Ezekiel 29.1-16
God humbles his people with a word against Egypt
WORDS to build our thoughts around in ...
Word #1: Pride (vv. 3-6a; 9b-12).
Word #2: Obstruction (vv. 6b-9a).
Word #3: Mercy (vv. 13-16).
A Final Word - “Humility”
There is little in Egypt that does not depend upon the Nile for sustenance. Rainfall is minimal, and all agriculture and most plant and animal life need the river to live. This section of the book in volves the Nile, then, as the centerpiece of the land of Egypt
The Pharaoh Hophra (Greek Apries; 589–570 B.C.) supported Judah’s rebellion against Babylon but was unable to provide the promised support (Jer. 37:5–10; 44:30).
With Persian reconquest in 343 B.C., pharaonic Egypt had come to an end.
The opening date notice fixes the time of Ezekiel’s first prophecy against Egypt at Jan. 7, 587 B.C., almost one year after the commencement of Nebuchadrezzar’s siege of Jerusalem (Ezek. 24:1; 2 K. 25:1; Jer. 29:1), and two years before the fugitive brings news of the fall of the city to the exiles (Ezek. 33:21).
As in the previous prophecy against Sidon, Ezekiel, addressed as ben-ʾādām, is commanded to turn toward his addressee.
The word “pharaoh” derives from Egyp. pr-ʿʒ (lit. “great house”). Originally designating the royal living quarters of the palace complex in Memphis, by extension it came to signify royal authority and the king himself, perhaps synonymous with “His Majesty.” Here the title is defined in Hebrew terms, melek miṣrayim, “king of Egypt.”
Ezekiel never identifies the pharaoh by name, but from Jer. 44:30 we learn that Hophra is in view.
At the turn of the century the restrained policy of his predecessor, Psammetichus II, had enabled Nebuchadrezzar to capture Jerusalem unmolested. But Hophra’s foreign policy was opportunistic and ambitious. Responding to Zedekiah’s call for aid, he challenged the Babylonians by sending troops into Palestine, which forced Nebuchadrezzar to lift briefly the siege of Jerusalem. But the efforts proved futile for Zedekiah, as the Egyptians were quickly driven from Judean soil.21
the statement reflects Pharaoh’s inordinate hubris; he acts with independence and effect. No one will stand in his way.
For all his arrogant pretensions, the glorious lord of the Nile is no match for Yahweh, who toys with him as a fisherman plays with his catch, then throws him away as carrion, unfit for human consumption.
The problems of a reed staff are cited in two parallel lines. Beyond failing to offer any support, it splinters the hands of those who use it as a cane, and tears the armpits of those who use it like a crutch.
In isolation Ezekiel’s development of the metaphor could have been interpreted as condemnation of Egypt for not having lent enough support to Judah and for failing to rescue Judah from the Babylonians. But in the broader context this is clearly not his intention. Egypt’s guilt stems from its agreement to assist Zedekiah in his resistance to Nebuchadrezzar. In so doing Egypt placed itself in the way of Yahweh’s agent, rendering itself an enemy not only of the Babylonian but also of God. Accordingly, this oracle represents the obverse of ch. 17, which reflects the Judean king’s appeal to Egypt for help instead of submitting to Babylon. By resisting Yahweh’s agent Hophra was interfering in Yahweh’s inexorable divine plan for Israel. For that he would pay dearly.
Second, he proclaims the ruination of all Egypt. Like Israelite “from Dan to Beer-sheba,” the expression “from Migdol to Syene as far as the border of Cush” defines the borders of the country.
The figure recalls 4:4–8, according to which Ezekiel was to lie on his right side, one day for every year that Judah was to be exiled, but the number is also reminiscent of the duration of Israel’s wilderness wanderings, the purpose of which was to eliminate a faithless generation (Num. 14:20–35). Yahweh’s goal here is presumably similar—to punish a generation that had dared to interfere with Yahweh’s plans for Judah and the Babylonians.
in terms reminiscent of earlier warnings of the deportation of Judah’s population, Ezekiel predicts the exile of Egypt’s population among the nations and countries of the earth. The prophet’s vagueness and hyperbolic style contrast sharply with the detail and realism with which Jeremiah describes the same events. In Jer. 43–44 the senior prophet speaks specifically of Nebuchadrezzar attacking Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes, burning the temples of the Egyptian gods, shattering the obelisks of Heliopolis, and bringing disaster to the Jewish exiles in that land.
The name Pathros (patrôs), Egyp. pʾ-tʾ-rs (y), “the south land,” refers to Upper Egypt, the territory along the Nile between the Delta (miṣrayim) and Ethiopia (kûš). The reference to Pathros as the land of their origins reflects the anti-Delta and anti-Saite stance of this oracle. When the nation is restored it will not be under the present conditions, a fact reinforced by the last line of v. 14 and by v. 15. The people may be regathered and the kingdom reestablished, but Yahweh will ensure that they never regain their past glory; Egypt will remain a “low kingdom.” The great nation that had held ruled over others will itself become a vassal state. To whom Egypt will be subject is not indicated
Ever since Isaiah, the prophets had condemned reliance on Egypt as a sure ticket to disaster.
The dissimilarities between these two purpose statements reflect the differences in the charges Ezekiel had leveled against the six neighbor states on the one hand and against Egypt on the other. The other nations were condemned because they gloated over the destruction of Israel and saw in its demise an opportunity to take over its land. Yahweh’s answer was to eliminate these enemies. With Egypt the problem was the reverse. Whatever its motives, Egypt had tried to prevent the collapse of Judah, leaving Yahweh free to pursue a different course with Egypt to ensure that this would never happen again. This could be accomplished by merely reducing Egypt to vassal status and neutralizing its imperialistic ambitions.81
use of animal imagery to tell a story of intensified reversal—a gargantuan figure is reduced to nothing.
Ezekiel and his fellow Judeans had been in captivity for nearly eleven years. It was January 587 B.C., and Jerusalem had long been under siege (cf. 24:1). Those in exile who believed the word of the Lord through Ezekiel knew that the Holy City’s situation was hope less. Thus some comfort could be taken in the fact that a great power like Egypt would suffer the same fate as the tiny nation of Judah was now facing.
Also prominent in the prose section is a foreshadowing of Egypt’s captivity and later restoration—again paralleling that of Judah and thus a kind of a consolation for Ezekiel’s audience.
both the Pharaoh and the Nile were thought divine by the Egyptians
Over the centuries, Israel had repeatedly sought military and/or economic help from Egypt against the advice of God (cf. Deut. 17:16; 2 Kin. 3:1; 10:28; Is. 30:1–3, etc.). Egyptian help had never done any real good against other foes such as Assyria and Babylon, so leaning on the metaphorical reed “staff” of the land known for its reeds was bound to get Israel hurt (vv. 6–7).