Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 28

I am a God. —The arraignment of the prince occupies Ezekiel 28:2-5, and his consequent doom Ezekiel 28:6-10. The point of the charge is inordinate pride, born of great prosperity; this prosperity, being attributed to his own powers instead of to its true source, led him to imagine himself almost more than mortal.

Similar instances of what may be called “the insanity of prosperity” can be seen in several cases. These include Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:33–35); the then-living monarch of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, to whom this prophecy might well have served as a warning (Daniel 3:15; Daniel 4:30; compare also Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 11:36-37); Pharaoh (Ezekiel 29:3); Herod (Acts 12:21–23); and the one foretold in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. To this list could be added the names of some more recent conquerors and, in their own way, many who have been eminently successful in other walks of life and have consequently sacrificed to their own net (Habakkuk 1:16).

It should not be supposed that the king of Tyre, like some Eastern monarchs and later Roman emperors, actually claimed religious homage for himself; but he had that proud sense of elevation and self-sufficiency which is simply given expression in the words of the text.

The seat of God.—This expression is chosen not only with reference to the great natural beauty and apparently impregnable position of Tyre, but also to the fact that it was called “the holy island” and was looked up to by all its colonies as the central sanctuary of their worship. The Temple of Melkarth was said by the priests to have been founded as early as 2750 B.C., and Arrian speaks of it as the oldest sanctuary in the annals of mankind. (See also Note on Ezekiel 28:6.)

Wiser than Daniel.—This is ironically spoken. Daniel was so famed for his wisdom in the great Chaldean Empire (Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:48; Daniel 4:18; Daniel 5:11–12; Daniel 6:3, and other passages) that the report must have already reached Tyre. He had been twenty years in Nebuchadnezzar’s court when Jerusalem fell, and the siege of Tyre was five years later.

Set thine heart as the heart of God. —The same expression as in Ezekiel 28:2. (Compare to Obadiah 1:3, “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.”) The meaning is plain: you have entertained thoughts and purposes fitting only to the Supreme.

Against the beauty of your wisdom.— The figure seems incongruous, but it should be remembered that the expression is only a form of designating Tyre itself. The description of the Chaldeans as the terrible of the nations is repeated in Ezekiel 30:11 and Ezekiel 31:12 (Compare also to Ezekiel 26:7 and Isaiah 47:6; Habakkuk 1:6). The term, however, is by no means necessarily confined to them.

Deaths. —The plural accurately represents the rare form of the original, and indicates emphatically a violent death.