32:18

Ezekiel 32:18. To wail means about the same as “to lament” in some previous verses. Cast them down Is a way of saying “ predict that they will be cast down.” This form of speech is used in Jeremiah 1:10 and Ezekiel 43:3. When an inspired man predicts that a certain thing will happen, it is virtually the same as if he will be the doer of it, for the Lord will see that all such predictions are carried out. The lexicon defines the original word for nether as “lowermost,” and pit is defined in the same lexicon, “ a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or prison),” The people of Egypt were doomed to be taken into custody by Nebuchadnezzar and in that sense they will be prisoners. In other words, the land of Egypt was destined to go down in shame and her greatness was to be forgotten as other countries before had suffered.

Ezekiel 32:19

Ezekiel 32:19, This verse means the same as if the Lord said reproachfully, “Whom do you think you are; the most beautiful of nations?” Then the inspired answer is given, that the nation should be laid or classed with the uncircumcised or unfit.

Ezekiel 32:20

Ezekiel 32:20. They refers to the Egyptians who were doomed to be slain even as others who were slain- by the sword.

Ezekiel 32:21

Ezekiel 32:21, Rim is a pronoun that stands for Egypt and the king. Strong among the mighty refers to the valiant powers that had already gone down to hell, which is used in the same sense as “pit” in Ezekiel 32:18, and refers to the state of forgetfulness into which many nations had fallen. When uncircumcised, is used figuratively it means unconsecrated or unacceptable.

Ezekiel 32:22

Ezekiel 32:22. Asshttr (or Assyria) is there means that she bad gone down into this state of forgetfulness or desolation. (See Ezekiel 31:3; Ezekiel 31:11.)

Ezekiel 32:23

Ezekiel 32:23. The pronoun whose refers to “ company” in the preceding verse who are said to have gone down with Assbnr. Set in the sides of the pit is all figurative and refers to the desolated condition that had come upon various kings and nations. The phrase means that the “company” or citizens were about their king, and all of them near each other in this figurative grave or pit. Caused terrors in the land of the living is explained at verse 10 Of this chapter.

Ezekiel 32:24

Ezekiel 32:24. There is Elam means that she Is another country that had gone down Into the pit of forgetfulness. This nation was located in the neighborhood of Assyria and Persia and it was at one time an important power. See verse 21 for the explanation of uncircumcised, and verse IS for the meaning of nether.

Ezekiel 32:25

Ezekiel 32:25. Bed is from MISHKAB which Strong defines. “ A bed (figuratively a bier); abstractly sleep.” It here is used with reference to the same state of forgetfulness that had been predicted for other evil countries, Graves round about him denotes that the king of Elam and his people had gone down together into the ’ ‘pit.” Though their terror . . . land of the living signifies that the national death was preceded by a period of terror at the presence of the attacking forces.

Ezekiel 32:26

Ezekiel 32:26. Meshech and Tubal were some more of the heathen peoples who incurred the wrath of G-od. They had been doomed to the same ruin as other nations suffered.

Ezekiel 32:27

Ezekiel 32:27, Not He -with the mighty indicates an undignified burial. Strords under their heads refers to an ancient practice of burying distinguished warriors with their weapons. These people had been denied the honor of having their swords buried with them, but instead, their iniquities were “interred with their bones.”

Ezekiel 32:28

Ezekiel 32:28. This is the same reference to a dishonorable grave. The uncircumcised means the unacceptable, who were destined to meet, death by the invader’s sword.

Ezekiel 32:29

Ezekiel 32:29, The Edomites were descendants of Esau and were always hostile against Israel.. A more extended description of Edom’s fate is in Ezekiel 25:12-14,

Ezekiel 32:30

Ezekiel 32:30. The Zidonians dwelt near the sea and were north of the people of Israel. The fate that happened to these foes was similar to that decreed against other heathen nations. With their terror they are ashamed of their might means that in spite of their terrible might they were brought down to shame.

Ezekiel 32:31

Ezekiel 32:31. Pharaoh . . . shall he comforted. The heathen nations were generally hostile against each other, and by that same token each would rejoice at another’ s defeat.

Ezekiel 32:32

Ezekiel 32:32. More than a chapter is devoted to the condemnation and predictions against Egypt, No additional fate is here made as a threat against that country. The brief statement of its doom is made to explain why the country will “be comforted” at the downfall of the Zidonians.