Contents:
Summary
Chapters with Brit-Am Commentary

Summary:
Chapter 26: The Palestinians and anti-Semites should not be tolerated. Toleration such rogues is like committing idolatry. Judah needs Samaria to return and to teach Samaria.

Chapter 27: Jehoiacin was the dry tree who was made to flourish. Through him would the House of David be greatly increased.

Chapter 28: We have to free ourselves from the negative influences imposed upon us by our own society. God wants our good for our sakes.
Chapter 29: "Israel" was once exceedingly well-off but because of her sins she is punished.
Chapter 30: Settling in the Land, as an Israelite, requires the keeping of the law of Moses.

Contents:
Chapters with Brit-Am Commentary:
Ezekiel 26 to 30
Ezekiel 26
[Ezekiel 26:1] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE ELEVENTH YEAR, IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:2] SON OF MAN, BECAUSE THAT TYRUS HATH SAID AGAINST JERUSALEM, AHA, SHE IS BROKEN THAT WAS THE GATES OF THE PEOPLE: SHE IS TURNED UNTO ME: I SHALL BE REPLENISHED, NOW SHE IS LAID WASTE: 
TYRUS: i.e. The major Phoenician city of Tyre. The ships of Tyre had participated (together with Edom and the Philistines) in transporting part of the exiled Ten Tribes across the sea to Spain as we explained elsewhere.
Apparently Jerusalem had been an important trading center of international importance. Tyre considered Jerusalem a rival and was happy at her destruction since the trade that had reached Jerusalem would now come to Tyre. The people of Tyre were mainly Canaanites but they included Israelites, Edomites, Greeks, and others. There were two sections of Tyre, one was on the mainland and the other was an island just off the coast.
Cf. "Lost Israelite Identity" chapter eight:
 
  PHOENICIAN AND HEBREW SYMBIOSIS
 
            Nahum Slouschz wrote a book "Les Hebreo-Pheniciens" (i.e. "The Hebrew-Phoenicians", Paris 1909) in which he analysed the inter-connections between the Phoenicians and the ancient Israelites. According to Slouschz the Phoenicians in Classical mythology were represented by the figures of Cadmos and Hercules. Cadmos was based on an earlier tradition regarding the Phoenician forerunners whereas Hercules (called Melquart by the Phoenicians) represented them within Historical Classical times.   
                        Cadmos and the name of his sister, Europa, show an early Phoenician related connexion with the west.
            Agenor (father of Cadmos) represents Phoenicia. He was the son of Poseidon. Another son of Poseidon (Neptune) was Albion who according to Greek tradition founded a kingdom in Britain. The hinterland of Phoenicia is known as Lebanon. "Albion" (i.e. Britain in Classical terms) is synonymous in meaning with "Lebanon". Both words indicate "whiteness" and both derive from the same root.
[This ties in with Britain representing Ephraim and Ephraim being destined to inherit the Lebanon, as mentioned by Zechariah:
<<AND THEY OF EPHRAIM SHALL BE LIKE A MIGHTY MAN, AND THEIR HEART SHALL REJOICE AS THROUGH WINE: YEA, THEIR CHILDREN SHALL SEE IT, AND BE GLAD; THEIR HEART SHALL REJOICE IN THE LORD.                     
<<I WILL BRING THEM AGAIN ALSO OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND GATHER THEM OUT OF ASSYRIA; AND I WILL BRING THEM INTO THE LAND OF GILEAD AND LEBANON; AND PLACE SHALL NOT BE FOUND FOR THEM [Zechariah 10:7,10].                     
Egypt and Assyria could apply to areas in Europe.
Gilead means Syria and Lebanon means Lebanon. These areas will be re-populated by the Lost Ten Tribes represented by "Ephraim".]
 
 
THE PHOENICIANS AND ISRAELITES.
 
We have evidence from Phoenician sources of an Israelite connection with Tyre: 
            The Phoenician historian, Sanchuniathon (ca.300 b.c.e) was cited by Philo, Eusebius and others. He stated that the city of Tyre had been founded by Sameroumous and Ou'soos. Sameroumous was a maker of tents and is attributed characteristics of Jacob (Gen..26;27). His name appears to be a play on that of "Samaria" meaning the northern Israelite kingdom. This indicates a partial Israelite involvement in Tyrian (i.e. Phoenician) enterprise and settlement. On the other hand, the name "TYRE" sometimes serves as an euphemism for the descendants of Esau41.  Ousoos who also, said Sanchuniathon, founded Tyre is given the qualities of Esau the brother of Jacob. Esau was ancestor to Edom and an entity of Edom occupied a portion of  Tyre on its landward side. Esau is considered the arch enemy of Israel.
  
Concerning Tyre, compare too this passage from Zechariah and our Commentary there:
[Zechariah 9:1] THE BURDEN OF THE WORD OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF HADRACH, AND DAMASCUS SHALL BE THE REST THEREOF: WHEN THE EYES OF MAN, AS OF ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL, SHALL BE TOWARD THE LORD.                     
 
The future borders of Israel shall reach beyond the Euphrates. As explained in "Lost Israelite Identity"
The Biblical Damascus actually stood on the Euphrates. Hadrach was the center of Lias which land the Tribe of Dan once conquered (Judges chapter 18, see "Lost Israelite Identity" by Yair Davidy).
 
[Zechariah 9:2] AND HAMATH ALSO SHALL BORDER THEREBY; TYRUS, AND ZIDON, THOUGH IT BE VERY WISE.                     
 
[Zechariah 9:3] AND TYRUS DID BUILD HERSELF A STRONG HOLD, AND HEAPED UP SILVER AS THE DUST, AND FINE GOLD AS THE MIRE OF THE STREETS.                     
 
Tyrus is Tyre the major Phoenecian city.
Consider this extract from Abrabanel and aplly the principle mentioned to other passages:
 
"Tyre that was adjacent to Israel has already been destroyed a long time ago"after it was destroyed"Venice was built by descendants of Tyre"all the descriptions and occupations that the Prophets applied to Tyre pertain to Venice that was built up from the people of Tyre in the image and form of Tyre after it having been destroyed".
 
Abarbanel wrote in the 1490s. Today his words may well be applicable to Japan. Tyre was a Phoenecian city populated by Canaanites and Edomites and Japan does have a Canaanite and Edomite components in its population.
 
 
   Getting back to Ezekiel:         
 
[Ezekiel 26:3] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST THEE, O TYRUS, AND WILL CAUSE MANY NATIONS TO COME UP AGAINST THEE, AS THE SEA CAUSETH HIS WAVES TO COME UP.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:4] AND THEY SHALL DESTROY THE WALLS OF TYRUS, AND BREAK DOWN HER TOWERS: I WILL ALSO SCRAPE HER DUST FROM HER, AND MAKE HER LIKE THE TOP OF A ROCK.
<<A ROCK: In Hebrew "sela". This is a play on associations since the name "Tyre" ("Tsur" in Hebrew) also signifies a rock.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:5] IT SHALL BE A PLACE FOR THE SPREADING OF NETS IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA: FOR I HAVE SPOKEN IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD: AND IT SHALL BECOME A SPOIL TO THE NATIONS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:6] AND HER DAUGHTERS WHICH ARE IN THE FIELD SHALL BE SLAIN BY THE SWORD; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.
<<HER DAUGHTERS WHICH ARE IN THE FIELD: her suburbs round about.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:7] FOR THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I WILL BRING UPON TYRUS NEBUCHADREZZAR KING OF BABYLON, A KING OF KINGS, FROM THE NORTH, WITH HORSES, AND WITH CHARIOTS, AND WITH HORSEMEN, AND COMPANIES, AND MUCH PEOPLE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:8] HE SHALL SLAY WITH THE SWORD THY DAUGHTERS IN THE FIELD: AND HE SHALL MAKE A FORT AGAINST THEE, AND CAST A MOUNT AGAINST THEE, AND LIFT UP THE BUCKLER AGAINST THEE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:9] AND HE SHALL SET ENGINES OF WAR AGAINST THY WALLS, AND WITH HIS AXES HE SHALL BREAK DOWN THY TOWERS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:10] BY REASON OF THE ABUNDANCE OF HIS HORSES THEIR DUST SHALL COVER THEE: THY  WALLS SHALL SHAKE AT THE NOISE OF THE HORSEMEN, AND OF THE WHEELS, AND OF THE CHARIOTS, WHEN HE SHALL ENTER INTO THY GATES, AS MEN ENTER INTO A CITY WHEREIN IS MADE A BREACH.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:11] WITH THE HOOFS OF HIS HORSES SHALL HE TREAD DOWN ALL THY STREETS: HE SHALL SLAY THY PEOPLE BY THE SWORD, AND THY STRONG GARRISONS SHALL GO DOWN TO THE GROUND.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:12] AND THEY SHALL MAKE A SPOIL OF THY RICHES, AND MAKE A PREY OF THY MERCHANDISE: AND THEY SHALL BREAK DOWN THY WALLS, AND DESTROY THY PLEASANT HOUSES: AND THEY SHALL LAY THY STONES AND THY TIMBER AND THY DUST IN THE MIDST OF THE WATER.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:13] AND I WILL CAUSE THE NOISE OF THY SONGS TO CEASE; AND THE SOUND OF THY HARPS SHALL BE NO MORE HEARD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:14] AND I WILL MAKE THEE LIKE THE TOP OF A ROCK: THOU SHALT BE A PLACE TO SPREAD  NETS UPON; THOU SHALT BE BUILT NO MORE: FOR I THE LORD HAVE SPOKEN IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:15] THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD TO TYRUS; SHALL NOT THE ISLES SHAKE AT THE SOUND OF THY FALL, WHEN THE WOUNDED CRY, WHEN THE SLAUGHTER IS MADE IN THE MIDST OF THEE"
<<ISLES: The British Isles" The Phoenicians settled in southern Spain. They mined tin in Cornwall in Britain and according to tradition also had a presence in Ireland. They also visited Scandinavia and may have had settlements there.                 
 
[Ezekiel 26:16] THEN ALL THE PRINCES OF THE SEA SHALL COME DOWN FROM THEIR THRONES, AND LAY AWAY THEIR ROBES, AND PUT OFF THEIR BROIDERED GARMENTS: THEY SHALL CLOTHE THEMSELVES WITH TREMBLING; THEY SHALL SIT UPON THE GROUND, AND SHALL TREMBLE AT EVERY MOMENT, AND BE ASTONISHED AT THEE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:17] AND THEY SHALL TAKE UP A LAMENTATION FOR THEE, AND SAY TO THEE, HOW ART THOU DESTROYED, THAT WAST INHABITED OF SEAFARING MEN, THE RENOWNED CITY, WHICH WAST STRONG I  THE SEA, SHE AND HER INHABITANTS, WHICH CAUSE THEIR TERROR TO BE ON ALL THAT HAUNT IT!                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:18] NOW SHALL THE ISLES TREMBLE IN THE DAY OF THY FALL; YEA, THE ISLES THAT ARE IN THE  SEA SHALL BE TROUBLED AT THY DEPARTURE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:19] FOR THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; WHEN I SHALL MAKE THEE A DESOLATE CITY, LIKE THE CITIES THAT ARE NOT INHABITED; WHEN I SHALL BRING UP THE DEEP UPON THEE, AND GREAT WATERS  SHALL COVER THEE;                     
 
[Ezekiel 26:20] WHEN I SHALL BRING THEE DOWN WITH THEM THAT DESCEND INTO THE PIT, WITH THE PEOPLE OF OLD TIME, AND SHALL SET THEE IN THE LOW PARTS OF THE EARTH, IN PLACES DESOLATE OF OLD, WITH THEM THAT GO DOWN TO THE PIT, THAT THOU BE NOT INHABITED; AND I SHALL SET GLORY IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING;
<<AND I SHALL SET GLORY IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING: This is a hint at the eventual restoration of Jerusalem ("DM": Moshkovitz).                    
 
[Ezekiel 26:21] I WILL MAKE THEE A TERROR, AND THOU SHALT BE NO MORE: THOUGH THOU BE SOUGHT FOR, YET SHALT THOU NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN, SAITH THE LORD GOD.
 

Ezekiel 27
[Ezekiel 27:1] THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME AGAIN UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:2] NOW, THOU SON OF MAN, TAKE UP A LAMENTATION FOR TYRUS;                     
27;2: Tyre sits at the entrances to the seas and trades with many isles. Tyre was the major Phoenician city though Sidon was also important. Arvad and Gebal (Byblos) were also Phoenician cities. The Phoenicians were a mixture of people who in the later stages of their history identified themselves as Canaanites. The Phoenicians established colonies in North Africa, France, Spain, and according to Diodorus also in western and northern Europe. They mined tin on Cornwall. Carthage in North Africa was a Phoenician colony first settled by refugees from Tyre. Carthage was destined to become mighty empire in its own right and wage several wars with Rome, known as the "Punic" wars.
According to Professor Manasheh Harel ("Yechezkiel", Davidson): The four major branches of the Phoenician economy were (a) ship-building; (b) dyes, especially blue and purple dyes, for wool and  linen fabrics; (c) fishing; (d) trading.
Trading was the most important activity. International trading activities included the exchange of animals (sheep, goats, horses, mules); agricultural products for food, clothing, and balm; luxury goods such as precious stones, gold and silver products, and ivory carvings; Metals such as iron, copper, tin, and lead; slaves from all over the world.
The most important metal in use was bronze which is an alloy of copper and tin. Most of the tin came from Britain and the Phoenician monopoly on trade in tin was important.  
 
[Ezekiel 27:3] AND SAY UNTO TYRUS, O THOU THAT ART SITUATE AT THE ENTRY OF THE SEA, WHICH ART A MERCHANT OF THE PEOPLE FOR MANY ISLES, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; O TYRUS, THOU HAST  SAID, I AM OF PERFECT BEAUTY.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:4] THY BORDERS ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS; THY BUILDERS HAVE PERFECTED THY BEAUTY. 
Archaeological finds indicate that Cyprus, eastern Greece, and the northern section of Israel fulfilled important roles in the economy of Tyre.
The major part of the city of Tyre was an island 700 meters from the coast. Assyrian illustrations depict the walls of Tyre with high towers intermittently protruding. The topmost section of the wall was covered with shields behind which the defenders would make their stand.  The walled city of Tyre from the coast had the appearance of a great majestic ship. The ships of Tyre were quite large and traveled all over the seas. They were the best in the Ancient World. Different parts of the ship were made of different materials: A certain type of wood imported from one place would be used for one section of the boat and another type of wood (brought from somewhere else) would be considered more appropriate for another part. The prophet uses this aspect of the ships of Tyre as symbolic of Tyre itself. 
 
[Ezekiel 27:5] THEY HAVE MADE ALL THY SHIP BOARDS OF FIR TREES OF SENIR: THEY HAVE TAKEN CEDARS FROM LEBANON TO MAKE MASTS FOR THEE.                     
Ezekiel (ch.27) lists the places with whom Tyre traded and what goods they supplied.
27;5: Fir trees (or juniper tree) from Senir and cedars from Lebanon were used for ship building. 
 
[Ezekiel 27:6] OF THE OAKS OF BASHAN HAVE THEY MADE THINE OARS; THE COMPANY OF THE ASHURITES HAVE MADE THY BENCHES OF IVORY, BROUGHT OUT OF THE ISLES OF CHITTIM.                     
27;6: Oaks from Bashan  for oars, benches inlaid with ivory from Asher from the Isles of the Chittim. Bashan and Asher of Israel, Cyprus and Italy:  "Bashan" was in the territory of Menasseh east of the Jordan.
"Asher" (of Israel) was in northern Syria where in ancient times elephants were hunted for their ivory.
"Isles of the Chittim" meant Cyprus and Islands about Italy which is interesting since it implies that Israelites from the Tribe of Asher had also reached those areas. This verse may contain a hint concerning the Israelite presence on Sardinia which was named after Sered from the Tribe of Zebulon and from which Isle Hebrews appear to have moved to northern Scotland.
"COMPANY OF THE ASHURITES": In Hebrew "Bath-Ashurim" which most commentators say was a kind of tree found in Cyprus. This is not how we understood the expression.
Ezekiel is describing the trading activities that had made Tyre a great power in recent times though changes had already taken place. The Lost Ten Tribes and several other peoples had been uprooted and exiled by the Assyrians and Babylonians. The Assyrians had first began to replace the Phoenicians in the eastern Mediterranean with Greek settlers. 
 
[Ezekiel 27:7] FINE LINEN WITH BROIDERED WORK FROM EGYPT WAS THAT WHICH THOU SPREADEST FORTH TO BE THY SAIL; BLUE AND PURPLE FROM THE ISLES OF ELISHAH WAS THAT WHICH COVERED THEE.                     
27;7: Fine embroidered linen from Egypt (Mitsrayim) for sails, to be your standard, blue and purple from the Isles of Elishah covered you...
"Isles of Elisha" refers presumably to the Islands of Helas, i.e. of Greece. Though the manufacturing of purple is believed to have become a Phoenician monopoly and in the Talmud (Megilla 6.a) is associated with the Israelite Tribe of Zebulon, some say that the process had Minoan (Cretan) origins.
 
[Ezekiel 27:8] THE INHABITANTS OF ZIDON AND ARVAD WERE THY MARINERS: THY WISE MEN, O TYRUS, THAT WERE IN THEE, WERE THY PILOTS.                     
Tyre employed sailors from the Phonenician cities of Sidon ("Zidon") and Arvad.
 
[Ezekiel 27:9] THE ANCIENTS OF GEBAL AND THE WISE MEN THEREOF WERE IN THEE THY CALKERS: ALL THE SHIPS OF THE SEA WITH THEIR MARINERS WERE IN THEE TO OCCUPY THY MERCHANDISE.                     
<<GEBAL: also known as "Byblos". The Greeks purchased Egyptian papyrus from Gebal. They used the papyrus for writing material. This could be were our word "bible" comes from.
"CALKERS" i.e. caulkers who use tar and other materials to ensure that the boat is water-proof.
MARINERS WERE IN THEE TO OCCUPY THY MERCHANDISE: I would translate this from the Hebrew as "sailors who mortgaged themselves to you" or instead of  "mortgaged themselves" perhaps "were your guarantors".
The elders and wisemen of Gebal would maintain your ships, all the ships of the sea and their sailors mortgaged themselves to you.
 
[Ezekiel 27:10] THEY OF PERSIA AND OF LUD AND OF PHUT WERE IN THINE ARMY, THY MEN OF WAR: THEY HANGED THE SHIELD AND HELMET IN THEE; THEY SET FORTH THY COMELINESS.                     
10:From Persia and Lydia and Phut came men to serve in your armies. Lydia was inn the western section of mainland Turkey.
 
[Ezekiel 27:11] THE MEN OF ARVAD WITH THINE ARMY WERE UPON THY WALLS ROUND ABOUT, AND THE GAMMADIMS WERE IN THY TOWERS: THEY HANGED THEIR SHIELDS UPON THY WALLS ROUND ABOUT; THEY HAVE MADE THY BEAUTY PERFECT.                     
The natives of Arwad and your own soldiers manned your walls round about. Pygmies [Hebrew: "Gamadim"] in your towers hung their shields around your walls.  They perfected your beauty. The above verses indicate international connections and great specialization in supply and organization. The use of Pygmies to man very high almost inaccessible towers about the walls probably had military value. Pygmies make small targets. They are agile and they probably could climb up heights difficult of access to larger mortals.
 
[Ezekiel 27:12] TARSHISH WAS THY MERCHANT BY REASON OF THE MULTITUDE OF ALL KIND OF RICHES; WITH SILVER, IRON, TIN, AND LEAD, THEY TRADED IN THY FAIRS.                     
Ezekiel 27;12: Tarshish was a merchandiser of yours. With great capital, through trade in silver, iron, tin, and lead they laid up surpluses.  
             Tarsis was in Spain possibly centred on the region of Gibraltar. Tarshish served as a trading emporium for goods from Spain, Britain, and Gaul. Tarshish according to D'Arbois de Jubainville once controlled most of Gaul. The Israelites in the time of Solomon and afterwards traded with Tarshish and may have had a base there. Later after the Assyrian exile Israelites and Phoenicians were re settled in the Tarshish area. The Hebrew association with Gibraltar is therefore of long standing and even today Gibraltar remains a British base.
 
[Ezekiel 27:13] JAVAN, TUBAL, AND MESHECH, THEY WERE THY MERCHANTS: THEY TRADED THE PERSONS OF MEN AND VESSELS OF BRASS IN THY MARKET.                     
27;13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They traded men and bronzeware in your markets.
Javan is Ionia in western Anatolia (the Asian part of modern Turkey) or Greece which was settled by Javan.
Tubal and Meshech were then also in Anatolia but today are identified with peoples who settled in Russia, Meshech gave its name to Moscow, Tubal to Tibilis (Tiflis) capital of Georgia in the Caucasus. There are authorities (such as Josephon and Abarbanel) who connect Tubal with Spain. People from Anatolia did settle around the coasts of Spain according to Classical sources.
 
 
[Ezekiel 27:14] THEY OF THE HOUSE OF TOGARMAH TRADED IN THY FAIRS WITH HORSES AND HORSEMEN AND MULES.                     
Togarma son of Gomer son of Japheth is identified with Tilgarimu north of Carcamish (in northwest Syria) and to the west of Armenia. This was to become a Cimmerian region.   
 
[Ezekiel 27:15] THE MEN OF DEDAN WERE THY MERCHANTS; MANY ISLES WERE THE MERCHANDISE OF THINE HAND: THEY BROUGHT THEE FOR A PRESENT HORNS OF IVORY AND EBONY.                     
Men of Dedan were your merchants. Many isles traded with you, ivory and ebony.
The Phoenicians introduced their alphabet to the Indonesian islands. They probably had contacts with Polynesia. The present day king of Tonga is a student of ancient Phoenician sea craft. 
<<EBONY: Hebrew "Eshcor", meaning uncertain, probably a scent of some kind from the east.
 
[Ezekiel 27:16] SYRIA WAS THY MERCHANT BY REASON OF THE MULTITUDE OF THE WARES OF THY MAKING: THEY OCCUPIED IN THY FAIRS WITH EMERALDS, PURPLE, AND BROIDERED WORK, AND FINE LINEN, AND CORAL, AND AGATE.                     
Aram (Syria) was your merchant  in precious stones and fabrics.
 <<FINE LINEN: Hebrew "bootz": Professor Chaim Rabin says that this was actually cotton from India that was brought overland via Syria to the Mediterranean coast. 
 
[Ezekiel 27:17] JUDAH, AND THE LAND OF ISRAEL, THEY WERE THY MERCHANTS: THEY TRADED IN THY MARKET WHEAT OF MINNITH, AND PANNAG, AND HONEY, AND OIL, AND BALM.
<<THE LAND OF ISRAEL: Ezekiel is speaking of a period prior to the exile of the Ten Tribes. Professor Gershon Brin says that Ezekiel in this prophecy may well have been using an ancient list of names. Such lists would be arranged in poetic form singing the raises of Tyre. The Prophets lived in a culture that was both highly literate while combining characteristics of illiterate societies. The impression is that they would commit much to memory, repeat descriptions of events, heroic stories, and words of wisdom in song in such a way that memory came easy and a good deal of the general culture was always present in their subconscious. When the Prophets gave forth their prophecy they would dress their messages in form, style, expression, even partial content, that was taken from their own experiences and learning.                   
Judah and the Land of Israel supplied wheat, grains, honey, oil, and agricultural products.
<<WHEAT OF MINNITH: Wheat that grew on the hills near Minith in Ammon. This was supplied to the coast via Judah. The trade had already ceased it would seem when Ezekiel prophesied but, as we said, Ezekiel was describing the situation that had led to the greatness of Tyre.
 
[Ezekiel 27:18] DAMASCUS WAS THY MERCHANT IN THE MULTITUDE OF THE WARES OF THY MAKING, FOR THE MULTITUDE OF ALL RICHES; IN THE WINE OF HELBON, AND WHITE WOOL.                     
Damascus traded in most of your products, most of its capital was involved with your trade, it  gave over Helbon wine and white wool.             
 
[Ezekiel 27:19] DAN ALSO AND JAVAN GOING TO AND FRO OCCUPIED IN THY FAIRS: BRIGHT IRON, CASSIA, AND CALAMUS, WERE IN THY MARKET.
                    
The Israelite Tribe of Dan and Ancient Greece
            In this verse the Israelite Tribe of Dan is linked with Javan meaning Greece and Greek legend recalled the Israelite children of Danaus among the founders of Greek civilization. Modern archaeological studies (see the Cambridge Ancient History) tend to identify the mythical "children of Danaus" with Hyksos settlers who left Egypt and founded early Mycenaean colonies in Greece.
 
Dan and Javan from Uzzal brought you supplies of iron and steel products.     
 
            The site of Dan in northern Galilee was a metallurgical centre. The Dananu in Cilicia (northwest Syria and southeast Turkey) also belonged to Dan of Israel and here too supplies of iron ore were available. 
<<BRIGHT IRON: "barzel osoth": "manufactured iron", possibly steel according to Menachem ben Chelbo in the Middle Ages.
<<CASSIA, AND CALAMUS: Elsehwere I have translated these words from the Hebrew as referring to forms of metal manufacture.
 
[Ezekiel 27:20] DEDAN WAS THY MERCHANT IN PRECIOUS CLOTHES FOR CHARIOTS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:21] ARABIA, AND ALL THE PRINCES OF KEDAR, THEY OCCUPIED WITH THEE IN LAMBS, AND RAMS, AND GOATS: IN THESE WERE THEY THY MERCHANTS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:22] THE MERCHANTS OF SHEBA AND RAAMAH, THEY WERE THY MERCHANTS: THEY OCCUPIED IN THY FAIRS WITH CHIEF OF ALL SPICES, AND WITH ALL PRECIOUS STONES, AND GOLD.                     
Sheba and Rama brought spices, precious stones and gold.
Sheba and Rama refer to India. Rama is still an ancestral figure in Hindu mythology (B.Sieger).
 
 
[Ezekiel 27:23] HARAN, AND CANNEH, AND EDEN, THE MERCHANTS OF SHEBA, ASSHUR, AND CHILMAD, WERE THY MERCHANTS.
<<ASSHUR: i.e. Assyria.
<<CHILMAD: probably Media (cf. Targum).                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:24] THESE WERE THY MERCHANTS IN ALL SORTS OF THINGS, IN BLUE CLOTHES, AND BROIDERED WORK, AND IN CHESTS OF RICH APPAREL, BOUND WITH CORDS, AND MADE OF CEDAR, AMONG THY MERCHANDISE.                     
Harran and Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad traded with you. These were your merchants in finished products and raw materials ...   
 
[Ezekiel 27:25] THE SHIPS OF TARSHISH DID SING OF THEE IN THY MARKET: AND THOU WAST  REPLENISHED, AND MADE VERY GLORIOUS IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS.                     
<<SHIPS OF TARSHISH: The list of traders with Tyre of Phoenicia rounds off by recalling "the ships of Tarshish" as the means through which Tyre traded.
"The ships of Tarshish" were the caravans for your markets; and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
 
[Ezekiel 27:26] THY ROWERS HAVE BROUGHT THEE INTO GREAT WATERS: THE EAST WIND HATH BROKEN THEE IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:27] THY RICHES, AND THY FAIRS, THY MERCHANDISE, THY MARINERS, AND THY PILOTS, THY CALKERS, AND THE OCCUPIERS OF THY MERCHANDISE, AND ALL THY MEN OF WAR, THAT ARE IN THEE, AND IN ALL THY COMPANY WHICH IS IN THE MIDST OF THEE, SHALL FALL INTO THE MIDST OF THE SEAS IN THE DAY OF THY RUIN.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:28] THE SUBURBS SHALL SHAKE AT THE SOUND OF THE CRY OF THY PILOTS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:29] AND ALL THAT HANDLE THE OAR, THE MARINERS, AND ALL THE PILOTS OF THE SEA, SHALL COME DOWN FROM THEIR SHIPS, THEY SHALL STAND UPON THE LAND;                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:30] AND SHALL CAUSE THEIR VOICE TO BE HEARD AGAINST THEE, AND SHALL CRY BITTERLY, AND SHALL CAST UP DUST UPON THEIR HEADS, THEY SHALL WALLOW THEMSELVES IN THE ASHES:                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:31] AND THEY SHALL MAKE THEMSELVES UTTERLY BALD FOR THEE, AND GIRD THEM WITH  SACKCLOTH, AND THEY SHALL WEEP FOR THEE WITH BITTERNESS OF HEART AND BITTER WAILING.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:32] AND IN THEIR WAILING THEY SHALL TAKE UP A LAMENTATION FOR THEE, AND LAMENT OVER THEE, SAYING, WHAT CITY IS LIKE TYRUS, LIKE THE DESTROYED IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA"                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:33] WHEN THY WARES WENT FORTH OUT OF THE SEAS, THOU FILLEDST MANY PEOPLE; THOU DIDST ENRICH THE KINGS OF THE EARTH WITH THE MULTITUDE OF THY RICHES AND OF THY MERCHANDISE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:34] IN THE TIME WHEN THOU SHALT BE BROKEN BY THE SEAS IN THE DEPTHS OF THE WATERS THY MERCHANDISE AND ALL THY COMPANY IN THE MIDST OF THEE SHALL FALL.                     
 
[Ezekiel 27:35] ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLES SHALL BE ASTONISHED AT THEE, AND THEIR KINGS SHALL BE SORE AFRAID, THEY SHALL BE TROUBLED IN THEIR COUNTENANCE. 
<<ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLES: Of Britain" The Phoenicians also settled in West Africa and from there they apparently founded the Olmec civilization in Mexico. Some West African tribes have traditions that indicate Phoenician-connected ancestry.     
The original physical type of the Phoenicians is uncertain. They are often depicted by the Egyptians as darkish but sometimes as blonde or red-haired and blue-eyed. Mesopotamian depictions indicate that Africans were present amongst them from the beginning.             
 
[Ezekiel 27:36] THE MERCHANTS AMONG THE PEOPLE SHALL HISS AT THEE; THOU SHALT BE A TERROR, AND NEVER SHALT BE ANY MORE.                     
                                     
Ezekiel 28
[Ezekiel 28:1] THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME AGAIN UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
This chapter speaks of Tyre ("Tyrus") and Sidon ("Zidon" or "Tsidon") the chief Phoenician cities. Sidon was considered the oldest city and there was a tradition that Tyre had been founded by people from Sidon. "Sidonian" was a term that could be applied to Phoenicians in general. Sidonian sailors manned the navy of Tyre. Between Tyre and Sidon, Tyre became the most important and there was a certain degree of rivalry between the two. We refer to them as "Phoenicians" which is what the Greeks and Romans called them but they referred to themselves as Canaanites.
 
[Ezekiel 28:2] SON OF MAN, SAY UNTO THE PRINCE OF TYRUS, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BECAUSE THINE HEART IS LIFTED UP, AND THOU HAST SAID, I AM A GOD, I SIT IN THE SEAT OF GOD, IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS; YET THOU ART A MAN, AND NOT GOD, THOUGH THOU SET THINE HEART AS THE HEART OF GOD:
The king of Tyre had made himself into a deity. This was a common phenomenon in ancient times. The Pharaohs of Egypt and several of the Emperors of Rome made themselves out to be gods. Other monarchs claimed to be representatives of gods and have divine rights. This continued in Europe until relatively recent times. The Divine Right of Kings was an important political doctrine up until the 1700s and in some cases (such as Russia to a degree") up until about 100 years ago.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:3] BEHOLD, THOU ART WISER THAN DANIEL; THERE IS NO SECRET THAT THEY CAN HIDE FROM THEE: 
Daniel in the Book of Daniel was from the same generation as Ezekiel (though a bit younger) and he became famous throughout the kingdom of Nebuchadnessar for his wisdom and understanding of hidden matters. Archaeological findings from the Phoenician city of Ugarit on the north Syrian coast indicate that there had once been another Daniel. This previous hero called "Daniel" had been a king and renowned for his wisdom and justice. He had probably belonged to the Tribe of Manasseh. Some modern commentators say that this is the "Daniel" Ezekieil is referring to. Daniel in the Book of Daniel belonged to the family of David from Judah.                  
 
[Ezekiel 28:4] WITH THY WISDOM AND WITH THINE UNDERSTANDING THOU HAST GOTTEN THEE RICHES, AND HAST GOTTEN GOLD AND SILVER INTO THY TREASURES:                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:5] BY THY GREAT WISDOM AND BY THY TRAFFICK HAST THOU INCREASED THY RICHES, AND THINE HEART IS LIFTED UP BECAUSE OF THY RICHES:                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:6] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BECAUSE THOU HAST SET THINE HEART AS THE HEART OF GOD;                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:7] BEHOLD, THEREFORE I WILL BRING STRANGERS UPON THEE, THE TERRIBLE OF THE NATIONS:  AND THEY SHALL DRAW THEIR SWORDS AGAINST THE BEAUTY OF THY WISDOM, AND THEY SHALL DEFILE THY  BRIGHTNESS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:8] THEY SHALL BRING THEE DOWN TO THE PIT, AND THOU SHALT DIE THE DEATHS OF THEM THAT ARE SLAIN IN THE MIDST OF THE SEAS.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:9] WILT THOU YET SAY BEFORE HIM THAT SLAYETH THEE, I AM GOD" BUT THOU SHALT BE A MAN, AND NO GOD, IN THE HAND OF HIM THAT SLAYETH THEE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:10] THOU SHALT DIE THE DEATHS OF THE UNCIRCUMCISED BY THE HAND OF STRANGERS: FOR  I HAVE SPOKEN IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:11] MOREOVER THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:12] SON OF MAN, TAKE UP A LAMENTATION UPON THE KING OF TYRUS, AND SAY UNTO HIM, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; THOU SEALEST UP THE SUM, FULL OF WISDOM, AND PERFECT IN BEAUTY.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:13] THOU HAST BEEN IN EDEN THE GARDEN OF GOD; EVERY PRECIOUS STONE WAS THY COVERING, THE SARDIUS, TOPAZ, AND THE DIAMOND, THE BERYL, THE ONYX, AND THE JASPER, THE SAPPHIRE, THE EMERALD, AND THE CARBUNCLE, AND GOLD: THE WORKMANSHIP OF THY TABRETS AND OF  THY PIPES WAS PREPARED IN THEE IN THE DAY THAT THOU WAST CREATED. 
All the precious stones mentioned here (apart from gold) were amongst the 12 stones in the breast plate of the High Priest in the Temple.
SARDIUS: "Odem"="ruby""= Reuben
TOPAZ:   "pitda"= Shimeon
DIAMOND: yaholam = Zebulon
BERYL:  "tarshish" = Asher
ONYX:  shoham = Joseph
JASPER: yahspeh = Benjamin
SAPPHIRE: sapir = Issachar
EMERALD: Nopheck = Judah
CARBUNCLE: baraket = Levi
GOLD 
The above identifications of the Hebrew stones with the tribes and with stones known to us are the most commonly accepted but other theories exist.
Anyway, according to the system we accepted, the tribes Dan, Naphtali, and Gad were left out.
Does this have something to do with the exile" Dan and Naphtali were themselves sea-going tribes and Phoenician in their culture. The mastercraftsman who assisted King Solomon in building the Temple came from Tyre and he was related to both Dan and Naptali.
Hiram, king of Tyre sent to Solomon,
 
            "a cunning man, endued with understanding .. "
 
            "The son of a woman of the daughters of DAN, and his father was a man of Tyre,..."(2-Chronicles 2;12 13).
 
            "And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre: He was a widow's son of the Tribe of Nephtali and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass [i.e. Bronze]: (1-Kings 7; 13 14).
 
            Whether the man, Hiram, was named Hiram or just sent by Hiram or whether his father had been a citizen of Tyre from Nephtali and his mother from Dan or his mother from Dan and/or Nephtali and his father from Tyre does not really matter at present. The writer of Scripture knew his texts and what he intended. The important thing is that Israelites from Dan and Nephtali were interconnected with TYRE and with crafts for which Tyre had a reputation.
 
Israelite-Tyrian Co-Operation in the past:
 
IN THE BOOK OF KINGS (1-Kings 9;26 28) it relates how under King Solomon a fleet was fitted out to sail from the Red Sea around Africa to Ophir (either in Peru of South America or an area of Southern Africa) and to return via Tarshish on the Atlantic Ocean. Phoenician sailors, "shipmen that had knowledge of the sea", lent by Hiram king of Tyre were to accompany the Israelite subjects of Solomon.
 
            "And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion geber, which is beside Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
           
            "And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
 
            "And they came to Ophir and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon."
     (1-Kings 9;26 28).
 
            "For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish..(2-Chronicles 9;21).
              
            King Solomon had embarked on maritime enterprises in partnership with the presumably more experienced sea faring Phoenicians. Almost a hundred years after the demise of Solomon his descendant King Jehoshaphat (ca.867-851) of Judah (1-Kings 22;48-49, 2-Chronicles 20;35-37) and King Ahaziah of ten-tribed northern Israel attempted to renew the sea connection and "made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold". This was done through partnership of Judah in the south with the northern kingdom of Israel. The ships were all wrecked, apparently while still at port at Ezion Geber. King Ahaziah the son of Ahab of Israel offered to send his servants with the servants of the king of Judah and to renew the attempt but the king of Judah declined.
                  
 
[Ezekiel 28:14] THOU ART THE ANOINTED CHERUB THAT COVERETH; AND I HAVE SET THEE SO: THOU WAST UPON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF GOD; THOU HAST WALKED UP AND DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:15] THOU WAST PERFECT IN THY WAYS FROM THE DAY THAT THOU WAST CREATED, TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:16] BY THE MULTITUDE OF THY MERCHANDISE THEY HAVE FILLED THE MIDST OF THEE WITH VIOLENCE, AND THOU HAST SINNED: THEREFORE I WILL CAST THEE AS PROFANE OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD: AND I WILL DESTROY THEE, O COVERING CHERUB, FROM THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE.                     
The Prophet is speaking about the King of Tyre and the verses have been understood as also alluding to a mystical being, a kind of angel who was expelled. This person was identified by Greek Jews with Lucifer and with the Satan. Later the Christians took this identification up.
Cf. Isaiah and our Commentary there:
[Isaiah 14:12] HOW ART THOU FALLEN FROM HEAVEN, O LUCIFER, SON OF THE MORNING! HOW ART THOU CUT  DOWN TO THE GROUND, WHICH DIDST WEAKEN THE NATIONS!       
 "LUCIFER, SON OF THE MORNING" in Hebrew "Hilel ben Shachar". Here Babylon is epitomized by a prince of Tyre who like Babylon ascribed to himself divinity.
Christian tradition identified "Lucifer" with an angel who rebelled against God and became the Satan or devil. A whole doctrine has developed around this concept. The tradition has Jewish folk-lore roots derived from Apocryphal Literature and obscure sources.  The concept of fallen angels does exist in legend. There is such a thing as a "Satan" and there are forces of evil. "Satan" in Hebrew means adversary. We all have internal and external adversaries to doing what we should. We should strive to overcome, cast down, or re-channel all negative forces.
On the simple level the Prophet is referring to a real political entity that once existed. On the other hand the imagery used does lend itself to supernatural interpretations.
<<AND I WILL DESTROY THEE, O COVERING CHERUB, FROM THE MIDST OF THE STONES OF FIRE: Was this man himself" Was the real "satan" a force inside of us"
 
[Ezekiel 28:17] THINE HEART WAS LIFTED UP BECAUSE OF THY BEAUTY, THOU HAST CORRUPTED THY WISDOM BY REASON OF THY BRIGHTNESS: I WILL CAST THEE TO THE GROUND, I WILL LAY THEE BEFORE KINGS, THAT THEY MAY BEHOLD THEE.                     
<<THY BEAUTY: God made us in His image. The problem is that we tend to attribute what little we become to our own credit instead of to He to whom the credit belongs.
 
[Ezekiel 28:18] THOU HAST DEFILED THY SANCTUARIES BY THE MULTITUDE OF THINE INIQUITIES, BY THE INIQUITY OF THY TRAFFICK; THEREFORE WILL I BRING FORTH A FIRE FROM THE MIDST OF THEE, IT SHALL DEVOUR THEE, AND I WILL BRING THEE TO ASHES UPON THE EARTH IN THE SIGHT OF ALL THEM THAT BEHOLD THEE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:19] ALL THEY THAT KNOW THEE AMONG THE PEOPLE SHALL BE ASTONISHED AT THEE: THOU SHALT BE A TERROR, AND NEVER SHALT THOU BE ANY MORE.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:20] AGAIN THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:21] SON OF MAN, SET THY FACE AGAINST ZIDON, AND PROPHESY AGAINST IT,                     
<<ZIDON: i.e. Sidon.
 
[Ezekiel 28:22] AND SAY, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST THEE, O ZIDON; AND I WILL BE GLORIFIED IN THE MIDST OF THEE: AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN  I SHALL HAVE EXECUTED JUDGMENTS IN HER, AND SHALL BE SANCTIFIED IN HER.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:23] FOR I WILL SEND INTO HER PESTILENCE, AND BLOOD INTO HER STREETS; AND THE WOUNDED SHALL BE JUDGED IN THE MIDST OF HER BY THE SWORD UPON HER ON EVERY SIDE; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 28:24] AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE A PRICKING BRIER UNTO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, NOR ANY GRIEVING THORN OF ALL THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT THEM, THAT DESPISED THEM; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD GOD.
We know that Philistine and Phoenician ships (from Tyre and Sidon") transported many Israelites to Spain and settled them there. We also know that for a short period Phoenicians ruled over Tarshish and southern Spain in general.  There was a Port of Manasseh in the Tarshish area (near Gibraltar), metal produced in the region  was called "Samarian" metal, the major fortress was built with a design known almost exclusively from Samaria, Israelites place-names appeared, they were known as "Iberi" or Hebrews, etc. From Southern Spain the Hebrews later moved to the northwest of Spain and from there to Gaul, Britain, and Ireland. It may be that when Nebuchnezzar of Babylon attacked Tyre and Sidon the captured Israelites in Spain were enabled to assert their independence"                      
 
[Ezekiel 28:25] THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; WHEN I SHALL HAVE GATHERED THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL FROM THE PEOPLE AMONG WHOM THEY ARE SCATTERED, AND SHALL BE SANCTIFIED IN THEM IN THE SIGHT OF THE HEATHEN, THEN SHALL THEY DWELL IN THEIR LAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN TO MY SERVANT JACOB.       
This is referring to the End Times and a return to the Land of Israel. Even so, Scripture can deliver several pertinent messages at one and the same time. It may be that the Prophet was saying that now the captured Israelites will be freed and they will move away from areas under foreign domination to place that they will be able to call their own that God has given them, e.g. to the British Isles"              
 
[Ezekiel 28:26] AND THEY SHALL DWELL SAFELY THEREIN, AND SHALL BUILD HOUSES, AND PLANT VINEYARDS; YEA, THEY SHALL DWELL WITH CONFIDENCE, WHEN I HAVE EXECUTED JUDGMENTS UPON ALL THOSE THAT DESPISE THEM ROUND ABOUT THEM; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD.
 
Ezekiel 29
 
[Ezekiel 29: 1] IN THE TENTH YEAR, IN THE TENTH MONTH, IN THE TWELFTH DAY OF THE MONTH, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME,
 
[Ezekiel 29:2] SON OF MAN, SET THY FACE AGAINST PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, AND PROPHESY AGAINST HIM, AND AGAINST ALL EGYPT:
 
[Ezekiel 29:3] SPEAK, AND SAY, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST THEE, PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, THE GREAT DRAGON THAT LIETH IN THE MIDST OF HIS RIVERS, WHICH HATH SAID, MY RIVER IS MINE OWN, AND I HAVE MADE IT FOR MYSELF.
<<THE GREAT DRAGON: The word translated as "dragon" in Hebrew is "tannin" meaning here crocodile.
 
[Ezekiel 29:4] BUT I WILL PUT HOOKS IN THY JAWS, AND I WILL CAUSE THE FISH OF THY RIVERS TO STICK UNTO THY SCALES, AND I WILL BRING THEE UP OUT OF THE MIDST OF THY RIVERS, AND ALL THE FISH OF THY RIVERS SHALL STICK UNTO THY SCALES.
 
[Ezekiel 29:5] AND I WILL LEAVE THEE THROWN INTO THE WILDERNESS, THEE AND ALL THE FISH OF THY RIVERS: THOU SHALT FALL UPON THE OPEN FIELDS; THOU SHALT NOT BE BROUGHT TOGETHER, NOR GATHERED: I HAVE GIVEN THEE FOR MEAT TO THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD AND TO THE FOWLS OF THE HEAVEN.
 
[Ezekiel 29:6] AND ALL THE INHABITANTS OF EGYPT SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN A STAFF OF REED TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.
 
[Ezekiel 29:7] WHEN THEY TOOK HOLD OF THEE BY THY HAND, THOU DIDST BREAK, AND REND ALL THEIR SHOULDER: AND WHEN THEY LEANED UPON THEE, THOU BRAKEST, AND MADEST ALL THEIR LOINS TO BE AT A STAND.
 
[Ezekiel 29:8] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I WILL BRING A SWORD UPON THEE, AND CUT OFF MAN AND BEAST OUT OF THEE.
 
[Ezekiel 29:9] AND THE LAND OF EGYPT SHALL BE DESOLATE AND WASTE; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD: BECAUSE HE HATH SAID, THE RIVER IS MINE, AND I HAVE MADE IT.
 
[Ezekiel 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.
 
[Ezekiel 29:11] NO FOOT OF MAN SHALL PASS THROUGH IT, NOR FOOT OF BEAST SHALL PASS THROUGH IT, NEITHER SHALL IT BE INHABITED FORTY YEARS.
 
[Ezekiel 29:12] AND I WILL MAKE THE LAND OF EGYPT DESOLATE IN THE MIDST OF THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE DESOLATE, AND HER CITIES AMONG THE CITIES THAT ARE LAID WASTE SHALL BE DESOLATE FORTY YEARS: AND I WILL SCATTER THE EGYPTIANS AMONG THE NATIONS, AND WILL DISPERSE THEM THROUGH THE COUNTRIES.
 
[Ezekiel 29:13] YET THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; AT THE END OF FORTY YEARS WILL I GATHER THE EGYPTIANS FROM THE PEOPLE WHITHER THEY WERE SCATTERED:
One chronological explanation (quoted by Eisemann) says that from the Babylonian Conquest of Egypt till the Persian conquest of Babylon there elapsed forty years. Apparently the Babylonians exiled Egyptians who returned to Egypt when the Persians took over. Even so, things are not so clear and the commentators disagree with each other on the correct interpretation of this point.
 
[Ezekiel 29:14] AND I WILL BRING AGAIN THE CAPTIVITY OF EGYPT, AND WILL CAUSE THEM TO RETURN INTO THE LAND OF PATHROS, INTO THE LAND OF THEIR HABITATION; AND THEY SHALL BE THERE A BASE KINGDOM.
 
[Ezekiel 29:15] IT SHALL BE THE BASEST OF THE KINGDOMS; NEITHER SHALL IT EXALT ITSELF ANY MORE ABOVE THE NATIONS: FOR I WILL DIMINISH THEM, THAT THEY SHALL NO MORE RULE OVER THE NATIONS.
Egypt since the time of the Babylonian captivity has always usually ruled over by foreigners. The native Egyptians are partly Coptic Christians who are persecuted by the Arab Muslim majority. Egypt was always ruled over by foreigners up to the time of Nugeiba. Before Nugeiba Egypt was ruled over by a king of Albanian origin and before him by the British and before the British by the Turks. After Nugeiba came Nasser and then Sadat (who was half-Sudanese, half-German) and now Movarak who really is an Arab Egyptian.
 
 
[Ezekiel 29:16] AND IT SHALL BE NO MORE THE CONFIDENCE OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, WHICH BRINGETH THEIR INIQUITY TO REMEMBRANCE, WHEN THEY SHALL LOOK AFTER THEM: BUT THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD GOD.
 
[Ezekiel 29:17] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE SEVEN AND TWENTIETH YEAR, IN THE FIRST MONTH, IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,
 
[Ezekiel 29:18] SON OF MAN, NEBUCHADREZZAR KING OF BABYLON CAUSED HIS ARMY TO SERVE A GREAT SERVICE AGAINST TYRUS: EVERY HEAD WAS MADE BALD, AND EVERY SHOULDER WAS PEELED: YET HAD HE NO WAGES, NOR HIS ARMY, FOR TYRUS, FOR THE SERVICE THAT HE HAD SERVED AGAINST IT:
Because the Neubchadnessar the Babylonian had done God"s will and destroyed Phoenician Tyre he would be given the Kingdom of Egypt as a reward.
 
[Ezekiel 29:19] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I WILL GIVE THE LAND OF EGYPT UNTO NEBUCHADREZZAR KING OF BABYLON; AND HE SHALL TAKE HER MULTITUDE, AND TAKE HER SPOIL, AND TAKE HER PREY; AND IT SHALL BE THE WAGES FOR HIS ARMY.
 
[Ezekiel 29:20] I HAVE GIVEN HIM THE LAND OF EGYPT FOR HIS LABOUR WHEREWITH HE SERVED AGAINST IT, BECAUSE THEY WROUGHT FOR ME, SAITH THE LORD GOD.
 
[Ezekiel 29:21] IN THAT DAY WILL I CAUSE THE HORN OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL TO BUD FORTH, AND I WILL GIVE THEE THE OPENING OF THE MOUTH IN THE MIDST OF THEM; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.
At all events we can only partly understand this present prophecy. Egypt was an enemy of Israel at the beginning of its existence and also throughout most of its history and it will be mostly in the future. At the time of the Messiah, after being defeated, Egypt will repent and be re-accepted.
<<IN THAT DAY SHALL THERE BE A HIGHWAY OUT OF EGYPT TO ASSYRIA, AND THE ASSYRIAN SHALL COME INTO EGYPT, AND THE EGYPTIAN INTO ASSYRIA, AND THE EGYPTIANS SHALL SERVE WITH THE  ASSYRIANS.
<< IN THAT DAY SHALL ISRAEL BE THE THIRD WITH EGYPT AND WITH ASSYRIA, EVEN A BLESSING IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND:
 <<WHOM THE LORD OF HOSTS SHALL BLESS, SAYING, BLESSED BE EGYPT MY PEOPLE, AND   ASSYRIA THE WORK OF MY HANDS, AND ISRAEL MINE INHERITANCE [Isaiah 19:23-25].
 
Ezekiel 30
[Ezekiel 30:1] THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME AGAIN UNTO ME, SAYING,
Again Ezekiel continues his prophecies concerning Egypt.
 
[Ezekiel 30:2] SON OF MAN, PROPHESY AND SAY, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; HOWL YE, WOE WORTH THE DAY
 
[Ezekiel 30:3] FOR THE DAY IS NEAR, EVEN THE DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR, A CLOUDY DAY; IT SHALL BE THE TIME OF THE HEATHEN.
 
[Ezekiel 30:4] AND THE SWORD SHALL COME UPON EGYPT, AND GREAT PAIN SHALL BE IN ETHIOPIA, WHEN THE SLAIN SHALL FALL IN EGYPT, AND THEY SHALL TAKE AWAY HER MULTITUDE, AND HER FOUNDATIONS SHALL BE BROKEN DOWN.
 
[Ezekiel 30:5] ETHIOPIA, AND LIBYA, AND LYDIA, AND ALL THE MINGLED PEOPLE, AND CHUB, AND THE MEN OF THE LAND THAT IS IN LEAGUE, SHALL FALL WITH THEM BY THE SWORD.
 
[Ezekiel 30:6] THUS SAITH THE LORD; THEY ALSO THAT UPHOLD EGYPT SHALL FALL; AND THE PRIDE OF HER POWER SHALL COME DOWN FROM THE TOWER OF SYENE SHALL THEY FALL IN IT BY THE SWORD, SAITH THE LORD GOD.
 
[Ezekiel 30:7] AND THEY SHALL BE DESOLATE IN THE MIDST OF THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE DESOLATE, AND HER CITIES SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF THE CITIES THAT ARE WASTED.
 
[Ezekiel 30:8] AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN I HAVE SET A FIRE IN EGYPT, AND WHEN ALL HER HELPERS SHALL BE DESTROYED.
 
[Ezekiel 30:9] IN THAT DAY SHALL MESSENGERS GO FORTH FROM ME IN SHIPS TO MAKE THE CARELESS ETHIOPIANS AFRAID, AND GREAT PAIN SHALL COME UPON THEM, AS IN THE DAY OF EGYPT. FOR, LO, IT COMETH.
 
[Ezekiel 30:10] THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; I WILL ALSO MAKE THE MULTITUDE OF EGYPT TO CEASE BY THE HAND OF NEBUCHADREZZAR KING OF BABYLON.
 
[Ezekiel 30:11] HE AND HIS PEOPLE WITH HIM, THE TERRIBLE OF THE NATIONS, SHALL BE BROUGHT TO DESTROY THE LAND AND THEY SHALL DRAW THEIR SWORDS AGAINST EGYPT, AND FILL THE LAND WITH THE SLAIN.
 
[Ezekiel 30:12] AND I WILL MAKE THE RIVERS DRY, AND SELL THE LAND INTO THE HAND OF THE WICKED AND I WILL MAKE THE LAND WASTE, AND ALL THAT IS THEREIN, BY THE HAND OF STRANGERS. I THE LORD HAVE SPOKEN IT.
 
[Ezekiel 30:13] THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; I WILL ALSO DESTROY THE IDOLS, AND I WILL CAUSE THEIR IMAGES TO CEASE OUT OF NOPH; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE A PRINCE OF THE LAND OF EGYPT AND I WILL PUT A FEAR IN THE LAND OF EGYPT.
 
[Ezekiel 30:14] AND I WILL MAKE PATHROS DESOLATE, AND WILL SET FIRE IN ZOAN, AND WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENTS IN NO.
 
[Ezekiel 30:15] AND I WILL POUR MY FURY UPON SIN, THE STRENGTH OF EGYPT; AND I WILL CUT OFF THE MULTITUDE OF NO.
 
 [Ezekiel 30:16] AND I WILL SET FIRE IN EGYPT: SIN SHALL HAVE GREAT PAIN, AND NO SHALL BE RENT ASUNDER, AND NOPH SHALL HAVE DISTRESSES DAILY.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:17] THE YOUNG MEN OF AVEN AND OF PIBESETH SHALL FALL BY THE SWORD: AND THESE CITIES SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY. 
 
                
[Ezekiel 30:18] AT TEHAPHNEHES ALSO THE DAY SHALL BE DARKENED, WHEN I SHALL BREAK THERE THE YOKES OF EGYPT: AND THE POMP OF HER STRENGTH SHALL CEASE IN HER: AS FOR HER, A CLOUD SHALL COVER HER, AND HER DAUGHTERS SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:19] THUS WILL I EXECUTE JUDGMENTS IN EGYPT: AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:20] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE ELEVENTH YEAR, IN THE FIRST MONTH, IN THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE MONTH, THAT THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME UNTO ME, SAYING,                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:21] SON OF MAN, I HAVE BROKEN THE ARM OF PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT; AND, LO, IT  SHALL NOT BE BOUND UP TO BE HEALED, TO PUT A ROLLER TO BIND IT, TO MAKE IT STRONG TO HOLD THE SWORD.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:22] THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; BEHOLD, I AM AGAINST PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, AND WILL BREAK HIS ARMS, THE STRONG, AND THAT WHICH WAS BROKEN; AND I WILL CAUSE THE SWORD TO FALL OUT OF HIS HAND.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:23] AND I WILL SCATTER THE EGYPTIANS AMONG THE NATIONS, AND WILL DISPERSE THEM   THROUGH THE COUNTRIES.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:24] AND I WILL STRENGTHEN THE ARMS OF THE KING OF BABYLON, AND PUT MY SWORD IN HIS HAND: BUT I WILL BREAK PHARAOH'S ARMS, AND HE SHALL GROAN BEFORE HIM WITH THE GROANINGS OF A DEADLY WOUNDED MAN.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:25] BUT I WILL STRENGTHEN THE ARMS OF THE KING OF BABYLON, AND THE ARMS OF PHARAOH SHALL FALL DOWN; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN I SHALL PUT MY SWORD INTO THE HAND OF THE KING OF BABYLON, AND HE SHALL STRETCH IT OUT UPON THE LAND OF EGYPT.                     
 
[Ezekiel 30:26] AND I WILL SCATTER THE EGYPTIANS AMONG THE NATIONS, AND DISPERSE THEM AMONG THE COUNTRIES; AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD.
 
Peoples of Egypt
 http://www.website1.com/odyssey/week3/FYI02A.html    
People of Egypt
 
COPTS
ARABS
BEDOUINS
FALLAHIN
CITY PEOPLE
NUBIANS
 
Copts
 
The Copts are the modern descendants of the ancient Egyptians. The word Copt comes from the later Greek and Arab pronunciation of the word "Egypt". The consonants of both words are nearly identical in sound: compare CPT and GPT. Copt is an unusual word. It describes a group of people or an ethnic group, the language they spoke (Coptic) and their religion. The Copts are the living descendants of the pharaohs. Many of these people converted to Christianity during the Roman period in Egypt. The number of Copts living in Egypt has steadily declined under Muslim rule in Egypt. The Copts make up less than 10% of the total Egyptian population, but these numbers are debated. There are a number of villages in Upper Egypt that remain almost entirely Coptic. While many Copts are well educated professionals others suffer in horrible poverty. Many of the educated Copts have left Egypt and live in English-speaking countries around the world. There are growing populations in the United States, Canada and Australia. There are an estimated 15 million Copts in the world today.
 
Arabs
 
The history of Egypt is in part the story of her conquest and rule by foreign people. In 641 A.D. Egypt was conquered by invading forces from Arabia. The Arabian peninsula had recently been converted to Islam (the Moslem religion), a religion established by Mohammed around 610 A. D. The crusading armies quickly conquered the lands of the middle east and swept across north Africa and pushed into Spain as well. Many who lived in these lands were forcibly converted to Islam and the Arab people settled in these areas. Arab is a name used to describe people from the Arabian peninsula who migrated as a result of the Arab conquests and the spread of Islam throughout the middle east and north Africa. Not all Arabs are Moslems. There are large numbers of Arab Christians in the middle east as well. The Arabic language is in the Semitic language family, making it very similar to other Semitic languages like Hebrew, Syriac and Ethiopic.
 
The Bedouin (Arab ethnic group)
 
The Bedouin are nomadic Arab people who migrate through the Egyptian deserts in search of grazing for their livestock and water for their families. Their are a number of Bedouin tribes that have occupied various regions of Egypt since ancient times. These tribes are divided into clans or extended family units. The Bedouins move from location to location in small, compact groups led by an elder male. They live in temporary straw and twig installations or tents made of animal skin panels that can be secured to keep the sand out or opened to let the cooling breezes through the tent. The men dress for the harsh extremes of the desert, wearing layered flowing robes that protect them from the sun's intense rays and yet that allow the air to circulate through their garments keeping the body temperature cooler. Their heads and neck are covered to shield them from the sun and wind-blown sand and to reduce the loss of moisture. The women wear black dresses and embroidered headdresses or bright and festive colors. Often their faces are veiled with veils decorated with embroidered designs, shells and coins. The Bedouin are hearty and resourceful people who live in one of the most demanding regions of the world. They know and respect the desert. Bedouins do not die of starvation. They live to survive. Their lives are not wasteful or greedy and they are always open to hospitality. As they entertain strangers, they learn of recent news and the availability of pasturelands and water in other areas.
 
It is common for Bedouin men and boys to be gone for many days, tending their flocks, hunting or trading in a nearby village. The women are left behind to tend the tent and some of the livestock. It is also not unusual for the women to pick-up camp and move during their husbands' absence, because of some need. The husbands will spend a number of days tracking down their families. In the event of a divorce, the tent belongs to the woman and the livestock are taken by the man. The women produce beautiful embroidery that are sold in markets in the oases. A number of pressures are forcing these people to leave their ancient way of life. They settle on the outskirts of desert villages and are eventually absorbed into rural communities often as desert farmers.
 
The Fallahin (Mixed ethnic groups)
 
The Fallahin are the people who inhabit the rural villages that line the Nile. These people work their small plots of land harvesting three separate crops each year. They also often keep some low maintenance livestock like chickens and goats. The beast of burden is a water buffalo. The Fallahin work hard to feed themselves and the huge population of Egypt. Everyone in the family works together in the field. Women thresh the grain and carry huge loads of alfalfa or hay on their heads and the boys drive donkey carts filled with fresh fruit and vegetables to market. Women and small children tend booths and sell their crops. The Fallahin live in mudbrick homes, sometimes covered with white plaster, bordered in light blue. The houses are simple, often with dirt floors and no electricity or plumbing. The house is designed to provide insulation from the cold winter nights and at the same time circulation to cool the simple homes during the blistering summer days. Moslem Fallahin who have made their journey to Mecca, may decorate the outside of their house with paintings illustrating the story of their pilgrimage. The local mosque and these so-called Hajj houses, named after the Arabic word for the mandatory pilgrimage to Mecca, have pride-of-place in a Fallahin village.
 
The villages bustle with excitement on religious festivals or weddings, giving people an excuse to leave their back-breaking labor and to enjoy the company of family and friends. The streets of a Fallahin village are congested at these times with singing, dancing and festivities. Women typically wear a black cover over brightly colored house clothes. Their head is also covered with a black vale. On market day the women come to town in bright and festive colors to buy, to sell and to meet with friends. The women also wear silver and gold jewelry, necklaces, and bracelets on their wrists and ankles. This is their dowry, or the price that their husband had to pay for the right to marry the woman. Women can be divorced quickly by Islamic law. The women keep their dowry close at hand for future security in case of a swift divorce. The women also often have their faces tattooed, especially around the lips, with traditional clan designs. The village is closely-knit social unit of extended families. Many of these families have lived in the same villages since the times of the pharaohs.
 
City Dwellers (Mixed ethnic groups)
 
The city dwellers live packed on top of each other in Cairo and Alexandria. The cities are active all night. People live in flats or apartments in high rises. The wealthy live in exclusive areas of town often populated by foreigners or they live in high rises overlooking the Nile or the Mediterranean Sea. The traffic and the pollution is always bad. Cairo has the worst pollution in the entire world. The air pollution that a person is exposed to in a day in Cairo is said to be equivalent to smoking six packs of cigarettes a day! Cairo is an active city caught between the east and the west. Donkey carts and Mercedes compete for lanes in traffic. There is a huge gap in Egypt between the wealthy and the poor. Nowhere is this more apparent, than in large cities.
 
Nubians
 
The Nubians are the people who originally lived in the southern parts of Egypt in the area that is now known as the Sudan. The word Nubian comes from the ancient Egyptian word for gold because this is the place where gold from the interior of Africa made its way through these people' hands into the courts of the pharaoh. The ancient Egyptians has interaction with the Nubians from the earliest historical period. There is a long history of tensions in the ancient world between Nubia and Egypt. Nubians were assimilated into Egyptian culture and many of them inner-married. There were later Egyptians dynasties of Nubian pharaohs who introduced their own exotic brands of hybrid deities which were more reflective of the animal and spiritual life of interior Africa. The Nubians are village people, joyous in spirit and hard-working. They had their own ancient language and their own unique cultural traits. The Nubians are darker in complexion than the Arab or Copt and they have heavier facial features and coarser hair. The Aswan High Dam Project displaced tens of thousands of Nubians from their land but their culture is still alive and Nubians can be seen from Alexandria to Cairo to Aswan and the villages that surround it.
 
Ethnic Egypt
 
http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/bookstore/books/0807845558/1         
Concrete evidence regarding Egypt's "racial" origins and those of the Middle East (from Morocco to western Pakistan) are numerous. Bernard Lewis' Race and Slavery in the Middle East is an excellent source for information regarding the Near East that uses Middle Eastern sources. Egypt's origins in Western Asia are also plentiful. Ancient Egyptian's sole descendent today is Coptic used for liturgical purposes by the Coptic Christians of Egypt, and is similar, in some ways, to Berber. The languages spoken in North Africa are Semitic-Hamitic or Afro-Asiatic, but their origins are in Syria and northern Arabia and were spread into North and East Africa later. The ancient Egyptians point towards their origins as springing from the Red Sea (presumably Arabia) and the Berbers of North Africa have a distinctive Caucasoid appearance and genetic tests show that are mainly of Western Asian and European extraction. Similarly, DNA tests upon Egyptian mummies reveal most to have been Western Asia with some being mulatoo and even Greek. The Arabs, who are so often blamed for having started Egypt's ethnic changes, were few in number (the sparse deserts of Arabia are hardly places for overpopulation to occur) and over time they arabized Egypt by making Arabic the official language without significantly altering the ethnic composition of most Egyptians. In fact there are probably more Egyptians of Greek ancestry than Arabian (although modern Egyptians refer to themselves as Arabs by virtue of being Arabic speakers). Other European populations were indeed introduced into Egypt including the Mamelukes from the Caucasus and southern Russia. These were mainly slave soldiers (although female concubines weren't uncommon). Further evidence of Egyptians being predominantly Mediterranean and not sub-Saharan recalls the Ethiopians. The Ethiopians speak a Semitic language that is more like Arabic or Hebrew rather than ancient Egyptian (a point Afrocentrists seem to overlook) and the Ethiopians have a number of tales to describe their origins (which are mostly black with some Semitic admixture). The story of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba (or Saba in modern Yemen) concludes with their son Menelik I becoming Ethiopia's first king. These tales substantiate that Afro-Asiatic languages arose in Syria and Northern Arabia and not in some undisclosed sub-Saharan region. The Ethiopians (like the Egyptians) claim that their language came to them from Arabia.
 

Reaction To A Report That Pharoah Ramses II Of Egypt Had Red Hair.

Different Colored Africans of One Stock!
 "Ramses II reigned over a people that killed red-heads on sight. It would be hard to believe that such a society would be ruled by a red-haired god-king. A 4,000 year old mummy's hair needs to be scientifically analyzed to find out the hair color rather than basing it on the human eye. To describe his skin as tanned (as if it were naturally pale or white) is a misnomer. This African pharaoh of an African people was not European or Asian but a member of what Keita called the elongated Northeastern cluster of Africans. Nubians, Ethiopians, Somalis, Eritreans, and Egyptians, among others, fall into this category. There are many variations in hair color and texture, facial features, skin color and so on among them. They are biologically, culturally, genetically and racially black and African. Ramses II was a living, breathing, thinking, speaking, ancestor-worshipping African. If his skin was "light" and hair was "red", he was nothing other than a light-skinned, red-haired blackman -not auburn red in the European sense but a dusty, pygmy, red. "(The auburn-haired Scot's hair is quite different from this, even though, the bagpipes of Scotland have been found to not be of Scottish origin but of Ancient Egyptian origin...hmmm.) -There are many black people who have these physical qualities and there is nothing rare at all about it. For those of you who live in large American metroplexes, the next time you catch a cab or stop at a corner store, if your attendant happens to be Eritrean, Somali, Ethiopian or Sudanese, take a long look at him. Ramses II or any other ancient Pharoah probably looked very much like him, 4,000 years ago. My, how times change!!!"
- Kevin Youngblood, Dallas, Texas, USA.
 

Exekiel chs. 21 to 25

Exekiel chs. 31 to 35