What is the historical context of Ezekiel 32:28? Text “Yet you too will be shattered and lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.” — Ezekiel 32:28 Immediate Literary Setting Ezekiel 32 is the last of two funeral dirges (chs. 32:1-16; 32:17-32) that complete a seven-part series of judgment oracles against Egypt (29:1 – 32:32). Verse 28 sits inside the second lament (32:17-32), a vivid descent-to-Sheol tableau in which Egypt is pictured joining earlier defeated powers—Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, and the Sidonians—already lying “among the uncircumcised.” The verse addresses Pharaoh personally yet speaks corporately to Egypt’s armies. Dating the Oracle Ezekiel notes the “twelfth year, twelfth month, on the fifteenth day” (32:17). Using the Judean civil calendar and the regnal data preserved in Kings, this fixes the lament to March 3, 585 BC (Ussher’s chronology: 4155 AM). The city of Jerusalem had fallen only nineteen months earlier (586 BC), and Ezekiel had been in Babylonian exile since 597 BC. Political Landscape 1. Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar II was consolidating its empire after crushing Judah. 2. Egypt, ruled by Pharaoh Hophra (Apries, 589-570 BC), had attempted to aid Judah (Jeremiah 37:5-11) but withdrew when Babylon counter-marched, exposing Judah to final destruction. 3. In 588/587 BC the Babylonian Chronicle (BM 22047, col. ii) records a punitive Babylonian raid on Egypt’s border. Subsequent tension culminated in Nebuchadnezzar’s full invasion c. 568 BC (recorded on the Babylonian “Nebuchadnezzar II Invasion Stele,” discovered at Karnak in 1906). These events form the historical backdrop: Egypt’s political posturing failed, and divine judgment announced through Ezekiel paralleled her imminent military humiliation. Pharaoh Hophra’s Arrogance Herodotus (Histories 2.161-169) describes Hophra as boastful of invincibility—precisely the pride Ezekiel targets (32:2, “You are like a lion among the nations”). Egyptian inscriptions from Memphis (Louvre AF 37) praise Hophra as “beloved of the gods,” echoing the self-deification condemned in 29:3. Sheol Motif and the “Uncircumcised” In the Ancient Near East, defeated warriors were thought to enter the netherworld dishonored. By labeling Egypt “uncircumcised,” Ezekiel reverses Israel’s covenant sign and brands Egypt as outside God’s favor. The motif links Egypt’s fate with nations already judged, underscoring that Yahweh alone governs history. Archaeological Corroboration of Egypt’s Decline 1. The Saqqara Serapeum stelae list troop casualties during Hophra’s Libyan campaign (c. 582 BC), demonstrating internal instability. 2. Papyrus Rylands 9 (c. 570 BC) references Babylonian garrisons in the Nile Delta, aligning with Ezekiel’s forecast of foreign dominion (30:10-12). 3. The Elephantine ostraca (5th c. BC) mention Persian control over Egypt, the long-term outcome of the judgment trajectory begun under Babylon. Theological Emphasis Ezekiel’s chronology, accuracy, and prophetic specificity reveal Yahweh’s sovereignty over empires. Egypt’s shame in Sheol vindicates God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel and foreshadows ultimate judgment and resurrection themes consummated in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:25-27). Summary Ezekiel 32:28 was spoken in 585 BC, during Egypt’s waning XXVI Dynasty, directly to Pharaoh Hophra. It predicts Egypt’s imminent defeat and dishonorable descent to Sheol, paralleling the recent fates of other proud nations crushed by Babylon. Contemporary Babylonian records, classical historians, and archaeological finds corroborate Egypt’s decline, while manuscript evidence confirms the verse’s integrity. The historical context amplifies Ezekiel’s central message: every kingdom that exalts itself against the Lord will join “the uncircumcised” in humiliation, whereas salvation and honor are found only in submission to Yahweh—a truth ultimately fulfilled in the risen Christ. |
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