Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 29:6
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I [am] the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
6. The people of Egypt shall learn as of old who it is that sends such judgments upon them.
staff of reed ] A staff or stay which was but a reed, and broke when leant upon ( Eze 29:7). Cf. Isa 36:6; 2Ki 18:21. The figure of the reed was natural when speaking of Egypt.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Staff of reed – The reed was especially appropriate to Egypt as the natural product of its river.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. They have been a staff of reed] An inefficient and faithless ally. The Israelites expected assistance from them when Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem; and they made a feint to help them, but retired when Nebuchadnezzar went against them. Thus were the Jews deceived and ultimately ruined, see Eze 29:7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This mighty overthrow shall be known through all Egypt, and as it shall fill them with fears and troubles, so it should be a convincing argument to them that God had done this, and punished them, and their proud king, who used to say, as Herodotus reports, that God could not turn him out of his kingdom. Because they, both king, princes, counsellors, and people of Egypt,
have been a staff of reed; treacherously, as next verse, dealt with the Jews, whom they seduced to trust and depend on them, and then perfidiously broke promise with them. It was the sin of the Jews to trust Egypt; it was Egypts great sin to falsify promise with the Jews, and for this God now punisheth Egypt.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. staff of reed to . . .Israelalluding to the reeds on the banks of the Nile, whichbroke if one leaned upon them (see on Eze29:4; Isa 36:6). AllIsrael’s dependence on Egypt proved hurtful instead of beneficial(Isa 30:1-5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,…. Who could eject their king from his kingdom, and deliver him into the hands of his enemy; though he thought no God could, as he boastingly said, before observed:
because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel; alluding to the country of Egypt, which abounded with reeds that grew upon the banks of the river Nile, and other rivers. This signifies that either the Egyptians were weak, and could not help the people of Israel when they applied to them; or rather that they were treacherous and deceitful, and would not assist them, according to agreement; and were even pernicious and hurtful to them, as a broken reed; see Isa 36:6. The Targum renders it,
“the staff of a reed broken.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) A staff of reed.In Isa. 36:6 the dependence of Judah upon Egypt is described as trust in the staff of this broken reed; but notwithstanding all warnings, they still trusted, especially at the time of this prophecy, and proved in their experience the truth of the Divine word. The figure is taken from the reeds, which grew abundantly on the banks of the Nile, and the statement is historically amplified in the following verse, where the reference is to be understood not of any single fact so much as of a continual, often repeated result. There should be a period in the middle of Eze. 29:6, the first half forming the conclusion of the previous denunciation, and the second half being closely connected with Eze. 29:7-9. Eze. 29:7 is parenthetical.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“And the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am Yahweh, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of you by the hand, you broke and badly tore their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you broke, and made all their loins quiver.”
This is the final act which brought down Yahweh’s wrath on them, that Egypt had promised to be a strong staff on which Israel could lean, but had turned out to be a mere reed which broke when it was leant on, bringing great harm to Israel. Egypt was in fact a land of reeds, which grew along the Nile and its tributaries, and God says that they were symbolic of what Egypt really was. Thus they must be taught the lesson that they have let down Yahweh’s people, and are therefore accountable to Yahweh. God takes constant account of what is done to His people.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 29:6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I [am] the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
Ver. 6. And all the inhabitants, &c. ] Shall feel my power in their just destruction, though they think themselves insuperable.
Because they have been a staff of reed.
a Lib. xiii. cap. 11.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shall know. See note on Eze 6:7.
a staff of reed. This was by inciting Israel to resist and rebel against Assyria by promises of help which failed. See 2Ki 18:21. Isa 20:5, Isa 20:6; Isa 30:6, Isa 30:7; Isa 31:3. Jer 2:36; Jer 37:7.
the house of Israel. See note on Exo 16:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
know: Eze 28:22-24, Eze 28:26, Exo 9:14, Exo 14:18
a staff: 2Ki 18:21, Isa 20:5, Isa 20:6, Isa 30:2-7, Isa 31:1-3, Isa 36:6, Jer 2:36, Lam 4:17
Reciprocal: Pro 25:19 – General Isa 19:17 – the land Isa 31:2 – against the help Jer 17:5 – Cursed Jer 30:16 – General Jer 37:7 – Pharaoh’s Eze 5:8 – in the Eze 17:17 – shall Eze 29:16 – the confidence Eze 29:21 – they shall know Eze 30:8 – shall know Zec 1:15 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 29:6. Been a staff of reed to Israel. The Israelites turned their attention to Egypt when threatened with danger (Eze 17: 15) and that displeased the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 29:6-7. Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel This expression, a staff of reed, is very emphatical, to signify a confidence which has failed those that depended upon it, or has done them more hurt than good; for if a reed is leaned upon as a staff, it most certainly bends under the weight and breaks, and the splinters sometimes run into the hand of him who leaned upon it. Though the Jews were greatly blamed by God for entering into alliance with the Egyptians, yet we find God here declaring that he would punish the Egyptians for not having performed their engagements to the Israelites; for though God forbade the Israelites to seek the alliance of the Egyptians, this nevertheless did not excuse the Egyptians in their breach of faith. When they took hold of thee by thy hand When they relied on thee for help; thou didst break Or, thou wast crushed, as Newcome renders it; and rend all their shoulder Or, their arm. The sense is, that the Egyptians proved a destruction to the Jewish people, who expected to be helped by them: see Jer 37:5; Jer 37:7; 2Ki 24:7. This king of Egypt came with a great army to raise the siege of Jerusalem, but would not venture a battle with the Chaldeans, and marched back again, leaving Jerusalem to be taken by them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
29:6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I [am] the LORD, because they have been a staff of {d} reed to the house of Israel.
(d) Read 2Ki 18:21, Isa 36:6 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
When God did this the Egyptians would know that Yahweh is the only true God. He would also do this because Egypt had been unfaithful to follow through on its promises to help the Israelites. They had proved to be as weak a support as one of the reeds that grew along the banks of the Nile (cf. Exo 2:3). People used a staff as a cane or walking stick for support when they walked on rough terrain (cf. Zec 8:4; Mar 6:8; Heb 11:21). But when the Judahites had relied on the Egyptians this ally had broken and had even injured God’s people (cf. 2Ki 18:21; Isa 36:6; Jer 37:7). As a crutch, Egypt was worse than useless. The Israelites, of course, should not have trusted in Egypt, but this did not excuse the Egyptians for breaking their covenants with Israel.