Ezekiel 31 Study Notes

31:1-3 Lebanon was known for its cedars (vv. 15-18; Jdg 9:15; 1Kg 4:33; 5:6; 2Kg 14:9; Ezr 3:7; Ps 29:5; 92:12; 104:16). The cedar was a renowned ancient Near Eastern symbol of royalty and majesty. In the Bible it is frequently mentioned in texts describing the production of palaces and temples. The fall of Assyria forms the precedent and paradigm for the fall of Egypt. Isaiah 14:3-23 likewise portrays the demise of the Babylonian king, relating it to the downfall of Assyria (Is 14:24-27; see Nah 3:8-10 for a similar comparison of Egypt and Assyria). Similarly, Isaiah portrayed the Assyrian monarch as a tall tree that would fall (Is 10:5-34). This fifth oracle against Egypt is dated to June 587 BC.

31:4-9 This description of the cedar is reminiscent of the primeval waters of Gn 1:2 as well as the location of the trees in the garden of Eden in Gn 3. These allusions may serve to heighten the origin and significance of the Pharaoh.

31:10-14 Because the tree representing the Pharaoh had become prominent (towered high in stature), it would be cut down (Is 2:6-21; 10:5-34).

31:15-17 Though in the OT the godly may express fear of being abandoned by God to Sheol (Ps 88:3), nowhere is a righteous person said actually to have gone to Sheol. The contrast between the destiny of the righteous and the unrighteous after death is most clearly apparent in Ps 49.

31:18 The trees would die disgracefully as uncircumcised foreigners without a decent burial. This reality would be particularly poignant for Egyptian royalty because they built pyramids in the hopes of making themselves comfortable in the afterlife.