1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
2 `And thou, son of man, lift up concerning Tyre a lamentation, and thou hast said to Tyre:
3 O dweller on the entrances of the sea, Merchant of the peoples unto many isles, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: O Tyre, thou -- thou hast said: I `am' the perfection of beauty.
4 In the heart of the seas `are' thy borders, Thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
5 Of firs of Senir they have built to thee all thy double-boarded ships, Of cedars of Lebanon they have taken to make a mast for thee,
6 Of oaks of Bashan they made thine oars, Thy bench they have made of ivory, A branch of Ashurim from isles of Chittim.
7 Of fine linen with embroidery from Egypt hath been thy sail, To be to thee for an ensign, Of blue and purple from isles of Elishah hath been thy covering.
8 Inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad have been rowers to thee, Thy wise men, O Tyre, have been in thee, They `are' thy pilots.
9 Elders of Gebal and its wise men have been in thee, Strengthening thy breach; All ships of the sea and their mariners, Have been in thee, to trade `with' thy merchandise.
10 Persian and Lud and Phut Have been in thy forces -- thy men of war. Shield and helmet they hung up in thee, They -- they have given out thine honour.
11 The sons of Arvad, and thy force, `Are' on thy walls round about, And short swordsmen in thy towers have been, Their shields they have hung up on thy walls round about, They -- they have perfected thy beauty.
12 Tarshish `is' thy merchant, Because of the abundance of all wealth, For silver, iron, tin, and lead, They have given out thy remnants.
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech -- they `are' thy merchants, For persons of men, and vessels of brass, They have given out thy merchandise.
14 They of the house of Togarmah, `For' horses, and riding steeds, and mules, They have given out thy remnants.
15 Sons of Dedan `are' thy merchants, Many isles `are' the mart of thy hand, Horns of ivory and ebony they sent back thy reward.
16 Aram `is' thy merchant, Because of the abundance of thy works, For emerald, purple, and embroidery, And fine linen, and coral, and agate, They have given out thy remnants.
17 Judah and the land of Israel -- they `are' thy merchants, For wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, And honey, and oil, and balm, They have given out thy merchandise.
18 Damascus `is' thy merchant, For the abundance of thy works, Because of the abundance of all wealth, For wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19 Vedan and Javan go about with thy remnants, They have given shining iron, cassia, and cane, In thy merchandise it hath been.
20 Dedan `is' thy merchant, For clothes of freedom for riding.
21 Arabia, and all princes of Kedar, They `are' the traders of thy hand, For lambs, and rams, and he-goats, In these thy merchants.
22 Merchants of Sheba and Raamah -- they `are' thy merchants, For the chief of all spices, And for every precious stone, and gold, They have given out thy remnants.
23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, merchants of Sheba, Asshur -- Chilmad -- `are' thy merchants,
24 They `are' thy merchants for perfect things, For wrappings of blue, and embroidery, And for treasuries of rich apparel, With cords bound and girded, for thy merchandise,
25 Ships of Tarshish `are' thy double walls of thy merchandise, And thou art filled and honoured greatly, In the heart of the seas.
26 Into great waters have they brought thee, Those rowing thee, The east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.
27 Thy wealth and thy remnants, Thy merchandise, thy mariners, And thy pilots, strengtheners of thy breach, And the traders of thy merchandise, And all thy men of war, who `are' in thee, And in all thine assembly that `is' in thy midst, Fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy fall,
28 At the voice of the cry of thy pilots shake do the suburbs.
29 And come down from their ships have all handling an oar, Mariners, all the pilots of the sea, on the land they stand,
30 And have sounded for thee with their voice, And cry bitterly, and cause dust to go up on their heads, In ashes they do roll themselves.
31 And they have made for thee baldness, And they have girded on sackcloth, And they have wept for thee, In bitterness of soul -- a bitter mourning.
32 And lifted up for thee have their sons a lamentation, And they have lamented over thee, who `is' as Tyre? As the cut-off one in the midst of the sea?
33 With the outgoing of thy remnants from the seas, Thou hast filled many peoples, With the abundance of thy riches, and thy merchandise, Thou hast made rich things of earth.
34 The time of `thy' being broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, Thy merchandise and all thy assembly in thy midst have fallen.
35 All inhabitants of the isles have been astonished at thee, And their kings have been sore afraid, They have been troubled in countenance.
36 Merchants among the peoples have shrieked for thee, Wastes thou hast been, and thou art not -- to the age!'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 27
Commentary on Ezekiel 27 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The lamentation commences with a picture of the glory of the city of Tyre, its situation, its architectural beauty, its military strength and defences (Ezekiel 27:3-11), and its wide-spread commercial relations (Ezekiel 27:12-25); and then passes into mournful lamentation over the ruin of all this glory (Ezekiel 27:26-36).
Introduction and description of the glory and might of Tyre. - Ezekiel 27:1. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 27:2. And do thou, O son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, Ezekiel 27:3. And say to Tyre, Thou who dwellest at the approaches of the sea, merchant of the nations to many islands, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Tyre, thou sayest, I am perfect in beauty. Ezekiel 27:4. In the heart of the seas is thy territory; thy builders have made thy beauty perfect. Ezekiel 27:5. Out of cypresses of Senir they built all double-plank-work for thee; they took cedars of Lebanon to make a mast upon thee. Ezekiel 27:6. They made thine oars of oaks of Bashan, thy benches they made of ivory set in box from the islands of the Chittaeans. Ezekiel 27:7. Byssus in embroidery from Egypt was thy sail, to serve thee for a banner; blue and red purple from the islands of Elishah was thine awning. Ezekiel 27:8. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy skilful men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy sailors. Ezekiel 27:9. The elders of Gebal and its skilful men were with thee to repair thy leaks; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were in thee to barter thy goods. Ezekiel 27:10. Persian and Lydian and Libyan were in thine army, thy men of war; shield and helmet they hung up in thee; they gave brilliancy to thee. Ezekiel 27:11. The sons of Arvad and thine army were upon thy walls round about, and brave men were upon they towers; they hung up their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. - The lamentation commences with an address to Tyre, in which its favourable situation for purposes of trade, and the perfect beauty of which she was conscious, are placed in the foreground (Ezekiel 27:3). Tyre is sitting, or dwelling, at the approaches of the sea. מבואת ים , approaches or entrances of the sea, are harbours into which ships sail and from which they depart, just as מבוא העיר s a t , the gate of the city, it both entrance and exit. This description does not point to the city on the mainland, or Old Tyre, but answers exactly to Insular Tyre with its two harbours.
(Note: Insular Tyre possessed two harbours, a northern one called the Sidonian, because it was on the Sidonian side, and one on the opposite or south-eastern side, which was called the Egyptian harbour from the direction in which it pointed. The Sidonian was the more celebrated of the two, and consisted of an inner harbour, situated within the wall of the city, and an outer one, formed by a row of rocks, which lay at a distance of about three hundred paces to the north-west of the island, and ran parallel to the opposite coast of the mainland, so as to form a roadstead in which ships could anchor (vid., Arrian, ii. 20; Strabo, xvi. 2. 23). This northern harbour is still held by the city of Sur , whereas the Egyptian harbour with the south-eastern portion of the island has been buried by the sand driven against the coasts by the south winds, so that even the writers of the Middle Ages make no allusion to it. (See Movers, Phönizier , II. 1, pp. 214ff.).)
ישׁבתי , with the connecting i , which is apparently confounded here after the Aramaean fashion with the i of the feminine pronoun, and has therefore been marked by the Masora as superfluous (vid., Ewald, §211 b ). The combination of רכלת with ' אל איּים ר may be accounted for from the primary meaning of רכל , to travel about as a merchant: thou who didst go to the nations on many shores to carry on thy trade. Tyre itself considers that she is perfect in her beauty, partly on account of her strong position in the sea, and partly because of her splendid edifices.
(Note: Curtius, iv. 2: Tyrus et claritate et magnitudine ante omnes urbes Syriae Phoenicesque memorabilis . (Cf. Strabo, xvi. 2. 22.))
In the description which follows of this beauty and glory, from Ezekiel 27:4 onwards, Tyre is depicted allegorically as a beautiful ship, splendidly built and equipped throughout, and its destruction is afterwards represented as a shipwreck occasioned by the east wind (Ezekiel 27:26.).
(Note: Jerome recognised this allegory, and has explained it correctly as follows: “He (the prophet) speaks τροπικῶς , as though addressing a ship, and points out its beauty and the abundance of everything. Then, after having depicted all its supplies, he announces that a storm will rise, and the south wind ( auster ) will blow, by which great waves will be gathered up, and the vessel will be wrecked. In all this he is referring to the overthrow of the city by King Nabuchodonosor,” etc. Rashi and others give the same explanation.)
The words, “in the heart of the seas is thy territory” ( Ezekiel 27:4 ), are equally applicable to the city of Tyre and to a ship, the building of which is described in what follows. The comparison of Tyre to a ship was very naturally suggested by the situation of the city in the midst of the sea, completely surrounded by water. As a ship, it must of necessity be built of wood. The shipbuilders selected the finest kinds of wood for the purpose; cypresses of Antilibanus for double planks, which formed the sides of the vessel, and cedar of Lebanon for the mast. S e nir , according to Deuteronomy 3:9, was the Amoritish name of Hermon or Antilibanus , whereas the Sidonians called it Sirion . On the other hand, S e nir occurs in 1 Chronicles 5:23, and Sh e nir in Song of Solomon 4:8, in connection with Hermon , where they are used to denote separate portions of Antilibanus. Ezekiel evidently uses Senir as a foreign name, which had been retained to his own time, whereas Sirion had possibly become obsolete, as the names had both the same meaning (see the comm. on Deuteronomy 3:9). The naming of the places from which the several materials were obtained for the fitting out of the ship, serve to heighten the glory of its construction and give an ideal character to the picture. All lands have contributed their productions to complete the glory and might of Tyre. Cypress-wood was frequently used by the ancients for buildings and (according to Virgil, Georg . ii. 443) also for ships, because it was exempt from the attacks of worms, and was almost imperishable, and yet very light ( Theophr. Hist. plant. v. 8; Plinii Hist. nat. xvi. 79). לחתים , a dual form, like חמתים in 2 Kings 25:4; Isaiah 22:11, double-planks, used for the two side-walls of the ship. For oars they chose oaks of Bashan ( משּׁוט as well as משׁוט in Ezekiel 27:29 from שׁוּט , to row), and the rowing benches (or deck) were of ivory inlaid in box. קרשׁ is used in Exodus 26:15. for the boards or planks of the wooden walls of the tabernacle; here it is employed in a collective sense, either for the rowing benches, of which there were at least two, and sometimes three rows in a vessel, one above another, or more properly, for the deck of the vessel (Hitzig). This was made of she4n , or ivory, inlaid in wood. The ivory is mentioned first as the most valuable material of the קרשׁ , the object being to picture the ship as possessing all possible splendour. The expression בּתּ־אשּׁרים , occasions some difficulty, partly on account of the use of the word בּת , and partly in connection with the meaning of אשּׁרים , although so much may be inferred from the context, that the allusion is to some kind of wood inlaid with ivory, and the custom of inlaying wood with ivory for the purpose of decoration is attested by Virgil, Aen . x. 137:
“Vel quale per artem
Inclusum buxo, aut Oricia terebintho
Lucet ebur.”