Ezekiel 28:12-19
Summary for Ezek 28:12-19: 28:12-19 a This eulogy at first appears to take the prince of Tyre’s aspirations to divinity seriously. He was the very model of perfection, full of wisdom and ... beauty. It turns out to be a sarcastic lament.Summary for Ezek 28:13-14: 28:13-14 b Mocking Tyre’s claim to antiquity and preeminence, Ezekiel describes its king as being present in Eden at the beginning of the world, as the mighty angelic guardian—that is, as one of the heavenly beings that carried the Lord’s throne in ch 1 c and guarded the garden in Gen 3 d. There in Eden, he had access to the holy mountain of God (mountains are often associated with God’s presence in the Bible).
• The stones of fire may be an obscure reference to a hedge of sparkling gemstones around the Garden of Eden. The list of jewels that the prince of Tyre supposedly wore in his original glory adds to this image of his divine election since it includes nine of the twelve jewels found on the high priest’s breastplate in Exod 28 e. This description satirizes the prince of Tyre’s claim to an even higher place than Adam’s—a place among the divine beings themselves.
Summary for Ezek 28:15-18: 28:15-18 f This sarcastic description of the prince of Tyre’s greatness and pride sets him up for his coming fall, which is cast in terms reminiscent of the fall of humanity (Gen 3 g). As with Adam, the king of Tyre’s supposedly blameless condition was not permanent, but came to an abrupt end when evil was found in him. His rich commerce and dishonest trade led him to violence (cp. Ezek 26:17 h). One who claimed to be greater than Adam could experience a fall from favor similar to Adam’s and be banished ... from the mountain of God, the place of God’s favor. The prince of Tyre’s God-given beauty and wisdom were corrupted by his pride, which inevitably led to disaster and exposed his true nature.
Summary for Ezek 28:18-19: 28:18-19 i Far from being a deity who could sanctify a piece of ground by his presence, the prince of Tyre had the opposite effect. He defiled the holy ground of his sanctuaries. Judgment was pronounced on his city in the previous two panels, and it was the prince of Tyre’s fate to come to a terrible end, and ... exist no more (cp. 26:21 j; 27:36 k). The exalted captain would go down with his glorious ship and be brought to nothing by the Lord’s act.
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