Ezekiel 28:9
Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
Original Language Analysis
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
thee I am God
H430
אֱלֹהִ֣ים
thee I am God
Strong's:
H430
Word #:
3 of 12
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme god; occasionally applied by way of
לִפְנֵ֖י
before
H6440
לִפְנֵ֖י
before
Strong's:
H6440
Word #:
5 of 12
the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposi
אָדָ֛ם
but thou shalt be a man
H120
אָדָ֛ם
but thou shalt be a man
Strong's:
H120
Word #:
8 of 12
ruddy i.e., a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
וְלֹא
H3808
וְלֹא
Strong's:
H3808
Word #:
9 of 12
not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
אֵ֖ל
and no God
H410
אֵ֖ל
and no God
Strong's:
H410
Word #:
10 of 12
strength; as adjective, mighty; especially the almighty (but used also of any deity)
Cross References
Ezekiel 28:2Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:Isaiah 31:3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.Psalms 82:7But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Historical Context
Ancient Near Eastern royal ideology often claimed divine or semi-divine status for kings. Egyptian Pharaohs were considered gods incarnate; Mesopotamian rulers claimed divine appointment and sometimes divine nature. The king of Tyre's claim "I am a god" (v. 2) fit this cultural pattern. However, Yahweh, the true God, brooks no rivals. The prophecy was vindicated when Tyre's kings fell to Babylonian and later Greek conquest, dying ignominiously like any mortal.
Questions for Reflection
- How does death function as God's ultimate apologetic against human pride and self-deification?
- In what subtle ways do we claim autonomy or self-sufficiency that functionally denies God's lordship over our lives?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? God's rhetorical question drips with devastating irony. The Hebrew interrogative he'āmōr tō'mar (הֶאָמֹר תֹּאמַר) uses emphatic repetition: "Will you really say, will you actually say...?" When facing the executioner's sword, will the king maintain his blasphemous claim to deity? The answer is obvious—confronted with mortality, pretensions to divinity collapse.
"But thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee." The contrast is stark: 'ādām (אָדָם, "man"—mortal, frail humanity) versus 'ĕlōhîm (אֱלֹהִים, "God"—the divine being). The phrase "in the hand of" indicates complete subjugation. The one who claimed to sit enthroned as a god (v. 2) would die utterly powerless in his killer's grasp, exposed as merely human.
This verse anticipates the ultimate judgment of all who deify themselves—from Pharaoh to Nebuchadnezzar to the coming Antichrist who will "exalt himself above all that is called God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Death is God's final refutation of human pretensions to deity. Every tyrant's corpse testifies that he was 'ādām, not 'ĕlōhîm. Only Jesus could claim "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) and prove it through resurrection.