Go to Related Reading
About this book

Ezekiel

About this book
Chapter 32

1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas;⁠ you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.⁠ 3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you. 5 I will put your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass.⁠ 6 I will drench the land with the flow of your blood up to the mountains, and the ravines will be full of your blood. 7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine.⁠ 8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you, and I will darken your land, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will disturb many peoples when I bring about your destruction among the nations, among countries you do not know. 10 I will shock many peoples with you, and their kings will shiver with horror because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall. 11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘The sword of the king of Babylon will attack you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall—all of them are the most terrifying among the nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed. 13 I will destroy all its cattle beside the plentiful waters; and no human foot will disturb the waters again, nor will the hooves of cattle disturb them. 14 Then I will make their waters calm and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15 When I turn the land of Egypt into desolation and the land is destitute of everything that fills it, when I strike all those who live in it, then they will know that I am the Lord.’ 16 This is a lament; they will chant it. The daughters of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.” 17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the Pit. 19 Say to them, ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!’ 20 They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away. 21 The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’ 22 “Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword. 23 Their graves are located in the remote slopes of the Pit. Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living. 24 “Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit. 25 Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the Pit; they are placed among the dead. 26 “Meshech Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living. 28 “But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword. 29 “Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the Pit. 30 “All the leaders of the north are there, along with all the Sidonians; despite their might they have gone down in shameful terror with the dead. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit. 31 “Pharaoh will see them and be consoled over all his hordes who were killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his army, declares the Sovereign Lord. 32 Indeed, I terrified him in the land of the living, yet he will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by the sword, Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.3 III:40 and KTU 1.6 II:35 and Ezekiel 32:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Ezekiel shares the Ugaritic defeat of a dragon and the feeding of Death's remains to birds, making Pharaoh's exposed body a sign that royal power cannot withstand God's judgment.

Passages

KTU 1.3 III:40

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Come, and I will show it: deep inside my mountain, holy Sapan, in the sacred space on my native peak, in the paradise upon the hill of victory.” Watch! Anat sees the gods. Below, her feet start shaking. All around, her limbs are shivering. Up above, her face sweats. Shudders wrack the bones of every limb; the bones within her spine turn weak. She spoke up and cried out, “Why have Gupan and Ugar come here? What enemy rises up against Baal? What rival faces the Cloud-Rider? Didn’t I crush El’s beloved, Yamm (Ocean)? Didn’t I annihilate Nahar (River), the great god? Didn’t I leash Dragon and bind him in a saddle? I crushed the Sinuous Serpent, Encircler, the seven-headed monster. I crushed the gods’ beloved, Arsha. I ravaged El’s young bull, Ataka. I crushed the gods’ she-wolf, Fire.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

KTU 1.6 II:35

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
I approached Valiant Baal; I set him like a lamb in my mouth; like a kid he was crushed in my jaws. Shapshu, Lamp of the Gods, glowed hot; the heavens grew weak at the hand of divine Mot. A day, two days passed; from days to months. The Maiden Anat sought him. Like the heart of a cow for her calf, like the heart of a ewe for her lamb, so was the heart of Anat after Baal. She seized divine Mot. With a sword she split him; with a sieve she winnowed him; in fire she burned him; with millstones she ground him; in the field she sowed him. His flesh was eaten by birds; his portions were consumed by fowl. Flesh cried out to flesh.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Ezekiel 32:2

Hebrew Bible
2 “Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams. 3 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘I will throw my net over you in the assembly of many peoples; and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you. 5 I will put your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your maggot-infested carcass. 6 I will drench the land with the flow of your blood up to the mountains, and the ravines will be full of your blood.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

References

“... Rather, these passages fit within the conflict topos. Representation of the king of Egypt as the dragon (and of Egypt as Rahab) of combat traditions was compatible with and possibly attracted by the identi­ fication of Egypt with a prominent body of water and the king of Egypt with the crocodile. Several specific narrative details of Ezek 29:2–6 and 32:2–16 are similar to earlier and later articulations of the conflict topos: the enemy is portrayed as arrogant (KTU 1.5 I 1–8; Job 41:26; Dan 7:8; 2 Macc 5:21, 9:8; Rev 13:3–8; 2 Thess 2:1–12); the enemy is portrayed as a sea-dragon (KTU 1.3 III 38–42; KTU 1.83; Ps 74:13–14; Isa 27:1; Rev 12, 13, 16, and 20); the deity uses hooks or nets to secure the enemy (EE IV; Job 40:25–26); the corpse of the slain enemy is left exposed (EE IV 129–140, V 53–63; KTU 1.2 IV 21–27; KTU 1.6 II 30–37; Ps 74:14); and defeat of the enemy indicates the victorious dei­ ty’s incomparability (EE V 133–136; Ps 89:6–15; Job 41:2–3). ...”
Debra Scoggins Ballentine, The Conflict Myth and the Biblical Tradition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 102.

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

Your feedback

KTU 1.3 III:40 and KTU 1.6 II:35 and Ezekiel 32:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library