Jan 2026 – Written Exposition

Psalm 2: God’s Warning To World Leaders

Posted on 24th Jan 202624th Jan 2026 by writtenexposition

INTRODUCTION

Psalm 2 is a Royal Psalm that may have been sung at the coronation of Davidic kings of Israel and Judah. The psalm has no superscription identifying the author nor is the author’s name given in the psalm itself. The New Testament, however, indicates in Acts 4:25 that Psalm 2 was written by David.

Interpreters therefore attempt to match this psalm to known events in the life of David. Most likely it relates to the Philistine invasion of the Valley of Rephaim (2 Sam 5) near Jerusalem soon after David had united Israel and Judah. David defeated the Philistine forces in battles at Baal-Perazim and at Geba. The later Jewish historian Josephus (c. 37–100 CE) claims that other nations joined the Philistines in opposition to David at that time (Ant., VII, iv, i; xii, 4):

When the Philistines understood that David was made king of the Hebrews, they made war against him at Jerusalem; and when they had seized upon that valley which is called The Valley of the Giants, and is a place not far from the city, they pitched their camp therein; but the king of the Jews. . . led out his army against the Philistines; and when the battle was joined, he came himself behind, and fell upon the enemy on the sudden, and slew some of them, and put the rest to flight. And let no one suppose that it was a small army of the Philistines that came against the Hebrews. . . but let him know that all Syria and Phoenicia, with many other nations besides them, and those warlike nations also, came to their assistance, and had a share in this war. . .

In the ancient world the accession of new kings was a dangerous time because subordinate peoples would often seize the opportunity afforded by a temporary leadership void to throw off the rule of their overlords. In order to survive, a new king needed to quickly consolidate the borders of his kingdom, subdue insurgents and put down his enemies. This is the background to Psalm 2.

The Davidic kings, located in the southern kingdom of Judah after the breakup of the United Monarchy following the death of Solomon, viewed themselves as ‘the Lord’s anointed’ and, as such, entitled to rule over the nations. Psalm 2 extols the power and authority of Judah’s God YHWH over the nations, and therefore that also of his chosen and anointed king. Psalm 2 advises the nations to give up their rebellious plans and submit to the authority of the Davidic king.

That was great in theory but in practice Judah, although strategically located and prominent in the southern Levant, was small in size and relatively unimportant on the world stage. More often than not the Davidic kings were pawns in the hands of the rulers of the big empires: particularly Egypt, Assyria and Babylon.

When the the Davidic monarchy in Judah came to an end as a result of the Babylonian conquest and exile in 586 BCE any hope of world domination by Judah, however faint, had dissipated. From then on Jews, followed later by Christians, began to interpret Psalm 2 as Messianic: predicting the coming of a future king, an ‘anointed one’ (Messiah) descended from David, who would rescue them from all oppressors and rule the nations.

Christians view this Messiah as Jesus Christ and Psalm 2 as a prophecy of his eschatological reign. The psalm features large in the New Testament writings; it is either alluded to or cited in the following verses: Mt 3:17; 17:5; Mk 1:1; 9:7; Lk 3:22; 9:35; Jn 1:49; Acts 4:25-26; 13:33; Phil 2:9-11; Heb 1:2, 5; 5:5; Rev 2:26-27; 11:18; 12:5; 19:15.

STRUCTURE

Psalm 2 consists of 12 verses, with heavy parallelism in almost every verse. Summers (2020), writing on Psalm 89, gives examples of the three basic forms of parallelism – synonymous, antithetic and synthetic:

In synonymous parallelism a thought is expressed and then repeated in different words: “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing” Ps.126.2; In antithetic parallelism the initial thought is emphasised by contrasting it with its opposite: “The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh” Prov.11.17; In synthetic parallelism the second line completes the thought of the first: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: For Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” Ps.4.8.

Psalm 2 has a four-part structure. It falls naturally into four strophes; each having three verses:

1-3 The rebellion of the nations against YHWH and his king

4-6 YHWH’s reaction to the nations’ plans

7-9 The king declares his right to rule

10-12 The psalmist advises the nations to submit and be blessed

EXPOSITION

THE REBELLION OF THE NATIONS AGAINST YHWH AND HIS KING (1-3)

¹ Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
² The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
³ Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Psalm 2 begins with a rhetorical question: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The author incredulously asks why the Gentiles would plot against YHWH and his ‘anointed’ when they have no chance of prevailing. Rage means to be in commotion or uproar and the parallel verb imagine means to ponder, plot or devise. The nations (gôyim) refers to the Gentiles and people is a general noun that can refer to Israel or to humanity in general. The plan they are hatching is a vain thing; it is futile.

Verse 2 focuses on the instigators of the rebellion. The leaders of the coalition against YHWH and his anointed are described as kings and rulers. The phrase kings of the earth mocks the restricted sphere of influence these officials have when compared with YHWH who in v.4 sits in the heavens. They have set themselves (adopted an antagonistic position – possibly military opposition) and conferred together (this refers back to the plotting in v.1) against YHWH and his anointed.

The title māšiyaḥ (anointed one, messiah) referred to the High Priest (Lev 4:3) or (more often) to the king (1 Sam 2:10; 2 Sam 2:51) as someone who had a special relationship with YHWH and had been chosen by the deity to fulfil a specific mission. Messiah can be a noun or an adjective; here it is a noun. The psalm views the coalition of nations directly rebelling against the anointed Davidic king as also indirectly opposing YHWH, the God whom the anointed represents.

David is very much associated with anointing as he was anointed king three times:

by the prophet Samuel in Bethlehem (1 Sam 16:12-13)
by the men of Judah in Hebron after the death of King Saul (2 Sam 2:4)
by the elders of Israel in Hebron seven and a half years after the previous anointing (2 Sam 5:3-5)

Verse 3 reveals the intentions of the coalition and the objective of their plans.

Let us break their bands asunder
Let us cast away their cords from us.

The plotters view their current situation as one of bondage to YHWH and his anointed one (note ‘their bands’ and ‘their cords’ i.e. of YHWH and the anointed one) and, full of resentment and violent intent, they feel the urge to gain independence.

YHWH’S REACTION TO THE NATIONS’ PLANS (4-6)

⁴ He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
⁵ Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
⁶ Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

In verse 4 the scene shifts from earth to heaven and the focus is now on the Lord and his response to the plans of the rebellious nations. The verse uses anthropomorphisms (YHWH doing what humans do) – sit, laugh, mock – to describe YHWH’s response to the rebellion. The word sitteth equals ‘enthroned’ as in Psa 9:4; 29:10; Lam 5:19. Verse 4 uses the divine title Adonai rather than the divine name YHWH. This emphasises YHWH’s superiority as master or lord, to whom all are subservient. In contrast to the agitation and commotion among the nations on earth the Lord is calm, detached and in control. Their plans are no cause for concern, he considers them ridiculous.

The word then at the beginning of v.5 indicates that YHWH has decided to intervene. Unfortunately for the rebels his mirth will quickly give way to wrath and anger (sore displeasure). These words are associated with heat so the idea is that of burning wrath and hot rage. According to the CWSB Dictionary the word ’ap (translated ‘wrath’) is often intensified by being paired with another word for anger or by associating it with various words for burning (Num. 22:27; Deut. 9:19; Jer. 4:8; 7:20). The word translated ‘sore displeasure’ (ḥārôn) is a noun meaning heat, fierceness, anger. The word vex means to terrify. Here we have cause and effect: the Lord will speak and his anger will terrify them.

In verse 6 YHWH says ‘Yet. . .I’ or ‘But as for me.’ In contrast to the plans the nations are hatching YHWH will carry out his own plan and install his own king in Zion. I have set is perfect tense. It could denote the recent past (‘I have just set’) or it could indicate resolve (‘I have resolved to set’) or it could be prophetic (‘I shall set’). In view of the word ‘today’ in v.7 perhaps ‘I have just set’ might be the best interpretation. The coronation of the new king will take place on the ‘holy hill of Zion.’ This can refer specifically to the Temple (Isa. 56.7; 65.11; 66.20) or more generally to the city of Jerusalem (Psa. 48.1, Dan. 9.16)

THE KING DECLARES HIS RIGHT TO RULE (7-9)

⁷ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
⁸ Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
⁹ Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

In vv. 7-9 the first person verbs indicate that it is the new king who declares by what right he rules. He quotes a decree from YHWH, this is possibly a reference to The Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7. Communicated to David by the prophet Nathan, this promised an everlasting kingdom to David’s seed and that the Davidic king would be a son to YHWH and YHWH a father to him (2 Sam 7:14). In v.7 the king metaphorically refers to himself as a ‘begotten’ son of God. The ‘today’ of the begetting refers to the day when David was anointed and designated king rather than to his coronation day (although for most of the Davidic kings anointing and coronation would have occurred on the same day). Figuratively born into a royal existence the one who has been designated king now has a close, and indeed special, relationship with YHWH. Psalm 2:7 is directly quoted in Acts 13:33; Heb 1:5 and Heb 5:15.

Hoping to shed some light on the historical setting Knohl (2003, p. 726) points out that the claim that a king is ‘son of God’ was made in ancient cultures. He provides some examples from Egypt (the coronation accounts of Pharaohs Hatshepsut, Amnehotep III and Haremhab), from Greece (the Seleucid monarch Alexander Balas, 150-145 BCE) and from Rome (the Emperor Octavian who began to use the title ‘divi filius’ – ‘son of God’ – around 40 BCE). Knohl maintains that in all the cases he lists the claim to be ‘the son of God’ was made at times of conspiracy and in ‘problematic political situations’ and therefore concludes that it: had a very specific aim. It was a political tool for supporting a ruler in his struggle with his enemies. He goes on to suggest (p.727) that: the claim to be ‘son of God’ is mainly a political device. It was probably intended for Israelite ears, rather than for the enemies. It was meant to strengthen the rule and legitimacy of the king among his people in a time of an external threat.

Verse 8 continues the words of the divine decree. As YHWH’s son the new Davidic monarch will inherit the kingdom. This will include the Gentile nations (including those that are currently rebellious) and extend to the remotest parts of earth.

Verse 9 – The new king will subjugate the plotters and put down all rebellion. The phrase ‘rod of iron’ (rod equals sceptre – although some commentators take the meaning as shepherd’s staff and translate as ‘you will shepherd’ rather than ‘you will shatter’) denotes the king’s power and authority. ‘Iron’ emphasises his strength. ‘Smash them’ and ‘dash them like a potter’s vessel’ suggest violence.

Regarding the simile ‘like a potter’s vessel’ Ross (2014, p. 210) comments: This figure maybe based on the Egyptian custom in which the name of each city under the king’s dominion was written on a little votive jar and placed in the temple of his god. Then, if the people in a city rebelled, the pharaoh could smash that city’s little jar in the presence of the deity. Such a symbolic act would terrify the rebellious—not that the city had much of a chance of withstanding the pharaoh in the first place. The psalmist may be drawing on that imagery to stress how easily the king, with all the authority of heaven behind him, will crush the rebellion swiftly.

THE PSALMIST ADVISES THE NATIONS TO SUBMIT AND BE BLESSED (10-12)

¹⁰ Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

In vv. 10-12 the same speaker (i.e. King David who is also the psalmist) addresses the rebel leaders and gives them advice. There are five imperatives:

Be wise – they are to act prudently – make wise choices.

Be warned – receive instruction. The rebellious political leaders ‘judges of the earth’ are like children who need training.

Serve – the Gentile nations ought to turn from their own false deities and submit to (‘serve’ equals ‘worship’ and obey) YHWH, the God of Israel/Judah. They are to worship him ‘with fear’ – this probably includes both aspects of fear; dread and reverence.

Rejoice – The phrase ‘rejoice with trembling’ seems odd but the idea may be that of shouting for joy while worshipping in YHWH’s sanctuary yet remaining aware that their celebration must be honouring to God.

Kiss – They are to kiss the son. Whether the Aramaic word bar (‘son’) even means ‘son’ has been debated for centuries because it appears elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible with different meanings such as: pure, chosen, son, corn, and field. Some translate ‘kiss the son’ as ‘worship purely’ or ‘draw close to purity’ or ‘arm yourself with purity.’ They argue that it is unlikely that David would have used the Aramaic word for ‘son’ since he had already used the Hebrew word for ‘son’ (bēn) in v.7. They also point out that Aram (KJV – Syria) was a vassal kingdom to David (2 Sam 8:4-7; 1 Chron 18:3-6) and that he would not have borrowed this word from their language for his psalm.

Generally speaking, however, ‘kiss the son’ is interpreted as the kiss of allegiance – the action of one king paying homage to another, perhaps by kissing his feet. It is not the actual act of kissing that is important but the submission that it represents (Psa 72:9; Isa 49:23; Mic 7:17).

‘Lest he be angry’ – most likely the subject of the verb is YHWH rather than the king. The leaders of the nations are to urgently submit to the anointed earthly king or YHWH may be angry with them and they perish ‘in the way’ i.e. their path of rebellion. Anger and rage have previously been attributed to YHWH in v.5.

The psalm ends with a beatitude – a blessing for all who ‘take refuge in him’ – again ‘him’ could refer to the king or to YHWH but most likely to YHWH. They that put their trust in him refers mainly to Israel/Judah.

SUMMATION

Psalm 2 is usually classified as both a royal psalm and a messianic psalm since its subject is that of one specially chosen and anointed (Messiah) by YHWH to become king over the entire world. The psalm calls him the Lord’s anointed, the Lord’s king and the Lord’s son. The themes of the psalm are set out in 4 strophes, each with 3 verses.

1-3 – The rebellion of the nations against YHWH and his chosen king.
4-6 – YHWH’s angry reaction to the rebellion.
7-9 – The declaration by the chosen king of his right to rule and his prediction that the rebellion will be crushed.
10-12 – Advice to world leaders to submit to YHWH and his chosen king.

Although it is applicable in the first instance to David and to subsequent Davidic kings both Jews and Christians await the future fulfilment of this psalm. For Christians the Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ and Psalm 2 predicts his eschatological reign.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Knohl, I. (2003). RELIGION AND POLITICS IN PSALM 2. in Emanuel: Studies in Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honor of Emanuel Tov, pp.725–727, Vetus Testamentum, Supplements, Volume: 94, Brill, Leiden

‌Ross, A. P. (2014). A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 1 (1-41). Kregel Academic.

‌Zodhiates, S. and Strong, J. (2002). The Complete Word Study Bible Dictionary Old Testament : King James Version. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Straus M. (2014). Psalm 2:7 and the Concept of περιχώρησις. Scottish Journal of Theology. Vol. 67, No. 2, pp. 213-229.

‌ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Gunn, G. (2011). PSALM 2 AND THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH. [online] Available at: https://shasta2.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/7/0/16705804/psalm_2_reign_of_messiah.pdf [Accessed 24 Jan. 2026].

Summers, A. (2020). Chapter 14: Psalm 89 | The Glory of the Messianic Psalms. [online] Available at: https://assemblytestimony.org/books/book-12-the-glory-of-messianic-psalms/chapter-14-psalm-89/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2026].

Exposition

Ezekiel 25: Judgement on Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia

Posted on 2nd Jan 20262nd Jan 2026 by writtenexposition

INTRODUCTION

Up to the end of chapter 24 Ezekiel’s ministry has been dominated by messages of impending doom and symbolic acts warning of the forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem/Judah. The warning phase has now passed and the siege of the city by Nebuchadnezzar’s forces has begun.

The fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecies will confirm him as a genuine prophet of YHWH; that confirmation comes two years later in chapter 33 when news of Jerusalem’s fall reaches Ezekiel and his fellow exiles in Babylonia. From chapter 33 onwards Ezekiel’s tone changes and he delivers promises of renewal, restoration and return.

Sandwiched between the prophecies of judgement (1-24) and the prophecies of hope (33-48) lies a distinct section composed of oracles against nations that surround Judah. These have, at one time or another, mocked, harmed or exploited the people of God.

The main point of these oracles is to salvage or build YHWH’s reputation among the exiles from Judah – who no longer have a land, a city or a temple – by assuring them that far from being just a local deity who can’t protect his own people YHWH is the supreme God who controls global events. He is sovereign over all nations, whether small or large, and is hence the one who directs Nebuchadnezzar and the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem.

Although the oracles are, for the most part, addressed to the offending nations it is unlikely that they were ever aware of them or realised that events in their history were being orchestrated by YHWH, the God of Israel/Judah.

Ezekiel delivered the oracles against foreign nations on different dates (cf. 26:1; 27:1, 29:17; 30:20; 31:1; 32:17) but they are grouped together in this section, except for a further diatribe against Edom (35:1-15) and one against Gog of the land of Magog (38:1-39:29). Ezekiel is not the only prophet who prophesied against the nations – see Amos (chps. 1-2), Isaiah (chps.13-23) and Jeremiah (chps. 46-51).

The number seven is significant – signifying completeness – in Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations (cf. Deut 7:1). Seven are condemned in the eight chapters 25-32: (Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt) and against Egypt there are seven separate prophecies (29:1-16; 17-21; 30:1-19; 20-26; 31:1-18; 32:1-16; 17-32). Dates are given for those against Egypt, except that in 30:1-19.

The formula ‘The word of the Lord came unto me, saying’ occurs 13 times in the oracles against the nations – 7 of these relate to Egypt, 1 to Sidon, 4 to Tyre and the one in 25:1 covers all four small nations addressed in chapter 25.

The oracles against the nations share a similar structure:

introductory formula
the nation identified
the reason for condemnation given – ‘because. . .’
the punishment stated – ‘I will. . .
concluding formula – ‘. . . shall know that I am the Lord’

STRUCTURE OF CHAPTER 25

1-7 AGAINST AMMON

8-11 AGAINST MOAB

12-14 AGAINST EDOM

15-17 AGAINST PHILISTIA

EXPOSITION

AGAINST AMMON 1-7

Verse 1 begins with the standard prophetic word formula: ‘The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying.’ This covers the entire chapter and emphasises that the messages do not originate with Ezekiel but come from YHWH. Having pronounced judgement upon Jerusalem/Judah in chapters 1-24 Ezekiel now turns his attention to foreign nations. The first of these is Ammon, a nation to the east of Judah. The oracle is undated.

In v.2 Ezekiel is addressed as ‘Son of Adam,’ emphasising his humanity in contrast to YHWH’s majesty. Then there is a call to Ammon to hear the word of the Lord God before the oracle begins in v.3 with ‘Thus saith the Lord God.’ This divine designation, sometimes translated as ‘Sovereign Lord,’ emphasises that YHWH has judicial supremacy over all nations, not just Israel/Judah.

The reason given for Ammon’s condemnation is that the nation celebrated (said ‘Aha’) when the Temple was destroyed, when the land of Israel was desolated and the people of Judah taken into Babylonian captivity. This looks ahead to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

Verses 4-5 announce YHWH’s punishment upon the Ammonites. The ‘sons of the East’ (the Bedouins from Arabia) will move into the Ammonite territory desolated by the Babylonians (this occurred five years after the fall of Jerusalem) and graze their camels on what was once Rabbah – the Ammonite capital. Verse 6 repeats the key point that Ammon rejoiced at Judah’s misfortune and v.7 emphasises that Ammon will disappear as a political entity. The punishment will testify to YHWH’s control of the nations – ‘thou shalt know that I am the Lord.’

The Bible does not give much information about the Ammonites; most of what is known about them comes from 7th century BCE Assyrian sources. It is from the Old Testament, however, that we learn that the progenitor of the Ammonites was Ben-Ammi, the son of Lot as the result of an incestuous union with his younger daughter (Gen 19:38).

In the time of the Judges the Ammonites were engaged in military conflict with the Israelites under Jephthah c.1100 BCE (Judg 11:4-40). Some years later (c.1020 BCE) the Ammonites under their chieftain Nahash were defeated in battle at Jabesh-Gilead by the Israelites led by Saul (1 Sam 11:1-15).

In the time of David the Ammonites led a coalition against Israel but this was defeated by Israelite forces under Joab and Abishai. Their capital city – Rabbath-Ammon (modern day Amman, capital of Jordan) – was breached and the Ammonites became subject to David (2 Sam 10-11; 1 Chron 20).

During the reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah (c. 870-849 BCE) an attack by a confederacy of Moabites and Ammonites was repulsed (2 Chron. 20:1-30). Jotham of Judah (c. 740-732 BCE) went to war against the Ammonites; he defeated them and imposed an annual tribute (2 Chron 27:5).

The Ammonites were at their most prosperous during the 7th century BCE under Assyrian rule. It is estimated that they became vassals of Assyria c. 734 BCE and, remarkably, remained loyal until c. 620 BCE. Although paying tribute to Assyria their own rulers were allowed to manage without the presence of an Assyrian governor and to control the profitable caravan trade from Arabia.

It is ironic that the Ammonites rejoiced when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians because they were next on Nebuchadnezzar’s To-Do list; this was represented in Ezekiel 21:19-22 by the picture of Nebuchadnezzar halting at a crossroads to decide which of the two cites – Rabbah or Jerusalem – to attack first. It was the desolation of Ammonite territory by the Babylonians that enabled the fulfilment of the prophecy given in Ezek 25:4-5 that the derelict site that was once Rabbah would be occupied by the Arabians.

AGAINST MOAB 8-11

The Moabites were another people with close kinship ties with the Israelites. According to Gen 19:37 their progenitor was Moab, the son of Lot by an incestuous union with his elder daughter. Moab was a relatively small fertile territory lying east of the Dead Sea to the south of Ammon and thus southeast of Judah.

Generally the Moabites and the Israelites coexisted peacefully but throughout their shared history there were occasional periods of hostility and armed conflict. Eventually the Moabites were subdued by David, who treated them brutally after defeat (2 Sam 8:2) and they remained dominated by Israel under David and Solomon.

Later, while Israel was oppressed by the Syrian King Hazael (c. 843-796 BCE) of Aram-Damascus, bands of Moabite raiders availed themselves of the opportunity to launch attacks on Israelite territory (2 Kings 13:20).

Like the Ammonites, the Moabites were vassals of Assyria during the 7th century BCE and then became subordinate to the Neo-Babylonians when they came into ascendancy. It was as vassals of the Babylonians that they, along with other groups, attacked Judah when King Jehoiakim (c.609-598 BCE) rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

The prophet Jeremiah names Moab as one of the states having discussions with King Zedekiah of Judah (597 to 586 BCE) about rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 27:3).

In v.8 Moab (linked with Seir, i.e. Edom) is condemned for saying that Judah is just like all the other nations. In other words, YHWH did not view Judah as anything special because he allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed by the Babylonians. As punishment for saying this (vv. 9-11) Moab’s territory will become vulnerable to attack and will be ‘given as a possession’ by YHWH to the ‘sons of the East’ (the Arabians), just like the Ammonites – who will ‘not be remembered among the nations’ i.e. totally wiped out.

Three of Moab’s most important frontier towns that are identified as vulnerable were later destroyed. Beth-jeshimoth (Num 33:49; Josh 12:3; 13:20), Baal-meon (Jer 48:23) and Kiriathaim (Num 32:37; Josh 13:19; Jer 48:1, 23) were once Israelite towns, in the territory allocated to the tribe of Reuben, but by Ezekiel’s time this area was occupied by the Moabites.

Again, Moab’s punishment is so that ‘they shall know that I am the Lord.’

AGAINST EDOM 12-14

A third nation with kinship ties to Israel was Edom. The Edomites were descended from Esau but despite their common heritage both nations detested one another. Edom occupied an arid region to the south of Judah and south of the Dead Sea.

The short oracle in vv. 8-14 condemns Edom for ‘taking vengeance’ upon the house of Judah. This is a reference to Edom allying with the Babylonians and participating in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem (Psa 137:7; Obad 1-14; Lam 4:21-22). For this the Sovereign Lord will make Edom desolate; the districts of Teman and Dedan are specifically mentioned – standing for ‘all Edom’ (cf. Jer 49:7-8). The population will fall by the sword.

In v.14 YHWH promises to ‘lay vengeance’ upon Edom (which in v.12 had itself taken vengeance on Judah). In this verse YHWH refers to ‘my people,’ ‘my anger,’ ‘my fury’ and ‘my vengeance.’ Interestingly, the punishment of Edom will not be carried out by the Babylonians but by ‘my people Israel.’ This may predict attacks on Edomites during the Maccabean-Idumean Conflict; especially during 163 BCE, 2 Macc 10:15-16. The oracle against Edom ends not with ‘they shall know that I am the Lord’ but with ‘they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.’

There are longer oracles against Edom in Ezekiel 35, Isa 34, Jer 49:7-22 and Obadiah. See my earlier posts:
Understanding the Book of Obadiah: A Concise Overview
Pride and Fall: Obadiah 1-14
The Day of the Lord: Justice and Restoration in Obadiah 15-21

AGAINST PHILISTIA 15-17

The last nation in the group of four condemned in Ezekiel chapter 25 is Philistia. The oracle begins ‘Thus saith the Lord’ emphasising that what follows is a direct message from YHWH and thus authoritative. The reason for the condemnation is stated as ‘Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred.’ The exact vengeful action taken by the Philistines is not specified but what is significant in v.15 is that the Lord judges motives as well as actions. The verse goes on to speak of their malice of soul (‘despiteful heart’) and ‘the old hatred’ behind their effort to destroy God’s people.

Because of that persistent hatred (‘Therefore,’ v.16) the Sovereign Lord says that he will stretch out his hand in judgement against the land of the Philistines, wipe out the Cherethites and utterly destroy the people who live by the sea. He will execute terrible vengeance upon them to punish them for their actions and when he has done so then they will know that he is YHWH. Again YHWH’s control over global affairs is asserted.

It is believed that the ancestors of the Philistines may have been the Peleset: a group of sea people from the Aegean who tried to invade Egypt during the reign of Rameses II in the 13th century BCE but were repulsed. They later took control of the coastal area of Palestine to the south and west of Judah but did not expel the original Canaanite inhabitants. Although originally sea people their main occupation was farming – they became traders in grain and were famous for their monochrome pottery.

The term Cherethites (cf. Zeph 2:5) in Ezekiel 25:16 seems to refer to the Philistines’ origins as sea people from southern Europe (Jer 47:4; Amos 9:7 Crete – ‘Caphtor’). The Greek Old Testament – LXX -(translates ‘Cherethites’ as ‘Cretans’). Some scholars suggest that the Cherethites were a group of Philistine elite warriors.

Although the area settled by the Philistines became known as Philistia it was not a united political state as such but more a confederacy of five main cities: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gath (Josh 13:3). The most southerly was Gaza, north of that was the port city Ashkelon, and to the northwest of Ashkelon was Ashdod. Farthest north was Ekron, the only one of the five actually founded by the Philistines. The site of Gath is unknown.

Such was the Philistines’ prowess as warriors that none of these cities was built on a height for defence – the Philistines didn’t see that as necessary. Each city had a chief or king – it seems that these men met at times to discuss matters of concern relevant to all five cities (1 Sam 5:8; 6:15-16). The Bible gives the name of only one of those kings – Achish of Gath (1 Sam 21:10-15).

The Israelites also emerged in Canaan shortly before 1200 BCE and they and the Philistines became mortal enemies. The Philistines dominated the Israelites throughout the time of the Judges (Judge 15:11). The area around Gaza (see Judg 16) is the setting of most of the heroic exploits of Samson against the Philistines recorded in Judges 13-16. Samson’s death, nonetheless, may have occurred at Ashdod since that was the location of the main temple of the Philistine god Dragon (1 Sam 5:1-5).

1 Samuel chapters 13 and 14 record a failed rebellion against the Philistines led by Saul and his son Jonathan. A later battle proved disastrous for the Israelites since several of Saul’s sons, including Jonathan, were slain and Saul, sorely wounded and unwilling to fall into Philistine hands, committed suicide (1 Sam 31:1-6). His body was desecrated by the Philistines (1 Sam 31:9-11).

Eventually David managed to weaken the Philistines and drive them back (2 Sam 5:19-25) but did not occupy their territory. That is the last recorded conflict between Israel and the Philistines although one of the Pharaohs, whose daughter married King Solomon, captured the Philistine city of Gezer and transferred it to Solomon as a wedding gift (1 Kgs 9:16).

Like the other nations in the region the Philistines became vassals of Assyria during the 8th century BCE. They rebelled during the reign of Sargon II (721-705 BCE) as a result of which he attacked and captured Ashdod, deporting many of its citizens and resettling them far away. There is a passing reference to Sargon’s action against Ashdod in Isa 20:1. Sargon also destroyed Gath, wiping it from the map.

Philistia was greatly weakened by the Assyrians but finally destroyed as a political entity by the Neo-Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 604-562 BCE).

SUMMATION

Ezekiel chapter 25 marks a shift from prediction of judgement on Judah to that of judgement upon Judah’s closest neighbours. Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia are addressed in turn and condemned for their attitude towards Judah. Their contempt, mockery, hostile actions and gloating over Judah’s misfortunes equate to hostility towards YHWH, Judah’s God. The oracles assert that all are morally accountable to YHWH because his sovereignty and authority extend far beyond the borders of one nation. World history is the working out of his purposes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Charles River Editors. (2016). The Enemies of the Ancient Israelites: The History of the Canaanites, Philistines, Babylonians, and Assyrians, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

‌Gottwald, N. K. (2001). The Politics of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press.

Killebrew, A. E. (2005). Biblical peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, And Early Israel 1300-1100 B.C.E., Society of Biblical Lit.

Macalister, R. A. S. (2004). The Philistines: Their History and Civilization. Wipf and Stock Publishers

‌JOURNAL ARTICLES

Herr, L. G. (1997). Archaeological Sources for the History of Palestine: The Iron Age II Period: Emerging Nations. The Biblical Archaeologist, 60(3), 114–183.

Kletter, R. (1991). The Rujm El-Malfuf Buildings and the Assyrian Vassal State of Ammon. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 284, 33–50.

Landes, G. M. (1961). The Material Civilization of the Ammonites. The Biblical Archaeologist, 24(3), 66–86.