Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 29:10-12

"therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries." — Ezekiel 29:10-12 (ASV)

From the tower of Syene – Or, as in the margin, “Migdol” (meaning “tower”) was about two miles from Suez. “Syene” was the southernmost town in Egypt, on the borders of Ethiopia, in the Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the Nile. The modern Aswan is situated a little to the northeast of the ancient Syene.

We have no record of the circumstances of the Chaldean invasion of Egypt, but it is possible that it did not occur until after the fall of Tyre. We can infer its nature by comparing the description of the results of Assyrian conquest (Isaiah 37:25 and following). Minute fulfillment of every detail of prophecy is not to be insisted upon, but only the general fact that Egypt would, for a time, described as 40 years, be in a state of collapse. No great stress is to be laid on the exact number of years. The number of years passed in the wilderness became for the Hebrews a significant period of chastisement.

Nebuchadnezzar’s occupation of Egypt was not of long duration, and his ravages, though severe, must have been partial. Peace with Babylon was favorable to internal development, but since this peace was, in truth, subjugation, it was hollow and, in fact, ruinous. Furthermore, it is to be remembered that God fulfills His decree by a gradual rather than an immediate process. The ravages of Nebuchadnezzar were the beginning of the end, and all the desolation that followed can be seen as a continuous fulfillment of God’s decree. The savage fury with which Cambyses swept over Egypt amply realized all that Ezekiel foretold.

Many places recovered some wealth and prosperity, but from the time of Herodotus, the kingdom never again became truly independent. Egyptian rulers yielded to Persians, Persians to the successors of Alexander the Great, who in turn yielded to Rome. So thoroughly was the prophecy of Ezekiel fulfilled (Ezekiel 29:14–15).