Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 30:24
And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded [man].
24. groan before him ] Pharaoh shall groan before Nebuchadnezzar as a wounded man groans. The figure is well pursued. The “arm” sometimes means the “helper,” but here the two champions appear as if engaged in a personal combat. Jehovah strikes down the arms of Pharaoh, and the sword falls from his grasp; he strengthens the arms of Nebuchadnezzar, putting his own sword into his hand. And thus the king of Egypt, mortally wounded, groans before his adversary from his death-stroke. Cf. Eze 28:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon,…. Give him a commission to make war; direct his councils; supply him with all necessaries; animate and encourage his soldiers; and give him success in all his enterprises:
and put my sword in his hand; which confirms the above sense, that he should have power and authority from the Lord to attack the king of Egypt, and should gain a victory over him; since it was not his own sword he drew, but the sword of the Lord of hosts; which coming from him, and having his commission, cannot fail of doing execution;
but will break Pharaoh’s arms; as before in Eze 30:21:
and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man; that is, before the king of Babylon; by whom, as an instrument, his arms shall be broken, and his power destroyed; and he be like a man in the agonies of death, just expiring, not able to speak, but groaning out his life under the inexpressible anguish of broken bones, and none to set them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
24. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar is unknowingly working out the will of Jehovah, and it is because of Jehovah’s help that he shall see the Pharaoh groaning and dying at his feet, while his people are carried away captive into far countries by the victor (Eze 30:23; Eze 30:26; notes Eze 29:11-12; Eze 28:22).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh and he will groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out on the land of Egypt.”
The success and failure of each side is in the hands of Yahweh. The one whom He strengthens will succeed, the one whom He prevents will fail. Thus because He would make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, and it was His sword that he would bear, the king of Babylon would succeed. And because he would ‘break the arms’ of Pharaoh, Pharaoh would be defeated and groan like a mortally wounded man.
The holding up of the arms can be compared with Exo 17:11-12. The holding up of the arms resulted in victory and here it is Yahweh who would hold up the arms of the king of Babylon so that he won, and vice versa for Egypt.
‘And they will know that I am Yahweh when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out on the land of Egypt.’ Again the purpose of all this was so that Yahweh’s power and being may be revealed. The idea is not that men would necessarily recognise Yahweh, but that they would have to accept the evidence of His power. Even if they did not acknowledge it, they would know it in experience.
The fact that Nebuchadnezzar would bear the sword of Yahweh emphasises that he was acting as Yahweh’s servant on Yahweh’s mission.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 30:24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded [man].
Ver. 24. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. ] a God, as he sends the sword, Eze 14:17 musters the men, Isa 13:4 orders the ammunition, Jer 50:25 renders the weapons vain or prosperous, Isa 54:17 so he strengtheneth and weakeneth the arm of either party.
a Herod.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I will: Eze 30:25, Neh 6:9, Psa 18:32, Psa 18:39, Psa 144:1, Isa 45:1, Isa 45:5, Jer 27:6-8, Zec 10:11, Zec 10:12
and put: Deu 32:41, Deu 32:42, Psa 17:13, Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 10:15, Zep 2:12
he shall: Eze 26:15, Job 24:12, Jer 51:52
Reciprocal: Psa 89:21 – mine Lam 2:12 – as the Eze 30:10 – by the Eze 30:21 – I have Luk 10:30 – wounded Rev 6:4 – and there Rev 13:3 – and his
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 30:24. Not much new is added in this verse, but a specific statement of what is to happen to the land of Egypt is made. I will strengthen denotes that God wili cause the weapons of the king of Babylon to be successful when he attacks Pharaoh. That will fulfil! the prediction that was made to Ezekiel in Eze 29:18.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Lord described the conflict between Babylon and Egypt as a conflict between two warriors. Nebuchadnezzar would break Hophra’s arms as they battled. Egypt would groan like a wounded soldier. The people would know that Yahweh was God when He put His sword of power into Nebuchadnezzar’s arms and strengthened him to defeat Hophra and when the Egyptians dispersed from their land (cf. Eze 30:17-18; Eze 30:23; Eze 29:12).
"The flexed arm was a common Egyptian symbol for the Pharaoh’s strength. Often statues or images of the Pharaoh have this arm flexed, wielding a sword in battle. A king with great biceps was especially a popular concept under the Saites Dynasty of Ezekiel’s day. In addition Hophra took a second formal title that meant ’possessed of a muscular arm’ or ’strong-armed’ . . ." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 897. His quotation is from Freedy and Redford, pp. 482-83.]
This oracle does not specify Nebuchadnezzar as the king of Babylon who would defeat Pharaoh. Evidently his identity was a later revelation that came in the oracles of 571 B.C (Eze 29:17-21; Eze 30:1-19). The point of this one is Yahweh’s certain and complete destruction of Egypt’s power.