Ezekiel 29:10

Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. I WILL MAKE THE LAND OF EGYPT UTTERLY WASTE AND DESOLATE, FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE. Grotius translates, 'from Migdol (a fortress near Pelusium, on the north of Suez) to Syene' (in the farthest south) - i:e., from one end of Egypt to the other. So in , margin. However, the English version rightly refers Syene to Seveneh - i:e., 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,...

1-16 Worldly, carnal minds pride themselves in their property, forgetting that whatever we have, we received it from God, and should use it for God. Why, then, do we boast? Self is the great idol which all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. God can force men out of that in which they are most secure and easy. Such a one, and all that cleave to him, shall perish together. Thus end men's pride, presumption, and carnal security. The Lord is against those who do harm to his people, and still more against those who lead them into sin. Egypt shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be the basest of the kingdoms; it shall have little wealth and power. History shows the complete fulfilment of this prophecy. God, not only in justice, but in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks the creature-stays on which we lean, that they may be no more our confidence....

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_....

FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE - Or, as in the margin, “Migdol” (“tower”) was about two miles from Suez. “Syene” was the most southern town in Egypt, on the borders of Ethiopia, in the Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the Nile. The modern Assvan lies a little to the northeast of the ancient Syene. We have no record of the circumstances of the Chaldsaean invasion of Egypt, but it is possible that it did not take place until after the fall of Tyre. We gather of what nature it must have been by comparing the description of the results of Assyrian conquest (Isaiah 37:25 ff). Minute fulfillment of every detail of prophecy is not to be insisted upon, but only the general fact that Egypt would for a time, described as 40 years, be in a state of collapse. No great stress is to be laid on the exact number of years. The number of years passed

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 29:1 IN THE TENTH YEAR, etc. The precision with which the dates of the several portions of the prophecy against Egypt are given, here and in Ezekiel 29:17; Ezekiel 30:20; Ezekiel 31:1; Ezekiel 32:1, Ezekiel 32:7, shows that each was called forth by the political events of the time, and has to be studied in connection with them. It will be well, therefore, to begin with a Brief survey of the relat

BEHOLD, THEREFORE, I AM AGAINST THEE, AND AGAINST THY RIVERS,.... Against the king of Egypt, and against his subjects, the many people he ruled over; as the Lord is against spiritual Egypt, and the head of it, and the antichristian states, signified by many waters, rivers, and fountains; see Revelation 11:8: AND I WILL MAKE THE LAND OF EGYPT UTTERLY WASTE AND DESOLATE; partly by a civil war, and partly by a foreign enemy; especially those parts of it which were the seat of war: FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE EVEN UNTO THE BORDER OF ETHIOPIA; or the tower of Seveneh; according to Herodotus i, Syene was a city of Thebais, where he was told were two mountains, which gave rise to the Nile. Pliny k says it was six hundred twenty five miles from Alexandria; and it is by him, as well as Strabo l, placed under the tropic of Cancer; who both say, in the summer so

FROM THE TOWER Or, from Migdol to Syene. (Exodus 14:2); (Jeremiah 44:1)....

Ezekiel 29-30. First Egypt's desolation is announced (Ezekiel 29:1). The king of Egypt addressed in this prophecy was Pharaoh-Hophra, called in Greek, Apries. He was the grandson of Pharaoh-Necho, who defeated King Josiah at Meggido 2 Chronicles 35:20. King Zedekiah of Judah expected help and relief from Pharaoh-Hophra, when Jerusalem was besieged. The Egyptian army under Hophra advanced through Phoenicia and forced the Chaldeans to raise the siege of Jerusalem Jeremiah 37:5. But the relief was only temporary, for the Egyptian army had to retire. The prophet Jeremiah announced also the doom of Hophra, associating it with Zedekiah's doom: “Thus saith the LORD, Behold I will give Pharaoh-Hophra, King of Egypt,

EZEKIEL 29-32. ORACLE AGAINST EGYPT. Next and last to be denounced is Egypt, the great rival of Babylon, and consequently the opponent of Yahweh's purpose. The separate oracles were written either not long before (Ezekiel 29:1) or not long after (Ezekiel 32:1) the fall of Jerusalem. An Egyptian army marched to the relief of the city during the siege (Jeremiah 37:5); probably Ezekiel 29:6 is a warning of the futility of this attempt, while Ezekiel 30:21 may definitely refer to its repulse by the Babylonians....

FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE. from Migdol to Syene. Compare Ezekiel 30:6. THE TOWER. Migdol. See note on Exodus 14:2 for "Migdol", and compare Jeremiah 44:1. In the north of Egypt. OF SYENE. to Syene. Hebrew. _Seveneh._ Now _Assouan,_ in the south....