Ezekiel 32:2

“Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, &c.] Pharaohhophra, or Apries; say a funeral dirge for him; this is ordered, not out of honour and respect to him, or in compassion for his misery and ruin, but to assure him of it: and say unto him, thou art like a young lion of the nations; for strength and fierceness, for cruelty and tyranny, which he exercised, not in one nation only, but in many; a lively emblem of the beast of Rome, spiritually called Egypt and Sodom, compared to a leopard, bear, and lion, (<661108>Revelation 11:8 13:2): and thou art as a whale in the seas; or rather “like a crocodile”f568, which was common in the rivers of Egypt, but not the whale; which…”

“Pharaoh--"Phra" in Burmah, signifies the king, high priest, and idol. whale--rather, any monster of the waters; here, the crocodile of the Nile. Pharaoh is as a lion on dry land, a crocodile in the waters; that is, an object of terror everywhere. camest forth with thy rivers--"breakest forth" [FAIRBAIRN]. The antithesis of "seas" and "rivers" favors GROTIUS rendering, "Thou camest forth from the sea into the rivers"; that is, from thy own empire into other states. However, English Version is favored by the "thy": thou camest forth with thy rivers (that is, with thy forces) and with thy feet didst fall irrecoverably; so Israel, once desolate, troubles the waters (that is, neighboring states).”

“Thou art like ... - Rather, Thou wouldest be like to (others, “wast likened unto”) a young lion. And thou art - In contrast to what thou wouldest be. A whale - Rather, crocodile (marginal reference note). Pharaoh should have been like the king of beasts, but he is a mere sea-monster. There is strong irony here, because the Egyptian king was proud of the comparison between himself and the mighty crocodile. Seas - The word is often used of the waters of a great river, like the Nile. Thou camest forth with thy rivers - Rather, thou didst burst forth in “thy rivers” as the crocodile does from the water into which he has plunged. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Like a young lion - Spoiling all thou canst. Crocodile - The crocodiles lay in the rivers, though sometimes they went down the river to the sea. With thy rivers - Raisedst mighty armies, and didst lead them out against thy neighbours. The waters - The people, and kings near thee. Thy feet - With thy soldiers. Fouledst - Didst spoil all the conveniences of thy neighbours. Ezekiel 32:3”

“32:2-3 Ezekiel returns to the image of Pharaoh as a mighty beast (29:3). • Egypt’s pharaohs used the lion and the sea monster (or crocodile) as images of strength, yet both creatures could be hunted and killed, and that is what would happen to Pharaoh. God, through his agents (32:11-12), would hunt Pharaoh, catch him, and haul him in.”

“take up: Eze 32:16, Eze 32:18, Eze 19:1, Eze 27:2, Eze 27:32, Eze 28:12; Jer 9:18 Thou art like: Eze 19:2-6, Eze 38:13; Gen 49:9; Num 24:9; Pro 28:15; Jer 4:7; Nah 2:11-13 and thou art as: Eze 29:3; Psa 74:13, Psa 74:14; Isa 27:1, Isa 51:9 whale: or, dragon and troubledst: Eze 34:18 Ezekiel 32:3”