Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 32
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 32
Albert Barnes Commentary
Ezekiel 32
"And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying," — Ezekiel 32:1 (ASV)
In the twelfth month - About one year and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem. In the meantime, the murder of Gedaliah and the flight into Egypt of the Jews left behind by the Chaldeans had occurred (Jeremiah 41–43). Jeremiah, who had accompanied them, foretold their ruin (Jeremiah 44:0) in a prophecy probably contemporaneous with the present – the sixth against Egypt, delivered in the form of a dirge (Ezekiel 44:2–16).
"Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers." — Ezekiel 32:2 (ASV)
Thou art like ... - Rather, you would be like (others, “were likened to”) a young lion.
And thou art - In contrast to what you would be.
A whale - Rather, crocodile (marginal reference note). Pharaoh should have been like the king of beasts, but he is a mere sea-monster. There is strong irony here, because the Egyptian king was proud of the comparison between himself and the mighty crocodile.
Seas - The word is often used of the waters of a great river, like the Nile.
Thou camest forth with thy rivers - Rather, you burst forth in “thy rivers” as the crocodile does from the water into which he has plunged.
"And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height." — Ezekiel 32:5 (ASV)
The prophet passes from the image of the crocodile to that of dead bodies of the slain heaped up on the land. Some render "height" or "foulness."
"I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known." — Ezekiel 32:9 (ASV)
When I will bring your destruction – that is, the news of your destruction. The phenomena here mentioned are the accompaniments of “the day of the Lord” (Joel 2:10; Luke 21:25) or the day of judgment. The fall of Pharaoh represents the fall of the world-power before the sovereignty of God.
"Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah." — Ezekiel 32:14 (ASV)
A promise of a return of God’s favor. This does not concern the restoration of Egypt’s original power, but the establishment of the Divine Ruler in the place of a pagan, God-opposing power.
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