Yehezkel's Prophecy regarding Egypt
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"And They Shall Know That I Am The Lord" - The Seven Plagues in Parashat Va'era
Haftarot: Va'era
Rabbi Mosheh LichtensteinThe parasha and haftara both point to a dual purpose for the plagues. One purpose is Pharaoh's recognition of God, and the second is Pharaoh's recognition that God intervenes in the natural world.
Prophecies to Egypt
Dr. Tova GanzelEgypt’s long-term stability in the region, its geographic proximity, and its historic connection with Israel form the foundation of Yehezkel’s prophecies to this country. The prophet points an accusing finger at Egypt in three areas:
The first and most central accusation, common to Tzor and Egypt, is the sin of arrogance towards God. The kings of Tzor and of Egypt attribute their successes to themselves. They pride themselves on their successes, boast about them, and scorn the God of Israel. However, the prophet assures Egypt that even when the Temple is in ruins and God’s nation is exiled, it is God Who determines the fate of all nations, including Egypt, and its king.
This was a period when Egypt hoped to become a superpower with influence beyond the region, following the fall of Assyria and prior to Babylon reaching its zenith. Therefore, Egypt encouraged Tzidkiyahu to rebel against Babylon which ultimately brought upon the downfall of Yehuda. Yehezkel’s prophecies put an end to the possibility of an Egyptian empire, not only in the worldly realm, but also from the Divine perspective. From now onwards, as in the past, Egypt will be a “lowly kingdom,” not an empire.
Finally, Egypt is accused of the religious harlotry that infiltrated Israel.
Yehezkel 23
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David SabatoPerek 23 surveys the history of the nation of Israel from the exile in Egypt until the time of the prophet, in a way similar to the historical surveys in perakim 16 and 20. This survey is based on an allegory which describes two sisters- Judah and Israel. The ancient connection to Egypt recurs throughout the perek, along with the influence of political ties and idol worship from foreign lands. In this perek we find some of the most shocking and horrendous descriptions in this book of the sins and punishments of the people. The perek opens with an introduction which descibes two young women in Egypt (1-4), after which it turns to a description of the way that Israel has prostituted itself with Assyria and the punishment for that (5-10), followed by a description of the harlotry of Judah with Assyria and Babylonia (11-21), and its future punishment (22-35). In the last section of the perek (36-49) the prophet summarizes the abominations in the temple, the harlotry and the punishments.
Yehezkel 28-29
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David SabatoIn perek 28 we find a series of prophecies. The first two prophecies deal with the leaders of Tyre. The first prophecy (1-10) turns to the "prince of Tyre" and focuses on the fact that his great wisdom which has caused him to have a proud heart will bring his downfall. The second prophecy (11-19) is a lamentation for the king of Tyre, which outlines his character in terms taken from the story of the Garden of Eden and the sin of Adam. In the continuation of the perek we find a prophecy of doom for Sidon, Tyre's neighbor, and a prophecy of consolation for Israel (20-26).
Perek 29 begins a series of prophecies about Pharaoh and Egypt which ends in perek 32. The perek includes two prophecies, both of which have dates: the first is from the tenth year, the year after the beginning of the siege on Jerusalem, and the second is from the twenty-seventh year. The first prophecy (1-15) begins by referring to the god-like pride of Pharaoh and his self-identification with the crocodile and the Nile River, the source of Egypt's strength. The punishment for this pride is that Egypt will become parched and disconnected from its source of life. The prophecy ends with a description of the exile of Egypt and its redemption. The second prophecy (16-21) deals with Tyre and Egypt- Egypt will be punished by Tyre, and will be looted by Nevuchadnezzar.
Yehezkel 30-31
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David SabatoPerek 30 includes two prophecies about the destruction of Egypt. The first prophecy (1-19) is of a general nature and deals with the "day of the Lord" in which God will destroy all of Egypt and its allies. The second prophecy (20-26) is more focused and speaks of the destruction of Egypt by the Babylonians. The main imagery in this prophecy is the image of the "arm" - the breaking of Pharaoh's arm as contrasted with the strengthening of the arm of the king of Babylonia.
In perek 31 the prophet compares the fate of the Assyrian superpower, which had disintegrated about 100 years earlier, to the expected fate of the Egyptian superpower. The prophecy consists of a frame narrative (2,18) which speaks about Egypt and an enclosed narrative which describes the fate of Assyria as a precedent to the fate of Egypt, using an allegory based on the description of the Garden of Eden in Bereishit 2.
Yehezkel 32-33
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David SabatoThe two prophecies in perek 32 end the series of prophecies about Egypt and the entire series of prophecies about the nations. The first prophecy (1-16) returns to the imagery of Pharaoh as a crocodile. The second prophecy (17-32) describes the descent of Pharaoh and his men to the grave, and his lying down with the "uncircumcised" - with the empires which preceded him.
Perek 33 begins the third unit in the book- the unit of the prophecies after the destruction, which mainly includes consolation and hope for the future. From now, the role of the prophet will be to educate and prepare the exiles for the redemption. This perek is a transition between the two periods. The first section (1-22) reminds us of two previous prophecies - the prophecy of the watchman (1-9) and the question of punishment and reward (10-20). It ends with the arrival of the fugitive from Jerusalem who tells of the destruction of the city (21-22) and thus ends Yechezkel's long mute period, as God has said would happen in perek 24:26-27. At the heart of this section appears a folk-saying which reflects the great despair among the people, "For our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and because of them we are melting away, so how can we live?" (33:10). Yechezkel wants to bring hope into the hearts of the people and therefore fights against what they are saying. In the second section of the perek (23-33) the prophet deals with another saying which is prevalent among the refugees who remain in Judah after the destruction ("the dwellers of the ruins") who see themselves as the inheritors of the land- and he chastises them strongly.