In this part of the chapter, we continue Yechezkel's prophecy concerning Egypt. After a forty-year desolation was decreed upon it, the prophet heralds its gathering from among the nations and its return to its land - but as a lowly kingdom that can no longer serve as a fractured reed staff for the House of Israel. Later, the Holy One, Blessed be He's emissary sent to carry out this decree is revealed - Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylon, along with the reward he will receive for the "labor" he performed at Tyre. The chapter concludes with an enigmatic and puzzling verse: "On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the House of Israel," which has heavily challenged the commentators.
כִּי כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה, מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אֲקַבֵּץ אֶת־מִצְרַיִם מִן־הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר־נָפֹצוּ שָׁמָּה׃ - For thus said the Lord Hashem: At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples among whom they were scattered.
The Malbim calculates the years: in the twenty-seventh year of Nevuchadnetzar's reign, Egypt was desolated. Nevuchadnetzar reigned for a total of forty-five years, meaning eighteen years remained of his reign. During Nevuchadnetzar's final eighteen years, Egypt lay in ruins. After him, his son Evil-merodach reigned for twenty-two years. Eighteen plus twenty-two - that is exactly forty years. And why does the calculation end there? Because in the first year of Belshazzar, the prophecy regarding the Persian Empire was given to Daniel, and from that point onward, the exiles began to return in the days of the king of Persia and began to gather. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: At the end of forty years, Egypt too will begin to be gathered from among the nations where they were scattered.
וְשַׁבְתִּי אֶת־שְׁבוּת מִצְרַיִם וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי אֹתָם אֶרֶץ פַּתְרוֹס עַל־אֶרֶץ מְכוּרָתָם, וְהָיוּ שָׁם מַמְלָכָה שְׁפָלָה׃ - And I will restore the captivity of Egypt and return them to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and they shall be a lowly kingdom there.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, as it were, will proclaim freedom for them to return to their land, and for them as well, this would occur by permission of the king of Persia. They will return to the land of Pathros - the region where Egypt first developed into a nation. However, the prophet states in advance: know that it will still be a lowly kingdom.
The Malbim analyzes the precise difference between "veshavti" and "vahashivoti." "Veshavti" is a light verb (po'al kal), whereas "vahashivoti" is a heavy verb (po'al kaved). As we have explained, the light verb is effortless on the vocal articulators - "veshavti" is easy to pronounce; whereas "vahashivoti" requires more effort of the mouth, making it a heavy verb. Similarly, "ratzach" (murdered) is a light verb, while "meratze'ach" requires a pronounced change in articulation. The general principle is that the heavy verb indicates an action done with greater intensity, while the light verb indicates an action accomplished more easily. According to this: "I will restore (veshavti) the captivity of Egypt" means that Hashem will restore them to their former status; "and I will return them (vahashivoti) to the land of Pathros" means that He will physically bring them back to their actual land, not just restore their rank. And "upon the land of their origin (mechoratam)" means like their dwelling place (megoratam), the place where they originally resided.
The Metzudat Tzion explains the words themselves: "veshavti" denotes returning, and "shevut" denotes captivity - "and I will restore the captivity of Egypt," meaning I will bring back Egypt's captives. This does not disagree with the Malbim, for the Malbim is not defining the word "shevut," but rather pointing out the contrast between "veshavti" and "vahashivoti."
מִן־הַמַּמְלָכוֹת תִּהְיֶה שְׁפָלָה, וְלֹא־תִתְנַשֵּׂא עוֹד עַל־הַגּוֹיִם, וְהִמְעַטְתִּים לְבִלְתִּי רְדוֹת בַּגּוֹיִם׃ - It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it shall no longer exalt itself above the nations; and I will diminish them so that they shall not rule over the nations.
Here the Malbim resolves the apparent redundancy in the text. One might have thought that "and they shall be a lowly kingdom there" meant lowly only in comparison to its former greatness, while still retaining an elevated status among others. Therefore, Scripture adds, "it shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms" - even relative to the other kingdoms existing at that time, it will be considered lowly. In other words, absolute lowliness, such that all others will hold their heads high above it.
Yet one might still have thought: true, Egypt will be subject to other kingdoms, but at least over those groupings of peoples that are not an established kingdom - a collection of tribes without statehood - over them it might still exalt itself. Therefore the verse says, "neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations": it will not rule haughtily even over these. And all of this is "and I will diminish them" - that I will diminish their stature.
This outcome serves several purposes. The first: "that they shall no more rule over the nations" - so that they will not dominate other peoples or subject them to harsh labor; Hashem removed Egypt's yoke from upon the nations.
וְלֹא יִהְיֶה־עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֺן בִּפְנוֹתָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם, וְיָדְעוּ כִּי אֲנִי אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - And it shall no longer be a source of trust for the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance when they turn after them; and they shall know that I am the Lord Hashem.
This is the second purpose. We have seen that Israel's downfall stemmed from their reliance on Egypt; once Egypt is brought low, who would ever rely on it? When a person relies on Egypt, it brings his iniquity to remembrance - that he lost his faith and trust in the Creator of the universe and leaned instead on flesh and blood. Once Egypt is humbled, it will no longer be a source of confidence for Israel that calls their sin to remembrance when turning after them.
And the third purpose: "and they shall know that I am Hashem" - through this, they will recognize the sovereignty of the Creator, blessed be He, that Hashem does as He pleases with the kings of the earth. Pharaoh will no longer be able to imagine that he is the great sea monster and say, "My river is my own, and I made it for myself"; rather, they will recognize that there is one Creator of the world, and He rules over all.
וַיְהִי בְּעֶשְׂרִים וָשֶׁבַע שָׁנָה בָּרִאשׁוֹן בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ, הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ - And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of Hashem came to me, saying:
The Malbim cites Seder Olam, which states that in the twenty-seventh year of Nevuchadnezzar's reign he conquered Egypt, and this is the twenty-seventh year spoken of here.
Abarbanel asks: Why does the prophet not reckon time here according to the exile of Yehoyachin as is his custom, but rather according to the reign of Nevuchadnezzar? He answers: Because it was stated above that the desolation would last forty years, and we would not have known from when to count them. Therefore, he informed us that the destruction of Egypt occurred in the twenty-seventh year of Nevuchadnezzar's reign. From this we understand: the eighteen remaining years of Nevuchadnezzar's reign, plus twenty-two years of Evil-Merodach - making forty years - and then the time for Egypt's redemption and the restoration of their captivity to the land of Pathros would arrive.
בֶּן־אָדָם, נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל הֶעֱבִיד אֶת־חֵילוֹ עֲבֹדָה גְדוֹלָה אֶל־צֹר, כׇּל־רֹאשׁ מֻקְרָח וְכׇל־כָּתֵף מְרוּטָה, וְשָׂכָר לֹא־הָיָה לוֹ וּלְחֵילוֹ מִצֹּר עַל־הָעֲבֹדָה אֲשֶׁר־עָבַד עָלֶיהָ׃ - Son of man, Nevuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tzor; every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder was peeled, yet neither he nor his army had wages from Tzor for the service that he had served against it.
The verse describes Nevuchadnezzar here as an emissary of the Holy One, blessed be He, serving as the rod of His anger to exact retribution from Egypt. The Holy One, blessed be He, uttered a severe prophecy concerning Egypt's ruin - and who would carry it out? Nevuchadnezzar. Thus, he was, so to speak, the Master of the World's "demolition contractor," sent to lay waste to Egypt. And as is well known, a contractor must be paid for his labor. Where, then, would Nevuchadnezzar receive his wages?
The Malbim explains: The harder the labor, the greater the reward. Now when Nevuchadnezzar went to conquer Tzor, he subjected his army to arduous labor, for the difficulty there was immense. "Every head was made bald" - they carried the siege stones and sling stones upon their heads and shoulders, and from carrying so much, their heads were rubbed bald without a hair remaining, and their shoulders were rubbed raw and dislocated to the point that they could no longer use them.
Given this reality, they rightfully deserved a great reward. Yet in the end, he received nothing. The Malbim explains: When a king conquers another land, there are two kinds of reward - the reward of the army and the reward of the king. The army's reward consists of the spoils and plunder they take from the conquered place. The king's reward is either the conquered land itself, which becomes his possession, or the immense honor and prestige he gains: "I conquered such-and-such a country." Through this, he casts dread upon the other nations, so that they fear him and pay him tribute.
Yet in Tzor, neither Nevuchadnezzar nor his army received anything at all. As we saw earlier, after toiling for so long to conquer Tzor, the sea rose up, flooded it, and washed everything away. They labored with supreme exertion, shoulder rubbed raw and head peeled bald, and came away empty-handed - the waters swept everything away.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה, הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לִנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם, וְנָשָׂא הֲמֹנָהּ וְשָׁלַל שְׁלָלָהּ וּבָזַז בִּזָּהּ, וְהָיְתָה שָׂכָר לְחֵילוֹ׃ - Therefore thus says the Lord Hashem: Behold, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nevuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall carry off its multitude, take its spoil, and seize its plunder; and it shall be wages for his army.
For the destruction of Tzor as well, he deserved a reward, as there had been a prophecy concerning it too. And since we saw that he received no reward, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will give him the land of Egypt. "And he shall carry off its multitude" - he will take the masses of Egypt as male and female slaves. We have already explained that hamon (multitude) denotes an abundance of people, named thus because a large gathering creates commotion and noise, as in the phrase kiryah homiyah ("a bustling city"). "And take its spoil, and seize its plunder" - this will be the reward of the army.
And what is the difference between shalal (spoil) and bizzah (plunder)? The Malbim has explained this several times: The property left behind after the war is called shalal, whereas what each individual soldier takes for himself is called bizzah. That is why we always find "division of the spoil" (chalukat hashalal) and never "division of plunder," since plunder is what each man grabs for himself, whereas spoil is what the king commands to be gathered in one place and distributed among everyone.
פְּעֻלָּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר־עָבַד בָּהּ נָתַתִּי לוֹ אֶת־אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לִי, נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - For his labor that he worked for it, I have given him the land of Egypt, because they worked for Me, says the Lord Hashem.
A king does not set his sights on mere wages and money; that is the army's concern. The king desires the accomplishment itself, which is precious in his eyes: to conquer a land and receive the prestige - "I am the one who conquered it." Now, Egypt was destined to be completely desolate and cease to exist as a kingdom. Thus, of the two potential gains a king can attain, the conquered territory itself would yield him nothing: it would be a desolate wasteland, and there is no shortage of deserts. But the honor he would indeed receive: you conquered a vast, towering power. This is the meaning of "For his labor that he worked for it, I have given him the land of Egypt" - he succeeded in destroying such a mighty empire, and that glory remains his.
Why, indeed, did Hashem not give him the land of Egypt itself as a functioning territory, since a king's reward can also be the land he conquered? To this, the verse concludes, "Because they worked for Me, says the Lord Hashem." Egypt and Pharaoh said, "Mine is my river, and I made myself," and they served as a splintered reed staff to the House of Israel - for this, they deserved ruin. Not merely that the land should fall under another king's rule while continuing to flourish, but that it be left utterly desolate. Therefore, their punishment was forty years of devastation. As for Nevuchadnezzar: his army would receive the spoil and plunder, while he himself would gain the renown and glory for having subdued a power as immense as Egypt.
The Malbim further analyzes the nuance of Lashon Hakodesh: Why is it said of the army, "and it shall be wages (sechar) for his army," whereas of the king it says "his labor (pe'ulato)"? There is a difference between sechar and pe'ulah. Pe'ulah focuses on the act itself, the grand undertaking one accomplished; sechar denotes the profit generated by the matter, what one received in the end. Furthermore, sechar applies even when a person acts through intermediaries - soldiers, servants, and the like; whereas pe'ulah applies only to what one achieved personally. Therefore, regarding the army, the verse uses the term sechar, since the king acted there through others; but what he achieved through his own personal leadership is called "his labor that he worked for it."
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אַצְמִיחַ קֶרֶן לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּלְךָ אֶתֵּן פִּתְחוֹן־פֶּה בְּתוֹכָם, וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃ - On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the House of Israel, and I will grant you an opening of the mouth among them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The Malbim notes that the commentators struggled greatly with this verse. It is an exceedingly perplexing and difficult pasuk, and all the commentators strive to resolve it. Rashi writes explicitly: "'On that day I will cause a horn to sprout' - I have neither heard nor found an explanation for this verse, as to how the horn of Israel sprouted through the downfall of Egypt." That is to say: what benefit or greatness did Israel gain when Egypt fell? After all, Israel had been exiled eight years before Egypt's defeat, and at the time of Egypt's downfall they were already in exile - in what way, then, did their horn sprout? Rashi explains that "on that day" refers to the end of the forty-year period.
The Malbim raises a difficulty: "On that day" cannot refer to something taking place forty years later, for this prophecy was delivered in the tenth year, and the prophet is speaking of his own contemporary era. Furthermore, if this refers to forty years later, Yechezkel would no longer have been alive, as he passed away during the reign of Nevuchadnezzar, while Egypt was restored only after the twenty-two years of Evil-merodach's reign following him. If so, what "opening of the mouth among them" could Yechezkel possibly have?
Therefore, the Malbim explains: after Nevuchadnezzar conquered Egypt and concluded his wars, he erected the golden image in the plain of Dura, as recounted at length in the Book of Daniel. It was then that the miracle occurred with Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, who refused to bow to the image and were cast into the fiery furnace; the king saw them dancing in the midst of the furnace with a fourth figure resembling an angel of God among them. Through this, the prestige and horn of Israel were elevated - and that is the meaning of "On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the House of Israel." This does not refer to the redemption, for they were not redeemed at that time and remained in the Babylonian exile; rather, their prestige was uplifted, and all saw that the name of Hashem was proclaimed upon His holy ones.
Furthermore, Chazal had a tradition that at the very time of the incident of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, Yechezkel was resurrecting the dead in the plain of Dura. The bones then came and struck Nevuchadnezzar across his face, and said to him: "The companion of these men is resurrecting the dead in the plain of Dura" - which was itself a sign of the future redemption and the resurrection of the dead. And what were those bones? Among other things, Nevuchadnezzar used bone utensils - vessels fashioned from animal or human bones - and he happened to be using bones belonging to the very dead whom Yechezkel resurrected in the plain of Dura. Each bone rushed to reunite with its matching skeleton; since that particular bone was being used at that moment as a spoon or a plate by the king of Babylon, it flew up to rejoin its body in the plain of Dura and struck him across the face. This is the meaning of "they struck him across his face." Thus, there was an elevation and a sprouting of the horn for the House of Israel, in which the greatness of the Creator was displayed and the spiritual power of the Jewish people became manifest - though this was not an ultimate redemption or a horn of complete salvation whereby Israel departed from their exile.
The Radak cites in the name of his father that the verse refers to the era of the Babylonian dynasty, specifically the reign of the king's son, when the horn of the House of Israel began to sprout. What was this sprouting of the horn? In the fiftieth year of the Babylonian exile, Cyrus was born; it was he who ultimately granted permission to rebuild the Beis HaMikdash and to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, and he is even called anointed, as the verse states, "To His anointed, to Cyrus." From that point began the sprouting of the horn for the House of Israel, as he sent them forth from the exile and returned them to their land.
The Radak cites an astonishing point there: "He was then twenty years old, and Darius, his son-in-law, was sixty-two." This is perplexing - if he was twenty years old, when did he father a child, and how old could his daughter have been to have a sixty-two-year-old son-in-law? Perhaps this refers to a later period, though this remains unclear; a search yields no alternative reading, and whether this represents a scribal error is unknown, but this is indeed what the Radak records.
Yet the Malbim's question still remains: the verse states, "and I will grant you an opening of the mouth among them," which implies that Yechezkel would be alive at that time. One might resolve this by suggesting that it does not mean Yechezkel himself would still be alive, but rather that it would then become clear that his prophecies were fulfilled - there would be, as it were, vindication and an opening of the mouth for the prophecies he delivered: you deliver them today, and in the future they will see that they are true. Through this, "they shall know that I am the Lord," for he delivered these prophecies long beforehand and announced them in advance, and now they will see them fulfilled. This will serve as an opening of the mouth to prove that Yechezkel was a true prophet and that Hashem declares the generations from the beginning.
In our chapter, it is written, "Behold, I am giving the land of Egypt to Nevuchadrezzar king of Babylon." Generally, we are accustomed to the spelling Nevuchadnezzar, yet in certain passages it appears as Nevuchadrezzar. What accounts for this variation? A survey of the commentaries yields nine explanations for this.
Among the early commentators, only the Yalkut Shimoni addresses this, and even there it offers not a comprehensive answer, but a localized one. In Yirmiyahu it says: "And the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be like the heart of a woman in distress... Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Chatzor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon struck." Rabbi Elazar said: It is written "Nebuchadrezzar" [with an R] - for he detained them (and there is a textual variant: gathered/cornered them, which aligns better with the concept of detention) in the wilderness and killed them, fulfilling through him: "his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him." In other words, there it speaks of that specific occurrence, where Nebuchadrezzar trapped them in the desert, rounded them up, and slew them, and therefore it is written there as Nebuchadrezzar. But for the other places we have no answer from this, unless we say that following that deed he was called by that name in other places as well.
Rashi in Masechet Arachin, regarding the words "katzir" and "katzin", says that the letters nun and reish interchange, citing as an example: "as it is written, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar." Thus, according to Rashi, there is no deeper nuance here at all; rather, nun and reish simply interchange with one another, just as the labial letters (beit, vav, mem, pei) interchange, and the guttural letters interchange.
The Radak explains that when a specific name appears in Tanach in several variations, it is a sign that all these variations were his legitimate names. If you find at times Yirmiyah and at times Yirmiyahu, Yonatan and Yehonatan, and the like - all these were names of that same person, and therefore the prophet refers to him sometimes by one name and sometimes by the other. Here too, both Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar were his names.
Another explanation: before he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, they called him Nebuchadnezzar, which is a complimentary expression related to "netzer" (a noble branch or shoot); but after the destruction, they called him Nebuchadrezzar, from the expression "tzorer" (an oppressor). This is cited in Me'am Lo'ez in the name of an ancient manuscript by a disciple of the Rav of Worms (Germaiza).
In Midrash HaBe'ur by Rabbi Saadia ben David al-Damari, it is brought: because he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash he was called Nebuchadrezzar, from an expression of "rasha" (wicked); and because he guarded (notzer) the might of the Holy One, Blessed be He, against the wicked, he was called Nebuchadnezzar. Perhaps the intention is that Hashem gave him great power although he was among the wicked, and therefore he was called Nebuchadnezzar - guarding the strength of Hashem; and once he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash he was called Nebuchadrezzar, which aligns with what was said earlier, that it relates to "tzorer" (oppressor).
Another reason is cited in Otzrot Yosef: when he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, Yirmiyahu was told that Hashem would eliminate from them the sound of joy, the sound of millstones, and the light of a candle ("ohr ner"). It explains there that "ohr ner" hints to Nebuchadnezzar, as he is sometimes called with a nun and sometimes with a reish, and the combination of nun and reish spells "ner" (candle). Furthermore, there is another textual variation: at times it is spelled Nebuchadnezzar with an alef after the nun, and at times Nebuchadnetzar without an alef - and the alef hints at "ohr" (light), while the alternating nun and reish hint at "ner" (candle).
Otzrot Yerushalayim cites: since he exiled Israel, destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, and was a tyrannical villain, Hashem changed his name from a nun to a reish, which is the first letter of "rasha" (wicked), and he was therefore called Nebuchadrezzar - "and the name of the wicked shall rot."
Another explanation: it is possible that his primary name was Nebuchadrezzar, and why was he called Nebuchadnezzar? Because he brought turmoil upon the shoot (netzer) of Yishai - since he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash and abolished the monarchy, and was therefore called by this name.
The final explanation cited in Otzar Chaim: it is known that Nebuchadnezzar was a descendant of King Shlomo through the Queen of Sheba. It is written that Shlomo gave her all that she desired, as learned in Sefer Melachim, and Chazal state that he impregnated her, and from her ultimately descended Nebuchadnezzar. In his own eyes, this was no great honor - for us too it is a great disgrace, but he, who considered himself exceedingly exalted, viewed the notion that he descended from Israel as a stain upon his lineage and history, and was embarrassed by it. Therefore, he was called Navoch-kad-netzer - he was embarrassed (navoch) by his shoot or ancestry (netzer), that he came from the branch of Shlomo. This aligns with what is written: "And you have been cast out like an abominable branch (netzer nit'av)" - he was indeed a shoot (netzer), but a despised shoot, and was ultimately cast away.
Undoubtedly there are other explanations, yet it seems that after all this, the matter remains within the secret realm of the Creator of the universe. None of these reasons provide a completely definitive rationale - they are more in the nature of allusions, while the true reasons remain hidden.
In this section we learned about the conclusion of Egypt's decree: at the end of forty years, Hashem will gather them from the nations and restore them to the land of Patros, but as a lowly kingdom - lowlier both than the other kingdoms and than the nations - so that it will not dominate other peoples, so that it will never again serve as a false reliance for Israel that recalls iniquity, and so that all will know that Hashem is the Sovereign ruler. Afterwards, we saw that Nebuchadnezzar, who laboured greatly against Tyre and received no reward once it was swept into the sea, will receive the land of Egypt: his army will obtain spoil and plunder, and he himself will gain the honor of conquering a great kingdom - but not the land itself, for on account of claiming "The river is mine" and being a broken reed of support, complete devastation was decreed upon it. Finally, "On that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel" - their pride and status were elevated through the miracle of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, through the resurrection of the dead in the valley of Dura, and subsequently through the rise of Cyrus who returned them to their land, giving fulfillment and validation to Yechezkel's prophecies, making it known that Hashem decrees the generations from the beginning.