Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 32:21
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
21. The Pharaoh and his multitude are supposed here to have descended into Shel, and the “mighty ones” already there address them (Isa 14:8; Isa 14:10) or speak of them.
The strong among the mighty ] lit. the strong of the mighty, where “strong” is not a class among the mighty, but identical with them the strong mighty ones (gen. of appos.). In LXX. “strong” is wanting as in Eze 32:27. The word “strong” is that rendered mighty one of the nations, Eze 31:11. It is probably entirely different (though the same in spelling) from the word God, Eze 28:2, and from the phrase “mighty God,” Isa 9:6; Isa 10:21.
speak to him ] Or, of him. The words that follow seem spoken in regard to Pharaoh though such a meaning is rather flat.
that help him ] his helpers, auxiliary nations. The meaning must be that the mighty speak to (of) Pharaoh and his helpers, hardly that Pharaoh’s helpers already gone down join the mighty in mocking Pharaoh.
In LXX. these three verses stand in a different order, viz. Eze 32:20 a, 20 b (read differently), 21 a, 19, and the first three words of Eze 32:20 again, “They shall fall with him in the midst of them that are slain with the sword, and all his multitude (strength) shall lie down. And the mighty (lit. giants, Eze 32:27) shall say unto thee: Be thou in the depth of the pit; to whom art thou superior? go down, and lie with the uncircumcised, in the midst of them that are slain with the sword.” Probably neither text presents the original, though the general meaning of both is the same. It is in favour of Heb. that it begins with the interrogation, and rather against the LXX. that it makes the address rather prolix. The “mighty” who speak are in any case those already in Shel, and not persons upon the earth such as the Babylonians (Hitz.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The uncircumcised – throughout this dirge is equivalent to pagan viewed as impure (Eze 31:18 note).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Out of the midst of hell] sheol, the catacombs, the place of burial. There is something here similar to Isa 14:9, where the descent of the king of Babylon to the state of the dead is described.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophet seems in this verse to introduce the next speakers in this parley, and bringing them in, gives their character.
The strong; the powerful, the valiant, whose natural strength of body was great, and their courage greater, those that were strongest.
Among the mighty; for feats they did, by which it appeared they might compared with others, pass for giants, mighty warriors. conquerors, and riders.
Shall speak to him, the king of Egypt.
Hell; or rather, the grave, where they lie without strength, as dead mortals, though while they lived they bore themselves as if gods and immortal.
Them that help him; either these great ones shall speak to Hophras helpers, or else these his friends, slain in his quarrel and dead before him, shall speak to him.
Gone down to the grave: see Eze 32:18. Uncircumcised; neglected and forgotten, or remembered with contempt: see Eze 32:19.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. (Eze31:16). Ezekiel has before his eyes Isa14:9, c.
shall speak to himwith”him” join “with them that help him” shallspeak to him and his helpers with a taunting welcome, as now oneof themselves.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him,…. The strongest of them, such who have excelled others in strength and courage, famous for military exploits, who have been generals of armies, great warriors, and conquerors; and yet with all their might and strength could not withstand death, but were subdued by it, and brought down to the grave; these are, by a poetical figure, represented as meeting Pharaoh king of Egypt, when he came to his grave, saluting and welcoming him to the state of the dead in which they were; taking a sort of comfort in it, and insulting him as being as weak as they; see
Isa 14:9, which they should do
out of the midst of hell, or the grave, “Hades”, the state of the dead:
with them that help him; the associates, allies, and friends of Pharaoh, his auxiliaries that fell with him, and were brought to the grave at the same time with him; these should be greeted, saluted, and welcomed in like manner:
they are gone down; to the grave; those mighty ones that are represented as speaking, and the Egyptians and their helpers who are spoken to:
they lie uncircumcised; among them that are so, Eze 32:19:
slain by the sword; of their enemies, who got the victory over them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(21) Speak to him.The pronoun oscillates between the masculine and the feminine, because the thought is partly of the king and partly of the kingdom. The pronoun is determined by whichever is for the moment uppermost in the prophets mind. On Hell, see Note on Eze. 31:16-17. It occurs also at Eze. 32:27.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. The strong among the mighty The strong mighty ones ( Davidson). The residents of Sheol greet these incoming nations who in life considered themselves infinitely their superiors with belittling comments. They have not entered Sheol with dignity, after the sacred rites of a religious burial, but have been hurried thither from the battlefield where their bones may yet be left uncovered. (Compare Eze 31:18.) The entire passage compels a sharp distinction between those who were buried in state with their weapons about them (Eze 32:27), and those who, like the uncircumcised barbarians, lay buried where they fell, without the funeral rites which prepared them for a favorable entrance into Sheol. (See Appendix.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“The strong among the mighty will speak to him from the midst of Sheol with those that help him. ‘They have gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
The dead, those who had once been mighty, also mock Egypt. The Egyptians are no longer active, they point out, they lie still and share their grave with the uncircumcised, those slain by the sword.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 32:21. With them that help him With them that have helped him, who are gone down, who lie in the midst, victims of the sword. Houbigant. But this difficult verse may be otherwise rendered: The strongest of the mighty men shall speak unto him out of the midst of the pit: they are gone down, they lie, together with them that helped him, uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
Ver. 21. The strong among the mighty. ] Who might have seen many fair summers, had they not been cut off by Pharaoh’s sword.
Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The strong = The strongest, or chiefeet.
shall speak, &c, Note the Figure of speech Prosopopoeia (App-6), by which dead people are represented as speaking.
hell = the grave. Hebrew. Sheol. App-35.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hell
Eze 32:27, Heb. “Sheol,” (See Scofield “Hab 2:5”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
strong: Pharaoh is here represented as descending into the regions of the dead, whither many mighty warriors and potentates had gone before him, who welcome him to their dreary mansion. Eze 32:27, Isa 1:31, Isa 14:9, Isa 14:10, Luk 16:23, Luk 16:24
gone: Eze 32:19, Eze 32:24, Eze 32:25, Num 16:30-34, Psa 9:17, Psa 55:15, Pro 14:32
Reciprocal: Job 21:32 – he be Eze 26:16 – all the princes Eze 28:10 – the deaths Eze 31:18 – thou shalt Eze 32:18 – unto the Hab 2:6 – take
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 32:21, Rim is a pronoun that stands for Egypt and the king. Strong among the mighty refers to the valiant powers that had already gone down to hell, which is used in the same sense as “pit in Eze 32:18, and refers to the state of forgetfulness into which many nations had fallen. When uncircumcised, is used figuratively it means unconsecrated or unacceptable.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 32:21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him Namely, to the king of Egypt; out of the midst of hell Or, the pit, as Bishop Newcome renders the word: see Eze 32:23. The passage is a poetical description of the regions of the dead; where the ghosts of deceased tyrants, with their subjects, are represented as coming to meet the king of Egypt and his auxiliaries, upon their arrival at the same place. Hell signifies here the state of the dead. Lowth. See note on Isa 14:9. They are gone down The warriors, famous in their time for their exploits, have undergone the same fate with other men of blood, and are gone down to the grave by violent deaths.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to {n} him out of the midst of the grave with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
(n) To make the matter more sensible, he brings in Pharaoh whom the dead will meet and marvel at him, read Isa 14:9 .