The Meaning of Ezekiel 29:3 Explained

Ezekiel 29:3

KJV: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

YLT: Speak, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt! The great dragon that is crouching in the midst of his floods, Who hath said, My flood is my own, And I -- I have made it for myself.

Darby: speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which saith, My river is mine own, and I made it for myself.

ASV: speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Speak,  and say,  Thus saith  the Lord  GOD;  Behold, I [am] against thee, Pharaoh  king  of Egypt,  the great  dragon  that lieth  in the midst  of his rivers,  which hath said,  My river  [is] mine own, and I have made  [it] for myself. 

What does Ezekiel 29:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Like the king of Tyre and his people, Pharaoh and Egypt had also been guilty of pride. He had become like a great river monster (Heb. tannim, probably a crocodile of which there were many in the Nile) because he had taken credit for the Nile River, the lifeblood of the nation. Tannin, a variant spelling of tannim, is translated "serpent," "leviathan," and "sea-monster" ( Genesis 1:21; Exodus 7:9-10; Job 9:13; Job 26:11-13; Psalm 89:10; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 51:9; Amos 9:3). It describes real animals as well as mythological monsters in the Old Testament. In ancient Near Eastern mythology this word referred to the monster of chaos destroyed in Creation. Egyptians believed Pharaoh conquered this chaos-monster, but here God called Pharaoh this monster. Rather than giving God thanks for the Nile as a resource, the king had proudly claimed responsibility for it.
"This was [1] Hophra"s ([2] Apries") arrogant self-image. Herodotus implied that Pharaoh Apries was so strong in his position that he felt no god could dislodge him. [3] In his reign he sent an expedition against Cyprus, besieged and took Gaza (cf. Jeremiah 47:1) and the city of Sidon, was victorious against Tyre by sea, and considered himself master over Palestine and Phoenicia.... This arrogance had also shown itself in an attempt to interrupt Babylonia"s siege of Jerusalem-an attempt thwarted by God." [4]

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 29

1  The judgment of Pharaoh for his treachery to Israel
8  The desolation of Egypt
13  The restoration thereof after forty years
17  Egypt the reward of Nebuchadnezzar
21  Israel shall be restored

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 29:3 mean?

Speak and say thus says the Lord GOD behold I [am] against you Pharaoh king of Egypt monster great who lies in the midst of his rivers who has said my own My River [is] and I have made [it] for myself
דַּבֵּ֨ר וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ כֹּֽה־ אָמַ֣ר ׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה הִנְנִ֤י עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ פַּרְעֹ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־ מִצְרַ֔יִם הַתַּנִּים֙ הַגָּד֔וֹל הָרֹבֵ֖ץ בְּת֣וֹךְ יְאֹרָ֑יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָמַ֛ר לִ֥י יְאֹרִ֖י וַאֲנִ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי

דַּבֵּ֨ר  Speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
וְאָמַרְתָּ֜  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
כֹּֽה־  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר ׀  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲדֹנָ֣י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֗ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
הִנְנִ֤י  behold  I  [am] 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙  against  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
פַּרְעֹ֣ה  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
מִצְרַ֔יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
הַתַּנִּים֙  monster 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: תַּנִּין  
Sense: dragon, serpent, sea monster.
הַגָּד֔וֹל  great 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
הָרֹבֵ֖ץ  who  lies 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָבַץ  
Sense: to stretch oneself out, lie down, lie stretched out.
בְּת֣וֹךְ  in  the  midst 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
יְאֹרָ֑יו  of  his  rivers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יְאֹר  
Sense: river, stream, canal, Nile, Nile-canal.
אָמַ֛ר  has  said 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לִ֥י  my  own 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
יְאֹרִ֖י  My  River  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יְאֹר  
Sense: river, stream, canal, Nile, Nile-canal.
וַאֲנִ֥י  and  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי  have  made  [it]  for  myself 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, first person common singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.