There is Edom - All the glory and pomp of the Idumean kings, who also helped to oppress the Israelites, are gone down into the grave. Their kings, princes, and all their mighty men lie mingled with the uncircumcised, not distinguished from the common dead:

"Where they an equal honor share,

Who buried or unburied are.

Where Agamemnon knows no more

Than Irus, he condemned before.

Where fair Achilles and Thersites lie,

Equally naked, poor, and dry."

There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes,.... In the next place, near the graves of the above mentioned, and in the same ruinous and desolate condition, lie the famous kingdom of Idumea, and the several kings and dukes of it, from the first setting of it up, to its last destruction prophesied of, Ezekiel 25:12, of many of which mention is made, Genesis 36:15,

which with their might are laid by them that are slain with the sword; who, notwithstanding their powerful armies, and prowess and skill in war, yet are conquered, and destroyed, and laid in graves in like manner as all others slain by the, sword of the enemy are:

they shall lie with the uncircumcised; for though they themselves were circumcised, being the descendants of Esau the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, on whose seed circumcision was enjoined; yet this did not secure them from a violent death, and an ignominious burial; they being uncircumcised in heart, wicked and ungodly men, and so should be joined in their death and burial with such:

and with them that go down to the pit; the common receptacle of the slain.

Fifth strophe. - Ezekiel 32:29. There are Edom, its kings and all its princes, who in spite of their bravery are associated with those that are pierced with the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and with those that have gone down into the pit. Ezekiel 32:30. There are princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians who have gone down to the slain, been put to shame in spite of the dread of them because of their bravery; they lie there as uncircumcised, and bear their shame with those who have gone into the pit. - In this strophe Ezekiel groups together the rest of the heathen nations in the neighbourhood of Israel; and in doing so, he changes the שׁם of the preceding list for שׁמּה, thither. This might be taken prophetically: thither will they come, "to these they also belong" (Hvernick), only such nations being mentioned here as are still awaiting their destruction. But, in the first place, the perfects אשׁר נתנוּ, אשׁר ירדוּ, in Ezekiel 32:29, Ezekiel 32:30, do not favour this explanation, inasmuch as they are used as preterites in Ezekiel 32:22, Ezekiel 32:24, Ezekiel 32:25, Ezekiel 32:26, Ezekiel 32:27; and, secondly, even in the previous strophes, not only are such peoples mentioned as have already perished, but some, like Elam and Meshech-Tubal, which did not rise into historical importance, or exert any influence upon the development of the kingdom of God till after Ezekiel's time, whereas the Edomites and Sidonians were already approaching destruction. We therefore regard שׁמּה as simply a variation of expression in the sense of "thither have they come," without discovering any allusion to the future. - In the case of Edom, kings and נשׂיאים, i.e., tribe-princes, are mentioned. The allusion is to the 'alluphim or phylarchs, literally chiliarchs, the heads of the leading families (Genesis 36:15.), in whose hands the government of the people lay, inasmuch as the kings were elective, and were probably chosen by the phylarchs (see the comm. on Genesis 36:31.). בּגבוּרתם, in, or with their bravery, i.e., in spite of it. There is something remarkable in the allusion to princes of the north (נסיכי, lit., persons enfeoffed, vassal-princes; see the comm. on Joshua 13:21 and Micah 5:4) in connection with the Sidonians, and after Meshech-Tubal the representative of the northern nations. The association with the Sidonians renders the conjecture a very natural one, that allusion is made to the north of Palestine, and more especially to the Aram of Scripture, with its many separate states and princes (Hvernick); although Jeremiah 25:26, "the kings of the north, both far and near," does not furnish a conclusive proof of this. So much, at any rate, is certain, that the princes of the north are not to be identified with the Sidonians. For, as Kliefoth has correctly observed, "there are six heathen nations mentioned, viz., Asshur, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, and Sidon; and if we add Egypt to the list, we shall have seven, which would be thoroughly adapted, as it was eminently intended, to depict the fate of universal heathenism." A principle is also clearly discernible in the mode in which they are grouped. Asshur, Elam, and Meshech-Tubal represent the greater and more distant world-powers; Edom the princes of the north, and Sidon the neighbouring nations of Israel on both south and north. בּחתּיתם מגּבוּרתם, literally, in dread of them, (which proceeded) from their bravery, i.e., which their bravery inspired. 'ויּשׂאוּ וגו, as in Ezekiel 32:24.

There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.

32:29 With the uncircumcised - The Edomites retained circumcision, being of the seed of Abraham. But that shall stand them in no stead: they shall lie with the uncircumcised.

laid: Heb. given, or, put

29. princes-Edom was not only governed by kings, but by subordinate "princes" or "dukes" (Ge 36:40).

with their might-notwithstanding their might, they shall be brought down (Isa 34:5, 10-17; Jer 49:7, 13-18).

lie with the uncircumcised-Though Edom was circumcised, being descended from Isaac, he shall lie with the uncircumcised; much more shall Egypt, who had no hereditary right to circumcision.

32:17-32 Divers nations are mentioned as gone down to the grave before Egypt, who are ready to give her a scornful reception; these nations had been lately ruined and wasted. But though Judah and Jerusalem were about this time ruined and laid waste, yet they are not mentioned here. Though they suffered the same affliction, and by the same hand, yet the kind design for which they were afflicted, and the mercy God reserved for them, altered its nature. It was not to them a going down to the pit, as it was to the heathen. Pharaoh shall see, and be comforted; but the comfort wicked ones have after death, is poor comfort, not real, but only in fancy. The view this prophecy gives of ruined states shows something of this present world, and the empire of death in it. Come and see the calamitous state of human life. As if men did not die fast enough, they are ingenious at finding out ways to destroy one another. Also of the other world; though the destruction of nations as such, seems chiefly intended, here is plain allusion to the everlasting ruin of impenitent sinners. How are men deceived by Satan! What are the objects they pursue through scenes of bloodshed, and their many sins? Surely man disquiets himself in vain, whether he pursues wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. The hour cometh, when all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of Christ, and shall come forth; those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.