Verse 21
Yahweh announced that He had broken Pharaoh’s arm. Ironically, "the strong-armed king had suffered a broken arm." [Note: K. S. Freedy and D. B. Redford, "The Dates of Ezekiel in Relation to Biblical, Babylonian and Egyptian Sources," Journal of the American Oriental Society 90 (1970):482-83.] It had not been set in a splint and supported, so he could not wield a sword effectively. This may refer to Egypt’s defeat at Carchemish in 605 B.C. when Egypt lost its share of control over the ancient Near East (cf. 2 Kings 24:7; Jeremiah 46:2). Another possibility is that the defeat in view was Hophra’s unsuccessful attack against the Babylonians near Judea a few months earlier (cf. 2 Kings 24:7; Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 37:9; Jeremiah 44:30).
"Possibly the days between the first and fourth prophecies were approximately the length of time the siege on Jerusalem was lifted as Babylon repositioned its army to meet the Egyptian attack." [Note: Dyer, "Ezekiel," p. 1289.]
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