Monthly Archives: September 2024

Ezekiel 32 Concluding the Oracles Against Egypt

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Nile Crocodile Eating a Wildabeast in the Masai Mara By Arturo de Frias Marques – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34596035

Ezekiel 32: 1-16 Egypt as the Dragon of the Seas

1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
You consider yourself a lion among the nations,
but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
trouble the water with your feet,
and foul your streams.
3Thus says the Lord GOD:
In an assembly of many peoples
I will throw my net over you;
and I will haul you up in my dragnet.
4I will throw you on the ground,
on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you,
and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves with you.
5I will strew your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6I will drench the land with your flowing blood
up to the mountains,
and the watercourses will be filled with you.
7When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens,
and make their stars dark;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give its light.
8All the shining lights of the heavens
I will darken above you,
and put darkness on your land,
says the Lord GOD.
9I will trouble the hearts of many peoples,
as I carry you captive among the nations,
into countries you have not known.
10I will make many peoples appalled at you;
their kings shall shudder because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
they shall tremble every moment
for their lives, each one of them,
on the day of your downfall.
11For thus says the Lord GOD:
The sword of the king of Babylon shall come against you.
12I will cause your hordes to fall
by the swords of mighty ones,
all of them most terrible among the nations.
They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes shall perish.
13I will destroy all its livestock
from beside abundant waters;
and no human foot shall trouble them any more,
nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.
14Then I will make their waters clear,
and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord GOD.
15When I make the land of Egypt desolate
and when the land is stripped of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who live in it,
then they shall know that I am the LORD.
16This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted.
The women of the nations shall chant it.
Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it,
says the Lord GOD.

The sixth oracle against Egypt is labeled as a lamentation and is framed by the Hebrew word for lamentation once in the second verse and four times[1] in verse sixteen. Yet, the intervening poem does not share the normal pattern of lifting in praise the object of the lament followed by a fall in most biblical laments. Within the larger structure of Ezekiel, the previous chapter may fulfill this purpose, but this ‘dragon of the seas’ while a mighty beast is not a sympathetic character at the beginning of the lament. Yet, unlike the previous usage of a metaphor for Assyria, as a great tree felled, the imagery is directly related to Egypt’s Pharoah and its military might.

In contrast to the self-perception of Pharoah as a lion among the nations,[2] but the LORD indicates through Ezekiel that he is a ‘dragon of the seas.’ We are again exposed to the Hebrew word tannin, here dragon, which often refers to a mythical sea creature and in chapter 29 referred to Pharoah as a crocodile. Here there are crocodile-like elements, the creature has feet instead of fins or flippers, but instead of being a creature of the rivers it is a creature of the seas. Part of this contrasting set of metaphors may be related to Egypt’s perception of themselves as a land-based power with a strong army (a lion among the nations) but their real power may be in their naval and merchant fleets which would prove less valuable in a defense of the homeland. Yet, this ‘dragon of the seas’ now seems to be confined to thrashing about in its streams, troubling the water with its feet, and fouling the streams. The presence of this ‘dragon of the seas’ presents in the image an ecological crisis for the waters it inhabits.

This massive beast is summarily dealt with when a net is thrown over it and it is brought out of the waters and cast on the land. Previously the LORD had cast his net over Zedekiah,[3] now the Egyptian Pharoah who Zedekiah appealed to for aid against Babylon is also ensnared. The timing of this oracle, indicated by Ezekiel’s date as March 3, 585 BCE would be two months after the exiles learn of the destruction of Jerusalem, may indicate the reason for this oracle.  Although the city is gone there may still be some lingering hope that the great sea dragon of Egypt would rouse itself fully and attack Babylon in retaliation for Jerusalem. For Ezekiel the army of Babylon under Nebuchadrezzar has been functioning on behalf of the God of Israel and now only Egypt opposes the reign of Babylon. Yet, in Ezekiel’s image the sea dragon is out of its element and serves only as food for the birds of the air and the wild animals who gorge on it. The dragon is now the food for vultures and jackals.

The metaphorical destruction of Egypt’s hordes and Pharoah has both grotesque elements and cosmic elements. Egypt is not a land of mountains and valleys, yet the carcass of the beast falls on both mountains and valleys and the blood of the beast fills the land. At the same time the defeat of this beast causes the sun, moon, and the stars to be blocked out.[4] Such a drastic change on the seas and the earth is reflected by the shrouding of the heavens. The impact of Egypt’s departure from the nations causes other kings to shudder when the LORD responsible for this upheaval brandishes his sword at them as well.

The sword of the LORD is quickly indicated to be the sword of the king of Babylon and the swords of his mighty ones. They are both the most terrible among the nations and yet they are still the chosen instrument of God. Both the humans and the animals of Egypt are destroyed, and the land is desolate. Although there is a positive ecological impact on the waters as humans and animals are removed. The once fouled and troubled waters now flow like oil.

The great sea monster, just like the crocodile-like figure in chapter 29, is removed from their element and the predator becomes prey. Isaiah will later utilize a similar praise for God’s strength over Egypt by saying:

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago! Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Isaiah 53:9[5]

Ezekiel has condemned Jerusalem’s leadership for trusting in Egypt instead of the LORD. Ezekiel’s voice was probably not popular during this time when the nation of Judah collapsed, but Ezekiel’s continual emphasis on God’s strength being enacted through Babylon likely helped the people make sense of their shattered lives in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and their political system. Ezekiel’s imagery may have also influenced the beast from the sea in Revelation13:1-10.[6]

Ezekiel 31: 17-32 Egypt Goes Down to the Pit


17In the twelfth year, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
18Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt,
and send them down,
with Egypt and the daughters of majestic nations,
to the world below,
with those who go down to the Pit.
19“Whom do you surpass in beauty?
Go down! Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!”
20They shall fall among those who are killed by the sword. Egypt has been handed over to the sword; carry away both it and its hordes. 21The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: “They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword.”
22Assyria is there, and all its company, their graves all around it, all of them killed, fallen by the sword. 23Their graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.
24Elam is there, and all its hordes around its grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit. 25They have made Elam a bed among the slain with all its hordes, their graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; they are placed among the slain.
26Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for they spread terror in the land of the living. 27And they do not lie with the fallen warriors of long ago who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields are upon their bones; for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living. 28So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword.
29Edom is there, its kings and all its princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit.
30The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31When Pharaoh sees them, he will be consoled for all his hordes — Pharaoh and all his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord GOD. 32For he spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword — Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.

This final oracle against both Egypt and the nations consigns Pharoah and his multitude to the Pit along with the nations who went before. There is no month in the Hebrew text for the date and the NRSV assumes that it should be the first month of the twelfth year, although I agree with both Block, and other scholars, who follow the cue of the previous oracle and have it in the first month roughly two weeks after the sixth oracle. (Block, 1998, p. 216) Egyptian royalty invested heavily in creating royal tombs to ensure that in their afterlife they would have both wealth and power, but here they join all the other nations in the Pit or Sheol. Both the Egyptians and Phoenicians mentioned here practiced circumcision, so their coming down to lie with the uncircumcised means a dishonorable death. Instead of the wealth and power they exercised, all that waits for them in Sheol is the presence of the other nations who went before.

This final oracle is highly repetitive using words like horde, go down, uncircumcised, and sword frequently in its descriptions. All these empires or nations had armies, all failed and suffered shame, all were overthrown by a greater empire with a larger army (sword). Assyria’s domain had once been great, and their rule was violent. Empires in the ancient world were violent and the accusation of spreading terror fits with Assyria’s self-description of their rule under Shalmaneser III:

I slew their warriors with the sword, descending upon them like (the god) Adad when he makes the rainstorm pour down. In the moat (of the town) I piled them up, I covered the wide plain with the corpses of their fighting me, I dyed the mountains with their blood like red wool. I took away from him many chariots (and) horses broken to the yoke. I erected pillars of skulls in front of his town, destroyed his (other) towns, tore down (their walls) and burnt (them) down. (ANET 277 quoted in NIB VI: 1442)

Now these once fierce Assyrians with their graves surrounding their leaders who once spread terror in the land of the living occupy the uttermost parts of the Pit. They were violent in life but now in death they are a part of the company of the dishonored who await Egypt. Elam, from modern day Iran, appear in the biblical writing rarely, although Jeremiah has an oracle against the Elamites,[7] and Isaiah portrays Elam as a nation skilled in archery and chariotry (or cavalry) which participated in Assyria’s attack of Judah.[8] Meshech-Tubal appeared in Ezekiel 27: 13 as nations who trafficked in the slave trade and bronze vessels and they will appear in Ezekiel 38:2 as allies of Gog. Unlike some mysterious other warriors who went down to an honorable burial (with their weapon and shield) they have arrived in Sheol bereft of the weapons they once terrified the nations with. Edom received its own oracle in Ezekiel 25: 12-14 and was one of Judah’s close neighbors, while the princes of the north and Sidonians likely refer to the Phoenicians who control Tyre and Sidon.[9]

Sheol or the Pit are not places of torment like the later conceptions of Hell but are places of darkness.[10] It is not the hoped afterlife of the Egyptian rulers, but the consolation that is offered to Egypt is that they are not alone in being consigned to the dustbin of history. They take up their place among these other nations who once terrified the people in the place of the dead, disarmed and dishonored. Katheryn Pfisterer Darr notes insightfully that for all Ezekiel’s threats to Israel, God never consigns them to the Sheol. (NIB VI: 1445)

[1] The Hebrew qina, qonem is behind both lamentation and chant in verse sixteen.

[2] The nations (goyim) and many peoples are repetitive and unifying structures for this oracle.

[3] Ezekiel 12:13, 17:20.

[4] The prophet Joel uses similar darkening of the heavenly lights for the coming day of the LORD in Joel 2:10.

[5] Rahab is a cypher for Egypt as seen in Isaiah 30:7 and Psalm 87:4.

[6] Revelation’s description of the beast from the sea is significantly different from Ezekiel’s description of this ‘sea dragon’ but Ezekiel is one of the dominant influences on the imagery of Revelation.

[7] Jeremiah 49: 35-39.

[8] Isaiah 22:6.

[9] Ezekiel 26–28.

[10] See my reflection on Gehenna, Tartaros, Sheol, Hades, and Hell.

Ezekiel 31 Egypt as a Mighty Tree Cut Down

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Cedar of Lebanon (Cedar of God), Lebanon By © Vyacheslav Argenberg / http://www.vascoplanet.com/, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92872076

Ezekiel 31

1In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
Whom are you like in your greatness?
3Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon,
with fair branches and forest shade,
and of great height,
its top among the clouds.
4The waters nourished it,
the deep made it grow tall,
making its rivers flow
around the place it was planted,
sending forth its streams
to all the trees of the field.
5So it towered high
above all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large
and its branches long,
from abundant water in its shoots.
6All the birds of the air
made their nests in its boughs;
under its branches all the animals of the field
gave birth to their young;
and in its shade
all great nations lived.
7It was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down
to abundant water.
8The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,
nor the fir trees equal its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing
compared with its branches;
no tree in the garden of God
was like it in beauty.
9I made it beautiful
with its mass of branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
that were in the garden of God.
10Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, 11I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. 12Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it.
13On its fallen trunk settle
all the birds of the air,
and among its boughs lodge
all the wild animals.
14All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height.
For all of them are handed over to death,
to the world below;
along with all mortals,
with those who go down to the Pit.
15Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day it went down to Sheol I closed the deep over it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below. 17They also went down to Sheol with it, to those killed by the sword, along with its allies, those who lived in its shade among the nations.
18Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, says the Lord GOD.

This fifth oracle against Egypt is like Ezekiel’s earlier oracle against the King of Tyre where the king is highlighted for their beauty and preeminent state among the garden of Eden.[1] Like that previous oracle the one who excels all others is brought low as they exceed their station as a creation of God. Although this oracle is directed against Pharoah and his hordes, it only mentions Pharoah or Egypt in the first and last verse, the rest of the oracle uses Assyria as an example for Egypt to heed. Assyria who was once the great empire in the north has collapsed and dragged all who allied themselves with her down to Sheol, and the same fate awaits proud Egypt in this oracle.

It is likely that Ezekiel is building upon Isaiah’s imagery in Isaiah 2:11-13 linking pride and great trees.

The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low, and the pride of everyone shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan;

Just as Daniel will probably utilize Ezekiel’s imagery in his own image in Daniel 4: 10-17 and Jesus alludes to this imagery in his parable of the mustard seed.[2] Yet, Ezekiel’s usage is the longest sustained use of this metaphor.

This oracle is dated almost two months after the previous one, June 21, 587 BCE. The city of Jerusalem is still besieged by Babylon, and it is possible that Babylon has already repulsed the Egyptian attempts to lift the siege. Egypt has been one of the significant powers in the ancient world throughout Israel’s history, and Egypt has continually exerted influence in the region around Israel. Now Egypt in this parable is told to look at a metaphor of Assyria. Assyrian was the great empire in the north prior to the emergence of the Babylonian empire. There are some translators who view Assyria’s presence here as a mistake, but thematically it makes sense to use a metaphor about Assyrian to demonstrate to Egypt that it too can fall from its great heights. Even though verses three through nine repeatedly refer to the beauty of this metaphorical tree and portray its majesty in an admirable light, like the earlier references to the King of Tyre, this is a case of prophetic satire. Although the kings of Assyria normally have the date palm as their image, the use of the cedar of Lebanon would be a well-known image of both size and strength, and a tree frequently used in royal and holy construction.

There are mythical elements in the background of this image, but they should not distract from the basic point that Pharoah and Egypt, according to the oracle, will share the same fate as Assyria. Although the waters nourished it and the deep made it grow tall, it will still fall when the prince of nations (King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon) cuts it down. The waters and deep are the same Hebrew words used in Genesis 1:2 and this tree surpasses the trees of the garden of God (Eden) but ultimately, like the King of Tyre, its beauty, strength, and height cannot prevent its falling into the realm of the dead. The remnants of the tree fall on the mountains and valleys, just as the defeated ‘dragon’ in the next chapter will have its remains fall on the mountains, valleys, and waterways.[3] Now this great tree and all the lesser trees that inhabited the space under its branches find themselves in the Pit.

The very forces which once gave this great tree life now bury it in the depths. The rivers that flowed around it are now restrained and this once beautiful and living tree is now debris scattered upon the ground, or in other places brought down into the pit. The great tree and the empire it represents are now dead, and Egypt who is similarly a great tree is in danger from the same axe wielding prince of the nations. In the oracle Pharoah and all his armies cannot oppose God and God’s chosen instrument of vengeance King Nebuchadrezzar.

As mentioned before there are limited historical records from this period. We do know that Nebuchadrezzar does eventually turn his army to march on Egypt. Although the Babylonians have enjoyed multiple victories over Egypt, Egypt never becomes a part of the Babylonian empire. The great cedar tree which represents Egypt will stand at least for a time longer. Ezekiel interprets the actions of the king of Babylon and his forces as an extension of the will of the God of Israel. Even though Jerusalem is under siege, the LORD’s actions, in Ezekiel’s mind, are just. The LORD is not merely the God of Israel but is at work in the movement of empires to bring about the will of God.

[1] Ezekiel 28.

[2] Matthew 13: 31-32, Mark 4: 30-32, Luke 13: 18-19

[3] Ezekiel 32: 5-6.

Ezekiel 30: Oracles Against Egypt Continued

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A stele dating to the 23rd regnal year of Amasis, on display at the Louvre

Ezekiel 30: 1-19 The Third Oracle Against Egypt: The Day of The LORD

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:
Wail, “Alas for the day!”
3For a day is near,
the day of the LORD is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is carried away,
and its foundations are torn down.
5Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the allied land shall fall with them by the sword.
6Thus says the LORD:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
and its proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
they shall fall within it by the sword,
says the Lord GOD.
7They shall be desolated among other desolated countries,
and their cities shall lie among cities laid waste.
8Then they shall know that I am the LORD,
when I have set fire to Egypt,
and all who help it are broken.
9On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting Ethiopians; and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for it is coming!
10Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt,
by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.
11He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
shall be brought in to destroy the land;
and they shall draw their swords against Egypt,
and fill the land with the slain.
12I will dry up the channels,
and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers;
I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
by the hand of foreigners;
I the LORD have spoken.
13Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt;
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14I will make Pathros a desolation,
and will set fire to Zoan,
and will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.
15I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium,
the stronghold of Egypt,
and cut off the hordes of Thebes.
16I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
and Memphis face adversaries by day.
17The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword;
and the cities themselves shall go into captivity.
18At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
when I break there the dominion of Egypt,
and its proud might shall come to an end;
the city shall be covered by a cloud,
and its daughter-towns shall go into captivity.
19Thus I will execute acts of judgment on Egypt.
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

This third oracle against Egypt is undated. It may come early (during the siege of Jerusalem) like the first oracle or late (after the failed siege of Tyre) like the second oracle. It is sandwiched between a late oracle and an early one and either situation can fit this declaration against the Egyptians. My best guess is that it follows the timeline of the immediately preceding oracle but ultimately it makes little difference to the interpretation of the prophet’s words of judgment.[1]

Ezekiel’s third oracle against Egypt taps into the thematic day of the LORD. As I mention in my longer discussion on the Evolution of the Day of the LORD, this has been used both as a phrase indicating both judgment for Judah and salvation. Here the terrifying direction of the day of the LORD is directed against Egypt, and by extension the nations. Much of the day of the LORD language is thematic and has resonances across the prophets regardless of the direction of the judgment it implies. Ezekiel echoes Zephaniah 1:15[2] storm imagery:

That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.

Although the Hebrew Scriptures continually remind the reader that the LORD is the creator of the heavens and the earth, the LORD’s power is often depicted coming from the sky. But here the judgment from the sky is paired with the judgment by sword from approaching armies. The LORD is both the Lord of heaven and earth and the LORD of hosts[3]. The LORD is moving in judgment against Egypt and any who stand with them in this oracle.

One of the reasons that people have been fascinated with Egypt has been its wealth. The wealth of the nation unearthed from the tombs of the kings of Egypt draws both modern interest but also drew ancient interest as well. Egypt’s elite hoarded this wealth, and this was to be one of the distinctions between the ways of Egypt and the ways of the people of Israel. Now this wealth or horde, (Hebrew hamon) will be taken away by the sword. That which they stored in temples and tombs will now become the reward for the wielder of the sword which causes both death and destruction for this proud empire. This focus on the wealth of Egypt being carried away links this to the previous oracle when Egypt’s wealth is to be the payment to Nebuchadrezzar for the effort and resources he expended against Tyre.

Ethiopia, Libya (Put), Asia Minor (Lud), the Arabians (literally mixed hordes), and an unknown people (NRSV Libya)[4]  and “the sons of the land of the covenant” (NRSV people of allied lands) all find themselves in danger of this approaching sword and storm. The Egyptians, like most ancient armies, had fighters from many lands which formed their army. Some may have been mercenaries; others were allied or vassal kingdoms. A similar dynamic is at work in Ezekiel’s metaphor of Tyre where the men of Paras, Lud, and Put were in their army and men of Arvad, Helech, and Gamad were archers on their walls.[5] The interesting addition to this list is the ‘sons of the land of the covenant’ who were likely Judean soldiers serving Egypt. There are several ancient sources who list Judean mercenaries serving in Egyptian campaigns, and there are Judean settlements in Egypt at the time of Ezekiel’s ministry.[6] Now these Judeans both serving and residing in Egypt are warned of the coming sword (assuming Ezekiel’s missive traveled to these communities).

The terror of this coming sword penetrates the length of the Nile into Ethiopia. Egypt had endured conflict before, but the communities on the eastern and northern edge of Egypt absorbed the threat. Ethiopians at the southern end of the Nile could benefit from the economic advantages of the river while being relatively safe from an invader coming from the Middle East. But now even these places at the edge of the Egyptian empire were no longer safe in the oracle. The ‘hordes’ or ‘wealth’ of Egypt will end under King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. This force coming from the north is portrayed as the ‘most terrible of nations.’

The destruction of Egypt’s wealth and military are paralleled by the loss of both the cities and the ‘gods’ of Egypt. Just as the ‘signs and wonders’ that the LORD utilized to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt struck at both the reign of Pharoah and the Egyptian gods[7] now the ‘idols’[8] and ‘images’ are destroyed as well as the cities where the temples are located.

The actions of Nebuchadrezzar’ army are paired with the actions of the LORD against the land. Nebuchadrezzar may wield the sword, but the LORD is drying up the channels of the Nile. At Tehaphnehes the day becomes dark[9] as it is covered by a cloud, echoing the day of the LORD imagery at the beginning of the oracle. The LORD of the heavens and earth wields the natural powers of destruction while the LORD of hosts dispatches the Babylonians with the sword against the Egyptians.

Ezekiel 30: 20-26 The Fourth Oracle Against Egypt Disarming Pharoah

20In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 21Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the lands. 24I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him with the groans of one mortally wounded. 25I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt, 26and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

For this fourth oracle we once again have a date, and the date helps provide a context for this message. April 29, 587 BCE would be almost four months after the initial oracle and roughly four months before the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 37: 5-10 indicates that Pharoah did come to Jerusalem’s aid causing a temporary removal of the siege while Nebuchadrezzar turned his forces to deal with the Egyptian incursion, and that likely set the background for Ezekiel’s first oracle against Egypt. We know that the Egyptian forces did not remain and either retreated or suffered a defeat before the Babylonians. The time period of this oracle makes sense in a time after Egypt has been forced to retreat without providing liberation to Jerusalem.

The broken arm of Pharaoh is likely his weakened state after his initial defeat by Babylon. Egypt has suffered defeats to Babylon in the region before, but now this metaphorical wound which weakens Pharoah will not be bound or bandaged and allowed to heal properly. Now a weakened Pharoah with one remaining arm is left to oppose a Babylon with two strong arms, but even before the battle the LORD breaks Pharoah’s other arm as the arm of the king of Babylon is made strong and the LORD’s swords placed in his hand for judgment. Pharoah, once mighty, has now been disarmed and Egypt is vulnerable to this warrior who comes to deliver the LORD’s judgment.

[1] Many historical critical interpreters viewed this portion of Ezekiel as a later introduction by a different author of the “Ezekiel school” due to the lack of date and the language. Although it is worth acknowledging the insight of these scholars, Ezekiel often does not include a date and Ezekiel’s language varies widely throughout the book.

[2] Joel 2: 2 also utilizes this imagery, but Joel is most likely at 4th Century BCE prophet and is echoing Ezekiel or Zephaniah.

[3] The host referred to here is a military host in this commonly used title.

[4] Put is modern day Libya. The Hebrew kub could be another North African nation, but we simply do not know.

[5] Ezekiel 27:10-11.

[6] Jeremiah 24:8, 44:1.

[7] See my comments on Exodus 7–11.

[8] Hebrew gillum, Ezekiel’s coarse image for foreign idols.

[9] Eclipsing the sun god ‘Ra.’

Ezekiel 29 Against Pharoah of Egypt

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Nile Crocodile Eating a Wildabeast in the Masai Mara By Arturo de Frias Marques – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34596035

Ezekiel 29:1-9a

1In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:
I am against you,
Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon sprawling
in the midst of its channels,
saying, “My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.”
4I will put hooks in your jaws,
and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales.
I will draw you up from your channels,
with all the fish of your channels
sticking to your scales.
5I will fling you into the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your channels;
you shall fall in the open field,
and not be gathered and buried.
To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air
I have given you as food.
6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know
that I am the LORD
because you were a staff of reed
to the house of Israel;
7when they grasped you with the hand, you broke,
and tore all their shoulders;
and when they leaned on you, you broke,
and made all their legs unsteady.
8Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you human being and animal; 9and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

The oracles against Egypt are equal in length to all the previous oracles against the nation, and this seventh nation mentioned now receives seven oracles against it. Six of the seven are given specific dates with this first oracle being the earliest. This oracle is dated January 7, 587 BCE which is roughly one year into the eighteen-month siege of Jerusalem. Jeremiah 44:30 indicates that Pharoah Hophra is the king of Egypt at this point who is referred to throughout this oracle. Tova Ganzel (Ganzel, 2020, p. 272)connects this prophecy with the actions of Jeremiah 37:5-10:

Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah: Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: This is what the two of you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt. And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire. Thus says the LORD: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.

Although Ezekiel, unlike Jeremiah, was already in exile in Babylon it is likely that he and his fellow exiles were following events around Jerusalem. Ezekiel and Jeremiah both viewed Nebuchadrezzar’s siege of Jerusalem as God’s punishment and viewed the actions of the Egyptians as interference. Now amid what others in Judah may have considered a hopeful moment, Ezekiel speaks against the Egyptians (who many in Jerusalem would have looked to for aid at this time).

Ezekiel uses metaphor again, this time Pharoah Hophra is a great crocodile (NRSV great dragon) lying in the Nile. The Hebrew word tannin which in this image is obviously a crocodile like creature is often used with mythological overtones throughout scripture (hence the NRSV’s translation of great dragon) as a great monster or force of chaos which must be overcome. It is sometimes linked with both Rahab and Leviathan, and Job’s similar image of Leviathan is worth considering:

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? Job 41: 1-2.

Now Pharoah is drawn out with a hook, and with it all the fish that are caught in its scales. It had considered itself immovable from its place in the channels of the Nile, but now it is removed from its place of dominance to the wilderness where it becomes prey for the animals and birds. As Katheryn Pfisterer Darr notes this would be the ultimate disgrace for an Egyptian Pharoah who expended enormous resources and wealth on constructing a royal tomb to ensure their passage to the afterlife. (NIB VI: 1405)

Egypt was one of the few nations which had the military resources to resist Babylon, but as I mentioned in Egypt’s Role in the Geopolitics of Israel/Judah During the Time of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empire they were often an unreliable ally. Both 2 Kings and Isaiah record Rabshakeh’s taunt about the unreliability of Egypt:

The Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah. Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: on what do you base this confidence of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? See, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharoah king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 2 Kings 18:19-21, Isaiah 36:4-6

Once again resorting to metaphor, to use Egypt as a crutch is to have it splinter in one’s shoulder and to lean on it for support makes the legs unsteady when it fails. Egypt’s support only causes more damage in the prophet’s view.

Ezekiel 29: 9b-16

Because you said, “The Nile is mine, and I made it,” 10therefore, I am against you, and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries; and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries.
13Further, thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered; 14and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations; and I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16The Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity, when they turned to them for aid. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

This continues the first oracle against Egypt but instead it moves from a poetic rhythm to an explanatory tone. Now in response to the declaration of the Pharoah that, “the Nile is mine, and I made it,” the declaration is made that the entirety of Egypt from western border to the eastern border and to the border of Ethiopia to the south will be uninhabited. Egypt is sentenced to forty years of desolation in this oracle, devoid of both human and animals. The mighty empire of Egypt is to be a wasteland where nothing lives, but the sentence is for a generation and then the people and animals will return. But Egypt, in the oracle, will never be a power who extends its influence towards Israel. They will never appear to be a strength that Israel can turn to again in their troubles.

Egypt is never a wasteland depopulated of people or animals. Although there is some conflict between Babylon and Egypt that will be talked about more in the following section, Egypt never becomes a part of the Babylonian empire, and the population is never forced into exile. The oracle is unique among the seven nations in that it does have a future for Egypt (the other nations have no future in Ezekiel’s oracles) and it may be impossible for the prophet to imagine a world without Egypt occupying some role. Egypt existed long before Israel and had always been major power to the south. Yet, Egypt’s time of independence would come to an end with the advent of the Persian empire a generation later.

Ezekiel 29: 17-21

17In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 18Mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had expended against it. 19Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord GOD.
21On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.

This is the second oracle and the latest of the oracles that receive a date. Ezekiel’s date places this oracle on April 26, 571 BCE, sixteen years after the oracle at the beginning of the chapter and twenty-two years after Ezekiel’s commission by the LORD. This oracle also marks a sharp departure from the oracles against Tyre in chapters 26–28 since now Tyre remains unconquered and King Nebuchadrezzar’s men need payment for the thirteen years spent in siege of the city.

Ezekiel’s prophecies against Tyre are not fulfilled in the manner that Ezekiel declared. There may have been people among Ezekiel’s peers who wondered if that made him a false prophet. Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah would have been criticized for their pro-Babylonian messages (since both viewed Babylon as acting on the LORD’s behalf). Yet, Ezekiel’s words were preserved as a prophet and the LORD the God of Israel has changed God’s mind before and remains free to allow things to proceed according to God’s designs. Still this inclusion of Ezekiel 29:18 owns that the previous prophecies against Tyre did not occur as foreseen.

The prophesies of Ezekiel attempt to provide a theological framing to the events of the world and I think both the theological framing and the historical events can provide insight into how we approach these passages. Theologically the Babylonian empire is cast as a tool utilized by the LORD and since the Babylonians are doing God’s will they deserve to be rewarded. In the absence of a reward for cracking open the island fortress of Tyre the riches of Egypt are offered in exchange. Egypt remained both a rich nation with a powerful military and a large, fertile territory. Historically it is important to remember that military action in the ancient world was about economics. A thirteen-year long siege would have been costly both in material resources but also in reputation for the Babylonians. It is plausible that the king of Tyre reached an agreement to become a vassal state, but the baldness and rubbed bare shoulders likely refer to the hard work of the attempted siege.

Looking this far back into the historical record is difficult because there are very few sources. The Babylonians did invade Egypt unsuccessfully between 601 and 599 BCE but this points to a later invasion. There is a cuneiform text that refers to Nebuchadrezzar marching against Egypt in his thirty-seventh year (568 BCE) roughly three years after this oracle. (Block, 1998, p. 151) It is also known that Pharoah Hophra dies and Amasis takes his place.[1] It is plausible that Nebuchadrezzar sees this time of transition as an opportunity to attack a weakened Egypt. It is also likely that an incursion into Egypt taxed Babylon’s forces even further. Nebuchadrezzar would die in Babylon six years later and Egypt would remain unconquered. Although Babylon likely did extract some wealth and resources from this conflict any evaluation of the ‘successfulness’ of these actions[2] would require sources that we do not have. As I have stated before I am making educated guesses based on what we do know and what we understand about the world at this point in history.

Finally, there is the final line about a ‘horn’ sprouting up for the house of Israel and the prophet’s lips being opened among them. Horns in the bible are images of power. They can be utilized in both positive imagery[3] and negative imagery,[4] but in both uses it is a symbol of power. There will be a new power that will arise for the house of Israel. This may be a hope for a renewed line of David, as in Psalm 132, but that type of Davidic/kingly expectation is not explicit here. What is explicit is that the prophet will now have his lips opened by God to be a messenger of hope among the people and the people will know the LORD. God’s actions against the nations are a portion of Israel’s renewed knowledge of the LORD.

[1] Josephus indicates that Nebuchadrezzar slew Hophra while Herodotus indicates that his own general, Amasis, kills Pharoah Hophra.

[2] Success depends upon the criteria used. Nebuchadrezzar, and most ancient kings, would view success as continuing to bring wealth and resources to themselves and the empire. The bible’s evaluation of the kings of Israel is on a completely different basis. See my comments on 1 Kings 11.

[3] For example, Psalm 132:17, “There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;”

[4] For example, the blasphemous horn of Daniel 8.

 

 

 

Military Actions as an Economic Decision in the Ancient World

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Battle between Cimmerian cavalry, their war dogs, and Greek hoplites, depicted on a Pontic plate

Military Actions as an Economic Decision in the Ancient World

War is expensive. It has always been costly to raise and equip an army, supply them during their movements and sieges. War also has a high price on the productivity of the land involved. Fields may be burned or lay dormant. Farmers are removed from the fields to serve in the army. Timber and earth are removed to build siege engines and siege works. Soldiers also require pay for their time and services. Unfortunately, war often exacts a high price from those who are innocent bystanders. Property is destroyed, families are shattered, women may become victims of rape, and in ancient times one of the primary places where slaves are taken is as a prize of conquest.

In the ancient world war was both expensive to persecute and a profitable enterprise. The primary basis of wealth in the ancient world was land, and when an empire could expand the land that it occupied it could increase the wealth it acquired from that land. One option that territories could take when an army approached was to become a vassal territory, paying tribute to the empire or king to give itself the guarantee of peace. If a territory resisted then the sack of a city would bring out both the wealth of the city in gold, silver, and other precious items (often stored in temples or noble dwelling places) but also the stored agricultural products. As mentioned above the slave trade was also a part of the economic system in the ancient world, and cities like Tyre were places where slaves were sold. Certain cities, like Jerusalem or Tyre and Sidon, would give access to frequently used land or maritime trade routes which were also sources of wealth.

Although pride and egos certainly played a part in conflict in the ancient world, so did economics. The Babylonians in their siege of Tyre, which is reported to have lasted thirteen years, would have expended an excessive amount of capital and yet failed to capture the city. It is plausible that the city agreed to become a vassal of Babylon, giving access to its ports as well as tribute but it is also plausible that this was ultimately a loss of resources for Babylon. It would be in Tyre’s interest to end the siege, even if the city was in no imminent danger of falling, to have access to both overland trading routes and renewed access to their ‘daughter cities’ which provided the food and water for the city. Tyre could import food and water, perhaps from Egypt, but this would be at a much higher cost.

For most of history war was looked on as an economic decision. An empire, like Assyria or Babylon, constantly searched for more resources and revenue but also had to balance that with maintaining control over their territory they already controlled. There were always forces both external and internal who looked for weakness and attempted to weaken the hold of these large empires on their vassals. The actions of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Samaria, Tyre, or even Jerusalem in this time often have economic considerations.

Egypt’s Role in the Geopolitics of Israel/Judah During the Time of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires

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The Roman Kiosk of Trajan (left) on Agilkia island in the Nile River, near Aswān, Egypt

Egypt’s Role in the Geopolitics of Israel/Judah During the Time of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires

Egypt’s connection with the story of Israel goes back to its beginning and is complex. At times the Egyptians have been allies and trading partners and at other times they are antagonists. Egypt was one of the first regional powers to emerge in history, and they would remain independent until they are brought under the Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE (roughly forty years after the siege of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile). Egypt had been a military and economic power for thousands of years at the emergence of the Assyrian and later Babylonian powers to the north and had exercised both political and commercial influence over the region throughout this time.

One of the ways Egypt continued to exercise influence was by encouraging the rulers throughout the region to resist both Assyrian and Babylonian rule. Egypt was often sought for support or protection once these ruling powers were provoked, aid that sometimes materialized and often did not. For example, 2 Kings records Samaria (Northern Israel) attempting to resist Assyria in 724 BCE:

King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him; Hoshea (king of Samaria) became his vassal. But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to King So of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria confined him and imprisoned him. Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and come to Samaria; for three years he besieged it. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria; he carried the Israelites away into Assyria. 2 Kings 17: 3-6a

Here Egypt is either unable or unwilling to march into Samaria to defend them from the Assyrians. This results in the collapse of Northern Israel (Samaria). Later Assyria would march against the Philistine city of Ekron who also appeals to Egypt for aid. In 701 BCE Egypt does march to the aid of Ekron but its forces are defeated and captured. (NIB VI: 1402) Assyria then turns towards Judah and when Rabshakeh, the commander of the Assyrian forces comes before the walls of Jerusalem he taunts the people:

The Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah. Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: on what do you base this confidence of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? See, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharoah king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 1 Kings 18:19-21, Isaiah 36:4-6

Rabshakeh’s siege does not capture Jerusalem when he abruptly turns away to another fight, biblical tradition indicates it is an internal conflict among Assyrian forces, and the threat is resolved.

Eventually Assyria and Egypt would change from opponents into allies at the emergence of the Babylonian empire. This becomes important for Judah’s history for several interconnected reasons. Judah under Josiah was undergoing a time of renewal according to the bible and there was even a hope for Judah to now once again rule over the lands of both Judah and what had formerly been Samaria. A part of this optimism was the alliance with Babylon. In 609 BCE when Pharoah Necho marches his army north to aid Assyria, King Josiah marches the army of Judah out to resist him. Judah’s army is conquered, King Josiah is killed, and Judah comes under Egyptian power with Pharoah Necho appointing Eliakim to rule in Jerusalem as a vassal. In 605 BCE Egyptian forces were defeated by Babylon at the Battle of Carchemish and pursued back to the Egyptian border. Even after Babylon asserted control over Judah and the surrounding region, Egypt continued to attempt to provoke Judah and other regional vassal states to resist Babylon.

When Babylon does react to Jerusalem withholding tribute by besieging the city, Egypt does march to their aid which causes Babylonian forces to briefly lift the siege of Jerusalem to deal with the Egyptian incursion. (Jeremiah 37:5-10) Yet the Egyptian forces quickly return to Egypt and Babylon resumes its siege. Egypt has once again proven to be an unreliable support for Jerusalem in its problems. This history of provocative behavior and unreliability likely informs Ezekiel’s words against Egypt.

Review of Rabbit, Run by John Updike

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Time Magazine Top 100 Novels

Book 76: Rabbit, Run by John Updike (1960)

This is a series of reflections reading through Time Magazine’s top 100 novels as selected by Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo published since 1923 (when Time magazine was founded). For me this is an attempt to broaden my exposure to authors I may not encounter otherwise, especially as a person who was not a liberal arts major in college. Time’s list is alphabetical, so I decided to read through in a random order, and I plan to write a short reflection on each novel.

Rabbit, Run is the story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom a former basketball star who now feels trapped in a meaningless job and an unsatisfying marriage. Coming home after a brief experience on the basketball court with some younger boys he looks at his life with his wife Janice as a trap and he initially makes a run in his car planning to leave for the south, but then returns to the area and seeks out his old basketball coach. His former coach lost his job in a scandal and soon connects “Rabbit” with Ruth Leonard who was a prostitute at the time. Harry moves in with Ruth for several months and starts a new job as a gardener which he enjoys. Harry has developed a relationship with the Episcopal priest in town who gave him the connection for the new job but is also attempting to reunite Harry with his wife. Harry leaves the now pregnant Ruth when he learns that his wife Janice is having their second child and attempts to restart his life with his wife and a job at his father-in-law’s auto dealership. Harry’s newfound devotion is short lived and his harsh words for his wife and departure cause her to return to drinking and leads to the accidental death of their newborn daughter by drowning. During the funeral “Rabbit” runs again attempting to find some feeling that he seems incapable of holding on to.

I understand that the book attempts to point to the emptiness of the middle-class life of the 1960s for husbands expected to be the provider for wife and children with little concern for their own happiness. Yet, Harry Angstrom was a vapid character for me. He seems completely unable to consider the consequences on anyone action and expects everyone to pick up the pieces as he walks away. Anytime things get difficult he runs and attempts to find someone new to take him in. Rather than the emptiness of the middle-class life of the 1960s I felt like John Updike left us with an empty man as his main character.

Every book is not for every reader, and when a story fails for me, I often wonder what it is that makes me not the best reader of the book, particularly a book other intelligent readers have enjoyed. For me the main character, Harry Angstrom, is an empty man-a person with very little dimension and depth who is driven by his instincts and who has no concern for the consequences of his actions on others. From the moment “Rabbit” runs and leaves his young son I lost my sympathy for him. I struggled to want to spend much time with any of the characters and the plot of a man who runs away rather than attempt to find a way through the struggles was also not appealing to me.  Others will enjoy John Updike’s writing or the way he pokes fun at religion, familial structure, and overall loss of meaning at the beginning of the 1960s. For me the primary emotion it evoked was disgust at the main character. That may be the intent as it looks at empty men like “Rabbit” but that makes for a difficult book to stomach.

Ezekiel 28 Against the Rulers of Tyre, Sidon and a Renewed Hope for Israel

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Tyre, Lebanon – rectangular theatre at Al Mina excavation area By Heretiq – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=555942

Ezekiel 28: 1-10 Against the “Prince” of Tyre

1The word of the LORD came to me: 2Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because your heart is proud
and you have said, “I am a god;
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,”
yet you are but a mortal, and no god,
though you compare your mind
with the mind of a god.
3You are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;
4by your wisdom and your understanding
you have amassed wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries.
5By your great wisdom in trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in your wealth.
6Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you compare your mind
with the mind of a god,
7therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
the most terrible of the nations;
they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
8They shall thrust you down to the Pit,
and you shall die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
9Will you still say, “I am a god,”
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a mortal, and no god,
in the hands of those who wound you?
10You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

This continuation of the oracles against Tyre, now focusing on the ‘prince’ and ‘king’ of Tyre highlight the reality that there is much we do not understand about either the worldview of the prophet Ezekiel and, assuming his audience in the exile understood his words, the worldview of the people of Judah at the time of the exile. It is clear from working through scripture that there are myths and stories that inform the text that we no longer possess that we get a hint of at various points. This pair of oracles against the ‘leaders’ of Tyre give us some interesting hints and I will do my best to make educated guesses of how to interpret these sections, but at certain points there are merely educated guesses. As Daniel Block states:

Chapter 28 is at the same time one of Ezekiel’s most intriguing artistic creations and one of the most difficult texts in the entire book. The problems, many of which defy satisfactory scholarly solution, include the identification of the limits of the unit, the relationship between vv. 1-10 and 11-19, the relationship between the oracles concerning the king of Tyre and the foregoing messages about the city, numerous textual difficulties, perplexing hapax legomena[1] and phrases, the sources of the prophet’s ideological notions, the relationship between this text and biblical traditions (esp. the narratives of Gen. 1-3, as well as the Priestly material in Exod. 28, and the wisdom writings), the message the prophet is attempting to convey to his own people. (Block, 1998, p. 87)

Structurally verses 1-10 and 11-19 are two separate oracles and the marker of “the word of the LORD came to me” indicates the separation in these related oracles. Both have a story that they are likely pulling on which give a fuller meaning to the text that we as modern readers can only attempt to reconstruct. The overall meaning of the texts is clear without fully grasping the backstory as these leaders of Tyre who are given great wisdom and abilities become foolish in their heart[2] leading to their destruction. This leader of Tyre is like Solomon, given great wisdom and turns that wisdom to trade-yet in their prosperity they begin to believe they are more than what they are created to be.

Verses 1-10 address the “prince” of Tyre. Previously Ezekiel referred to King Zedekiah of Jerusalem as ‘prince’ rather than ‘king’ and a similar usage is probably occurring here. This also provides a contrast to the following oracle where the “king” of Tyre is addressed. This proud hearted ‘prince’ whose throne is in the heart of the seas has the audacity to claim they are on par with a god. They compare their heart with the heart of a god.[3] They have been prosperous, and their heart has become proud in their wealth, and again they compare their heart to the heart of a god. Their arrogance leads to their death in the heart of the seas.

This prince is as wise as Daniel. Many scholars believe this cannot refer to the biblical Daniel since the book of Daniel most likely comes from a period much later than Ezekiel.[4] These scholars believe there must be some other Dan’el who is a figure known for his wisdom in the stories of the region (see the discussion on Ezekiel 14:12-23), yet the Book of Daniel relates the story of a younger contemporary of Ezekiel in the exile who by his wisdom ascends to a position of authority in Nebuchadrezzar’s court. I find it plausible that the stories of Daniel are known to his fellow exiles and become a point of hope for the people attempting to navigate the exile. These stories of hope probably continued to be told and would be formalized into the book of Daniel later.

This prince of Tyre who is an equal in wisdom to Daniel and perhaps even Solomon turns his wisdom to acquisition. King Solomon’s story forms an interesting parallel to this prince of Tyre. Both are stories of men given wisdom and wealth and both are viewed, by the scriptures, as failed leaders.[5] Solomon followed the ways of King Hiram of Tyre, the Pharoah of Egypt, and the Queen of Sheba in the end rather than the ways of the LORD the God of Israel and this ultimately led to the fracture of Israel in the next generation. Great wisdom in trade has filled the treasuries of the prince of Tyre but it has deceived his heart into believing that he has the heart of a god when he is merely a mortal and no god.

Marvin Pope theorizes that behind these two oracles lies the Ugaritic myths of the older god El being banished from the Mount Zaphon by the storm god Ba’al to dwell in the heart of the rivers. (NIB VI: 1387) Although this is possible, the Canaanite religions seem to be an ever-present alternative throughout the narrative of scripture and one that the people seem acquainted with. It is also likely that Tyre’s location in the ‘heart of the sea’ is merely referring to the city being an island. Ezekiel highlighted this in the previous chapter with his ship metaphor. Particularly for this first oracle the mythic background is not as necessary. This heart proud ‘prince’ who rules Tyre looks upon his prosperity and security and compares his wisdom, which is great by worldly standards, with the divine proving his foolishness. The consequence of his foolishness in the oracle is that he will “die the death of the slain” (NRSV die a violent death) and “die the death of the uncircumcised.” The residents of Tyre, like the people of Judah, practiced circumcision so this final taunt probably resonates something like Greenberg’s paraphrase. “You will die like a dog.” (NIB VI: 1389)

Ezekiel 28: 11-19 Against the “King” of Tyre


11Moreover the word of the LORD came to me: 12Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD:
You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, turquoise, and emerald;
and worked in gold were your settings
and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
14With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you;
you were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the stones of fire.
15You were blameless in your ways
from the day that you were created,
until iniquity was found in you.
16In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and the guardian cherub drove you out
from among the stones of fire.
17Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
18By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade,
you profaned your sanctuaries.
So I brought out fire from within you;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
in the sight of all who saw you.
19All who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.

It is possible that there are mythic elements in the first oracle of the chapter, but in this second oracle for the king of Tyre they are undeniable. This chapter is a good example of the “openness, playfulness, and oddness” of the Jewish nature of the Hebrew Scriptures that Walter Brueggemann mentions in his Theology of the Old Testament. (Brueggemann, 1997, p. 111) This lamentation over the ‘king’ of Tyre which places this king in Eden and grants him the title of being an anointed cherub not only takes us back to the theophany scenes of Ezekiel 1 and 10 with the cherubim but into the stories of creation in Genesis 1-3. Yet, the presence of the ‘king’ of Tyre in this story may be playful, open, or odd to us modern readers but to Ezekiel it fit within his understanding of the world in which the LORD ruled over all creatures and the world of the divine is closer than our disenchanted world allows.

This lamentation is for the king (melek) rather than the prince of Tyre and the change in terminology is intentional. Either the king of Tyre is being looked on as a mythical figure, much like the Pharoah of Egypt was considered to either divine or connected to the gods of Egypt, or we are addressing the power behind the king of Tyre. In the ancient worlds the kings were often viewed as receiving their authority from the gods of their region and Melqart, the god of Tyre, whose name means “king of the city” may be in view here. The god of a region is sometimes addressed as representing the region itself, and although some scholars are resistant to this type of interpretation this is not uncommon in the bible where the God of Israel is portrayed as dominant over the gods of other cities or nations. If it is a god who is being addressed here, then their presence as a creation of the LORD in the garden of Eden and on the mountain of God makes more sense. This would resonate with the picture of the God of Israel taking his place at the head and judging the ‘gods’ at the divine council in Psalm 82.

Much as the prince of Tyre was wiser than Daniel, now the king of Tyre is the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. The indication of the king of Tyre as a signet of the LORD indicates that they are one who is a representative of God’s power on the earth. The precious stones listed are nine of the twelve stones listed for the breastplate of the high priest of Israel, and they may be worn as jewelry or a breastplate or in the creation of this ‘king’ they may be placed within him like in a sculpture. Ezekiel’s previous description of cherubim, particularly in Ezekiel 1, make them seem like living statues rather than normal fleshly creatures. Yet, Ezekiel insists that this ‘king’ and ‘cherub’ is a created being- a specially created being but a created being nonetheless. This anointed cherub occupies a position of privilege and power both in the garden of Eden and on the mountain of God walking among the stones of fire.[6]

Yet, like the prince in the previous oracle, this privilege and power end when iniquity is found in this king/cherub. Like humanity in the time of Noah, this king is ‘filled with violence’ and they sin. As a result they are cast out of the mountain of God to the ground and driven out by ‘guardian cherubs.’ This ‘cherub’s’ heart was proud, and their wisdom was corrupted. Their wisdom, as above, is turned to acquisition, their worship is turned towards wealth, and now the fire comes from within to consume this cherub.[7] This one who was once the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty is now an appalling sight who comes to a dreadful end.

For many conservative Christians this lament for the king of Tyre has become something much different. Since the time of Origin (185-253) some Christians have equated the king of Tyre and Lucifer, and this lament becomes the tragic story of Lucifer’s fall. This interpretation comes out in Milton’s Paradise Lost and is influential. It is also not what Ezekiel was intending. Even with the mythic elements this is a part of Ezekiel’s collection of oracles against the city of Tyre and their leaders. Yet, the imagery in this section is odd portraying either the king of Tyre or the god of Tyre as a character alongside the God of creation in Eden and present with God as a figure of authority. For all its oddness, the primary intention of the lament is clear. It announces the LORD’s judgment against the city of Tyre and either its king or its god.

Ezekiel 28: 20-23 Against Sidon


20The word of the LORD came to me: 21Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it, 22and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:
I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will gain glory in your midst.
They shall know that I am the LORD
when I execute judgments in it,
and manifest my holiness in it;
23for I will send pestilence into it,
and bloodshed into its streets;
and the dead shall fall in its midst,
by the sword that is against it on every side.
And they shall know that I am the LORD.

In sharp contrast to the previous oracles, the oracle against Sidon is both short and generic. As Daniel Block states compared to the earlier addresses:

this passage lacks vibrancy and luster…Except for the naming of Sidon as the addressee, the oracle could have been pronounced against any of the nations addressed earlier, as well as many that receive no attention in the book. (Block, 1998, p. 121)

Sidon, often listed together with Tyre, does not have the benefit of being an island nation. Sidon had once been the larger and more powerful of the two cities, but was conquered by Assyria’s King Sennachrib (704-681 BCE). Not much is known about any conflict with Sidon under Babylon, but Sidon’s king does appear as one of the captives at Nebuchadrezzar’s court. The oracle describes a similar fate for Sidon as Jerusalem suffered[8] which is plausible if Nebuchadrezzar’s armies came against it and laid siege to it. It is possible that this oracle against Sidon is included to bring the number of nations addressed to seven, one of the numbers of completeness in Hebrew. Sidon would have been an easier target as a land based port than the challenges of conquering an island stronghold like Tyre.

Ezekiel 28: 24-26 Hope for a Restored Israel


24The house of Israel shall no longer find a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
25Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26They shall live in safety in it, and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

The biblical prophets frequently use the judgment of the other nations as a transition between the messages of judgment to Israel and a future hope[9] yet here at the midpoint of the judgment of the nations Ezekiel includes this moment of hope for Israel. This moment of hope acts almost like a hinge between the equal sized judgments on the first six nations and the equivalent space spent on the condemnation of Egypt. Yet, here is a hope for the end of the exile when the people are gathered from among the nations and returned to the land. Building houses and cultivating vineyards is a risky business in a time of conflict where enemies can either possess or burn, yet it also points to the ideal vision of life for the Hebrew people where everyone can rest under their own vine or fig tree. These actions for a time of peace, actions for a hopeful future much like Jeremiah’s purchase of a field was to indicate a future where the people would return to the land.[10] The LORD has not forgotten the people and from the remnant is committed to reestablishing the nation of Israel and living as their God.

[1] A hapax legomena is a word that only occurs once and because of this is difficult to translate with any certainty.

[2] “Heart” is a key word throughout this initial oracle occurring eight times. This is obscured by the NRSV which sometimes renders “heart” as “mind” which although it captures the Hebrew sense that the heart is the seat of will, decision making, and wisdom misses the emphasis in the text.

[3] This is a place where the NRSV changes the word from “heart” to “mind.” I have kept the Hebrew terminology to help give the rhythm of the text.

[4] Daniel is believed to be one of the last books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible written around the time of the Maccabean revolt (167-141 BCE) around four centuries after the prophet Ezekiel.

[5] See my comments on the foolishness of Solomon in 1 Kings 11: 1-13

[6] The stones of fire may relate to the fire in the middle of the cherubim in both Ezekiel 1 and 10. It is very different than the image in Exodus 24 where the elders of Israel see God and the floors are a pavement of sapphire stones.

[7] Perhaps again a reference to the image in Ezekiel 1 and 10.

[8] For example, Ezekiel 5.

[9] See comments at the beginning of Ezekiel 25.

[10] Jeremiah 32: 1-15.