Ezekiel 32:31, commentary and pictures

Pharaoh and all his army are slain by the sword in the prophecy against Egypt, and seeing the other fallen multitudes with him he is comforted over his own multitude as Egypt's power and supremacy are brought down. That word was literally fulfilled when Egypt, once among the greatest kingdoms and empires, was made low and base among the nations and did not rise again. Sheol, here rendered hell and identical with hades, is the nether parts of the earth beneath in the depths and interior of the earth itself, set against the land of the living at the surface as the land of the dead and the grave where there is no knowledge, wisdom, work, or device. His seeing and being comforted and the speaking of the slain together in the pit are figurative poetic personification and not literal seeing, comfort, conversation, or conscious life after death, for the slain lie unconscious in the grave in darkness and silence. So personified, the dead vividly bring future retribution before the mind and show the great truth that death reduces all to the same level.

Prophecy Against Egypt

Ezekiel 32:31 belongs to the prophecies against Egypt in Ezekiel 29-32. In that prophecy Pharaoh and all his army are slain by the sword, and Pharaoh sees the other fallen multitudes and is comforted over his own multitude. This forms part of the declaration that Egypt's power and supremacy would be brought down and that the kingdom would become low among the nations.

Those prophecies against Egypt were literally fulfilled. Egypt, once one of the greatest kingdoms and empires, was brought low and became the basest of the kingdoms. Brought low, it became low among the nations and would not rise again among the nations.

The verse pictures Pharaoh and his host slaughtered in battle with the king of Babylon. They go down with their weapons of war with their swords laid under their heads. They are buried indiscriminately with friend and foe together in pits. While there, the strong among the mighty speak to Pharaoh out of the midst of sheol.

Sheol's Location and Nature

Ezekiel 32:31 places sheol in the earth beneath, in the nether parts of the earth, in the depths and interior of the earth itself. Sheol is identical with hades, and here the word is rendered hell. Sheol embraces the interior of the earth as the region of the dead and the place of every grave, and is always spoken of as beneath, in the interior of the earth, in the nether parts of the earth. Within the account of Pharaoh and the slain nations descending to the pit, Pharaoh joins the multitude slain by the sword there, depicted among the dead as seeing and being comforted over his slain multitude.

The depths and nethermost parts of the earth, identified as the pit and hades, are set against the land of the living at the earth's surface. Hades or sheol is therefore the land of the dead and the grave, holding only dead men and no living beings. It is a place of darkness and silence, with no knowledge, wisdom, work, or device, where the dead have gone down with their swords under their heads. Pharaoh's seeing the slain multitude and being comforted among the dead is figurative personification and does not teach conscious life after death or literal speaking by the dead.

Hades is the abode of the dead, but it will be consumed in the devouring fire when the earth is melted and will then cease to be their abode. Paradise, with the tree of life, therefore cannot be located in hades.

Figurative Comfort, Not Consciousness

The scene portrays the dead as speaking and encountering one another in the nether parts of the earth, with Pharaoh lying among the slain and seeing the multitude of his enemies who were also slain and being comforted over his own multitude by their fate. The slain soldiers go down with their weapons of war with their swords laid under their heads, buried together in pits, and the strong among the mighty speak to Pharaoh out of the midst of sheol as he enters therein. Pharaoh's seeing the slain multitude and being comforted, and the speaking of the dead in sheol, are figurative poetic personification and not literal seeing, comfort, shame, conversation, or conscious life after death. The slain Egyptians and Chaldeans lie unconscious in sheol, which is the grave, dark and silent, and the whole scene is a figurative picture of the dead in the nether parts of the earth in contrast with the land of the living.

The comfort and speaking are poetic like the kings overthrown by Babylon sitting on thrones and mocking, like Rachel weeping long after death, and like the rich man endowed with life and speech in hades. The unconscious inhabitants of hades are represented as speaking and acting as if alive, although the grave is a place of darkness, silence, and death with no conscious action. Pharaoh's comfort is presented as certain, like an event already happening, because what is fixed in purpose is spoken of as though it were present.

The personified speaking and acting of the dead set forth facts and outcomes and express the outcome of their cases, vividly bringing the reality of future retribution before the mind to bear forcibly on the living. The figure sets forth the great truth that death reduces all to the same level, and like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus it rebukes covetousness and oppression of the poor.