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Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 28

1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas”—yet⁠ you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike. 3 Look, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you.⁠ 4 By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself; you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. 5 By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart is proud because of your wealth. 6 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are godlike, 7 I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most terrifying of nations. They will draw their swords against the grandeur made by your wisdom, and they will defile your splendor. 8 They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas. 9 Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you—though you are a man and not a god—when you are in the power of those who wound you? 10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” 11 The Lord’s message came to me: 12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.⁠ Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared.⁠ 14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; you were on the holy mountain of God;⁠ you walked about amidst fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created, until sin was discovered in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I defiled you and banished you from the mountain of God—the guardian cherub expelled you from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you. 18 By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade, you desecrated your sanctuaries. So I drew fire out from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth before the eyes of all who saw you. 19 All who know you among the peoples are shocked at you; you have become terrified and will be no more.’” 20 The Lord’s message came to me: 21 “Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it. 22 Say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look, I am against you, Sidon, and I will magnify myself in your midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments on her and reveal my sovereign power in her.⁠ 23 I will send a plague into the city and bloodshed into its streets; the slain will fall within it, by the sword that attacks it from every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. 25 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them.⁠ Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare Epic of Gilgamesh V 6 and Ezekiel 28:13

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In Mesopotamian tradition the world tree grows on a divine mountain at the center of the world, where the gods live in a sacred garden. Ezekiel echoes that tradition, placing the king of Tyre in Eden, the garden of God on the mountain of God.

Passages

Epic of Gilgamesh V 6

Ancient Near East, Babylonian
4 Where Ḫumbaba came and went there was a track, 5 the paths were in good order and the way was well trodden. 6 They were gazing at the Cedar Mountain, 7 the dwelling of the gods, the throne-dais of the goddesses, 8 [on the] very face of the mountain the cedar was offering its abundance, 9 sweet was its shade, full of delight. 10 [Thick] tangled was the thorn, the forest a shrouding canopy, 11 cedars and gum trees, [all entwined,] left no way in. 12 For a league on all sides cedars [lifts up] saplings, 13 cypresses [grew thick] for two-thirds of a league.
2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Ezekiel 28:13

Hebrew Bible
12 “Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared. 14 I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked about amidst fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created, until sin was discovered in you.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

References

... GARDEN OF GOD. A phrase occurring only in Ezekiel 28:13 and 31:8-9. The similar phrase gan-yhwh, "garden of Yahweh," appears in similes in Genesis 13:10 and Isaiah 51:3. Both phrases indicate a place of great luxury. However, the notion of a divine garden is not restricted to biblical material. References are found throughout ancient Near Eastern literature. Descriptions of the gardens in ancient Near Eastern literature mention springs, trees possessing divine attributes, and the overall beauty and fertility of the place. The trees on "the cedar mountain, the dwelling of the gods" mentioned in the Gilgamesh Epic, are said to be luxuriant. No mortal is intended to enter there. In the biblical material, Ezekiel 31:2-18 compares Pharaoh to a great tree. Verse 9b states that "all the trees of Eden which are in the garden of God" became jealous of the tree which represented Pharaoh ...
David Noel (ed.) Freedman, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 906–907.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Epic of Gilgamesh V 6 and Ezekiel 28:13

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