Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 29:11

"No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years." — Ezekiel 29:11 (ASV)

Neither shall it be inhabited forty years. — In Ezekiel 29:9-12, a state of desolation is predicted for Egypt, which, if understood in the literal sense of the words, has certainly never been fulfilled. In Ezekiel 29:9, it is said that it shall be desolate and waste, and this is repeated with emphasis in Ezekiel 29:10. In Ezekiel 29:11, it is declared that neither foot of man nor foot of beast shall pass through it.

There is also a difficulty regarding the “forty years,” mentioned in Ezekiel 29:11-13. No such definite period can be identified from history. The two difficulties go together, and the former is explained by the latter.

It has already been seen in Ezekiel 4:6 that the prophet represents the calamity of Judah in the historical terms of their former suffering in the wilderness, without thereby intending either any specific time or any precise repetition of the same troubles they had then experienced. He does the same thing here regarding Egypt. The people are to pass into a condition like that of the Israelites in the wilderness, in which they were to endure the judgment of God upon their sins. This is expressed, in the manner of Ezekiel, in strong concrete terms, the literal fulfilment of which was neither intended nor expected.