Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 30:19

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Desolation of Egypt (30:1-26)

God’s coming judgment on Egypt will be a day of terror for other nations besides Egypt (30:1-3), because when Egypt falls many of its neighbouring allies will suffer also (4-5). These allies will be terrified as news reaches them of the calamities in Egypt. The invading army will overrun Egypt from north to south, killing the people and burning their cities (6-8). The people in neighbouring Ethiopia (NIV: Cush; GNB: Sudan) will be terror-stricken, knowing that they will be the next victims of this ruthless attacker (9).
The nation that God will use to smash Egypt is mighty Babylon. In addition to sending armies, God will send a drought to dry up the Nile, so that the whole land of Egypt will be left desolate (10-12). Cities throughout the country will be destroyed, strongholds burnt, idols smashed, leaders killed, and people taken captive (13-19).
Already God’s judgment on Egypt had begun. Egypt had suffered one defeat by Babylon, and was not able to repair the damage or regain former strength. Babylon had, so to speak, broken one of Pharaoh’s arms (20-21). Babylon is now about to break Pharaoh’s other arm. It is about to gain another major victory, and Egypt’s power will be smashed completely (22-26).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease from Memphis; and there shall be no more a prince from the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments upon No. And I will pour my wrath upon Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the day-time. The young men of Avert and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt and the pride of her power shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute judgments upon Egypt; and they shall know that I am Jehovah."

THE CITIES TO BE DESTROYED

"Memphis" "This was the principal city of Lower Egypt, built on the left bank of the Nile 10 miles south of Cairo."International Critical Commentary, p. 333. "This city was also called `Noph.'"F. F. Bruce in the New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 887.

"I will destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease" "The `idols' here were great men and princes, as indicated in NEB."Ibid. Since the Pharaohs themselves pretended to divine honors, the term "idols" is appropriate.

"Pathros, Zoan, and No" "Pathros was the native name of Upper, or Southern Egypt; Zoan, called `Tanis' by the Greeks, was mentioned by Moses in Numbers 13:22. It was an important city of the Eastern Delta."International Critical Commentary, p. 333.

No was located some 400 miles south of Memphis; it was the capital of Upper Egypt, known to the Greeks as Thebes, and featured in the Book of Nahum under the name of No-Amon. There is nothing haphazard about this list of Egyptian cities. Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, and its supporting cities was named first, and then Thebes, or No, the capital of Upper Egypt was named next.

No was famous as a residential city for the Pharaohs between 1380 and 930 B.C.; and many of the greatest of the Pharaohs were buried there.WE, p. 414, The sun-god Amon was worshipped there; and his name was often incorporated into that of the city, as in No-Amon (Nahum 3:8 f).

Each one of the cities mentioned here, "was identified with a particular pagan deity; and therefore God's prophecies against these cities may be construed as a frontal assault upon the paganism of Egypt."John Skinner in the Expositor's Bible Commentary, p. 271.

"Sin" This place is called the "stronghold of Egypt." It is usually associated with Pelusium, but the actual location is disputed.

"Avert" "This word means `nothingness,' or 'wickedness,' and is a contemptuous rendition of On (Heliopolis), the words being spelled exactly alike in Hebrew. Joseph's father-in-law was Potiphera the high priest there (Genesis 41:45). It was the center of sun-worship.

"Pibeseth" At this place, "The cat-headed goddess Ubastet was worshipped."G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 678.

Herodotus has the report of a Persian ruler, Cambyses, who won a victory over this city by deploying several thousand dogs and cats in front of the Persian army. The Egyptians would not attack through fear of killing some of the animals which were sacred to their god.

"Tehaphnehes" "This place is now Tel-Deffeneh, 10 miles west of E1-Kantara on the Suez Canal."International Critical Commentary, p. 334. It is the place where Jeremiah prophesied that the king of Babylon would erect his throne (Jeremiah 43:8 f).

The list of cities mentioned here has now been noted; and we appreciate Eichrodt's comment that, "This list provides a very suitable means of representing the almost inexhaustible resources of that kingdom on the Nile."WE, p. 417.

"When I shall break there the yokes of Egypt" Some of the versions have "yokes and bars." "Both words are used as a figure of tyranny, and of Egyptian tyranny in particular."International Critical Commentary, p. 334.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 30

In chapter 30:

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! ( Ezekiel 30:1-2 )

So he is going around howling, "Woe worth the day!"

For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia ( Ezekiel 30:3-4 ),

And he tells of the destruction that is going to come against these nations.

Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord. And it shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon ( Ezekiel 30:5-10 ).

So the greatness which was once Egypt, one of the greatest nations in the ancient world. You study ancient history, and Egypt always stands out. And you go, of course, to Egypt and you see the tremendous monuments to the genius of the people of that ancient world. You see the ruins in Memphis and in Thebes. You see the pyramids, you see the sphinx, and all of these great monuments that were there in Egypt. And you can only stand in awe and imagine the glory that once was in Egypt. But Egypt is to fall. Not to rise into a world-dominating stature again, but to remain just a base nation from then on. And of course, such is the story. Egypt is no longer a major kind of a world empire or a major kingdom of the world, but it is just one of the many lesser nations of the world even today.

And God speaks of this judgment that is going to come. And He names the various cities. The Lord said, verse Ezekiel 30:13 ,

I will destroy the idols, I will cause their images to cease out of [Memphis] Noph [is Memphis] ( Ezekiel 30:13 );

And of course, you go to Memphis and you can see these huge idols that are still there.

And there shall be no more a prince in the land of Egypt ( Ezekiel 30:13 ):

That is a Pharaoh.

I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and I will set on fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No [which is Thebes]. I will pour out my fury upon Sin, and the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of Thebes. And I will set fire in Egypt: and Sin shall have great pain, and Thebes shall be torn asunder, and Memphis shall have distresses daily. And the young men of Aven and Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt ( Ezekiel 30:13-18 ):

Now it was at Tehaphnehes that Jeremiah, you remember, took stones and he buried them and he said, "Over the top of these stones Nebuchadnezzar is going to build his throne." And of course, archaeologists in excavating at Tehaphnehes uncovered the porch of the palace and they removed the stones, the pavement, and underneath they found the very stones that Jeremiah buried as a witness against that city. And it was indeed there that Nebuchadnezzar came and set up his throne, Jeremiah says, "You're trusting in Egypt to deliver you, look, Nebuchadnezzar is gonna set up his throne right here. Egypt isn't going to deliver."

Now that did not happen during the period of Pharaoh Haaibre, but this portion of course happened later, seventeen years after the beginning of the siege of Tyre. Or actually, it was fifteen years after that, that God for payment to Nebuchadnezzar gave him Egypt.

Verse Ezekiel 30:20 :

It came to pass now in the eleventh year ( Ezekiel 30:20 )

That is, you're back into the first month April of 586 B.C., and it's important that you catch these datings of these prophecies so that you know at what time these particular prophecies were made. So this now was made in April 586, the year that Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar.

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt [Pharaoh Haaibre again at this time], and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 30:20-26 ).

And so God's judgments pronounced against Egypt. And the next couple of chapters he continues these judgments against Egypt, and then we get into these instructions for those of the Jewish captivity and of their coming back into the land. And we get into some very exciting prophecies as we move into next week and prophecies that we see being fulfilled today in the land of Israel.

May the Lord keep His hand upon your life and may He speak to you this week through His Word. May He open up your heart and your mind and your understanding to the things of the Spirit. May He cause you to realize that His righteous principles will always prevail, that when God speaks it can be accounted as done. And when God establishes a principle, it cannot be violated. And thus, may you live in that place where God can bless you as He desires to bless you. May you keep yourself in the love of God as you walk in fellowship with Him this week. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. The destruction of Egypt and her allies 30:1-19

Of the seven oracles against Egypt, this is the only one that is undated. Most of the commentators assumed that Ezekiel gave it in 587 B.C., the same year as the first, second, and third oracles. But he could have given it in 571 B.C. after his sixth oracle (Ezekiel 29:17-21). I think he gave it in 571 B.C. and that the writer placed it here in the text, after the other late oracle, because both of them contain specific references to Nebuchadnezzar. Knowledge that Nebuchadnezzar would be God’s instrument in judging Egypt is helpful in interpreting the remaining oracles against Egypt. If this chronology is correct, this would have been the last prophecy that Ezekiel gave that this book records.

This oracle appears to be a mosaic of four separate messages. Note the recurrence of the introductory clause "thus says the Lord God" in Ezekiel 30:2; Ezekiel 30:6; Ezekiel 30:10; Ezekiel 30:13.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

On or Aven (Gr. Heliopolis), a major religious center in Lower Egypt, and Pi-beseth (Gr. Bubastis), another capital city 40 miles northeast of modern Cairo, would also fall in the war, and the Egyptian women would go into captivity. It would also be a dark day for Tehaphnehes (Hanes, Gr. Daphne), a fortress town and residence of the Pharaohs (Isaiah 30:4; Jeremiah 2:16; Jeremiah 43:7; Jeremiah 43:9; Jeremiah 44:1), when Yahweh would break Egypt’s power. Egypt’s pride would cease, doom would overwhelm her, and her people would go into captivity. This is how the Lord would judge Egypt, and the people would know that He is the true God.

"Various forms of misery characteristic of the Day of the Lord are mentioned here as what the cities of Egypt may expect. All of them are intended to apply to all of Egypt, although the style of the passage is to pair miseries with cities randomly, in a kind of literary collage." [Note: Stuart, p. 288.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt,.... In the several provinces, and in the several cities of it before mentioned, and in all other places; even the judgments of fire, famine, sword, and captivity:

and they shall know that I am the Lord; God omniscient and omnipotent, by the, judgments executed; and own the same: this more especially they did, when the Gospel was preached among them, and many were converted by it in the times of the apostles.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,   2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!   3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.   4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.   5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.   6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.   7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.   8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.   9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.   10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.   11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.   12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.   13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.   14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.   15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.   16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.   17 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.   18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.   19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

      The prophecy of the destruction of Egypt is here very full and particular, as well as, in the general, very frightful. What can protect a provoking people when the righteous God comes forth to contend with them?

      I. It shall be a very lamentable destruction, and such as shall occasion great sorrow (Ezekiel 30:2; Ezekiel 30:3): "Howl you; you may justly shriek now that it is coming, for you will be made to shriek and make hideous outcries when it comes. Cry out, Woe worth the day! or, Ah the day! alas because of the day! the terrible day! Woe and alas! For the day is near; the day we have so long dreaded, so long deserved. It is the day of the Lord, the day in which he will manifest himself as a God of vengeance. You have your day now, when you carry all before you, and trample on all about you, but God will have his day shortly, the day of the revelation of his righteous judgment," Psalms 37:13. It will be a cloudy day, that is, dark and dismal, without the shining forth of any comfort; and it shall threaten a storm--fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest. It shall be the time of the heathen, of reckoning with the heathen for all their heathenish practices, that time which David spoke of when God would pour out his fury upon the heathen (Psalms 79:6), when they should sink,Psalms 9:15.

      II. It shall be the destruction of Egypt, and of all the states and countries in confederacy with her and in her neighbourhood. 1. Egypt herself shall fall (Ezekiel 30:4; Ezekiel 30:4): The sword shall come upon Egypt, the sword of the Chaldeans, and it shall be a victorious sword, for the slain shall fall in Egypt, fall by it, fall before it. Is the country populous? They shall take away her multitude. Is it strong, and well-fixed? Her foundations shall be broken down, and then the fabric, though built ever so fine, ever so high, will fall of course. 2. Her neighbours and inmates shall fall with her. When the slain fall so thickly in Egypt great pain shall be in Ethiopia, both that in Africa, which is in the neighbourhood of Egypt on one side, and that in Asia, which is near to it on the other side. When their neighbour's house was on fire they could not but apprehend their own in danger; nor were their fears groundless, for they shall all fall with them by the sword,Ezekiel 30:5; Ezekiel 30:5. Ethiopia and Libya (Cush and Phut, so the Hebrew names are, two of the sons of Ham who are mentioned, and Mizraim, that is, Egypt, between them, Genesis 10:6), and the Lydians (who were famous archers, and are spoken of as confederates with Egypt, Jeremiah 46:9), these shall fall with Egypt and Chub (the Chaldeans, the inhabitants of the inner Libya); these and others were the mingled people; there were those of all these and other countries who upon some account or other resided in Egypt, as did also the men of the land that is in league, some of the remains of the people of Israel and Judah, the children of the covenant, or league, as they are called (Acts 3:25), the children of the promise,Galatians 4:28. These sojourned in Egypt contrary to God's command, and these shall fall with them. Note, Those that will take their lot with God's enemies shall have their lot with them, yea, though they be in profession the men of the land that is in league with God.

      III. All that pretend to support the sinking interests of Egypt shall come down under her, shall come down with her (Ezekiel 30:6; Ezekiel 30:6): Those that uphold Egypt shall fall, and then Egypt must fall of course. See the justice of God; Egypt pretended to uphold Jerusalem when that was tottering, but proved a deceitful reed; and now those that pretended to uphold Egypt shall prove no better. Those that deceive others are commonly paid in their own coin; they are themselves deceived. 1. Does Egypt think herself upheld by the absolute authority and dominion of her king? The pride of her power shall come down,Ezekiel 30:6; Ezekiel 30:6. The power of the king of Egypt was his pride; but that shall be broken, and humbled. 2. Is the multitude of her people her support? These shall fall by the sword, even from the tower of Syene, which is in the utmost corner of the land, from that side of it by which the enemy shall enter. Both the countries and the cities, the husbandmen and the merchants, shall be desolate, Ezekiel 30:7; Ezekiel 30:7, as before, Ezekiel 29:12; Ezekiel 29:12. Even the multitude of Egypt shall be made to cease,Ezekiel 30:10; Ezekiel 30:10. That populous country shall be depopulated. The land shall be even filled with the slain,Ezekiel 30:11; Ezekiel 30:11. 3. Is the river Nile her support, and are the several channels of it a defence to her? "I will make the rivers dry (Ezekiel 30:12; Ezekiel 30:12), so that those natural fortifications which were thought impregnable, because impassable, shall stand them in no stead." 4. Are her idols a support to her? They shall be destroyed; those imaginary upholders shall appear more than ever to be imaginary, for so images are when they pretend to be deliverers and strongholds (Ezekiel 30:13; Ezekiel 30:13): I will cause their images to cease out of Noph. 5. Is her royal family her support? There shall be no more a prince in the land of Egypt; the royal family shall be extirpated and extinguished, which had continued so long. 6. Is her courage her support, and does she think to uphold herself by the bravery of her men of war, who have now of late been inured to service? That shall fail: I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. 7. Is the rising generation her support? is she upheld by her children, and does she think herself happy because she has her quiver full of them? Alas! the young men shall fall by the sword (Ezekiel 30:17; Ezekiel 30:17) and the daughters shall go into captivity (Ezekiel 30:18; Ezekiel 30:18), and so she shall be robbed of all her hopes.

      IV. God shall inflict these desolating judgments on Egypt (Ezekiel 30:8; Ezekiel 30:8): They shall know that I am the Lord, and greater than all gods, than all their gods, when I have set a fire in Egypt. The fire that consumes nations is of God's kindling; and, when he sets fire to a people, all their helpers shall be destroyed. Those that go about to quench the fire shall themselves be devoured by it; for who can stand before him when he is angry? When he pours out his fury upon a place, when he sets fire to it (Ezekiel 30:15; Ezekiel 30:16), neither its strength nor its multitude can stand it in any stead.

      V. The king of Babylon and his army shall be employed as instruments of this destruction: The multitude of Egypt shall be made to cease and be quite cut off by the hand of the king of Babylon,Ezekiel 30:10; Ezekiel 30:10. Those that undertook to protect Israel from the king of Babylon shall not be able to protect themselves. It is said of the Chaldeans, who should destroy Egypt, 1. That they are strangers (Ezekiel 30:12; Ezekiel 30:12), who therefore shall show no compassion for old acquaintance-sake, but shall behave strangely towards them. 2. That they are the terrible of the nations (Ezekiel 30:11; Ezekiel 30:11), both in respect of force and in respect of fierceness; and, being terrible, they shall make terrible work. (3.) That they are the wicked, who will not be restrained by reason and conscience, the laws of nature or the laws of nations, for they are without law: I will sell the land into the hand of the wicked. They do violence unjustly, as they are wicked; yet, so far as they are instruments in God's hand of executing his judgments, it is on his part justly done. Note, God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another; and even wicked men acquire a title to prey, jure belli--by the laws of war, for God sells it into their hands.

      VI. No place in the land of Egypt shall be exempted from the fury of the Chaldean army, not the strongest, not the remotest: The sword shall go through the land. Various places are here named: Pathros, Zoan, and No (Ezekiel 30:14; Ezekiel 30:14), Sin and Noph (Ezekiel 30:15; Ezekiel 30:16), Aven and Pi-beseth (Ezekiel 30:17; Ezekiel 30:17), and Tehaphnehes,Ezekiel 30:18; Ezekiel 30:18. These shall be made desolate, shall be fired, and God's judgments shall be executed upon them, and his fury poured out upon them. Their strength and multitude shall be cut off; they shall have great pain, shall be rent asunder with fear, and shall have distresses daily. Their day shall be darkened; their honours, comforts, and hopes, shall be extinguished. Their yokes shall be broken, so that they shall no more oppress and tyrannize as they have done. The pomp of their strength shall cease, and a cloud shall cover them, a cloud so thick that through it they shall not see any hopes, nor shall their glory be seen, or shine further. And, lastly, the Ethiopians, who are at a distance from them, as well as those who are mingled with them, shall share in their pain and terror. God will by his providence spread the rumour, and the careless Ethiopians shall be made afraid,Ezekiel 30:9; Ezekiel 30:9. Note, God can strike a terror upon those that are most secure; fearfulness shall, when he pleases, surprise the most presumptuous hypocrites.

      The close of this prediction leaves, 1. The land of Egypt mortified: Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt,Ezekiel 30:19; Ezekiel 30:19. The destruction of Egypt is the executing of judgments, which intimates not only that it is done justly, for its sins, but that it is done regularly and legally, by a judicial sentence. All the executions God does are according to his judgments. 2. The God of Israel herein glorified: They shall know that I am the Lord. The Egyptians shall be made to know it and the people of God shall be made to know it better. The Lord is known by the judgments which he executes.