John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 31

And it came to pass in the eleventh year
Of Zedekiah's reign, and Jeconiah's captivity: in the third month, in the first day of the month :
the month Sivan, which began on the twentieth of our May, and answers to part of May, and part of June; this was about seven weeks after the former prophecy, and about five weeks before the destruction of Jerusalem; according to Bishop Usher ^F14 , this was on the nineteenth of June, on the first day of the week, in 3416 A.M. or before Christ 588: that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying ;
as follows:

FOOTNOTES:

• F14: Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3416.

Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt
To Pharaohhophra, the then reigning king; not to him personally by word of mouth, for the prophet was now in Chaldea; but by delivering out a prophecy concerning him, and which he might have an opportunity of sending to him.

and to his multitude ;
the multitude of his subjects, of which he boasted, and in whom he trusted.

whom are you like in your greatness ?
Look over all the records of time, and into all the empires, kingdoms, and states that have been; draw a comparison between yourself and the greatest potentate that ever was; fancy yourself to be equal to him; this will not secure you from ruin and destruction; for as they have been humbled, and are fallen, so will you be: pitch for instance on the Assyrian monarch, whose empire has been the most ancient, extensive, and flourishing, and yet now crushed; and as you are like him in greatness, at least you think so, so you are in your end; to assure of which is the drift of the following account of the king of Assyria.

Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon Here grew the tallest, most stately, broad and flourishing ones. This sense is, that he was as one of them; comparable to one, for his exaltation and dignity; for the largeness of his dominion, the flourishing circumstances of it, and its long duration; that empire having lasted from the times of Nimrod unto a few years of the present time; for this is to be understood, either of the monarchy itself, or of Esarhaddon; or rather of Chynilidanus, or Saracus, the last king of it. The Septuagint, and Arabic versions render it the "cypariss" in Lebanon; but not that, but the cedar, grew there, and which best suits the comparison:

with fair branches ; meaning not children, nor nobles, nor subjects; but provinces, many and large, which were subject to this monarch:

and with a shadowing shroud ; power, dominion, authority, a mighty army sufficient to protect all that were under his government, and subject to it:

and of an high stature : exalted above all the kings and kingdoms of the earth:

and his top was among the thick boughs ; his kingly power, headship, and dominion, was over a multitude of petty princes and states, comparable to the thick boughs and branches of a tree: or, "among the clouds"; as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it; above the heights of which the Assyrian monarch attempted to ascend, (Isaiah 14:14) (Daniel 4:10–12) .

The waters made him great

The waters of the river Tigris, near to which stood the city of Nineveh, the metropolis of the Assyrian monarchy; the traffic brought by which river made it rich and great, and the whole empire, and the king of it.

the deep set him up on high, with her rivers running round about his plants

The vast trade by sea, the profits and commodities of which were conveyed through various rivers, which ran about the provinces of the empire, which were as plants in a field; and by which they were enriched, and the whole empire, and the king of it, were raised to a prodigious pitch of wealth and power.

and sent out little rivers to all the trees of the field

So that the common people, comparable to the trees of the field for their number and usefulness, all received profit and advantage hereby.

Or else by waters and the deep may be meant the multitude of people, as in (Revelation 17:15), which increased his kingdom, filled his provinces, supplied his colonies, and enlarged his power and riches.

The Targum is, "by the people he was multiplied; by his auxiliaries he became strong; he subjected kings under his government; and his governors he appointed over all the provinces of the earth."

Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field

His majesty, grandeur, and glory, were advanced above all princes, nobles, and people; all ranks and degrees of men, let them be compared to trees taller or lower.

and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long ; the provinces of his empire became more numerous, and were spread far and near, and reached to distant countries.

because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth ; either the vast number of people, which were daily increasing, and were sent out to people distant colonies, newly subdued or planted; or because of the great traffic which was carried on in different parts, and the advantages arising from it.

The Targum is, ``therefore he was lifted up in his strength above all the kings of the earth, and his army was multiplied, and his auxiliaries prevailed over many people, through his victories''