CHAPTER XXIX _This and the three following chapters foretell the conquest of_ _Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar, which he accomplished in the_ twenty-seventh _year of Jehoiachin's captivity. The same event_ _is foretold by Jeremiah_, Jeremiah 46:13, c. _The prophecy opens with God's charging the king of... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:2. _SET THY FACE AGAINST PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT_] This was Pharaoh-hophra or Pharaoh-apries, whom we have so frequently met with in the prophecies of Jeremiah, and much of whose history has been given in the notes.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:3. _THE GREAT DRAGON_] התנים _hattannim_ should here be translated _crocodile_, as that is a _real_ animal, and numerous in the _Nile_; whereas the _dragon_ is wholly _fabulous_. The original signifies any large animal. _THE MIDST OF HIS RIVERS_] This refers to the several _branche... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:4. _I WILL PUT HOOKS IN THY JAWS_] Amasis, one of this king's generals, being proclaimed king by an insurrection of the people, dethroned _Apries_, and seized upon the kingdom; and Apries was obliged to flee to Upper Egypt for safety. _I WILL CAUSE THE FISH - TO STICK UNTO THY SCAL... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:5. _I WILL LEAVE THEE_ THROWN _INTO THE WILDERNESS_] Referring to his being obliged to take refuge in Upper Egypt. But he was afterwards taken prisoner, and strangled by Amasis. _Herod_. lib. ii. s. 169.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:6. _THEY HAVE BEEN A STAFF OF REED_] An inefficient and faithless ally. The Israelites expected assistance from them when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem; and they made a feint to help them, but retired when Nebuchadnezzar went against them. Thus were the Jews deceived and ult... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:10. _FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE_] ממגדל מונה _mimmigdol seveneh_, "from Migdol to Syene." Syene, now called _Essuan_, was the last city in Egypt, going towards Ethiopia. It was famous for a well into which the rays of the sun fell _perpendicularly_ at _midday_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:12. _SHALL BE DESOLATE FORTY YEARS_] The country from Migdol or Magdolan, which was on the isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, was so completely ruined, that it might well be called _desert_; and it is probable that this desolation continued during the whole of the _r... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:13. _WILL I GATHER THE EGYPTIANS_] It is probable that Cyrus gave permission to the Egyptians brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, to return to their own country. And if we reckon from the commencement of the war against Pharaoh-hophra by Nebuchadnezzar, to the _third_ or _fourth_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:14. Into _THE LAND OF PATHROS_] Supposed to mean the _Delta_, a country included between the branches of the Nile, called Δ _delta_, from its being in the form of the Greek letter of that name. It may mean the _Pathrusim_, in Upper Egypt, near to the Thebaid. This is most likely. _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:17. _THE SEVEN AND TWENTIETH YEAR_] That is, of the _captivity of Jeconiah, fifteen_ years after the taking of _Jerusalem_; about _April_ 20, 3432. The _preceding_ prophecy was delivered one year before the taking of Jerusalem; _this_, sixteen years after; and it is supposed to be t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:18. _CAUSED HIS ARMY TO SERVE A GREAT SERVICE AGAINST_ _TYRUS_] He was _thirteen_ years employed in the siege. See _Joseph_. Antiq. lib. x. c. 11. In this siege his soldiers endured great hardships. Being continually on duty, their _heads became bald_ by wearing their helmets; and t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:20. _I HAVE GIVEN HIM THE LAND OF EGYPT_ FOR _HIS LABOUR_] Because he fulfilled the designs of God against Tyre, God promises to _reward_ him with the spoil of Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Ezekiel 29:21. _WILL I CAUSE THE HORN OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL TO BUD_] This may refer generally to the _restoration_; but particularly to _Zerubbabel_, who became one of the leaders of the people from Babylon. Or it may respect _Daniel_, or _Mordecai_, or _Jeconiah_, who, about this time, was b... [ Continue Reading ]