Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 32
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Ezekiel 32
Charles Ellicott 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 year.— This was one year and between six and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem, and when, therefore, one great hindrance to Nebuchadnezzar’s march upon Egypt had been removed. It is also nearly two months (Ezekiel 33:21) since Ezekiel had heard of this calamity through a fugitive. It could not have been very long before the arrival of the fugitive Jews in Egypt, after the murder of Gedaliah; yet that it was somewhat earlier is plain from Ezekiel 33:24. It was about the same time as the similar prophecies of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 43, 44); but as the date both of the murder and of the flight are unknown (except that the former occurred in the seventh month—Jeremiah 41:1—but of what year is not stated), the exact chronological relation of these things must remain uncertain.
"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)
As a whale. —Rather, a crocodile. (See Note on Ezekiel 29:3, where the same word is used.) A striking contrast is brought out in this verse which is lost in our translation. Thou wast compared to a young lion of the nations, i.e., their leader and glory; but thou wast (really) like a crocodile in the seas, stirring up and fouling the rivers, the sources of their prosperity.
Thou camest forth with.—Better, you did break forth in your rivers, referring to the crocodile basking upon the bank, and suddenly plunging into the stream and stirring up its mud.
"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will spread out my net upon thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net." — Ezekiel 32:3 (ASV)
Spread out my net over thee. —The figure (Ezekiel 32:4–6) of drawing the crocodile to land and casting him upon the desert for food to the birds and beasts of prey is the same as in Ezekiel 29:4-5. (Compare to Ezekiel 31:12-13.) In Ezekiel 32:6, the land wherein thou swimmest is, literally, the land of your outflow, and may be understood as either the land on which his blood is poured out, or, more probably, the land of the inundations of the Nile, now to be watered with blood.
"And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light." — Ezekiel 32:7 (ASV)
Make the stars thereof dark— This verse follows very closely Isaiah 13:10, spoken of Babylon. In this and the following verse the judgments of God are described in the common prophetic figure of changes in the heavenly bodies. (See Note on Ezekiel 30:18, and references there.)
"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)
Vex the hearts. —The margin, provoke to grief, is better, because it is less ambiguous. “Your destruction” means, the news of your destruction. As is more fully expressed in the following verse, the fall of Egypt should be such a striking instance of Divine judgment as to awaken fear in every nation that hears of the catastrophe.
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