Ezekiel 29:10

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.

Ver. 10. And against thy rivers.] The jealous God will down with the earthly idol, whatever it be. See on Eze 29:9.

And I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste.] Heb., Waste of wastes.

From the tower of Syene,] i.e., From south to north.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 Pliny’s 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.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, Cush, or Ethiopia.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

from the tower of Syene--GROTIUS translates, "from Migdol (a fortress near Pelusium on the north of Suez) to Syene (in the farthest south)"; that is, from one end of Egypt to the other. So "from Migdol to Syene," Eze 30:6, Margin. However, English Version rightly refers Syene to Seveneh, that is, Sebennytus, in the eastern delta of the Nile, the capital of the Lower Egyptian kings. The Sebennyte Pharaohs, with the help of the Canaanites, who, as shepherds or merchants, ranged the desert of Suez, extended their borders beyond the narrow province east of the delta, to which they had been confined by the Pharaohs of Upper Egypt. The defeated party, in derision, named the Sebennyte or Lower Egyptians foreigners and shepherd-kings (a shepherd being an abomination in Egypt, Gen 46:34). They were really a native dynasty. Thus, in English Version, "Ethiopia" in the extreme south is rightly contrasted with Sebennytus or Syene in the north.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. From the tower of Syene] ממגדל מונה mimmigdol seveneh, "from Migdol to Syene." Syene, now called Essuan, was the last city in Egypt, going towards Ethiopia. It was famous for a well into which the rays of the sun fell perpendicularly at midday.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) From the tower of Syene.—The word here translated “tower” is a proper name, Migdol, a town, mentioned in Exo_14:2, near Suez. Syene has in the original the affix denoting towards, and the translation should therefore be, from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia; 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.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. the tower of Syene] Rather: from Migdol unto Syene—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; Jer_44:1; Jer_46:14; Num_33:7). Syene (ch. Eze_30:6), 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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, therefore, I am against thee, and against thy rivers,.... 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 Rev 11:8,

and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate; partly by a civil war, and partly by a foreign enemy; especially those parts of it which were the seat of war:

from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia; 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, Jer 44:1, a town on the Red sea, Exo 14:2, 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.

(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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

From the tower of Syene - 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.

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 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.

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 God’s 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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Tower; or rather (Calmet) Hebrew and Septuagint, "from Magdol to Syene." (Haydock) --- This was on the frontiers of Ethiopia, below the cataracts. (Pliny, [Natural History?] v. 9.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I am against thee: see Eze 28:22.

Thy rivers: see Eze 29:4.

Waste: see Eze 29:9.

The tower; 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; Num 33:7,8; it was on the Red Sea side, north-east of Egypt: from this part unto Syene.

Syene; 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. Let us suppose then Magdalum, instead of

the tower, 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. From the tower of Syene — Rather, as margin of A.V., “from Migdol to Syene” (Sunnu). Migdol (Eze_30:6; Exodus 45:2; Num_33:7; Jer_44:1; Jer_46:14) was near to the ancient Pelusium (Tel Farama), 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, 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., 1892.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

From the tower of Syene, etc. The Authorized Version is misleading, as Syene was itself on the border of Ethiopia. Better, with the Revised Version margin, from Migdol to Syene, even to the border of Ethiopia. The Migdol (equivalent to "tower") so named is mentioned in the "Itinerarium" of Antoninus (p. 171, edit. Wafael), and was about twelve miles from Pelusium, and thus represented the northern extremity of Egypt; as Syene, identified with the modern Assouan, represented the southern, being the last fortified town in Egypt proper. The expedition of Psammis against Ethiopia, as above, had probably given prominence to the latter fortress. So taken, the phrase corresponded to the familiar "from Dan to Beersheba" of Jud_1:20:1, etc.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Syene - Boundary between Ethiopia and Egypt; that is, all Egypt from northeast to southwest.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

from the tower

Or, from Migdol to Syene. Exo 14:2; Jer 44:1.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.