Ezekiel 28 Footnotes

28:1-19 This text has presented difficulties for interpreters. Ezekiel compared the king of Tyre to a figure “in Eden, the garden of God” (v. 13). This passage is similar to Isaiah’s taunt against the king of Babylon (Is 14:12-17). The king was seeking divine status (Ezk 28:2,6). This is not extraordinary, since ancient Near Eastern kings customarily proclaimed themselves divine and were regarded so by their people. But v. 12 adds that the king was a “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” A detailed description follows, naming nine precious stones covering this impressive figure. Verse 14 adds, “You were an anointed guardian cherub” and “You were on the holy mountain of God.”

These extravagant descriptions could not literally apply to the king of Tyre; the prophet was comparing him with someone with an exalted position in the garden of God, but who became corrupted and lost his favor and position. Of twenty descriptive elements identifiable in this passage, at least sixteen can be seen to correlate with Is 14:12-17, written some 150 years earlier. The correspondence leads many conservative scholars to conclude that the passages are related and refer to the fall of Satan, the adversary of God and his people and the source of evil. On this view, Ezekiel was stating—in terms his audience would understand—that Satan was the mastermind behind the king of Tyre.

Other commentators, no less committed to the inerrancy of Scripture, find such a theory speculative, going “beyond what is written” (1Co 4:6). If Ezekiel had meant to speak of Satan there is no reason why he would not have mentioned him by name, as occurs in other OT passages (1Ch 21:1; Jb 1–2; Zch 3:1-2). Ezekiel, like other prophets of Israel, is known for exaggerated speech; in this passage he magnified the king of Tyre as an exalted Edenic figure in order to amplify the “spectacle” (v. 17) of his disgrace, as one who “will never exist again” (v. 19).

28:1 The most enigmatic and debated passage in Ezekiel’s messages against the nations is the lament over the king of Tyre. Although no specific king is mentioned, the king who reigned during Ezekiel’s ministry was Ethbaal II (585–573 BC). He was called the “prince” of Tyre, judged for arrogance and greed (vv. 1-10).