1Im zehnten Jahre, im zehnten Monat, am Zwölften des Monats, geschah das Wort Jehovas zu mir also: 2Menschensohn, richte dein Angesicht wider den Pharao, den König von Ägypten, und weissage wider ihn und wider ganz Ägypten. 3Rede und sprich: So spricht der Herr, Jehova: Siehe, ich will an dich, Pharao, König von Ägypten, du großes Seeungeheuer, das in seinen Strömen liegt, das da spricht: Mein Strom gehört mir, und ich habe ihn mir gemacht. 4Und ich werde Haken in deine Kinnbacken legen und die Fische deiner Ströme an deine Schuppen sich hängen lassen, und werde dich aus deinen Strömen heraufziehen samt allen Fischen deiner Ströme, die an deinen Schuppen hängen. 5Und ich werde dich in die Wüste werfen, dich und alle Fische deiner Ströme; auf des Feldes Fläche wirst du fallen; du wirst nicht aufgelesen und nicht gesammelt werden: den Tieren der Erde und den Vögeln des Himmels habe ich dich zur Speise gegeben. 6Und alle Bewohner von Ägypten werden wissen, daß ich Jehova bin. Weil sie dem Hause Israel ein Rohrstab gewesen sind - 7wenn sie dich mit der Hand erfaßten, knicktest du und rissest ihnen die ganze Schulter auf; und wenn sie sich auf dich lehnten, zerbrachst du und machtest ihnen alle Hüften wanken 8darum, so spricht der Herr, Jehova: Siehe, ich bringe das Schwert über dich und werde Menschen und Vieh aus dir ausrotten; 9und das Land Ägypten wird zur Wüste und Einöde werden. Und sie werden wissen, daß ich Jehova bin. Weil der Pharao spricht: Der Strom ist mein, und ich habe ihn gemacht, 10darum, siehe, will ich an dich und an deine Ströme; und ich werde das Land Ägypten zu öden, wüsten Einöden machen, von Migdol bis nach Syene , bis an die Grenze von Äthiopien. 11Der Fuß des Menschen wird es nicht durchwandern, und der Fuß des Tieres wird es nicht durchwandern, und es wird nicht bewohnt sein, vierzig Jahre. 12Und ich werde das Land Ägypten zu einer Wüste machen inmitten verwüsteter Länder, und seine Städte werden inmitten verödeter Städte eine Wüste sein, vierzig Jahre; und ich werde die Ägypter unter die Nationen versprengen und sie in die Länder zerstreuen. - 13Denn so spricht der Herr, Jehova: Am Ende von vierzig Jahren werde ich die Ägypter aus den Völkern sammeln, wohin sie versprengt waren; 14und ich werde die Gefangenschaft der Ägypter wenden und sie in das Land Pathros , in das Land ihres Ursprungs, zurückbringen, und daselbst werden sie ein niedriges Königreich sein. 15Und es wird niedriger sein als die anderen Königreiche und sich nicht mehr über die Nationen erheben; und ich will sie vermindern, daß sie nicht mehr über die Nationen herrschen. 16Und nicht soll es ferner dem Hause Israel zu einer Zuversicht sein, welche Missetat in Erinnerung bringt, indem sie sich nach ihnen hinwenden. Und sie werden wissen, daß ich der Herr, Jehova, bin. 17Und es geschah im 27. Jahre, im ersten Monat, am Ersten des Monats, da geschah das Wort Jehovas zu mir also: 18Menschensohn, Nebukadrezar, der König von Babel, hat sein Heer eine schwere Arbeit tun lassen gegen Tyrus. Jedes Haupt ist kahl geworden, und jede Schulter ist abgerieben; und von Tyrus ist ihm und seinem Heere kein Lohn geworden für die Arbeit, welche er wider dasselbe getan hat. 19Darum, so spricht der Herr, Jehova: Siehe, ich gebe Nebukadrezar, dem König von Babel, das Land Ägypten; und er wird seinen Reichtum wegtragen und seinen Raub rauben und seine Beute erbeuten, und das wird der Lohn sein für sein Heer. 20Als seine Belohnung, um welche er gearbeitet hat, habe ich ihm das Land Ägypten gegeben, weil sie für mich gearbeitet haben , spricht der Herr, Jehova. - 21An jenem Tage werde ich dem Hause Israel ein Horn hervorsprossen lassen, und dir werde ich den Mund auftun in ihrer Mitte; und sie werden wissen, daß ich Jehova bin.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 THE JUDGMENT ON EGYPT BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR; THOUGH ABOUT TO BE RESTORED AFTER FORTY YEARS, IT WAS STILL TO BE IN A STATE OF DEGRADATION. (Eze. 29:1-21)
Pharaoh--a common name of all the kings of Egypt, meaning "the sun"; or, as others say, a "crocodile," which was worshipped in parts of Egypt (compare
Ezek 29:3). Hophra or Apries was on the throne at this time. His reign began prosperously. He took Gaza (
Jer 47:1) and Zidon and made himself master of Phśnicia and Palestine, recovering much that was lost to Egypt by the victory of Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish (
2Kgs 24:7;
Jer 46:2), in the fourth year of Jehoiakim [WILKINSON, Ancient Egypt, 1.169]. So proudly secure because of his successes for twenty-five years did he feel, that he said not even a god could deprive him of his kingdom [HERODOTUS, 2.169]. Hence the appropriateness of the description of him in
Ezek 29:3. No mere human sagacity could have enabled Ezekiel to foresee Egypt's downfall in the height of its prosperity. There are four divisions of these prophecies; the first in the tenth year of Ezekiel's captivity; the last in the twelfth. Between the first and second comes one of much later date, not having been given till the twenty-seventh year (
Ezek 29:17;
Ezek 30:19), but placed there as appropriate to the subject matter. Pharaoh-hophra, or Apries, was dethroned and strangled, and Amasis substituted as king, by Nebuchadnezzar (compare
Jer 44:30). The Egyptian priests, from national vanity, made no mention to HERODOTUS of the Egyptian loss of territory in Syria through Nebuchadnezzar, of which JOSEPHUS tells us, but attributed the change in the succession from Apries to Amasis solely to the Egyptian soldiery. The civil war between the two rivals no doubt lasted several years, affording an opportunity to Nebuchadnezzar of interfering and of elevating the usurper Amasis, on condition of his becoming tributary to Babylon [WILKINSON]. Compare
Jer 43:10-
Jer 43:12, and see on
Jer 43:13, for another view of the grounds of interference of Nebuchadnezzar.
3 dragon--Hebrew, tanim, any large aquatic animal, here the crocodile, which on Roman coins is the emblem of Egypt.
lieth--restest proudly secure.
his rivers--the mouths, branches, and canals of the Nile, to which Egypt owed its fertility.
4 hooks in thy jaws-- (
Isa 37:29; compare
Job 41:1-
Job 41:2). Amasis was the "hook." In the Assyrian sculptures prisoners are represented with a hook in the underlip, and a cord from it held by the king.
cause . . . fish . . . stick unto . . . scales--Pharaoh, presuming on his power as if he were God (
Ezek 29:3, "I have made it"), wished to stand in the stead of God as defender of the covenant-people, his motive being, not love to them, but rivalry with Babylon. He raised the siege of Jerusalem, but it was only for a time (compare
Ezek 29:6;
Jer 37:5,
Jer 37:7-
Jer 37:10); ruin overtook not only them, but himself. As the fish that clung to the horny scales of the crocodile, the lord of the Nile, when he was caught, shared his fate, so the adherents of Pharaoh, lord of Egypt, when he was overthrown by Amasis, should share his fate.
5 wilderness--captivity beyond thy kingdom. The expression is used perhaps to imply retribution in kind. As Egypt pursued after Israel, saying, "The wilderness hath shut them in" (
Exod 14:3), so she herself shall be brought into a wilderness state.
open fields--literally "face of the field."
not be brought together--As the crocodile is not, when caught, restored to the river, so no remnant of thy routed army shall be brought together, and rallied, after its defeat in the wilderness. Pharaoh led an army against Cyrene in Africa, in support of Aricranes, who had been stripped of his kingdom by the Cyrenians. The army perished and Egypt rebelled against him [JUNIUS]. But the reference is mainly to the defeat by Nebuchadnezzar.
beasts . . . fowls--hostile and savage men.
6 staff of reed to . . . Israel--alluding to the reeds on the banks of the Nile, which broke if one leaned upon them (see on
Ezek 29:4;
Isa 36:6). All Israel's dependence on Egypt proved hurtful instead of beneficial (
Isa 30:1-
Isa 30:5).
7 hand--or handle of the reed.
rend . . . shoulder--by the splinters on which the shoulder or arm would fall, on the support failing the hand.
madest . . . loins . . . at a stand--that is, made them to be disabled. MAURER somewhat similarly (referring to a kindred Arabic form), "Thou hast stricken both their loins." FAIRBAIRN, not so well, "Thou lettest all their loins stand," that is, by themselves, bereft of the support which they looked for from thee.
8 a sword--Nebuchadnezzar's army (
Ezek 29:19). Also Amasis and the Egyptian revolters who after Pharaoh-hophra's discomfiture in Cyrene dethroned and strangled him, having defeated him in a battle fought at Memphis [JUNIUS].
9 I am the Lord--in antithesis to the blasphemous boast repeated here from
Ezek 29:3, "The river is mine, and I have made it."
10 from the tower of Syene--GROTIUS translates, "from Migdol (a fortress near Pelusium on the north of Suez) to Syene (in the farthest south)"; that is, from one end of Egypt to the other. So "from Migdol to Syene,"
Ezek 30:6, Margin. However, English Version rightly refers Syene to Seveneh, that is, Sebennytus, in the eastern delta of the Nile, the capital of the Lower Egyptian kings. The Sebennyte Pharaohs, with the help of the Canaanites, who, as shepherds or merchants, ranged the desert of Suez, extended their borders beyond the narrow province east of the delta, to which they had been confined by the Pharaohs of Upper Egypt. The defeated party, in derision, named the Sebennyte or Lower Egyptians foreigners and shepherd-kings (a shepherd being an abomination in Egypt,
Gen 46:34). They were really a native dynasty. Thus, in English Version, "Ethiopia" in the extreme south is rightly contrasted with Sebennytus or Syene in the north.
11 forty years--answering to the forty years in which the Israelites, their former bondsmen, wandered in "the wilderness" (compare Note, see on
Ezek 29:5). JEROME remarks the number forty is one often connected with affliction and judgment. The rains of the flood in forty days brought destruction on the world. Moses, Elias, and the Saviour fasted forty days. The interval between Egypt's overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar and the deliverance by Cyrus, was about forty years. The ideal forty years' wilderness state of social and political degradation, rather than a literal non-passing of man or beast for that term, is mainly intended (so
Ezek 4:6;
Isa 19:2,
Isa 19:11).
12 As Israel passed through a term of wilderness discipline (compare
Ezek 20:35, &c.), which was in its essential features to be repeated again, so it was to be with Egypt [FAIRBAIRN]. Some Egyptians were to be carried to Babylon, also many "scattered" in Arabia and Ethiopia through fear; but mainly the "scattering" was to be the dissipation of their power, even though the people still remained in their own land.
13 (
Jer 46:26).
14 Pathros--the Thehaiti, or Upper Egypt, which had been especially harassed by Nebuchadnezzar (
Nah 3:8,
Nah 3:10). The oldest part of Egypt as to civilization and art. The Thebaid was anciently called "Egypt" [ARISTOTLE]. Therefore it is called the "land of the Egyptians' birth" (Margin, for "habitation").
base kingdom--Under Amasis it was made dependent on Babylon; humbled still more under Cambyses; and though somewhat raised under the Ptolemies, never has it regained its ancient pre-eminence.
16 Egypt, when restored, shall be so circumscribed in power that it shall be no longer an object of confidence to Israel, as formerly; for example, as when, relying on it, Israel broke faith with Nebuchadnezzar (
Ezek 17:13,
Ezek 17:15-
Ezek 17:16).
which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them--rather, "while they (the Israelites) look to (or, turn after) them" [HENDERSON]. Israel's looking to Egypt, rather than to God, causes their iniquity (unfaithfulness to the covenant) to be remembered by God.
17 The departure from the chronological order occurs here only, among the prophecies as to foreign nations, in order to secure greater unity of subject.
18 every head . . . bald, . . . shoulder . . . peeled--with carrying baskets of earth and stones for the siege works.
no wages . . . for the service--that is, in proportion to it and the time and labor which he expended on the siege of Tyre. Not that he actually failed in the siege (JEROME expressly states, from Assyrian histories, that Nebuchadnezzar succeeded); but, so much of the Tyrian resources had been exhausted, or transported to her colonies in ships, that little was left to compensate Nebuchadnezzar for his thirteen year's siege.
19 multitude--not as FAIRBAIRN, "store"; but, he shall take away a multitude of captives out of Egypt. The success of Nebuchadnezzar is implied in Tyre's receiving a king from Babylon, probably one of her captives there, Merbal.
take her spoil . . . prey--literally, "spoil her spoil, prey her prey," that is, as she spoiled other nations, so shall she herself be a spoil to Babylon.
20 because they wrought for me--the Chaldeans, fulfilling My will as to Tyre (compare
Jer 25:9).
21 In the evil only, not in the good, was Egypt to be parallel to Israel. The very downfall of Egypt will be the signal for the rise of Israel, because of God's covenant with the latter.
I cause the horn of . . . Israel to bud-- (
Ps 132:17). I will cause its ancient glory to revive: an earnest of Israel's full glory under Messiah, the son of David (
Luke 1:69). Even in Babylon an earnest was given of this in Daniel (
Dan 6:2) and Jeconiah (
Jer 52:31).
I will give thee . . . opening of . . . mouth--When thy predictions shall have come to pass, thy words henceforth shall be more heeded (compare
Ezek 24:27).
Two distinct messages: (1) At
Ezek 30:1-
Ezek 30:9, a repetition of Eze. 29:1-16, with fuller details of lifelike distinctness. The date is probably not long after that mentioned in
Ezek 29:17, on the eve of Nebuchadnezzar's march against Egypt after subjugating Tyre. (2) A vision relating directly to Pharaoh and the overthrow of his kingdom; communicated at an earlier date, the seventh of the first month of the eleventh year. Not a year after the date in
Ezek 29:1, and three months before the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.
