What historical events might Ezekiel 32:20 be referencing? Canonical Text “They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! They drag her and all her multitudes away.” (Ezekiel 32:20) Immediate Literary Context: The Lament over Pharaoh (Ezk 32:17-32) • Verses 17-32 form Ezekiel’s second funeral dirge for Pharaoh and Egypt. • The prophet portrays Egypt descending into “the Pit” (Sheol) to join other conquered nations. • Verse 20 is a summarizing refrain: Egypt (feminine “her”) will share the fate already met by Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, the Sidonians, etc. (vv. 22-30). Date of Composition and Setting • Ezekiel received this oracle in the twelfth year, twelfth month, fifteenth day of exile (32:17) ≈ March 585 BC (cf. Ussher Amos 3416). • Judah had just fallen (586 BC). Babylonian domination was unquestioned. Egypt still claimed regional influence under Pharaoh Hophra (Apries, 589-570 BC). Political–Military Background of Egypt (7th–6th Centuries BC) 1. Neo-Assyrian occupation under Esarhaddon (671 BC) and Ashurbanipal (667-653 BC). 2. Necho II’s campaigns, culminating in the defeat at Carchemish (605 BC; Babylonian Chronicle, BM 21946; cf. Jeremiah 46:2). 3. Pharaoh Hophra’s failed attempt to relieve Jerusalem (Jeremiah 37:5-7). 4. Nebuchadnezzar’s major invasion in his 37th regnal year (568/567 BC). The Babylonian text “Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle” (BM 21946, Obv. col. II, lines 13-15) records: “In the 37th year … he marched against Egypt. Amasu (Amasis) of Egypt … carried off a vast booty.” 5. Subsequent Persian conquest under Cambyses II (525 BC; cf. Herodotus II.161-169). Primary Historical Events Likely Referenced by Ezekiel 32:20 1. Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th-Year Egyptian Campaign (568/567 BC) • Fits Ezekiel’s post-586 dating. • Extra-biblical witness: Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946; fragments of the Babylonian “Astronomical Diary VAT 4956” confirm regnal years. • Egyptian sources record internal turmoil: Amasis’ coup against Hophra (570 BC) weakened the state immediately prior to Babylon’s incursion. 2. Ongoing Babylonian Raids (circa 588-570 BC) • Jeremiah 46 and Ezekiel 29:17-20 predict a series of smaller forays rewarding Babylon with Egyptian plunder. • Archaeological horizons at Migdol, Tahpanhes (Tell Defenneh), and Memphis reveal ash layers and pottery destruction datable to late 6th century BC, consistent with military disruption. 3. Echoes of Earlier Assyrian Slaughters (671–653 BC) • Ezekiel’s rehearsal of nations already in Sheol includes Assyria (v. 22). The prophet may draw a typological link: what Assyria once did to Egypt, Babylon will now replicate. Archaeological and Documentary Corroboration • Hebrew Masoretic Text of Ezekiel (Leningrad Codex, AD 1008) matches 4Q73 (4QEzek) from Qumran (c.150 BC) at v. 20, underscoring textual stability. • Memphis excavation (Petrie, “Memphis II,” 1909) shows late 6th-century Babylonian arrowheads in strata above Saite domestic layers. • Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 is universally accepted in ANET (p. 307) as authentic royal annals. • Herodotus (II.169) notes that Amasis turned on Hophra, and “Egypt was laid waste,” aligning with Ezekiel’s imagery of mass corpses. Comparative Nations in the Passage (vv. 22-30) Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, and the Sidonians are historical examples of pride-filled powers cut down by warfare. Every group listed suffered major defeats between 640-585 BC, providing a catalogue of precedents for Egypt’s looming downfall. Theological Motifs: Sheol, the Sword, and Divine Sovereignty • “The sword” is Yahweh’s chosen instrument (Ezekiel 30:25). Nations do not fall merely to geopolitical tides; they fall under divine judgment. • Descent to “the Pit” anticipates New Testament teaching on final judgment (cf. Revelation 20:13-15). • The passage underscores Genesis 12:3: those who oppose God’s people eventually incur covenant curses. Christological Resonance • Jesus’ victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) reverses the Pit’s power. Where Egypt sinks into Sheol, Christ descends and rises triumphant (cf. Ephesians 4:8-10). • The historicity of the Resurrection, attested by early creedal material (1 Corinthians 15:3-7) within a generation of the event, reinforces the reliability of Ezekiel’s much earlier, fulfilled prophecy. Summary Ezekiel 32:20 most naturally anticipates the Babylonian sword that struck Egypt during and after Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th regnal year (568/567 BC), with possible secondary allusions to earlier Assyrian devastations. The prophecy’s precision is sustained by manuscript evidence, supported by Babylonian and Greek records, and illuminated archaeologically. In declaring Egypt’s descent to the Pit, Ezekiel not only records imminent history; he foreshadows the cosmic victory of the risen Christ, whose resurrection guarantees both judgment for the proud and salvation for those who believe. |
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