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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 Tiglath-pileser I, Inscription 1, III 23–27 and Ezekiel 32:5-6

Ancient Near East, Assyrian · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In the Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath Pileser, the king describes bodies piled on mountains and blood filling valleys. In Ezekiel, similar imagery describes God's judgment on Egypt.

Passages

Tiglath-pileser I, Inscription 1, III 23–27

Ancient Near East, Assyrian · Tiglath-pileser I of Assyria
16 With my courageous assault, I marched to the land Katmuḫi for a second time. I conquered all of their cities and carried off their booty, possessions, and property without number. I burned with fire, destroyed, and demolished their cities. The remainder of their troops who had taken fright at my fierce weapons and who had been cowed by my strong and belligerent attack, took to secure heights in rough mountainous terrain, in order to save their own lives. I climbed up after them, to the peaks of those high mountains and perilous mountain ledges, where a man could not even walk. 17 They waged war, combat, and battle with me and I brought about their defeat. Like a storm demon, I piled up the corpses of their warriors on mountain ledges and made their blood flow into the hollows and plains of the mountains. I brought down their booty, possessions, and property from the heights of those mighty mountains. I became lord of the land Katmuḫi to its full extent and I added it to the borders of my land.
1114–1076 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath Pileser

Ezekiel 32:5-6

Hebrew Bible
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

“... In his Ezechiel-Studien, David Heinrich Müller included a chapter titled “Cuneiform Parallels,” on parallels in Ezekiel that he collected from the royal inscriptions of the Assyrian Kings Tiglath-pileser I (1114–1076 BCE) and Aššurbanipal (668–627 BCE).2 He argued that in the descriptions of carnage and destruction the prophet used some stereotyped formulations and literary motifs found in cuneiform inscriptions, as for example in Ezekiel 32:5–6: “I will strew your flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass. I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood; and the watercourses will be full of you.” This is comparable to the statement found in the Annals of the Assyrian King Tiglath-pileser I, III 23–7: “I piled up the corpses of their warriors on mountain ledges (and) made their blood flow into the hollows and plains of the mountains.”3 ...”
Daniel Bodi, “The Mesopotamian Context of Ezekiel,” in The Oxford Handbook of Ezekiel, ed. Corrine Carvalho (Oxford University Press, 2018), 2.

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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Tiglath-pileser I, Inscription 1, III 23–27 and Ezekiel 32:5-6

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