In the twelfth month - About one year and seven months after the destruction of Jerusalem. In the meantime had occurred the murder of Gedaliah and the flight into Egypt of the Jews left behind by the Chaldaeans Jer. 41–43. Jeremiah, who had accompanied them, foretold their ruin Jeremiah 44:0 in a prophecy probably contemporaneous with the present - the sixth against Egypt, delivered in the form of a dirge Ezekiel 44:2-16. read more
Thou art like ... - Rather, Thou wouldest be like to (others, “wast likened unto”) a young lion.And thou art - In contrast to what thou wouldest be.A whale - Rather, crocodile (marginal reference note). Pharaoh should have been like the king of beasts, but he is a mere sea-monster. There is strong irony here, because the Egyptian king was proud of the comparison between himself and the mighty crocodile.Seas - The word is often used of the waters of a great river, like the Nile.Thou camest forth... read more
Ezekiel 32:1-2. In the twelfth year Namely, of Jehoiachin’s captivity, about which time Amasis began to set up himself against the king of Egypt, concerning whom this prophecy is. Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh “To the preceding funeral panegyric over Assyria, the fate of which was past, Ezekiel prophetically subjoins a similar panegyric over Egypt, though its fate was still future; making plainly here a happy variation in the oratorical figure, by which past events are... read more
The end of Egypt (32:1-32)Again Pharaoh (or Egypt) is likened to the mythological monster of the Nile who will be caught, dragged out of the river and left to rot in the sun. His blood will flow over the land and his carcass will be meat for birds and wild animals (32:1-6; cf. 29:3-5). A terrifying darkness throughout the country will impress upon people that this judgment is the work of the sovereign God (7-8).Neighbouring nations will tremble when they see multitudes of Egyptian people killed... read more
the twelfth year. See the table on p. 1105. twelfth month . About one year and a half after the fall of Jerusalem. the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 . read more
Son of man. See note on Ezekiel 2:1 . Thou art like = Thou bast been likened to. and thou art = yet art thou. The contrast is between what was noble and less noble. whale = crocodile seas = a collection of waters, like the branches of the Nile. Compare Isaiah 27:1 . rivers. Heb, nahar . Not the same word as in Ezekiel 32:6 . read more
FINAL CHAPTER AGAINST EGYPT WITH ORACLES (6) Ezekiel 32:1-16 AND (7) Ezekiel 32:17-32This chapter has the final two of seven oracles against Egypt in Ezekiel 29-32. The first of these, Ezekiel 32:1-16 is a prophecy of the, "Monster of Egypt, caught, slain and devoured."[1] There are two parts of this, (a) the allegorical representation of it (Ezekiel 32:1-10), and (b) a literal explanation of what that meant (Ezekiel 32:11-16).The final oracle recounts the transfer of Egypt and his multitude to... read more
Ezekiel 32:2. Take up a lamentation— As the style of the lamentations was always figurative and poetical, Ezekiel describes the king of Egypt as a great dragon or crocodile,—for so the word תנים tannim, should be rendered, and not whale,—troubling the waters with his feet, and fouling the rivers; or disturbing all the nations round about him: and in the name of the Lord he threatens to take him in his net, and cast him forth into the open field, as a prey to the fowls of the air, and the beasts... read more
1. The twelfth year from the carrying away of Jehoiachin; Jerusalem was by this time overthrown, and Amasis was beginning his revolt against Pharaoh-hophra. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 32:2-3
The lion in a net. Pharaoh is compared both to a young lien and to a whale. The young lion has left his mark at the watering-place of the cattle. Therefore a net is spread for him, and he is entrapped. I. THE GREATEST ERE UNDER THE POWER OF GOD . The lion is the king of beasts; the whale is the greatest sea-monster. Yet both are under the power of their Creator. Kings are subject to God. Successful rich men have not grown out of his reach. Men of great intellect are not... read more