1sn June 21, 587 b.c. 2sn 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. 3sn 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). 4tn 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.” 5tn Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading “shoots” (cf. NRSV). 6tn Or “many.” 7tn Or “cypress trees” (cf. NASB, NLT); NIV “pine trees.” 8tn 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. 9tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). 10tn Heb “gone down.” 11tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals. 12tn Heb “be.” 13tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.” 14tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.” 15tn Heb “the sons of men.” 16tn Or “he.” 17tn 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. 18sn For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29. 19tn Heb “its arm.”
1sn June 21, 587 b.c.
2sn 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.
3sn 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).
4tn 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.”
5tn Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading “shoots” (cf. NRSV).
6tn Or “many.”
7tn Or “cypress trees” (cf. NASB, NLT); NIV “pine trees.”
8tn 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.
9tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
10tn Heb “gone down.”
11tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
12tn Heb “be.”
13tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”
14tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”
15tn Heb “the sons of men.”
16tn Or “he.”
17tn 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.
18sn For the expression “going down to the pit,” see Ezek 26:20; 32:18, 24, 29.
19tn Heb “its arm.”