_Take up a lamentation for Tyrus_ This alludes to the mournful lamentations used at funerals, wherein the mourning women recounted every thing that was valuable or praiseworthy belonging to the deceased, and then lamented the loss of him; _and say, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea_ Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have made thy ship-boards_ The decks of thy ships; _of fir-trees of Senir_ By these are meant, the fir-trees which grew upon mount _Hermon_, which was anciently called _Shenir_, or _Senir. They have taken cedars to make masts for thee_ Though cedars have a thick, and not a lofty trunk, masts c... [ Continue Reading ]
_The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners_ So great was the opulence and pride of the Tyrians, that they hired foreigners to do the more laborious and menial employments, and would do nothing else themselves than steer the vessels, priding themselves on being the most able pilots. Of _Zi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Tarshish was thy merchant_ Trafficked with thee. Of _Tarshish_, see note on Isaiah 2:16; Isaiah 23:1. _Javan, Tubal, and Meshech_ By _Javan_ is to be understood Greece, in which sense Alexander is styled king of Javan, or Greece, Daniel 8:21. So the LXX. translate it here, and in that place of Dani... [ Continue Reading ]
_Syria was thy merchant_, &c. From what is said here, we may conclude that the inhabitants of Tyre were exceedingly industrious, skilful in arts, and politic; for here almost all nations are described as bringing their respective commodities to Tyre, to give in exchange for the wares or manufactures... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arabia, &c., occupied with thee_ Hebrew, ידן סחרי, _were the merchants of thy hand;_ that is, they took off thy manufactures (see Eze 27:15) in exchange for cattle, in which their substance chiefly consisted. Of _Kedar_ and its flocks, see notes on Isaiah 21:16; Isaiah 60:7. _The merchants of Sheba... [ Continue Reading ]
_The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee_, &c. Ships of Tarshish signify sometimes in Scripture any trading or merchant ships; and in this general sense the expression seems to be used here: the prophet, having already reckoned up the principal countries which traded with Tyre, now adds, in comprehen... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters_ The prophet here begins to change the subject, and now, in metaphorical language, speaks of the danger into which the rulers and statesmen of Tyre had brought her by their pride and ill-concerted measures. He compares her to a ship, impelled by its ow... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy riches, &c., and all thy company, shall fall into the midst of the seas_ Shall be as utterly ruined and destroyed as if they were sunk in the sea by a shipwreck. Or, this may signify their falling in a sea- fight. _The suburbs shall shake_, &c. The cry of thy wounded seamen shall make the inhab... [ Continue Reading ]
_When thy wares_, &c. When thy wares or manufactures were transported through the seas to every part, _thou filledst many people _ Didst supply the wants, or minister to the luxuries and pleasures, of many nations. Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making, and those that passed through thy h... [ Continue Reading ]