An Oracle on Tyre The unique position occupied by Tyre in the ancient world engaged the attention of more than one Hebrew prophet. Ezekiel, in one of the most original and elaborate of his foreign prophecies (ch. 26 28), where he announces her impending overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar, shews the liveli... [ Continue Reading ]
The returning ships are apprised, at the last stage of their voyage, of the disaster that has overtaken their mother-country. _Ships of Tarshish_may mean here, literally, "ships trading with Tarshish" (Tartessus) at the mouth of the Guadalquivir in Spain. See on Isaiah 2:16. _it is laid waste_ The... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet next apostrophises the _inhabitants of the_ COAST (render so, as in ch. Isaiah 20:6), i.e. Phœnicia, calling them to _be still_, or rather DUMB, with bewilderment. _the merchants_(in Heb. collective sing.) _of Zidon_ Zidon is generally interpreted throughout this prophecy as standing fo... [ Continue Reading ]
The easiest translation would be: AND ON GREAT WATERS THE SEED OF SHIHOR, THE HARVEST OF THE NILE, ( WAS) HER REVENUE, AND IT (i.e. her revenue) WAS THE GAIN OF THE NATIONS. _Shihor_might be a name for the Nile, as in Jeremiah 2:18; and the meaning would be that the revenue of Tyre (or Phœnicia) was... [ Continue Reading ]
even _the strength of the sea_ Better as R.V. THE STRONGHOLD OF THE SEA. The fine figure of the lonely sea denying that she ever had children is somewhat marred by the introduction of this clause, as if the poet had corrected himself by an afterthought, and changed the subject of personification fro... [ Continue Reading ]
The verse should be read as in R.V. WHEN THE REPORT COMETH TO EGYPT, THEY SHALL BE SORELY PAINED AT THE REPORT OF TYRE. Assyria being the common enemy of Egypt and Tyre, the report of the latter's fall is received with the utmost anxiety in Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
The second strophe commences here with a summons to the Phœnicians to betake themselves to their Spanish colony for refuge, their own country being at the mercy of the invader. So the Tyrians, when attacked by Alexander the Great, sent all those unfit for war to Carthage, another western colony. Ges... [ Continue Reading ]
The reference is of course to Tyre, the principal subject of the prophecy. _whose antiquity … days_ Next to Zidon, Tyre was regarded as the most ancient city of Phœnicia. Her priests claimed for their temple the fabulous antiquity of 2300 years in the time of Herodotus (II. 44); Josephus dates the... [ Continue Reading ]
This is the execution of Jehovah's purpose, and therefore irreversible. _the crowning city_ Or, THE CROWN-GIVER. Tyre is rightly so-called, inasmuch as some of her colonies (Kition, Tarshish and Carthage) were ruled by kings, subject to the mother-city. _whose traffickers_ The word is probably the... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah has purposed it in accordance with a fixed principle of His government. _to stain_(render TO DESECRATE) _the pride of all glory_ The thought is the same as in ch. Isaiah 2:12 ff. For this use of the verb "desecrate," cf. Ezekiel 28:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
The third strophe, as usually explained, deals mainly with the emancipation of the Phœnician colonies from the somewhat stringent control of Tyre. But the passage presents many difficulties; and from the utter uncertainty as to the meaning of Isaiah 23:13 the general sense is doubtful.... [ Continue Reading ]
_as a river_ Rather: AS THE NILE (as R.V.). The people of Tarshish are now as free of the land they live in as the Nile is of Egypt in the time of the annual inundation. there is _no more strength_ Render as in R.V. THERE IS NO GIRDLE (about thee) ANY MORE. The "girdle" (cf. Psalms 109:19) is suppo... [ Continue Reading ]
_He stretched out his hand, &c._ R.V. HE HATH STRETCHED OUT … HATH SHAKEN. Cf. ch. Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 14:26-27. The _kingdoms_are specially Phœnicia and its dependencies. _the merchant_city] Read CANAAN and see on Isaiah 23:8. "Canaan" is the name used by the Phœnicians of themselves and their col... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said_ What follows may be regarded as the "commandment" referred to in Isaiah 23:11. _O thou oppressed_(or RAVISHED) _virgin, daughter of Zidon_ The epithet "virgin" is applied to Zidon as a fortress hitherto unviolated by a conqueror. It is an almost inevitable inference that the calamity... [ Continue Reading ]
Every attempt to extract a meaning from the verse as it stands is beset by insuperable difficulties. Perhaps the best suggestion is that the fate of Chaldæa is mentioned as a warning example to Tyre: "Behold the land of the Chaldæans; this people is no more; the Assyrian hath appointed it for the be... [ Continue Reading ]
The poem closes as it began with an apostrophe to the ships of Tarshish. _your strength_) YOUR STRONG-HOLD (R.V. as in Isaiah 23:4).... [ Continue Reading ]
_seventy years_ The period fixed by Jeremiah for the duration of the Exile and the dominion of the Chaldæan Empire (ch. Isaiah 25:11 f., Isaiah 29:10). The number occurs frequently in the later literature: Zechariah 1:12; Zechariah 7:5; Daniel 9:2 ff.; 2 Chronicles 36:21. It is to be noted that in a... [ Continue Reading ]
The appendix. Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years; afterwards she shall resume her commercial activity, but its profits shall be dedicated to Jehovah's people.... [ Continue Reading ]
The song of the harlot, celebrating the wiles by which a forgotten prostitute seeks to regain her influence. The song has a light, dancing rhythm, and consists of six lines of two words each. _make sweet melody_ Better: PLAY SKILFULLY.... [ Continue Reading ]
The application of the song to Tyre. The comparison of commerce to prostitution is found in Revelation 18:3 and perhaps in Nahum 3:4. Here it signalises the mercenary motive which was prominent in Tyre's dealings with other nations. _shall_ RETURN _to her hire_ Shall resume her former lucrative act... [ Continue Reading ]
_merchandise_and _hire_are synonymous; the one is the literal, the other the metaphorical designation of the same fact. _holiness to the Lord_ i.e. "dedicated" to Jehovah (in opposition to the letter of Deuteronomy 23:18). The word has no ethical sense; and the idea of "commerce as the handmaid of... [ Continue Reading ]
If Israel had but known Jehovah as its faithful Guide, and obeyed His commandments, how different would its present condition have been! The short passage has a striking resemblance to Psalms 81:13-16, and is of singular beauty and depth of feeling. But the disappointment expressed, that Israel has... [ Continue Reading ]