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Texts -- Ezekiel 30:1-20 (NET)

Context
A Lament Over Egypt
30:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 30:2 “Son of man , prophesy and say , ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : “‘Wail , “Alas , the day is here!” 30:3 For the day is near , the day of the Lord is near ; it will be a day of storm clouds , it will be a time of judgment for the nations . 30:4 A sword will come against Egypt and panic will overtake Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt and they carry away her wealth and dismantle her foundations . 30:5 Ethiopia , Put , Lud , all the foreigners , Libya , and the people of the covenant land will die by the sword along with them. 30:6 “‘This is what the Lord says : Egypt’s supporters will fall ; her confident pride will crumble . From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord . 30:7 They will be desolate among desolate lands , and their cities will be among ruined cities . 30:8 They will know that I am the Lord when I ignite a fire in Egypt and all her allies are defeated . 30:9 On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten overly confident Ethiopia ; panic will overtake them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for beware – it is coming ! 30:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt , by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon . 30:11 He and his people with him, the most terrifying of the nations , will be brought there to destroy the land . They will draw their swords against Egypt , and fill the land with corpses . 30:12 I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to evil men . I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners . I , the Lord , have spoken ! 30:13 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says : I will destroy the idols , and put an end to the gods of Memphis . There will no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt ; so I will make the land of Egypt fearful . 30:14 I will desolate Pathros , I will ignite a fire in Zoan , and I will execute judgments on Thebes . 30:15 I will pour out my anger upon Pelusium , the stronghold of Egypt ; I will cut off the hordes of Thebes . 30:16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt ; Syene will writhe in agony , Thebes will be broken down , and Memphis will face enemies every day . 30:17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth will die by the sword ; and the cities will go into captivity . 30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there . Her confident pride will cease within her; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity . 30:19 I will execute judgments on Egypt . Then they will know that I am the Lord .’” 30:20 In the eleventh year , in the first month, on the seventh day of the month , the word of the Lord came to me:

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Egypt

    [ebd] the land of the Nile and the pyramids, the oldest kingdom of which we have any record, holds a place of great significance in Scripture. The Egyptians belonged to the white race, and their original home is still a matter of ...
    [isbe] EGYPT - e'-jipt: I. THE COUNTRY 1. The Basis of the Land 2. The Nile Valley 3. Earliest Human Remains 4. Climate 5. Conditions of Life 6. The Nile 7. The Fauna 8. The Flora 9. The Prehistoric Races II. THE HISTORY 1. 1st and...
    [nave] EGYPT The country of: Called Rahab, Psa. 87:4; 89:10; Land of Ham, Psa. 105:23; 106:22. Limits of, Ezek. 29:10. Fertility of, Gen. 13:10. Productions of, Num. 11:5; Psa. 78:47; Prov. 7:16; Isa. 19:5-9. Irrigation employ...

  • Babylon

    [nave] BABYLON City of Built by Nimrod, Gen. 10:10. In the land of Shinar, Gen. 10:10; 11:2. Tower of, Gen. 11:1-9. Capital of the kingdom of Babylon, Dan. 4:30; 2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 36:6, 7, 10, 18, 20. Gates of, Isa. 45:1, 2...

  • Ethiopia

    [ebd] country of burnt faces; the Greek word by which the Hebrew Cush is rendered (Gen. 2:13; 2 Kings 19:9; Esther 1:1; Job 28:19; Ps. 68:31; 87:4), a country which lay to the south of Egypt, beginning at Syene on the First Catara...
    [isbe] ETHIOPIA - e-thi-o'-pi-a (kush; Aithiopia): 1. Location, Extent and Population: Critically speaking Ethiopia may refer only to the Nile valley above the First Cataract, but in ancient as in modern times the term was often us...
    [nave] ETHIOPIA, a region in Africa, inhabited by the descendants of Ham. The inhabitants of, black, Jer. 13:23. Within the Babylonian empire, Esth. 1:1. Rivers of, Gen. 10:6; Isa. 18:1. Bordered Egypt on the S., Ezek. 29:10. Wa...

  • Pathros

    [ebd] the name generally given to Upper Egypt (the Thebaid of the Greeks), as distinguished from Matsor, or Lower Egypt (Isa. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 30:14), the two forming Mizraim. After the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuc...
    [isbe] PATHROS - path'-ros (pathros; Egyptian Pata resii, the "South land"; Septuagint ge Pathoures): The Hebrew form of the Egyptian name for Upper Egypt (Isa 11:11; Jer 44:1,15; Ezek 29:14; 30:14).
    [smith] (region of the south), a part of Egypt, and a Mizraite tribe whose people were called Pathrusim. In the list of the Mizraites the Pathrusim occur after the Naphtuhim and before the Caluhim; the latter being followed by the no...
    [nave] PATHROS, a part of Upper Egypt. Jewish captives in, Isa. 11:11; Jer. 44:1, 15; Ezek. 29:14. Prophecy against, Ezek. 30:14.

  • Noph

    [ebd] the Hebrew name of an Egyptian city (Isa. 19:13; Jer.2:16; 44:1; 46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:13, 16). In Hos. 9:6 the Hebrew name is Moph, and is translated "Memphis," which is its Greek and Latin form. It was one of the most ancien...
    [isbe] NOPH - nof (noph; in Hos 9:6 moph): A name for the Egyptian city Memphis (so the Septuagint), hence, thus rendered in the Revised Version (British and American) (Isa 19:13; Jer 2:16; 44:1; Ezek 30:13,16). See MEMPHIS.
    [nave] NOPH A city of Egypt, Jer. 2:16. Prophecy against Jews in, Jer. 44. Prophecies against, Isa. 19:13; Jer. 46:13-19; Ezek. 30:13-16.

  • No

    [ebd] or No-A'mon, the home of Amon, the name of Thebes, the ancient capital of what is called the Middle Empire, in Upper or Southern Egypt. "The multitude of No" (Jer. 46:25) is more correctly rendered, as in the Revised Version...
    [nave] NO, a city on the Nile, Jer. 46:25; Ezek. 30:14-16; Nah. 3:8.

  • Memphis

    [ebd] only in Hos. 9:6, Hebrew Moph. In Isa. 19:13; Jer. 2:16; 46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:13, 16, it is mentioned under the name Noph. It was the capital of Lower, i.e., of Northern Egypt. From certain remains found half buried in the sa...
    [smith] (haven, of the good), a city of ancient Egypt, situated on that western bank of the Nile, about nine miles south of Cairo and five from the great pyramids and the sphinx. It is mentioned by (Isaiah 40:14,19) and Ezekiel, (Eze...
    [nave] MEMPHIS, called also Noph. A celebrated city of Egypt, Hos. 9:6. Prophecies concerning, Isa. 19:13; Jer. 2:16; 46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:16.

  • NO-AMON

    [isbe] NO-AMON - no-a'-mon (no' 'amon, Egyptian nut, "a city," with the feminine ending t, and Amon, proper name of a god, City Amon, i.e. the "City," paragraph excellence, of the god Amon; translated in the King James Version "pop...
    [smith] (temple of Amon) (Nahum 3:8) No, (Jeremiah 46:25; Ezekiel 30:14,16) a city of Egypt, better known under the name of Thebes or Diospolis Magna, the ancient and splendid metropolis of upper Egypt The second part of the first fo...

  • Prophecy

    [ebd] or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a "miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, disce...
    [nave] PROPHECY Concerning Jesus, See: Jesus. Concerning church, See: Church, Prophecies Concerning Prosperity of. Relating to various countries, nations, and cities, see under their respective titles. Respecting individuals, see...

  • Aven

    [ebd] nothingness; vanity. (1.) Hosea speaks of the "high places of Aven" (10:8), by which he means Bethel. He also calls it Beth-aven, i.e., "the house of vanity" (4:15), on account of the golden calves Jeroboam had set up there ...
    [isbe] AVEN - a'-ven 'awen "emptiness," "vanity": Used in Ezek 30:17 for On or Heliopolis, in Egypt. See ON. As a term of contempt Hosea calls Beth-el "Beth-aven" (4:15; 10:5). So Amos speaks of some valley near Damascus as "the va...
    [smith] (nothingness). The "plain of Aven" is mentioned by (Amos 1:5) in his denunciation of Syria and the country to the north of Palestine. This Aven is by some supposed to be the once magnificent Heiropolis, "city of I the sun," ...
    [nave] AVEN 1. "The plain of the Sun,'' Amos 1:5. 2. Another name for On, Ezek. 30:17. 3. Beth-aven, Hos. 10:8.

  • Sin

    [ebd] is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6...
    [smith] a city of Egypt, mentioned only by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 30:15,16) The name is Hebrew, or at least Semitic, perhaps signifying clay . It is identified in the Vulgate with Pelusium, "the clayey or muddy" town. Its antiquity may pe...
    [nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...

  • Syene

    [ebd] opening (Ezek. 29:10; 30:6), a town of Egypt, on the borders of Ethiopia, now called Assouan, on the right bank of the Nile, notable for its quarries of beautiful red granite called "syenite." It was the frontier town of Egy...
    [smith] properly Seventh a town of Egypt, on the frontier of Cush or Ethiopia, (Ezekiel 29:10; 30:6) represented by the present Aruan or Es-Suan.
    [nave] SYENE, a city in Egypt, Ezek. 29:10; 30:6.

  • THEBES

    [smith] (Authorized Version No, the multitude of No. populous No), a chief cite of ancient Egypt, long the capital of the upper country, and the seat of the Diospolitan dynasties, that ruled over all Egypt at the era of its highest s...

  • Pi-beseth

    [ebd] (Ezek. 30:17), supposed to mean. "a cat," or a deity in the form of a cat, worshipped by the Egyptians. It was called by the Greeks Bubastis. The hieroglyphic name is "Pe-bast", i.e., the house of Bast, the Artemis of the Eg...
    [isbe] PI-BESETH - pi-be'-seth (pi-be'seth;(pi-bheceth; Septuagint Bubastos; Egyptian Pi-Basht, "the house of Basht," the cat-headed goddess; the Egyptian form is usually Ha-Basht; it is doubtful if the form Pi-Basht has yet been f...
    [nave] PI-BESETH, a city in lower Egypt. Prophesied against by Ezekiel, Ezek. 30:17.

  • Zoan

    [ebd] (Old Egypt. Sant= "stronghold," the modern San). A city on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, called by the Greeks Tanis. It was built seven years after Hebron in Palestine (Num. 13:22). This great and important city was the ca...
    [isbe] ZOAN - zo'-an (tso`an; Tanis): 1. situation 2. Old Testament Notices 3. Early History 4. Hyksos Monuments 5. Hyksos Population 6. Hyksos Age 7. Description of Site 1. Situation: The name is supposed to mean "migration" (Arab...
    [nave] ZOAN, a city in Egypt. Built seven years after Hebron in the land of Canaan, Num. 13:22. Prophecies concerning, Ezek. 30:14. Wise men from, were counselors of Pharaoh, Isa. 19:11, 13. Princes of, Isa. 30:4.

  • Chub

    [ebd] the name of a people in alliance with Egypt in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. The word is found only in Ezek. 30:5. They were probably a people of Northern Africa, or of the lands near Egypt in the south.
    [smith] the name of a people in alliance with Egypt in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, (Ezekiel 30:5) and probably of northern Africa.
    [nave] CHUB, a people who were an ally tribe to Egypt, and probably inhabited Africa, Ezek. 30:5.

  • CLOUD

    [isbe] CLOUD - kloud (`anan, `abh; nephele, nephos): I. Clouds in Palestine. In the Bible few references are found of particular clouds or of clouds in connection with the phenomena of the weather conditions. The weather in Palesti...

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • Phut

    [ebd] Phut is placed between Egypt and Canaan in Gen. 10:6, and elsewhere we find the people of Phut described as mercenaries in the armies of Egypt and Tyre (Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 30:5; 27:10). In a fragment of the annuals of Nebuchad...
    [nave] PHUT, called also Put. 1. Son of Ham, Gen. 10:6; 1 Chr. 1:8. 2. The descendants of Phut, or the country inhabited by them, Ezek. 27:10; Nah. 3:9; Jer. 46:9; Ezek. 30:5; 38:5.

  • MIGDOL

    [isbe] MIGDOL - mig'-dol, mig'-dol (mighdol; Magdolon): This name ("the tower") is applied to two places on the east frontier of Egypt. 1. Exodus 14:2; Numbers 33:7: In Ex 14:2; Nu 33:7, the Hebrew camp, on the march from Etham aft...
    [smith] (tower), the name of one of two places on the eastern frontier of Egypt. A Migdol is mentioned int he account of the exodus, (Exodus 14:2; Numbers 33:7,8) near the head of the Red Sea. A Migdol is spoken of by Jeremiah and E...
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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The burnt offering (in Greek, holokautoma, from which we get the word "holocaust") expressed the offerer's complete consecration to Yahweh (cf. Matt. 22:37; Rom. 12:1-2). However it also made atonement for the offerer. Some r...
  • The recurrence of the Hebrew word massa', translated "oracle"or "burden,"prescribes the boundaries of this section of text.140These chapters present the nations over which Immanuel is ruler, and they expand the idea of God's ...
  • This section of Isaiah on "The Lord's redemption of His servant [Israel]"(44:23-47:15) has included an announcement of redemption (44:23-28), the identification of the instrument of redemption, Cyrus (45:1-13), and a reminder...
  • 30:4 This oracle concerns all the Israelites, those of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.30:5-6 A time of great terror, dread, and unrest was coming. Men would behave as though they were in labor; they would hold themse...
  • This chapter records an incident late in Jeremiah's ministry. How much later than chapter 43 is unknown. Many commentators suppose it dates from about 580 B.C. because it would have taken some time for the Judean refugees to ...
  • In Jeremiah, prophecies concerning foreign nations come at the end of the book. In the other major prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel, they come after oracles against Israel and or Judah and before oracles dealing with Israel's res...
  • This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
  • Ezekiel ministered to the Jews in exile. He probably wrote this book for the benefit of the exiles and the other Jewish communities of his day and beyond his day. In some of his visions (e.g. chs. 8 and 11) the Lord carried t...
  • There are two major structural peculiarities that set Ezekiel off as distinctive.First, the book is a collection of prophecies arranged in almost consistent chronological order. No other prophetical book is as consistently ch...
  • Ezekiel began prophesying when he was 30 years old, and he had gone into captivity five years before that. Thus Ezekiel was familiar with Jeremiah's preaching and ministry. Ezekiel shows quite a bit of similarity to Jeremiah ...
  • I. Ezekiel's calling and commission chs. 1-3A. The vision of God's glory ch. 11. The setting of the vision 1:1-32. The vision proper 1:4-28B. The Lord's charge to Ezekiel chs. 2-31. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-52...
  • This pericope contains 10 commands, and it is the center of the chiasm in chapters 1-3."The Lord's charge to Ezekiel emphasized the absolute necessity of hearing, understanding, and assimilating God's message prior to going f...
  • Three cases illustrate this principle: a father doing right (vv. 5-9), his son doing evil (vv. 10-13), and his grandson doing right (vv. 14-18). In each case Ezekiel described the individual's actions and the Lord's responses...
  • 24:25-26 Evidently Ezekiel was not to deliver any more prophetic messages to his fellow exiles after he made the explanation in verses 20-24 until he received word of the destruction of the temple and the capture of the remai...
  • It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). I...
  • The length of this oracle reflects the great significance of Tyre at this time in Israel's history. Tyre (lit. "rock") was the principle city of Phoenicia and consisted of two towns: a fortified stronghold on a rock outcroppi...
  • Ezekiel concluded his oracles against foreign nations with seven messages the Lord gave him concerning the fate of Egypt, one of Israel's most ancient and powerful enemies (cf. Isa. 31:1; Jer. 2:36; 46:1-26). God controls eve...
  • 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...
  • 30:20 Ezekiel received this oracle against Egypt in 587 B.C., less than four months after the Lord gave him the first oracle (29:1-16).30:21 Yahweh announced that He had broken Pharaoh's arm. It had not been set in a splint a...
  • 31:1 The Lord gave Ezekiel a third oracle against Egypt in 587 B.C., less than two months after the previous one (30:20-26).31:2 The prophet was to speak this one to Pharaoh Hophra and to the Egyptians. Obviously Ezekiel was ...
  • 32:1 This is the first of two messages that Ezekiel received from the Lord concerning Egypt in 585 B.C. Less than two months had passed since the exiles had learned of Jerusalem's fall, which had occurred several months earli...
  • The last of the seven oracles against Egypt fittingly pictures the nation in its final resting place, the grave or Sheol, surrounded by other dead nations that had preceded it in judgment."The language is highly poetical and ...
  • "This last major division of the book focuses on the restoration of Israel's blessing. Israel would be judged for her sin (chaps. 1-24) as would the surrounding nations (chaps. 25-32). But Israel will not remain under judgmen...
  • Since this message is undated, it may have come to Ezekiel about the same time as the previous two in chapter 32, namely, in the last month of 585 B.C. If so, Ezekiel received it about two months after God gave him the six me...
  • This part of Ezekiel's message of warning to the exiles is similar to 3:16-21. Yahweh recommissioned Ezekiel to his prophetic task (cf. chs. 2-3)."Now that Ezekiel's original ministry of judgment was completed, God appointed ...
  • What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
  • "This section moves much closer to the form of the descriptive lament found in the lamenting psalms than did the descriptions earlier in the chapter."141:15 The locust plague had destroyed (Heb. shadad) the fields and fruits ...
  • The prophet ordered a trumpet (Heb. shophar, ram's horn) to be blown in Zion (Jerusalem), specifically on the temple mount, to sound an alarm (cf. Jer. 4:5-6; Ezek. 33:2-6).18This shophar was the ancient equivalent of an air ...
  • An oracle is a message of judgment. Amos proceeded to deliver eight of these, seven against Israel's neighbors including Judah (1:3-2:5) and one against Israel (2:6-6:14).12The order is significant. The nations mentioned firs...
  • Though God had not responded to the prophet's questions previously, He did eventually, and Habakkuk recorded His answer. The form of this revelation is an oracle.1:5 The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you"in Hebre...
  • 1:7 In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Hab. 2:20)."This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of oppositi...
  • Zephaniah's oracle against Ethiopia is very brief (cf. Isa. 18-20; Jer. 46; Ezek. 29-32).23Biblical Ethiopia occupied the territory now held by southern Egypt, Sudan, and northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopians were the southernmos...
  • 17:7 The angel promised to interpret these revelations that were so baffling to John, particularly the mystery concerning the woman and the beast. More information about the beast follows in verses 7-14 and more about the wom...
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