Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. I am also the author of the Bible Fiber book. Check it out on Amazon. Also, be sure to follow Bible Fiber wherever you listen to your podcasts!
This week we are reading Ezekiel 31, the fifth oracle against Egypt, in a series of seven. Ezekiel, the master of word pictures, has already depicted the pharaoh as a crocodile left to die in the desert and a disabled soldier powerless to grasp a sword. In this chapter, Ezekiel likens the Egyptian empire to a fallen cedar tree. The chapter can be divided into two parts. The first part presents the tree’s beauty, height and shade (31:1-9). The second part describes the tree’s demise (31:10-18).
Cosmic Tree
The prophecy is dated to June 21, 587 BCE, two months after the previous oracle (31:1). Babylon was in the final stages of its siege before overrunning Jerusalem. God commanded Ezekiel to ask the pharaoh, “Whom are you like in your greatness?” (31:2). The baiting question presumed the narcissistic pharaoh already considered himself to have no equal.
God offered the pharaoh a point of comparison. The interpretation of the line is debated among Bible scholars. Either it reads, “Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon” or it reads, “I will liken you to a cedar of Lebanon” (31:3). Although in English, the difference is substantial, in the Hebrew, the amendment of one consonant changes the interpretation. The Revised Standard Version prefers “I will liken you to a cedar of Lebanon.” However, almost every other translation retains Assyria as the referent. If correct, Ezekiel presented an allegory embedded in an allegory. The cedar tree represented Assyria which symbolized Egypt. In comparing Assyria to a formidable cedar tree that came to a tragic end, he was issuing a final warning to Egypt.
Ezekiel’s audience would have been well acquainted with the history of the Assyrian empire, its great rise, and dramatic fall. Still, Ezekiel exaggerated his praise of Assyria to make his point that no empire was too big to fail. In his poetic description of the tree, he said, “The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, flowing with its rivers around the place it was planted, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field” (31:4).
The prophet’s vivid imagery of the tree’s strong branches, towering height and sheltering coverage drew from ancient Near Eastern mythology surrounding the cosmic tree. The common motif of a majestic tree with roots deeply planted in the earth and branches reaching to the heavens symbolized the connection between the heavenly and earthly realms. Ezekiel utilized this image to depict the grandeur and power of the Assyrian empire.
Ezekiel continued, “It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its roots went down to abundant water” (31:7). The language implied that the tree’s remarkable growth and splendor was not due to natural forces alone. The tree was supernaturally empowered. The references to the deep and abundant water suggest that Yahweh was not against powerful nations altogether. No nation got to a place of supremacy in the world on its own. God even clarified his role in Assyria’s rise. He said, “I made it beautiful” (31:9). What God despised was the empire’s pride, corruption and obsession with power. The tree only grew to such heights because of the water that sustained it, but the higher it grew, the less it appreciated the source of its growth.
According to Ezekiel’s poem, many animals, and birds relied on the tree’s branches and shade. He said, “All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young, and in its shade all great nations lived” (31:6). Such lavish flattery betrayed Ezekiel’s hyperbolic intention. Assyria had been anything but a kindly patron to the nations it controlled.
Ezekiel masterfully employed the cosmic tree imagery, deeply rooted in ancient Near Eastern mythology, to portray the Assyrian empire’s grandeur and perceived invincibility. This world-tree motif, with its roots firmly planted in the earth and branches reaching towards the heavens, symbolized the connection between earthly and divine realms. By applying this powerful symbol to Assyria, Ezekiel prepared the stage for a dramatic revelation of the empire’s ultimate fate.
This rhetorical strategy was a hallmark of Ezekiel’s oracles against nations (OAN). He would first build up his subject, describing them in the most flattering terms—often as they saw themselves – only to shatter these illusions with stark reminders of their mortality. The prophet used this approach earlier when depicting the grand Tyrian merchant ship. In the case of Assyria, despite its renowned military prowess and expansionist legacy, Ezekiel’s audience was well aware of its dramatic downfall. The sacking and burning of Nineveh in 612 BCE by a Babylonian-Mede coalition marked the end of Assyrian dominance and ushered in the age of Babylon. By evoking this recent history, Ezekiel delivered a powerful warning: no empire, no matter how great, was beyond the reach of divine judgment.
Divinely appointed lumberjack
For the first nine verses, Ezekiel only spoke flatteringly of the tree. In Verse 10, he switched modes and condemned the tree. Every positive characteristic that he had praised contributed to the tree’s pride and fueled its haughty mindset. Ezekiel recalled how the once mighty tree of Assyria was cut down by the divine hand of judgment. He warned, “Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds and its heart was proud of its height, I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out” (31:10).
Assyria’s fate foreshadowed Egypt’s demise. Back in Chapter 17, God declared, “I bring low the high tree; I make high the low tree” (17:24). He was going to punish Egypt like he had punished Assyria.
In Verse 11, Ezekiel returned to the oracle’s principal addressee, the pharaoh. He predicted that the pharaoh would be overtaken by “the prince of nations,” a likely moniker for Nebuchadnezzar (31:11). Acting as divinely appointed lumberjacks, “foreigners from the most terrible of nations” would cut down the cosmic tree (31:12). Its branches and trunk would be scattered across the earth and tossed into the waterways. Birds and wild animals that once claimed refuge in the tree were pictured scavenging its ruins (31:13). Ezekiel reminded his listeners of the reason for the divine punishment: “All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height” (31:14). Hubris triggers divine punishment.
The sound of the tree’s crash would echo throughout the nations and leave them trembling (31:16). God damned up the water source that had once nourished its roots. God said, “I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked” (31:15). The trees of Lebanon mourned the cedar tree’s fate and wilted at the news that it was cast out of the forest. Ezekiel’s description of Lebanon’s trees, covered in gloom, parallels his previous description of the sailors on the shoreline who wailed when they saw the Tyrian ship sink.
It was not enough to destroy the cedar tree. It then sank down to Sheol, the abode of the dead, the eternal place for the wicked. Mysteriously, when the cedar tree sank into the netherworld, it was greeted by “the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon” (31:16). Likely, this was a reference to other godless kingdoms who also met sobering ends. The prophet Habakkuk dialogued with God about this exact thing. He was frustrated by the endless cycle of violence and rotating empires, each one more arrogant and oppressive than the next.
Conclusion
The prophecy begins and ends with direct references to the pharaoh, framing the entire message as a stark warning to Egypt’s ruler. In his closing remarks, Ezekiel challenged the pharaoh: “Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword” (31:18). This powerful juxtaposition shatters the pharaohs’ centuries-old belief in their semidivine status and unrivaled power.
The grand pyramids and elaborate tombs of Egypt demonstrate the pharaoh’s monumental efforts to project their power beyond death itself. Yet Ezekiel’s prophecy strips away this facade, relegating Egypt to share eternity with the “uncircumcised” and those slain in battle—a fate far removed from the pharaohs’ visions of eternal glory.
Ultimately, Ezekiel’s oracles against Egypt serve a dual purpose. They not only warn Egypt of impending judgment, but also deliver a crucial message to Judah: trust in God, not in earthly powers. As Jerusalem faced Babylon’s onslaught, some still clung to hope in an Egyptian rescue. Ezekiel’s words are a powerful reminder that even mighty empires like Assyria and Egypt are subject to God’s sovereignty. The prophet makes it clear— if Assyria could not escape divine judgment, neither would Egypt. This reality underscores the futility of relying on human alliances rather than on the Lord of history.
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Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai