Adar II 15 – Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt…

March 25, 2024

Adar II 15, 5784; from sunset March 24, 2024, to sunset March 25, 2024

This is an image of one of the 66 stone tiles known as the “Ezekiel Plates” discovered in the 1800s at the traditional tomb site of the prophet Ezekiel. The tiles contain the entire book of Ezekiel and were placed inside the tomb with the letter-side facing toward the wall. There is an old Talmudic tradition that the original book of Ezekiel was buried with the prophet in his tomb and was left there to be revealed in the last days.

The prophecy below is dated on the fifteenth day of the month, but it doesn’t say which month. Most scholars agree that, since it immediately follows a prophecy dated to the first day of the twelfth month, it, too, occurred in the twelfth month. The year mentioned is the twelfth year – which references the twelfth year of the exile. This is counting from the time when Jehoiachin was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and Zedekiah was installed as king. At that time, Nebuchadnezzar robbed the Temple of its treasures and cut apart the gold furnishings. He also took captive ten thousand people of the elite classes, leaving only the poor behind. Zedekiah then remained king of those poor people for eleven years. Doing the math, both of these prophecies seem to have taken place about a year after the destruction of the Temple.

It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down to the depths of the earth, her and the daughters of the famous nations, with those who go down to the Pit:

`Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’ They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; she is delivered to the sword, drawing her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with those who help him: `They have gone down, they lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

“Assyria is there, and all her company, with their graves all around her, all of them slain, fallen by the sword. Her graves are set in the recesses of the Pit, and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.

“There is Elam and all her multitude, all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living; now they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

They have set her bed in the midst of the slain, with all her multitude, with her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; though their terror was caused In the land of the living, yet they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; it was put in the midst of the slain.

“There are Meshech and Tubal and all their multitudes, with all their graves around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. They do not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who have gone down to hell with their weapons of war; they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities will be on their bones, because of the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Yes, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and lie with those slain by the sword.

“There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who despite their might are laid beside those slain by the sword; they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the Pit. There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain in shame at the terror which they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

“Pharaoh will see them and be comforted over all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword,” says the Lord GOD.

“For I have caused My terror in the land of the living; and he shall be placed in the midst of the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says the Lord GOD. – Ezekiel 32:17-32 (NKJ)

To view all of our posts revolving around Ezekiel, click on the image above.