Ezekiel 32:25
They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
Ezekiel 32:25 foretells the certain fall of Pharaoh and his army with all his multitude, slaughtered in battle by the king of Babylon and buried together indiscriminately with friend and foe in pits round about him. Their bed set in the midst of the slain is in Sheol, called Hades, hell and the pit, in the depths and nether parts of the earth beneath, which is the land of the dead in contrast to the surface as the land of the living. Those lying there are dead men, uncircumcised and slain by the sword, in the grave and the state of death as unconsciousness, darkness, silence and death. Their speaking, seeing, being comforted and bearing shame together are figurative personification and not literal consciousness or activity, a striking figure to set forth that death levels Pharaoh with the multitudes slain like himself.
Context and Prophecy
Ezekiel 32:25 falls within the prophecies against foreign nations in chapters 25-32, which form the section of the book devoted to correction, denunciation, and reproof. It belongs to the prophecies against Egypt, which set forth Egypt's future history. It foretells the certain fate of Pharaoh and his host.
Egypt's struggle for world supremacy was against Babylon. The verse pictures Pharaoh and his army slaughtered in battle by the king of Babylon and buried indiscriminately with all his multitude, friend and foe cast down together into pits. These prophecies against Egypt were fulfilled. Egypt, once one of the greatest kingdoms and empires, was conquered and ruled by foreign powers and became the basest of kingdoms.
God's dealing with Egypt was to bring down its pride and bring it low, never to rise again among the nations. This dealing served for twenty-two years as an illustration to Israel while pleading with Israel to turn to God. Egypt had been a former oppressor of God's people and a symbol of black infidelity.
Sheol in Nether Earth
The slain lie in Sheol, which is the same as Hades, called hell and the pit, set in the earth beneath in the depths and interior and nether parts of the earth, where in this passage it is rendered hell. Ezekiel 32:18-32 describes that interior of the earth as the nethermost parts, the pit, or Hades, where the slain are gathered together. Sheol embraces that 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 or in the nether parts of the earth.
That lower region stands in contrast with the surface, which is the land of the living, so Hades or Sheol is the land of the dead. Its inhabitants are dead men, not living beings, slain by the sword and lying in their graves round about. Pharaoh is put among the slain in the grave with a bed set for him in the midst of the slain, surrounded by the graves of his multitude and of others killed by the sword. All of them are uncircumcised and slain by the sword, who had caused terror in the land of the living and now bear their shame with them that go down to the pit, lying with their swords beneath their heads and their weapons of war with them, friend and foe cast down together into pits. Pharaoh lies among them and seeing the multitude of slain enemies is comforted at the sight, while the strong among the mighty speak to him out of the midst of Sheol, yet that speaking and seeing and comforting and bearing of shame is figurative personification and not literal conversation, comfort, shame, or consciousness, for slaughtered men lying in Sheol cannot literally talk together or feel comfort and shame.
Hades, or the pit, in the lower parts of the earth is where Christ descended before ascending to heaven. Sheol, or Hades, identified with the interior or nether parts of the earth, is reached and burned by the final conflagration.
Figurative Unconscious Dead
The scene lays Pharaoh and his slaughtered army among the dead in Sheol alongside other nations slain in battle, with graves and the slain gathered together round about him. Friend and foe lie together in pits with swords beneath their heads, all uncircumcised and slain by the sword after causing terror in the land of the living. Pharaoh is given a bed in the midst of the slain and is comforted by seeing the multitude of slain enemies lying with him.
The speaking of the strong among the mighty to Pharaoh out of the midst of Sheol, and the seeing and comforting and bearing of shame among the slain, are figurative personification and not literal conversation or consciousness. Slaughtered men lying in Sheol cannot literally talk together or be comforted or ashamed, for the dead have no knowledge or activity. Sheol is the grave, contrasted with the land of the living, and its speaking and seeing describe the dead figuratively rather than teaching that they are conscious in death.
This prophetic personification is a striking figure to set forth the truth that death levels Pharaoh with the multitudes slain like himself. The unconscious inhabitants of Hades are represented as speaking and acting as if alive according to the facts of their lives, to bring truth forcibly to bear on the minds of the living. Grave denotes an individual burial place, while all the dead are in Sheol, the state of death described as unconsciousness, a place of darkness, silence, and death.
The chapter is an Old Testament example of metaphorical teaching about the dead and their fate, using the same device as the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Its image of the dead speaking from the grave portrays future retribution, yet the speech is figurative and does not prove consciousness in death.