Ezekiel 32, Lament for Pharaoh

Ezekiel has been predicting the destruction of Egypt, and here he laments the ruler of Egypt’s downfall. He attributes Egypt’s defeat to “the king of Babylon.” In previous prophecies he has named Nebuchadnezzar as Babylon’s leader, but does not here. What is the history of Egypt’s demise as a kingdom?

1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the word of Yahweh came to me: 2 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams.

The Egyptian pharaohs compare themselves with the lion…Egyptian kings also compare themselves to the crocodile…a stele found in the temple of Karnak, Thutmose III (1490 – 1436 b.c.) celebrates his conquests and describes himself as a crocodile: “I cause them to see thy majesty as a crocodile, the lord of fear in the water, who cannot be approached … I cause them to see thy majesty as a fierce lion.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament, ZIBBCOT)

3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘With a great throng of people I will cast my net over you, and they will haul you up in my net. 4 I will throw you on the land and hurl you on the open field. I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you. 5 I will spread your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains. 6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood all the way to the mountains, and the ravines will be filled with your flesh. 7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign Yahweh. 9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among lands you have not known. 10 I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you, and their kings will shudder with horror because of you when I brandish my sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life.

“In describing scenes of carnage Ezekiel seems to follow a well-established ancient Near Eastern literary pattern.” (ZIBBCOT). “Cosmic collapse is a common image with earth-shaking events.” (Expositor’s Commentary on Ezekiel)

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will cause your hordes to fall by the swords of mighty men—the most ruthless of all nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all her hordes will be overthrown. 13 I will destroy all her cattle from beside abundant waters no longer to be stirred by the foot of man or muddied by the hooves of cattle. 14 Then I will let her waters settle and make her streams flow like oil, declares the Sovereign Yahweh. 15 When I make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am Yahweh.’

“At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted a crushing defeat on an Egyptian army led by Pharaoh Necho II, and ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. Shortly after this victory, Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar became king. Despite his successful military career during his father’s reign, the first third or so of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign saw little to no major military achievements, and notably a disastrous failure in an attempted invasion of Egypt…After this disappointing early period as king, Nebuchadnezzar’s luck turned. In the 580s BC, Nebuchadnezzar engaged in a successful string of military actions in the Levant against the vassal states in rebellion there, likely with the ultimate intent of curbing Egyptian influence in the region. In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Kingdom of Judah, and its capital, Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem led to the Babylonian captivity as the city’s population, and people from the surrounding lands, were deported to Babylonia. The Jews thereafter referred to Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest enemy they had faced until that point, as a “destroyer of nations”. The biblical Book of Jeremiah paints Nebuchadnezzar as a cruel enemy, but also as God’s appointed ruler of the world and a divine instrument to punish disobedience. Through the destruction of Jerusalem, the capture of the rebellious Phoenician city of Tyre, and other campaigns in the Levant, Nebuchadnezzar completed the Neo-Babylonian Empire’s transformation into the new great power of the ancient Near East.” (Wikipedia)

But it was the kingdom of Persia that finished the job of reducing Egypt to a non-player in the region:

“In the sixth century BC, the Achaemenid Empire conquered Egypt. The entire Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt, from 525 BC to 402 BC, save for Petubastis III and possibly Psammetichus IV, was an entirely Persian-ruled period, with the Achaemenid kings being granted the title of pharaoh. Amyrtaeus’ successful rebellion ended the first Achaemenid rule and inaugurated Egypt’s last significant phase of independence under native rulers. The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians again in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was defeated in battle.” (Wikipedia)

16 “This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Yahweh.”

17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, along with those who go down to the pit. 19 Say to them, ‘Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.’ 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes. 21 From within the realm of the dead the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, ‘They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.’

22 “Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. 23 Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.

24 “Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the land of the living went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 25 A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

26 “Meshek and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war—their swords placed under their heads and their shields resting on their bones—though these warriors also had terrorized the land of the living.

28 “You too, Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.

29 “Edom is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

30 “All the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

31 “Pharaoh—he and all his army—will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Yahweh. 32 Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Yahweh.” (Ezekiel 32)

“Egyptian priests and kings were circumcised. The disdain the Israelites felt for the uncircumcised is well attested in the Bible (Gen. 34:14; Judg. 14:3). This verse reflects the view that Egypt’s rulers felt the same. To be buried among the uncircumcised was an additional affront adding insult to injury. New research seems to suggest that circumcision was first practiced by Semitic populations and that it was subsequently adopted by the Egyptians with the settlement of Asiatic nomads in the Nile Delta. The Egyptian word for the term “foreskin” (qrnt) is beyond doubt a phonetic rendering of the Semitic grlt (Heb. ՝orlâ). This may indicate that the concept and practice of circumcision traveled from north to the south, not the other way around.” (ZIBBCOT)

“It seems that in his vision of the netherworld Ezekiel draws on a well-established ancient Near Eastern genre: descriptions of the denizens of the netherworld and the prophetic commissioning of warning the living about the frightening conditions there. Contrary to the polytheistic description of the netherworld in the Assyrian text, in Ezekiel’s vision of the realm of the dead, there are no distinctive deities charged with managing the realm.” (ZIBBCOT)

Yahweh, who is in covenant relationship with Israel, is not just interested in Israel, is not just holding them accountable to the Law, but is concerned about all the nations of the earth, and judges all nations.