Discovery BoxGenesis 20:1-18
Context20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev 1 region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident 2 in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.
20:3 But God appeared 3 to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead 4 because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” 5
20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 6 would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 7 20:5 Did Abraham 8 not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, 9 ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience 10 and with innocent hands!”
20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. 11 That is why I have kept you 12 from sinning against me and why 13 I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed 14 he is a prophet 15 and he will pray for you; thus you will live. 16 But if you don’t give her back, 17 know that you will surely die 18 along with all who belong to you.”
20:8 Early in the morning 19 Abimelech summoned 20 all his servants. When he told them about all these things, 21 they 22 were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? 23 You have done things to me that should not be done!” 24 20:10 Then Abimelech asked 25 Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” 26
20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, 27 ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of 28 my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, 29 she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander 30 from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: 31 Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”
20:14 So Abimelech gave 32 sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” 33
20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver 34 to your ‘brother.’ 35 This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” 36
20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord 37 had caused infertility to strike every woman 38 in the household of Abimelech because he took 39 Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Genesis 1:15
Context1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.
Ezekiel 29:1--32:32
Context29:1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, 40 the word of the Lord came to me: 29:2 “Son of man, turn toward 41 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 29:3 Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Look, I am against 42 you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster 43 lying in the midst of its waterways,
who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.” 44
29:4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and stick the fish of your waterways to your scales.
I will haul you up from the midst of your waterways,
and all the fish of your waterways will stick to your scales.
29:5 I will leave you in the wilderness,
you and all the fish of your waterways;
you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected. 45
I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.
29:6 Then all those living in Egypt will know that I am the Lord
because they were a reed staff 46 for the house of Israel;
29:7 when they grasped you with their hand, 47 you broke and tore 48 their shoulders,
and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady. 49
29:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill 50 every person and every animal. 29:9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Because he said, “The Nile is mine and I made it,” 29:10 I am against 51 you and your waterways. I will turn the land of Egypt into an utter desolate ruin from Migdol 52 to Syene, 53 as far as the border with Ethiopia. 29:11 No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years. 29:12 I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.
29:13 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years 54 I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered. 29:14 I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and will bring them back 55 to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin; there they will be an insignificant kingdom. 29:15 It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations. 29:16 It will never again be Israel’s source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. 56 Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’”
29:17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, 57 the word of the Lord came to me: 29:18 “Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar 58 of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. 59 Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it. 29:19 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages. 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his compensation for attacking Tyre 60 , because they did it for me, declares the sovereign Lord. 29:21 On that day I will make Israel powerful, 61 and I will give you the right to be heard 62 among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
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!” 63
30:3 For the day is near,
the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of storm clouds, 64
it will be a time of judgment 65 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, 66 Libya, and the people 67 of the covenant land 68 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. 69
From Migdol to Syene 70 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. 71
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; 72 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 73 of Babylon.
30:11 He and his people with him,
the most terrifying of the nations, 74
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 75 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. 76
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, 77
the stronghold of Egypt;
I will cut off 78 the hordes of Thebes.
30:16 I will ignite a fire in Egypt;
Syene 79 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 80 will die by the sword;
and the cities will go 81 into captivity.
30:18 In Tahpanhes the day will be dark 82
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, 83 the word of the Lord came to me: 30:21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm 84 of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 85 Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword. 30:22 Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, 86 I am against 87 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, the strong arm and the broken one, and I will make the sword drop from his hand. 30:23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among foreign countries. 30:24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon. 88 30:25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt. 30:26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
31:1 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, 89 the word of the Lord came to me: 31:2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes:
“‘Who are you like in your greatness?
31:3 Consider Assyria, 90 a cedar in Lebanon, 91
with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade,
and extremely tall;
its top reached into the clouds.
31:4 The water made it grow;
underground springs made it grow tall.
Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted,
while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field. 92
31:5 Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large and its branches grew long,
because of the plentiful water in its shoots. 93
31:6 All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,
in its shade all the great 94 nations lived.
31:7 It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.
31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it,
nor could the fir trees 95 match its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches;
no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.
31:9 I made it beautiful with its many branches;
all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.
31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, 31:11 I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, 96 as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out. 31:12 Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land 97 have departed 98 from its shade and left it. 31:13 On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals 99 will walk 100 on its branches. 31:14 For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. 101 For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; 102 they will be among mere mortals, 103 with those who descend to the pit.
31:15 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On the day it 104 went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament. 105 I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 31:16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit. 106 Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below. 31:17 Those who lived in its shade, its allies 107 among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword. 31:18 Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
32:1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, 108 the word of the Lord came to me: 32:2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:
“‘You were like a lion 109 among the nations,
but you are a monster in the seas;
you thrash about in your streams,
stir up the water with your feet,
and muddy your 110 streams.
32:3 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will throw my net over you 111 in the assembly of many peoples;
and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
32:4 I will leave you on the ground,
I will fling you on the open field,
I will allow 112 all the birds of the sky to settle 113 on you,
and I will permit 114 all the wild animals 115 to gorge themselves on you.
32:5 I will put your flesh on the mountains,
and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass. 116
32:6 I will drench the land with the flow
of your blood up to the mountains,
and the ravines will be full of your blood. 117
32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;
I will darken its stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not shine. 118
32:8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,
and I will darken your land,
declares the sovereign Lord.
32:9 I will disturb 119 many peoples,
when I bring about your destruction among the nations,
among countries you do not know.
32:10 I will shock many peoples with you,
and their kings will shiver with horror because of you.
When I brandish my sword before them,
every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.
32:11 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘The sword of the king of Babylon 120 will attack 121 you.
32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –
all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.
They will devastate the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
32:13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters;
and no human foot will disturb 122 the waters 123 again,
nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them.
32:14 Then I will make their waters calm, 124
and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.
32:15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation
and the land is destitute of everything that fills it,
when I strike all those who live in it,
then they will know that I am the Lord.’
32:16 This is a lament; they will chant it.
The daughters of the nations will chant it.
They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes,
declares the sovereign Lord.”
32:17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, 125 the word of the Lord came to me: 32:18 “Son of man, wail 126 over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; 127 bring 128 her 129 and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit. 32:19 Say to them, 130 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? 131 Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 32:20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 32:21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’
32:22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, 132 all of them struck down by the sword. 133 32:23 Their 134 graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit. 135 Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.
32:24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit. 32:25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. 136 All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.
32:26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. 137 All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 32:27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, 138 who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, 139 when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.
32:28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.
32:29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.
32:30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.
32:31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the sovereign Lord. 32:32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the sovereign Lord.”
[20:1] 1 tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”
[20:1] 2 tn Heb “and he sojourned.”
[20:3] 4 tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.
[20:3] 5 tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.
[20:4] 6 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[20:4] 7 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.
[20:5] 8 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:5] 9 tn Heb “and she, even she.”
[20:5] 10 tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”
[20:6] 11 tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”
[20:6] 12 tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”
[20:7] 14 tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.
[20:7] 15 sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.
[20:7] 16 tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.
[20:7] 17 tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.
[20:7] 18 tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.
[20:8] 19 tn Heb “And Abimelech rose early in the morning and he summoned.”
[20:8] 20 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the preposition לְ (lamed) means “to summon.”
[20:8] 21 tn Heb “And he spoke all these things in their ears.”
[20:8] 22 tn Heb “the men.” This has been replaced by the pronoun “they” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:9] 23 tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.
[20:9] 24 tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
[20:10] 25 tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”
[20:10] 26 tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.
[20:11] 27 tn Heb “Because I said.”
[20:11] 28 tn Heb “over the matter of.”
[20:13] 30 tn The Hebrew verb is plural. This may be a case of grammatical agreement with the name for God, which is plural in form. However, when this plural name refers to the one true God, accompanying predicates are usually singular in form. Perhaps Abraham is accommodating his speech to Abimelech’s polytheistic perspective. (See GKC 463 §145.i.) If so, one should translate, “when the gods made me wander.”
[20:13] 31 tn Heb “This is your loyal deed which you can do for me.”
[20:14] 32 tn Heb “took and gave.”
[20:15] 33 tn Heb “In the [place that is] good in your eyes live!”
[20:16] 34 sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).
[20:16] 35 sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).
[20:16] 36 tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).
[20:18] 37 tn In the Hebrew text the clause begins with “because.”
[20:18] 38 tn Heb had completely closed up every womb.” In the Hebrew text infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:18] 39 tn Heb “because of.” The words “he took” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[29:1] 40 tn January 7, 587
[29:2] 41 tn Heb “set your face against.”
[29:3] 42 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[29:3] 43 tn Heb “jackals,” but many medieval Hebrew
[29:3] 44 sn In Egyptian theology Pharaoh owned and controlled the Nile. See J. D. Currid, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 240-44.
[29:5] 45 tc Some Hebrew
[29:6] 46 sn Compare Isa 36:6.
[29:7] 47 tn The Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) has “by your hand,” but the marginal reading (Qere) has simply “by the hand.” The LXX reads “with their hand.”
[29:7] 48 tn Or perhaps “dislocated.”
[29:7] 49 tn Heb “you caused to stand for them all their hips.” An emendation which switches two letters but is supported by the LXX yields the reading “you caused all their hips to shake.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:103. In 2 Kgs 18:21 and Isa 36:6 trusting in the Pharaoh is compared to leaning on a staff. The oracle may reflect Hophra’s attempt to aid Jerusalem (Jer 37:5-8).
[29:8] 50 tn Heb “I will cut off from you.”
[29:10] 51 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[29:10] 52 sn This may refer to a site in the Egyptian Delta which served as a refuge for Jews (Jer 44:1; 46:14).
[29:10] 53 sn Syene is known today as Aswan.
[29:13] 54 sn In Ezek 4:4-8 it was said that the house of Judah would suffer forty years.
[29:14] 55 tc Thus the Masoretic Text. The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as though the Hebrew read “cause to inhabit.”
[29:16] 56 tn Heb “reminding of iniquity when they turned after them.”
[29:17] 57 sn April 26, 571
[29:18] 58 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n” (so also in v. 19).
[29:18] 59 sn Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre from 585 to 571
[29:20] 60 tn Heb “for which he worked,” referring to the assault on Tyre (v. 18).
[29:21] 61 tn Heb “I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel.” The horn is used as a figure for military power in the OT (Ps 92:10). A similar expression is made about the Davidic dynasty in Ps 132:17.
[29:21] 62 tn Heb “I will grant you an open mouth.”
[30:2] 63 tn Heb “Alas for the day.”
[30:3] 64 tn Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).
[30:3] 65 tn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).
[30:5] 66 tn The same expression appears in Exod 12:38; Jer 25:20; 50:37; Neh 13:3. It may refer to foreign mercenaries serving in the armies of the nations listed here.
[30:5] 68 tn The expression “sons of the covenant land” possibly refers to Jews living in Egypt (Jer 44).
[30:6] 70 sn Syene is known as Aswan today.
[30:8] 71 tn Heb “all who aid her are broken.”
[30:9] 72 tn Heb “in the day of Egypt.” The word “doom” has been added in the translation to clarify the nature of this day.
[30:10] 73 tn Heb “Nebuchadrezzar” is a variant and more correct spelling of Nebuchadnezzar, as the Babylonian name Nabu-kudurri-usur has an “r” rather than an “n.”
[30:11] 74 tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).
[30:12] 75 tn Heb “and I will sell the land into the hand of.”
[30:13] 76 tn Heb “I will put fear in the land of Egypt.”
[30:15] 77 tn Heb “Sin” (so KJV, NASB), a city commonly identified with Pelusium, a fortress on Egypt’s northeastern frontier.
[30:16] 79 tc The LXX reads “Syene,” which is Aswan in the south. The MT reads Sin, which has already been mentioned in v. 15.
[30:17] 80 sn On and Pi-beseth are generally identified with the Egyptian cities of Heliopolis and Bubastis.
[30:17] 81 tn Heb “they will go.” The pronoun and verb are feminine plural, indicating that the cities just mentioned are the antecedent of the pronoun and the subject of the verb. The translation makes this clear by stating the subject as “the cities.”
[30:18] 82 sn In Zeph 1:15 darkness is associated with the day of the
[30:20] 83 tn April 29, 587
[30:21] 84 sn The expression “breaking the arm” indicates the removal of power (Ps 10:15; 37:17; Job 38:15; Jer 48:25).
[30:21] 85 sn This may refer to the event recorded in Jer 37:5.
[30:22] 86 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
[30:22] 87 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
[30:24] 88 tn Heb “him”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[31:1] 89 sn June 21, 587
[31:3] 90 sn Either Egypt, or the Lord compares Egypt to Assyria, which is described in vv. 3-17 through the metaphor of a majestic tree. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:185. Like Egypt, Assyria had been a great world power, but in time God brought the Assyrians down. Egypt should learn from history the lesson that no nation, no matter how powerful, can withstand the judgment of God. Rather than following the text here, some prefer to emend the proper name Assyria to a similar sounding common noun meaning “boxwood” (see Ezek 27:6), which would make a fitting parallel to “cedar of Lebanon” in the following line. In this case vv. 3-18 in their entirety refer to Egypt, not Assyria. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:121-27.
[31:3] 91 sn Lebanon was know for its cedar trees (Judg 9:15; 1 Kgs 4:33; 5:6; 2 Kgs 14:9; Ezra 3:7; Pss 29:5; 92:12; 104:16).
[31:4] 92 tn Heb “Waters made it grow; the deep made it grow tall. It (the deep) was flowing with its rivers around the place it (the tree) was planted, it (the deep) sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.”
[31:5] 93 tn Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading “shoots” (cf. NRSV).
[31:8] 95 tn Or “cypress trees” (cf. NASB, NLT); NIV “pine trees.”
[31:11] 96 tn Heb “acting he has acted with regard to it.” The infinitive absolute precedes the main verb to emphasize the certainty and decisiveness of the action depicted.
[31:12] 97 tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[31:12] 98 tn Heb “gone down.”
[31:13] 99 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
[31:14] 101 tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”
[31:14] 102 tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”
[31:14] 103 tn Heb “the sons of men.”
[31:15] 105 tn Heb “I caused lamentation.” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:194-95) proposes an alternative root which would give the meaning “I gated back the waters,” i.e., shut off the water supply.
[31:16] 106 sn For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29.
[32:1] 108 sn This would be March 3, 585
[32:2] 109 tn The lion was a figure of royalty (Ezek 19:1-9).
[32:2] 110 tc The Hebrew reads “their streams”; the LXX reads “your streams.”
[32:3] 111 tn The expression “throw my net” is common in Ezekiel (12:13; 17:20; 19:8).
[32:4] 115 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
[32:5] 116 tc The Hebrew text is difficult here, apparently meaning “your height.” Following Symmachus and the Syriac, it is preferable to emend the text to read “your maggots.” See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:203.
[32:7] 118 tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.
[32:9] 119 tn Heb “I will provoke the heart of.”
[32:11] 120 sn The king of Babylon referred to here was Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek 21:19).
[32:11] 121 tn Heb “approach.”
[32:13] 123 tn Heb “them,” that is, the waters mentioned in the previous line. The translation clarifies the referent.
[32:14] 124 tn Heb “sink,” that is, to settle and become clear, not muddied.
[32:17] 125 tn March 17, 585
[32:18] 126 tn The Hebrew verb is used as a response to death (Jer 9:17-19; Amos 5:16).
[32:18] 127 sn Through this prophetic lament given by God himself, the prophet activates the judgment described therein. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:217, and L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:136-37.
[32:18] 128 tn Heb “Bring him down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the earth below.” The verb “bring down” appears in the Hebrew text only once. Because the verb takes several objects here, the repetition of the verb in the translation improves the English style.
[32:18] 129 tn This apparently refers to personified Egypt.
[32:19] 130 tc The LXX places this verse after v. 21.
[32:19] 131 tn Heb “pleasantness.”
[32:22] 132 tn Heb “around him his graves.” The masculine pronominal suffixes are problematic; the expression is best emended to correspond to the phrase “around her grave” in v. 23. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:219.
[32:22] 133 tn Heb “all of them slain, the ones felled by the sword.” See as well vv. 23-24.
[32:23] 135 tn The only other occurrence of the phrase “remote slopes of the pit” is in Isa 14:15.
[32:25] 136 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
[32:26] 137 tn Heb “around him her graves,” but the expression is best emended to read “around her grave” (see vv. 23-24).
[32:27] 138 tc Heb “of the uncircumcised.” The LXX reads, probably correctly, “from of old” rather than “of the uncircumcised.” The phrases are very similar in spelling. The warriors of Meshech-Tubal are described as uncircumcised, so it would be odd for them to not be buried with the uncircumcised. Verse 28 specifically says that they would lie with the uncircumcised.
[32:27] 139 tn Heb “and their iniquities were over their bones.” The meaning of this statement is unclear; in light of the parallelism (see “swords”) it is preferable to emend “their iniquities” to “their swords.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:135.
