Book of Ezekiel 30:13–18 in an English manuscript from the early 13th century, MS. Bodl. Or. 62, fol. 59a. A
Latin translation appears in the margins with further interlineations above the
Hebrew.
In this passage,
YHWH calls Pharaoh 'a great sea-serpent' (tannin′, reading as singular, for plural text in
MT, "dragon" in the
New Revised Standard Version, "monster" in the
New King James Version) 'stretched out in the
Nile surrounded by fish' (verses 3–4) and as the king of Tyre, Pharaoh is condemned for 'claiming divine status' (in this case, 'as the Nile's creator'), so YHWH announces that 'he will fish out the serpent along with its dependent fishes' (the allies of Egypt) 'and fling them out to rot in the field' (verses 4–5) causing the Egyptians to 'acknowledge YHWH's sovereignty.[1]
Verse 1
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,[5]
The date corresponds to January 7, 587 BCE, based on an analysis by German theologian Bernhard Lang.[6]
Verse 2
"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt."[7]
"Son of man" (Hebrew: בן־אדם ḇen-’ā-ḏām): this phrase is used 93 times to address Ezekiel.[8]
"Pharaoh" (Hebrew: פרעה par-‘ōh; Egyptian: pr-±o, "great house"; Greek: Φαραω, Pharao): the title of ancient Egyptian kings, of royal court, and (in new kingdom) of the king, until the Persian invasion.[9][10] The title at the time of the prophecy ("January 7, 587 BCE"[11]) refers to Hophra (c. 589-570 BC) as noted in
Jeremiah 44:30 (Ουαφρη[ς] in the
Greek Old Testament),[12] written as Apries (
Ancient Greek: Ἁπρίης) by
Herodotus (ii. 161) and
Diodorus (i. 68), Waphres by
Manetho, who correctly records that he reigned for 19 years, the fourth king (counting from Psamtik I) of the
Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt.[13]
Verse 10
Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to
Syene, as far as the border of
Ethiopia.[14]
This part separates the oracles dated to January 587 BCE (29:1–16) and April 587 BCE (30:20-6) with the insertion of a later prophecy (announced in 571 BCE) that Egypt will be given by
YHWH to the Babylonian king as compensation for his efforts on YHWH's behalf in the siege of Tyre (verse 20) which ended in 572 BCE.[16] Egypt's defeat will bring honor to Israel who would then recognize
YHWH.[17] In his annals, Nebuchadrezzar recorded his invasion to Egypt in 568 BCE (ANET 308).[17]
Verse 17
And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,[18]
The date corresponds to April 26, 571 BCE, based on the analysis of Bernhard Lang.[6]
^Cf.
Christoffer Theis, Sollte Re sich schämen? Eine subliminale Bedeutung von עפרח in Jeremia 44,30, in: UF 42 (2011), S. 677–691 for the writing of this particular name.
Brown, Francis; Briggs, Charles A.; Driver, S. R. (1994). The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (reprint ed.). Hendrickson Publishers.
ISBN978-1565632066.
Gesenius, H. W. F. (1979). Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures: Numerically Coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, with an English Index. Translated by Tregelles, Samuel Prideaux (7th ed.). Baker Book House.
Kee, Howard Clark; Meyers, Eric M.; Rogerson, John; Levine, Amy-Jill; Saldarini, Anthony J. (2008). Chilton, Bruce (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Bible (2, revised ed.). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN9780521691406.