Ezekiel 32:20, commentary and pictures

It declares the certain defeat of Egypt, that Pharaoh and his host and multitudes are delivered to the sword and fall among those slain by it. It brings Egypt low from a great kingdom to the basest of kingdoms. The slain go down together into sheol in the nether parts of the earth, which is the grave, the invisible place and state of the dead. The dead there are unconscious and inanimate, in silence and darkness with no knowledge, work, or wisdom, so their speaking, lying with swords under their heads, and being comforted do not literally happen but are figurative personification giving life and action to the dead. Such a scene is used to bring true thoughts of future retribution vividly and forcibly before the minds of the living.

Prophecy Against Egypt

Ezekiel 32:20 belongs to that section of Ezekiel containing prophecies against seven foreign nations. Within that section it is part of the prophecies against Egypt and its future history. Egypt is thus identified as one of the nations prophesied against.

The verse declares the certain fate of Egypt, Pharaoh, and his host and multitudes. That fate is defeat and subjugation, in which the nation and its multitudes are delivered to the sword. Pharaoh and his host fall in the midst of those slain by the sword.

It describes Egypt being brought low and abased. This was literally fulfilled in its fall from a great kingdom to the basest of kingdoms. At one time it had been the greatest empire on earth.

Sheol in the Earth Beneath

Those slain by the sword fall in the midst of the dead in sheol, which is identical with hades and there translated hell. Sheol is the grave, the invisible place and state of the dead, embracing the region of the dead and the place of every grave. Pharaoh and his multitudes are sent down to that grave among those killed by the sword.

Sheol or hades lies in the earth beneath, embracing its interior as the lower parts of the earth. It is always located beneath and not in heaven, sometimes called the nether or nethermost parts of the earth or the pit. There the slain are pictured as delivered to the sword and drawn down with their multitudes, placed among the dead in the grave-region beneath the earth. Egypt and its multitudes are drawn down among those killed by it into that place where the slain lie.

Hades is the land of the dead set in contrast to the surface, which is the land of the living. It is full of graves and of the dead, lying in the nether parts of the earth beneath where those slain by the sword fall in the midst of the dead with their multitudes. No living beings are found there, for it is not a place where living beings dwell. Its location in the nether parts of the earth shows that hades is not paradise.

The description of the interior of the earth as the nethermost parts of the earth, the pit, or hades identifies hades with the place of the dead. That identification supports the claim that it will be consumed when the earth is destroyed by fire. Descent first into the lower parts of the earth means descent into hades, proving Christ descended first into hades and afterward ascended far above all heavens into paradise as the same being, and did not go both ways at once.

Figurative Portrayal of Death

The verse portrays Pharaoh and his army and multitudes, with Egypt and other slain nations, as slaughtered in battle by the king of Babylon and brought down and buried together with their enemies in pits in sheol among those killed by the sword. Egypt and its multitudes are delivered over to the sword and drawn down among those killed by it into the grave-region beneath the earth. Their placement among the slain in the nether parts of the earth is figurative, not a literal account of conscious dead people speaking or acting.

The surrounding prophecy pictures the slaughtered Egyptians and their enemies lying together in sheol in the nether parts of the earth, going down with their weapons of war with their swords laid under their heads. The strong among the mighty speak to Pharaoh out of the midst of sheol as he enters therein, and Pharaoh lying among the slain multitudes is comforted at seeing the multitude of his slain enemies around him. Egypt is delivered over to the sword and summoned down with its forces to fall among those slain by the sword.

The speaking and responding, lying among the slain, laying swords under heads, being comforted, and feeling shame do not literally happen in sheol. The dead in sheol are unconscious and inanimate, in a place of silence, darkness, and no knowledge, where there is no work, device, knowledge, or wisdom. They do not literally converse, feel comfort or shame, or act with consciousness, intelligence, or activity, so the scenes are figurative and teach nothing about consciousness, intelligence or activity in death.

The conscious scene is figurative personification attributing life and action to the inanimate dead to set forth a great truth. It is like the dead kings rising from thrones to mock the king of Babylon and like Rachel weeping for her children long after her death. It is a figure of speech by which unconscious and inanimate things are represented as living, acting, and speaking, like fir trees and cedars, house timbers, withheld wages, and martyred blood.

Scripture uses such metaphorical scenes of the dead speaking and acting as a figurative illustration without necessarily describing their literal condition after death. Its purpose is to bring true thoughts of future retribution vividly before the mind and to bring a truth forcibly to the minds of the living. It is the same device used in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to impress heeding Moses and the prophets.