Chapter 24

The burden of Egypt begins with the words: "Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt are moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt melteth in the midst of it." The clouds with which, or accompanied by which, the Lord comes, are, in the Old and New Testament writings, symbolical indications and representations of judgment; comp. my remarks on Rev. i. 7; and besides the passages quoted there, compare in addition Jer. iv. 13; Rev. xiv. 14. But what judgment is here spoken of? According to _Gesenius_ and other interpreters, the calamity is the victory of Psammeticus over the twelve princes, with which physical calamities are to be joined. But against this view, ver. 11 alone is conclusive, inasmuch as, according to this verse, Pharaoh, at the time when this calamity breaks in upon Egypt, is the ruler of the whole land: "How say ye unto Pharaoh: I am the Son of the wise a (spiritual) son of the kings of ancient times," who are celebrated for their wisdom. In ver. 2, according to which, in Egypt, kingdom fights against kingdom, we cannot, therefore, think of independent kingdom s; but following the way of the LXX., [Greek: nomos epi nomon], of provinces only. Further,--According to _Gesenius_, the fierce lord and cruel king in ver. 4 is assumed to be Psammeticus. But against this the plural alone is decisive. Ezek. xxx. 12--according to which outward enemies, the [Hebrew: zriM], are the cause of the drying up of the Nile, of the ceasing of wealth and prosperity--militates against the assumption of a calamity independent of the political one. The circumstance, that the prophecy under consideration belongs to the series of the _burdens_, and was written in the view of Asshur's advance, leaves us no room to doubt that the Lord is coming to judgment in the oppression by the Asiatic world's power. To this may be added the analogy of the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel against Egypt, which are evidently to be considered as a resumption of the prophecy under consideration, and as an announcement that its realization is constantly going on. They do not know any other calamity than being given up to the Asiatic world's power. Compare _e.g._ Jer. xlvi. 25, 26: "And behold, I visit Pharaoh and Egypt, and their gods and their kings, Pharaoh [Pg 142] and them that trust in him. And I deliver them into the hand of those that seek their soul, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon." After what we have remarked, the discord among the Egyptians in ver. 2, can be considered as the consequence and concomitant of the real and main calamity only: Where God is not in the midst, there, commonly, internal discord is wont to follow upon severe outward affliction, inasmuch as one always imputes to the other the cause of matters going on so badly. And what is said of the drying up of the Nile, we shall thus likewise be obliged to consider as a consequence of the hostile oppression. Waters are, in Scripture, the ordinary image of prosperity; compare remarks on Rev. xvii. 1, 8, 40; xvi. 4. Here the Nile specially is chosen as the symbol of prosperity, inasmuch as upon it the woe and weal of Egypt chiefly depended. In consequence of the hostile invasion which consumes all the strength of the land, the Nile of its prosperity dries up; "its very foundations are destroyed, all who carry on craft are afflicted."

The scope of the prophecy is this: The Lord comes to judgment upon Egypt (through Asshur and those who follow in his tracks), ver. 1. Instead of uniting all the strength against the common enemy, there arises, by the curse of God, discord and dissolution, ver. 2. Egypt falls into a helpless state of distress, ver. 3. "And I give over Egypt into the hand of hard rule, and a fierce king (_Jonathan_: _potens_, sc. Nebuchadnezzar) shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts," ver. 4. The fierce king is the king of Asshur, the Asiatic kingdom; compare the mention of Asshur in ver. 23-25; LXX. [Greek: basileis sklêroi]. For, the fact that the unity is merely an _ideal_ one, is most distinctly and intentionally pointed at by the [Hebrew: adniM] preceding. The prosperity of the land is destroyed, ver. 5-10. The much boasted Egyptian wisdom can as little avert the ruin of the country as it did formerly, in ancient times; its bearers stand confounded and ashamed; nothing will thrive and prosper, vers. 11-15. But the misery produces salutary fruits; it brings about the conversion of Egypt to the God of Israel, and, with this conversion, a full participation in all the privileges and blessings of the Kingdom of God shall be connected, ver. 16, and especially vers. 18-25. This close of the prophecy, which for our purpose is of special consequence, we must still submit to a closer examination.

[Pg 143]

Ver. 18. "_In that day shall be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of hosts; city of destruction the one shall be called._"

_Five_, as usual, here comes into consideration as the half of _ten_, which number represents the whole; "_five_ cities," therefore, is equivalent to: a goodly number of cities. On the words: "Who speak the language of Canaan," _Gesenius_ remarks: "With the spreading of a certain religion resting on certain documents of revelation, as _e.g._ the Jewish religion, the knowledge of their language, too, must be connected." We must not, of course, limit the thought to this, that Hebrew was learned wherever the religion of Jehovah spread. When viewed more deeply, the language of Canaan is spoken by all those who are converted to the true God. Upon the Greek language, _e.g._ the character of the language of Canaan has been impressed in the New Testament. That language which, from primeval times, has been developed in the service of the Spirit, imparts its character to the languages of the world, and changes their character in their deepest foundation.--"To swear to the Lord" is to do Him homage; Michaelis: _Juramento se Domino obstringent_; comp. chap. xlv. 23: "Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." In the words: "City of destruction," [Hebrew: hrs], one shall be called, there is contained an allusion to [Hebrew: qir hrs], "_city of the Sun_" (Heliopolis) which was peculiar to one of the chief seats of Egyptian idolatry. It is the celebrated _On_ or _Bethshemish_ of which Jeremiah prophesies in chap.