Ezekiel 32:7

Eze 32:7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

Ver. 7. And when I shall put thee out.] Or, Extinguish thee, who art for thy power and glory as one of the world’s great luminaries.

I will cover the heaven, {a} &c.] So great a fume, or rather so vile a snuff, shall exhale, that the heavens shall seem to be muffled, &c. It shall be once again deep darkness over all the land of Egypt; another hyperbole.

{a} Hypallage poetica.

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 32:7-10. And when I shall put thee out — When I shall cast thee down from thy power, and extinguish all thy glory. I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark — It is well known that the downfall of states and kingdoms, kings and princes, is often expressed in the Scriptures by these or such like metaphors: see notes on Isa 13:10; Isa 24:23; Isa 30:26. But here the expressions may mean, I will make every thing look sad and dismal, or will cause a universal sorrow; for to men amidst great calamities and afflictions every thing appears dark and gloomy, and even the light itself seems little different from darkness; and therefore it is usual to express a state of great sorrow by the heavens being covered, and the stars darkened. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee — I will involve thy whole land in trouble and distress, making every thing in it look dismal. I will vex the hearts, &c., when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations — When thy exiles shall be dispersed into foreign countries, (see Eze 29:12,) and relate the miserable circumstances of thy destruction, it shall cause grief and consternation in all that hear it. Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings, &c. — The kings and princes of Africa, who lay near to Egypt, seem here to be spoken of; for the destruction of Egypt could not but fill them with fear for themselves, lest the victor should make them suffer the same fate.

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

32:7-8 As in the previous chapter, Pharaoh’s downfall would be accompanied by global darkness and widespread mourning. These images were commonly associated with the day of the Lord (cp. Joel 2:30). In this case, the darkness would also remind the Egyptians of the plague on Egypt at the time of the Exodus (Exod 10:21-22).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The word signifieth to be put out as a candle is put out.

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

put thee out--extinguish thy light (Job 18:5). Pharaoh is represented as a bright star, at the extinguishing of whose light in the political sky the whole heavenly host is shrouded in sympathetic darkness. Here, too, as in Eze 32:6, there is an allusion to the supernatural darkness sent formerly (Exo 10:21-23). The heavenly bodies are often made images of earthly dynasties (Isa 13:10; Mat 24:29).

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 7. I will cover the heaven] Destroy the empire.

Make the stars thereof dark] Overwhelm all the dependent states.

I will cover the sun] The king himself.

And the moon shall not give her light.] The queen may be meant, or some state less than the kingdom.

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

(7) Make the stars thereof dark.—This verse follows very closely Isa_13:10, spoken of Babylon. In this and the following verse the judgments of God are described in the common prophetic figure of changes in the heavenly bodies. (See Note on Eze_30:18, and references there.)

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

7. put thee out] i.e. extinguish thee. Pharaoh is regarded as a brilliant luminary; cf. Isa_14:12, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O shining one, morning star!” It is doubtful if there is any ref. to the constellation of the dragon. The dragon (Job_3:8; Job_9:13; Job_26:12) is not a constellation but a purely ideal representation of the eclipse or the storm-cloud which swallows up the lights of heaven. The phenomena in the verse are those usually characteristic of the dissolution of nature on the day of the Lord (Isa_13:10; Joe_2:31; Joe_3:15; Amo_8:9); but here they express rather the shock which creation receives when one so great meets with destruction.

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.

And when I shall put thee out,.... As a candle is put out, or some great light or blazing torch is extinguished; such was the king of Egypt in his splendour and glory; but now should be like a lamp put out in obscure darkness, and all his brightness and glory removed from him, Job 18:5,

I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; with the smoke that should arise at the extinguishing of this lamp; or they should be covered with mourning, or clad in black, at the destruction of this monarch and his monarchy:

I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light; all which figures are sometimes made use of to denote the dissolution of kingdoms and states: the "heaven" being an emblem of a kingdom itself; the "sun" of an emperor or king, or kingly power; the "moon" of the queen, or of the priesthood; the "stars" of nobles, princes, counsellors, and such like eminent persons, useful in government; who being destroyed or removed, the light and glory, the prosperity and happiness of a kingdom, are gone; see Isa 13:10. The Targum is,

"tribulation shall cover thee when I shall extinguish the splendour of the glory of thy kingdom from heaven; and the people of thine army shall be lessened, who are many as the stars; a king with his army shall cover thee as a cloud that ascends and covers the sun, and as the moon, whose light does not shine in the day.''

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

Out, like a candle, by death; extinctus. (Haydock) --- The glory of Egypt was so great, that at its fall the light of heaven seemed diminished. (Worthington) --- Great desolation is thus intimated. --- When, &c., is not is some Latin copies, nor in Hebrew, &c. (Calmet)

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).

Put thee out; as a torch is extinguished, Isa 43:17, so I will put out thy light, and turn thee into darkness.

Cover the heaven; either by dark vapours that arise from blood and putrefying carcasses, which darken the heavens; or it is a description of great sorrows, fears, troubles, and perplexities; or else it may intimate particularly the total ruin of the whole kingdom, in which the best, greatest, and noblest parts are; as heaven suppose the government, the sun the king, the moon the queen, the stars the princes and nobles, bright lights the most eminent of the subjects for wisdom and understanding, and then the land the common people: all shall be covered with clouds, and darkness of misery first, and sorrow next. Or it is possible that some unusual darknesses might be seen in the heavens and on the earth about that time.

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

7, 8. Instead of dark read “black.”

Put thee out — That is, extinguish. This imagery of calamity and sorrow is very common among all oriental nations. (See especially Joe_2:10; Joe_2:13; Joe_3:15; Amo_8:9.)

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

When I shall put thee out; better, with the Revised Version, extinguish. The verb is used of lamps in 2Ch_29:7. The change of metaphor is at first startling, but I follow Ewald, Hitzig, and Smend, in thinking that there is a traceable sequence of ideas. The "dragon of the Egyptian waters" suggested the "dragon" which was conspicuous between Ursa Major and Minor among the constellations of the heavens, and the name of which, probably derived by the Greek astronomers from a remote past, suggested that of an enemy of God. (comp. Isa_51:9) So taken,the new comparison finds a parallel in that of the King of Babylon to Lucifer, the morning star, in Isa_14:12. Upon this there follows naturally the imagery of Eze_30:18; Isa_34:4. As the othertrees of the forest had mourned for the cedar, (Eze_31:15) so the other lights of heaven mourn for that particular star which has been quenched for ever. (comp. for the general imagery. Isa_13:10; Joe_2:10 Joe_3:4, Hebrew "English version, Eze 2)

Vers. 7-10. The sympathy of nature and of man with a fallen people.

The greatness of the catastrophe by which Egypt is to be overwhelmed is depicted by the prophet in a strikings, and poetical manner. It is represented that an impression is made thereby upon the heavenly bodies by which the earth is illumined, and upon the nations and kings who are astonished witnesses of the overthrow of one of the greatest monarchies of the world.

I THE LUMINARIES OF THE DAY AND OF THE NIGHT VEIL THEIR SPLENDOUR AND WITHDRAW THEIR SHINING. The Scriptures teach us that all nature is a vehicle for the manifestation of Divine attributes, and that creation, in a very real sense, is one. Hence the sympathy appointed between nature and humanity. When men"s sins are grievous, the floods cover the earth and sweep its guilty inhabitants into destruction. When the children of light strive in battle with the children of darkness, the sun stands still to prolong the hours of victory and pursuit. When the Savior expires upon the cross, it is amidst thick darkness. When the Holy Spirit is given, it is with the rush of wind and with lambent flames. These are but some instances of the part which nature plays in human history. No wonder, then, that when the Almighty, by the hand of his servant Nebuchadnezzar, smites Egypt to its fall, the sun, the moon, and the stars should be represented as withholding their light, as weeping over the calamities of one of the greatest of human powers.

II THE PEOPLES AND THEIR KINGS ARE AMAZED AND TREMBLE AS FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY.

1. They experience a natural compassion for fallen greatness; it is a spectacle fitted to melt every heart. Envy and hatred vanish in the presence of misfortune so appalling.

2. They feel themselves in the presence of a supernatural power, which is righteousness taking the form of judicial interposition. The consciousness of the nearness and action of such a power is enough to rouse any nation from insensibility, secularity, and unspirituality. The hand of God is seen and the voice of God is heard. The Lord himself is near.

3. They mingle with the general apprehension of the activity of supernatural justice a certain apprehension and fear with regard to themselves. Have they not shared in some measure Egypt"s sin? Have they not reason to dread Egypt"s punishment? Who are they that they should be exempt from the retributive justice of the Eternal? The sword is brandished before them: may it not smite them? They tremble every man for his own life. T.

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

Put thee out - As a torch is extinguished. Cover the sun - Probably some unusual darkness was seen in the heavens, and on the earth, about that time.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues telling Pharaoh what he will do to Egypt.

when I extinguish you

It was common to speak of a person's life as if it were a lamp that could be put out. AT: "When I destroy you" (See: Metaphor)

I will cover the heavens

Yahweh speaks of making the stars dark as if he were putting a cover over the sky. AT: "I will make everything in the sky go dark" (See: Metaphor)

I will put darkness over your land

Darkness is spoken of as if it were something that someone could spread over everything. AT: "I will make it dark in your land" (See: Metaphor)

this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration

Yahweh speaks of himself by name to express the certainty of what he is declaring. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 5:11. AT: "this is what the Lord Yahweh has declared" or "this is what I, the Lord Yahweh, have declared" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

translationWords

heaven

light

darkness

Lord Yahweh

declare

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And with your smoke I will cover the heavens [Heb. בְּכַבּוֹתְךָ, lit. with you extinguishing.] When your conflagration will be extinguished, the smoke will rise and cover the sky and darken the luminaries; i.e., all who hear the news of what happened to you will mourn and be astonished, because everyone will worry about himself, saying, “The destroyer will stand up over us as well.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.