Ezekiel 29:1-21

29:2 | Ezekiel proclaimed a series of seven judgments against Egypt. Egypt had played a huge role in Israel’s history from the very beginning, when it had enslaved the Hebrews for more than four centuries. It again was trying to exercise control over Israelite territory before its defeat at the hands of the Babylonians at Carchemish in 605 BC, one of the most important battles in history (Jer. 46:2,25).

29:3-5 | The Hebrew word translated monster is used elsewhere of a serpent (Ex. 7:9-10) or maritime creature (Ps. 148:7). In some cases it is used of a mythical sea creature that symbolized evil in the ancient Near Eastern world (Job 7:12; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1); 51:9). The description here suggests a crocodile. Crocodiles lived in the Nile River, an appropriate symbol for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

29:13-16 | After Egypt’s crushing defeat at Carchemish, it entered a period of decline that appears to have culminated about 568 BC, when its people suffered a fate of paralleling Judah’s – invasion by the Babylonians. Egypt would never again exalt itself above the nations as a dominating world power.

29:17-21 | The Babylonians had besieged the city of Tyre for thirteen years, until the city surrendered around 572 BC. Babylon did not gain many wages, or spoils, from its victory – and so God ordained that Egypt would provide those spoils.