‘In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.” ' This prophesy took place in January 587 BC almost a year after the siege of Je... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FIRST ORACLE AGAINST EGYPT (EZEKIEL 29:1). In this oracle Egypt is likened to a monster crocodile which Yahweh will hunt and dispose of (2-5), because of Pharaoh's pretensions (Ezekiel 29:3), and then to a staff on which those who lean will falter (6-7). And then He prophesies the future destru... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ORACLES AGAINST EGYPT (EZEKIEL 29:1 TO EZEKIEL 32:32). This section of the book is composed of seven oracles issued against Egypt. The fact that there are seven is probably deliberate in order to emphasise the divine completeness of the condemnation, for throughout the Near East seven was the n... [ Continue Reading ]
“Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh. Behold I am against you Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster (tannin) who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, “My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.” ' ” To Yahweh Pharaoh (Hophra - Jeremiah 45:30) is but the king of Egypt, bu... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will cause the fish of your rivers, to stick to your scales, and I will bring you up out of the midst of the rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.” The picture is of a crocodile hunt, in which hooks were put in the crocodile's... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I will leave you stranded in the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You will fall on the face of the field. You will not be brought together or gathered. I have given you for meat to the beast of the earth and to the birds of heaven.” The great crocodile and the fish will be left... [ Continue Reading ]
“And the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of you by the hand, you broke and badly tore their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you broke, and made all their loins quiver.” This is the final act... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold I will bring a sword on you, and will cut off from you man and beast. And the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a waste, and they will know that I am Yahweh, because he has said, ‘The River (Nile) is mine, and I have made it'.” We come back here to t... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore behold, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation from Migdol to Seveneh (Syene) even to the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither will it be inhabited for... [ Continue Reading ]
“For thus says the Lord Yahweh, At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples where they have been scattered, and I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and they will be there a base kingd... [ Continue Reading ]
“And it shall no more be the one in whom the house of Israel put their trust, bringing their iniquity into remembrance when they turn to look after them. And they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh. Thus never again would Israel turn to Egypt for assistance and rely on them. Rather they will look... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And so it was in the twenty seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, caused his army to do a great service against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled. Yet he had no... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SECOND ORACLE AGAINST EGYPT (EZEKIEL 29:17). This is a late oracle introduced here, because it also refers to Tyre, so that it would not be too far from the Tyre oracles, and because it gives information about who would cause desolation to Egypt as described in the first oracle. It is dated on... [ Continue Reading ]
“Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and he will carry off large numbers of her people, and take her spoil and take her prey. And it will be wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he... [ Continue Reading ]
“In that day I will cause a horn to bud forth to the house of Israel, and I will give you the opening of your mouth among them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.” A horn is the symbol of strength and power (1Sa 2:1; 1 Kings 22:11; Psalms 92:10; Jeremiah 48:25). It was the means by which animals... [ Continue Reading ]