EZK 29

Ezekiel 29:1

WEB

In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,

BSB

In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

KJV

In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Matthew Henry

Verses 1–7

Ezekiel 29:1–7

Here is, I. The date of this prophecy against Egypt. It was in the tenth year of the captivity, and yet it is placed after the prophecy against Tyre, which was delivered in the eleventh year, because, in the accomplishment of the prophecies, the destruction of Tyre happened before the destruction of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar's gaining Egypt was the reward of his service against Tyre; and therefore the prophecy against Tyre is put first, that we may the better observe that. But particular notice must be taken of this, that the first prophecy against Egypt was just at the time when the king of Egypt was coming to relieve Jerusalem and raise the siege (Jer 37:5), but did not answer the expectations of the Jews from them. Note, It is good to foresee the failing of all our creature-confidences, then when we are most in temptation to depend upon them, that we may cease from man.

II. The scope of this prophecy. It is directed against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and against all Egypt, Eze 29:2. The prophecy against Tyre began with the people, and then proceeded against the prince. But this begins with the prince, because it began to have its accomplishment in the insurrections and rebellions of the people against the prince, not long after this.

III. The prophecy itself. Pharaoh Hophrah (for so was the reigning Pharaoh surnamed) is here represented by a great dragon, or crocodile, that lies in the midst of his rivers, as Leviathan in the waters, to play therein, Eze 29:3. Nilus, the river of Egypt, was famed for crocodiles. And what is the king of Egypt, in God's account, but a great dragon, venomous and mischievous? Therefore says God, I am against thee. I am above thee; so it may be read. How high soever the princes and potentates of the earth are, there is a higher than they (Ecc 5:8), a God above them, that can control them, and, if they be tyrannical and oppressive, a God against them, that will be free to reckon with them. Observe here,

1. The pride and security of Pharaoh. He lies in the midst of his rivers, rolls himself with a great deal of satisfaction in his wealth and pleasures; and he says, My river is my own. He boasts that he is an absolute prince (his subjects are his vassals; Joseph bought them long ago, Gen 47:23), - that he is a sole prince, and has neither partner in the government nor competitor for it, - that he is out of debt (what he has is his own, and none of his neighbours have any demands upon him), - that he is independent, neither tributary nor accountable to any. Note, Worldly carnal minds please themselves with, and pride themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we have only the use of it, the property is in God. We ourselves are not our own, but his. Our tongues are not our own, Psa 12:4. Our river is not our own, for its springs are in God. The most potent prince cannot call what he has his own, for, though it be so against all the world, it is not so against God. But Pharaoh's reason for his pretensions is yet more absurd: My river is my own, for I have made it for myself. Here he usurps two of the divine prerogatives, to be the author and the end of his own being and felicity. He only that is the great Creator can say of this world, and of every thing in it, I have made it for myself. He calls his river his own because he looks not unto the Maker thereof, nor has respect unto him that fashioned it long ago, Isa 22:11. What we have we have received from God and must use for God, so that we cannot say, We made it, much less, We made it for ourselves; and why then do we boast? Note, Self is the great idol that all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty.

2. The course God will take with this proud man, to humble him. He is a great dragon in the waters, and God will accordingly deal with him, Eze 29:4, Eze 29:5. (1.) He will draw him out of his rivers, for he has a hook and a cord for this leviathan, with which he can manage him, though none on earth can (Job 41:1): "I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, will cast thee out of thy palace, out of thy kingdom, out of all those things in which thou takest such a complacency and placest such a confidence." Herodotus related of this Pharaoh, who was now king of Egypt, that he had reigned in great prosperity for twenty-five years, and was so elevated with his successes that he said that God himself would not cast him out of his kingdom; but he shall soon be convinced of his mistake, and what he depended on shall be no defence. God can force men out of that in which they are most secure and easy. (2.) All his fish shall be drawn out with him, his servants, his soldiers, and all that had a dependence on him, as he thought, but really such as he had dependence upon. These shall stick to his scales, adhere to their king, resolving to live and die with him. But, (3.) The king and his army, the dragon and all the fish that stick to his scales, shall perish together, as fish cast upon dry ground, and shall be meat to the beasts and fowls, Eze 29:5. Now this is supposed to have had its accomplishment soon after, when this Pharaoh, in defence of Aricius king of Libya, who had been expelled his kingdom by the Cyrenians, levied a great army, and went out against the Cyrenians, to re-establish his friend, but was defeated in battle, and all his forces were put to flight, which gave such disgust to his kingdom that they rose in rebellion against him. Thus was he left thrown into the wilderness, he and all the fish of the river with him. Thus issue men's pride, and presumption, and carnal security. Thus men justly lose what they might call their own, under God, when they call it their own against him.

3. The ground of the controversy God has with the Egyptians; it is because they have cheated his people. They encouraged them to expect relief and assistance from them when they were in distress, but failed them (Eze 29:6, Eze 29:7): Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. They pretended to be a staff for them to lean upon, but, when any stress was laid upon them, they were either weak and could not or treacherous and would not do that for them which was expected. They broke under them, to their great disappointment and amazement, so that they rent their shoulder and made all their loins to be at a stand. The king of Egypt, it is probable, had encouraged Zedekiah to break his league with the king of Babylon, with a promise that he would stand by him, which, when he failed to do, to any purpose, it could not but put them into a great consternation. God had told them, long since, that the Egyptians were broken reeds, Isa 30:6, Isa 30:7. Rabshakeh had told them so, Isa 36:6. And now they found it so. It was indeed the folly of Israel to trust them, and they were well enough served when they were deceived in them. God was righteous in suffering them to be so. But that is no excuse at all for the Egyptians' falsehood and treachery, nor shall it secure them from the judgments of that God who is and will be the avenger of all such wrongs. It is a great sin, and very provoking to God, as well as unjust, ungrateful, and very dishonourable and unkind, to put a cheat upon those that put a confidence in us.

Cross-references: Jer 37:5 · Ezek 29:2 · Ezek 29:3 · Eccl 5:8 · Gen 47:23 · Ps 12:4 · Isa 22:11 · Ezek 29:4 · Ezek 29:5 · Job 41:1 · Ezek 29:6 · Ezek 29:7 · Isa 30:6 · Isa 30:7 · Isa 36:6

Hebrew interlinear

H8141

שָׁנֶהshâneh/shaw-neh'/

n-f — year, revolution

Derivation: (in plural or (feminine) שָׁנָה; from 8138;

a year (as a revolution of time)

KJV: whole age, × long, old, year(× -ly).

שָׁנָה

n.f — year

שָׁנָה 877 n.f. year (etym. v. √[v.ek.aa])

H6224

עֲשִׂירִיʻăsîyrîy/as-ee-ree'/

a — tenth, tenth month, part

Derivation: from 6235;

tenth; by abbreviation, tenth month or (feminine) part

KJV: tenth (part).

עֲשִׂירִי

tenth

עֲשִׂירִי, עֲשִׂירִיָּה, עֲשִׂירִית tenth

H8147

שְׁנַיִםshᵉnayim/shen-ah'-yim/

n — two, twofold

Derivation: dual of 8145; feminine שְׁתַּיִם;

two; also (as ordinal) twofold

KJV: both, couple, double, second, twain, twelfth, twelve, twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.

שְׁנַ֫יִם

n.m — two

שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם 768 n.m. et f. du. two

H6240

עָשָׂרʻâsâr/aw-sawr'/

n — ten, -teen, -teenth

Derivation: for 6235;

ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also (ordinal) -teenth

KJV: (eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-, six-, thir-) teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, + twelve(-th).

עָשָׂר

ten

עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal

H2320

חֹדֶשׁchôdesh/kho'-desh/

n-m — new, month

Derivation: from 2318;

the new moon; by implication, a month

KJV: month(-ly), new moon.

חֹ֫דֶשׁ

n.m — newness

חֹ֫דֶשׁ 282 n.m. (newness), new moon, month

H1961

הָיָהhâyâh/haw-yaw/

v — exist, be, become, come to pass

Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

הָיָה

vb — fall out

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

I.

1.

a. Fall out, happen

b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

a.

(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

II. Come into being, become

1.

a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

b. sq. prep.

2. become

a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

b. sq. pred. adj.

c. become like

d. sq. pred. לְ pers.

e. sq. לְ pred.

f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

g. with עַל and לְ

h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

1. exist, be in existence

2. abide, remain, continue

3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.

5. periphrastic conjug.

Niph.

1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass

2. be done, finished, gone

H1697

דָּבָרdâbâr/daw-baw'/

n-m — word, matter, spoken, thing, cause

Derivation: from 1696;

a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause

KJV: act, advice, affair, answer, × any such (thing), because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, chronicles, commandment, × commune(-ication), concern(-ing), confer, counsel, dearth, decree, deed, × disease, due, duty, effect, eloquent, errand, (evil favoured-) ness, glory, harm, hurt, iniquity, judgment, language, lying, manner, matter, message, (no) thing, oracle, × ought, × parts, pertaining, please, portion, power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report, request, × (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, sign, so, some (uncleanness), somewhat to say, song, speech, × spoken, talk, task, that, × there done, thing (concerning), thought, thus, tidings, what(-soever), wherewith, which, word, work.

דָּבָר

n.m — speech

דָּבָר 1439 n.m. speech, word

I. sg. speech, discourse, saying, word, as the sum of that which is spoken

II. sg. saying, utterance, sentence, as a section of a discourse

III. sg. a word, words

IV. sg. matter, affair, thing about which one speaks

H3068

יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/

n-pr — Existent, Jeho-vah

Derivation: from 1961;

(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God

KJV: Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

יהוה

n.pr.dei — God

יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)

I. יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb

II.

1. יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D

2. the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy

3. יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh

H413

אֵלʼêl/ale/

prep — near, with, among, to

Derivation: (but only used in the shortened constructive form אֶל ); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e.

near, with or among; often in general, to

KJV: about, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, × hath, in(-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).

אֶל

prep — motion to

אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).

1. of motion to or unto a person or place

2. Where the limit is actually entered, into

3. Of direction towards anything

4. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

5. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

6. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

7. Of rule or standard according to (rare)

8. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

9. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

H559

אָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/

v — say

Derivation: a primitive root;

to say (used with great latitude)

KJV: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.

אָמַר

vb — utter

אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say

Qal

1. Say

2. Say in the heart (= think)

3. Promise

4. Command (esp. late)

Niph. be said, told

Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)

Hithp. act proudly, boast

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