10<\/strong>. the tower of Syene<\/em> ] Rather: from Migdol unto Syene<\/strong> from Lower Egypt to the southern border of Upper Egypt. Migdol is said to have been situated 12 miles S. of Pelusium, upon the N. border of Lower Egypt (Exo 14:2<\/span>; Jer 44:1<\/span>; Jer 46:14<\/span>; Num 33:7<\/span>). Syene (ch. Eze 30:6<\/span>), the modern Assouan, on the S. border of Upper Egypt. Cush or Ethiopia lay to the south of Pathros or Upper Egypt; its capital lay near the 4th Cataract, between Abu Hamed and old Dongola.<\/p>\n From the tower of Syene – <\/B>Or, as in the margin, Migdol (tower) was about two miles from Suez. Syene was the most southern town in Egypt, on the borders of Ethiopia, in the Thebaid, on the eastern bank of the Nile. The modern Assvan lies a little to the northeast of the ancient Syene.<\/P> We have no record of the circumstances of the Chaldsaean invasion of Egypt, but it is possible that it did not take place until after the fall of Tyre. We gather of what nature it must have been by comparing the description of the results of Assyrian conquest (Isa 37:25<\/span> ff). Minute fulfillment of every detail of prophecy is not to be insisted upon, but only the general fact that Egypt would for a time, described as 40 years, be in a state of collapse. No great stress is to be laid on the exact number of years. The number of years passed in the wilderness became to the Hebrews a significant period of chastisement.<\/P> Nebuchadnezzars occupation of Egypt was of no long duration, and his ravages, though severe, must have been partial. Peace with Babylon was favorable to the development of home-works, but since the peace was in truth subjugation, it was hollow and in fact ruinous. Further, it is to be remembered that God fulfils His decree by a gradual rather than an immediate process. The ravages of Nebuchadnezzar were the beginning of the end, and all the desolation which followed may be looked upon as a continuous fulfillment of Gods decree. The savage fury with which Cambyses swept over Egypt amply realized all that Ezekiel foretold. Many places recovered some wealth and prosperity, but from the time of Herodotus the kingdom never again became really independent. Egyptian rulers gave place to Persian, Persian to the successors of Alexander the Great, who gave place in turn to Rome. So thoroughly was the prophecy of Ezekiel fulfilled Eze 29:14-15<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 10<\/span>. From the tower of Syene<\/B><\/I>] mimmigdol seveneh<\/I>, “from Migdol to Syene.” Syene, now called Essuan<\/I>, was the last city in Egypt, going towards Ethiopia. It was famous for a well into which the rays of the sun fell perpendicularly<\/I> at midday<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n I am against thee:<\/B> see Eze 28:22<\/span>. <\/P> Thy rivers:<\/B> see Eze 29:4<\/span>. <\/P> Waste:<\/B> see Eze 29:9<\/span>. <\/P> The tower; <\/B>thus, as a common name, we, and the French, and others read it; but some account it a proper name of a town or city, called Magdalum, for aught I know the old Migdol, Exo 14:2<\/span>; Num 33:7<\/span>,8<\/span>; it was on the Red Sea side, north-east of Egypt: from this part unto Syene. <\/P> Syene; <\/B>a city on the east of Nilus over against Arabia, saith one; a city that is just below the great cataract or fall of Nilus toward Ethiopia, and such a boundary between Ethiopia and Egypt as admits dispute to which it belongs. Ethiopia: now, to dispute nothing of this geography, it seems likely to me, that what we render Ethiopia is not so well and plainly rendered; for Syene being so near to Ethiopia, we must look some place of Egypt at some greater distance from Syene than this Ethiopia is; if then it were translated, the border of Cush, to whom Moses assigns Arabia, Gen 10:7<\/span>. Let us suppose then Magdalum, instead of <\/P> the tower, <\/B>as one term; Syene on the edge of Ethiopia, as another; and the opposite point on the Red Sea towards Arabia; and then almost all Egypt is comprised herein, from north-east to south-east, down the Red Sea, thence to the westward as far as Ethiopia, and thence up the Nile as high northward as Magdalum. <\/P> <\/p>\n 10. from the tower of Syene<\/B>GROTIUStranslates, “from Migdol (a fortress near Pelusium on the northof Suez) to Syene (in the farthest south)”; that is, from oneend of Egypt to the other. So “from Migdol to Syene,” Eze30:6<\/span>, Margin.<\/I> However, English Version<\/I> rightlyrefers Syene to Seveneh, that is, Sebennytus, in the eastern delta ofthe Nile, the capital of the Lower Egyptian kings. The SebennytePharaohs, with the help of the Canaanites, who, as shepherds ormerchants, ranged the desert of Suez, extended their borders beyondthe narrow province east of the delta, to which they had beenconfined by the Pharaohs of Upper Egypt. The defeated party, inderision, named the Sebennyte or Lower Egyptians foreigners<\/I>and shepherd-kings<\/I> (a shepherd being an abomination in Egypt,Ge 46:34<\/span>). They were really anative<\/I> dynasty. Thus, in English Version,<\/I> “Ethiopia”in the extreme south is rightly contrasted with Sebennytus or Syenein the north.<\/P><\/p>\n Behold, therefore, I am against thee, and against thy rivers<\/strong>,…. Against the king of Egypt, and against his subjects, the many people he ruled over; as the Lord is against spiritual Egypt, and the head of it, and the antichristian states, signified by many waters, rivers, and fountains; see Re 11:8<\/span>:<\/p>\n and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate<\/strong>; partly by a civil war, and partly by a foreign enemy; especially those parts of it which were the seat of war:<\/p>\n from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia<\/strong>; or the tower of Seveneh; according to Herodotus i, Syene was a city of Thebais, where he was told were two mountains, which gave rise to the Nile. Pliny k says it was six hundred twenty five miles from Alexandria; and it is by him, as well as Strabo l, placed under the tropic of Cancer; who both say, in the summer solstice, at noon, no shadow is cast there; to which the poet Lucan m refers, It is now called Essuaen; which city, as Mr. Norden n says, who lately travelled in those parts, is situated on the eastern shore of the Nile; and he relates that there remain still some marks of the place where the ancient city stood; as to the rest, it is so covered with earth, that there is nothing but rubbish, from which, in some places, one would judge that there were formerly magnificent buildings here. The utter destruction of which, with the rest of Egypt prophesied of, appears to have been fulfilled. This place is famous for being the place of the banishment of Juvenal the poet, where he died, being eighty years of age. The tower of Syene, Jerom says, remained to his days, and was subject to the Roman government, where are the cataracts of the Nile; and to which place, from our sea, he says, the Nile is navigable: but, according to Pliny. o, Syene itself was on the border of Ethiopia; and so say Pausanias p and Solinus q: and, according to Seneca r, it was the extreme part of Egypt. So Josephus s says the south border of Egypt is Syene, which separates it from Ethiopia; and that between Pelusium (the entrance of Egypt) and Syene are two hundred and fifty miles. It lay between Egypt and Ethiopia, so that it might seem doubtful to which it belonged. It seems better therefore to take “Migdol”, rendered a “tower”, for the proper name of a place, as the Septuagint do; and such a place there was in Egypt,<\/p>\n Jer 44:1<\/span>, a town on the Red sea, Ex 14:2<\/span>, so that the one was on the border of Egypt on one side, and the other on the other: and the words may be rendered t, “from Migdol to Syene, even to the border of Ethiopia”; from one end of it to the other: it denotes the utter desolation of the country, from one end to the other. Unless by Cush, rendered “Ethiopia”, is meant Arabia, as it often is, and is thought by some to be intended here; which was on the northern border of Egypt, as Syene was, a city in Thebais, near to Ethiopia, on the southern border of it; so that this describes Egypt from south to north; but the former account seems best.<\/p>\n i Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 28. k Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 73. l Geograph. l. 2. p. 65, 78. m “Umbras nusquan flectente”, Syene. Pharsal. l. 2. v. 587. n Travels in Egypt and Nubis, vol. 1. p. 143. vol. 2. p. 97, 103. o Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 9. p Arcadica, sive l. 8. p. 518. q Polyhistor, c. 45. r Apud Servium in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 6. p. 1011. s De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 10. sect. 5. t See Prideaux’s Connexion, part 1. B. 2. p. 93. So the words are rendered by Hillerus, Onomast. Sacr. p. 672. who observes, that Syene is now called by the Arabs “Asuan”, from the Ethiopic word “Wasou”, which signifies to terminate or finish, this being the border of Ethiopia.<\/p>\n (10) From the tower of Syene.<\/strong>The word here translated tower is a proper name, Migdol, a town, mentioned in Exo. 14:2<\/span>, near Suez. Syene has in the original the affix denoting towards,<\/em> and the translation should therefore be, from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia;<\/em> in other words, the whole length of the land. Syene was a town on the extreme southern border of Egypt, represented by the modern Assouan, which is situated near its ruins. There is a like error of translation in Eze. 30:6<\/span>.<\/p>\n 10<\/strong>. <\/strong> From the tower of Syene <\/strong> Rather, as margin of A.V., “from Migdol to Syene” ( Sunnu<\/em>). Migdol (Eze 30:6<\/span>; Exodus 45:2; Num 33:7<\/span>; Jer 44:1<\/span>; Jer 46:14<\/span>) was near to the ancient Pelusium ( Tel Farama<\/em>), and was the great frontier city and recognized north boundary of Egypt in the time of Ezekiel and Herodotus. This fort (Magdolon) guarded the point where the great Syrian highways crossed the canal of Sesostris the shortest route to Syria. (See F. Ll. Griffith, Qantarah, <\/em> pp. 100-103.) Syene (Assouan) was the southernmost town of Upper Egypt, lying on the border of Nubia. The expression took in all Egypt, just as “from Dan to Beer-sheba” meant all Palestine. (See Maspero, Recueil de Travaux en Philippians et Arch., <\/em> 1892.)<\/p>\n “Therefore behold, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation from Migdol to Seveneh (Syene) even to the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither will it be inhabited for forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste will be a desolation forty years, and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them through the countries.”<\/p>\n A parallel fate to that of Judah is prophesied for Egypt. It is to be desolated, although the means is not stated, so that it is desolate from north to south. Migdol (meaning watchtower) would be in the Delta on the Egyptian border (compare Exo 14:2<\/span>), while Seveneh (probably Syene) meaning ‘marketplace’ (Egyptian swn) was on the border with Ethiopia on the first cataract of the Nile (unless we read as ‘from tower to marketplace’). Syene was a fortress and base for expeditions into Nubia (Cush), a terminus for river traffic and a source of red granite for monumental buildings (syenite).<\/p>\n The desolation would go on for ‘forty years’. ‘Forty years’ was a standard period for trial and testing meaning a fixed and fairly long period, and parallels the period for bearing iniquity endured by Judah (Eze 4:6<\/span>). Thus Egypt would suffer a fairly long period of desolation and weakness, probably at the hand of their enemies.<\/p>\n The description of a land where no one will tread is probably intended as an exaggerated picture to give the impression of the awfulness of the situation rather than as literal (just as descriptions of the devastations of Judah and Israel gave a similar impression; compare also Isa 34:10<\/span> with Mal 1:3-4<\/span> of Edom). In its devastation it will be like a land totally deserted.<\/p>\n The dispersal among the countries, which may have occurred towards the end of the forty years, also parallels Judah and Israel. As with them the description is not to be taken literally. It is the cream of the country that is in mind, and it is so described to bring out the parallel. The real point is that Egypt will be made to suffer as Israel (2Ki 17:18<\/span>; 2Ki 17:23<\/span>) and Judah (2Ki 25:11<\/span>; 2Ki 25:26<\/span>) have done. There will be a period when their chief men will be forcibly absent from the land, and when many will flee for refuge into many countries.<\/p>\n We have no record of such an event, as literally described, happening in Egypt although we must remember that there is much of their detailed history hidden to us, and kings did not tend to record their own bad periods. It was clearly to happen at the same time as the devastation of surrounding countries, beginning with invasion by Nebuchadnezzar (Eze 30:23-24<\/span>), but like much prophecy probably also having a far view.<\/p>\n It may be that Pharaoh and his forces and the cream of the aristocracy did have to retreat from their cities beyond their borders at some stage before the fierce invasion of Nebuchadnezzar and later before the Medo-Persians, possibly affected by internal rebellion, later to return, and that many refugees fled to neighbouring countries, remaining there for years, or it may possibly partly point forward to even later invasions and their effects.<\/p>\n Eze 29:10<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>From the tower of Syene<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> From Migdol to Syene. <\/em>Houbigant. Syene <\/em>was the last city in Egypt, going towards Ethiopia. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Eze 29:10 Behold, therefore I [am] against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste [and] desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 10. And against thy rivers.<\/strong> ] The jealous God will down with the earthly idol, whatever it be. See on Eze 29:9<\/span> . <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste.<\/strong> ] Heb., Waste of wastes. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the tower of Syene,<\/strong> ] i.e., <\/em> From south to north.<\/p>\n from the tower of Syene = from Migdol to Syene. Compare Eze 30:6. <\/p>\n the tower = Migdol. See note on Exo 14:2 for “Migdol”, and compare Jer 44:1. In the north of Egypt. <\/p>\n of Syene = to Syene. Hebrew. Seveneh. Now Assouan, in the south. <\/p>\n from the tower <\/p>\n Or, from Migdol to Syene. Exo 14:2; Jer 44:1. <\/p>\n I will: Eze 29:11, Eze 30:12, Hab 3:8 <\/p>\n utterly waste: Heb. wastes of waste <\/p>\n from the tower of: from Migdol to. Eze 30:6-9, Exo 14:2, Jer 44:1, Jer 46:14 <\/p>\n Syene: Heb. Seveneh, Now Essuan, situated at the southern extremity of Egypt – as Migdol was at the northern on the confines of Ethiopia, near the tropic of Cancer, and about lat. 24 degrees n long 32 degrees e. <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Isa 11:15 – shall smite Jer 50:31 – I am Jer 51:43 – a land Eze 13:8 – behold Eze 28:22 – I am against Eze 29:3 – I am Eze 29:9 – the land Eze 35:3 – I am Nah 2:13 – I am<\/p>\n Eze 29:10. Rivers being in the plural form is not accidental for it is used in that sense a number of times in this chapter. The original word is defined by Strong as follows: “Of Egyptian origin; a channel, e. g, a fosse [ditch], canal, shaft; specifically the Nile, as the one river of Egypt, including its collateral [contributory] trenches. When the Nile overflowed something had to be done to take care of the water or it would be wasted. Hence the people of the country made these artificial channels to carry the precious liquid to the various parts of the land, even to the providing of small ditches that would bring the water to the very plants. All of these channels are called rivers and hence the word is used in the plural. The reader should see the historical evidence on irrigation quoted at Deu 11:10-11, volume 1 of this Commentary. The prediction is that Egypt was to be made utterly waste, but we shall learn soon that a specified period was to be decreed for the desolation. The location of Syene and border of Ethiopia makes the prediction mean that Egypt would be laid waste from one end to the other.<\/p>\n Eze 29:10-12. Behold, I am against thee and thy rivers Since thou hast opposed me, I will set myself against thee, and bring down the strength and glory of thy kingdom, wherein thou magnifiest thyself so much. From the tower of Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia If we follow this translation, we must understand the word Cush, rendered here Ethiopia, of Arabia, as it is often taken: see note on Jer 13:23. For Syene was to the south of Egypt, under the tropic of Cancer, and bordering on African Ethiopia: see Plinys Nat. Hist., 50. 5. c. 9. But the words may be properly translated thus: From Migdol to Syene, even to the borders of Ethiopia: compare Eze 30:5; Eze 30:9. Migdol was a town near the Red sea, mentioned Exo 14:2; Jer 44:1; Jer 46:14, (where see the notes,) at the entrance of Egypt from Palestine; whereas Syene was at the other end of the country. What is said here of the devastation of Egypt, appears from this to be spoken only of a part of it, and not the whole. No foot of man shall pass through it, &c. The intestine wars of the Egyptians, and the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, made some provinces of Egypt, which were most the scenes of action, quite desolate; out of which state they did not wholly recover for the space of forty years. And her cities shall be desolate forty years We cannot prove, indeed, from heathen authors, that this desolation of the country continued exactly forty years, though it is likely enough that this, as well as the other conquered countries, did not shake off the Babylonish yoke till the time of Cyrus, which was about forty years after the conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar: but we are assured by Berosus, that Nebuchadnezzar took several captives in Egypt, and carried them to Babylon; and from Megasthenes we learn, that he transplanted and settled others in Pontus. So true it is that they were scattered among the nations, and dispersed through the countries, and might, upon the dissolution of the Babylonian empire, return to their native country. Bishop Newton.<\/p>\n Behold, therefore I [am] against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste [and] desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. 10. the tower of Syene ] Rather: from Migdol unto Syene from Lower Egypt to the southern border of Upper Egypt. Migdol … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 29:10”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21204\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"