_A.M. 3289. B.C. 715._ In this chapter is foretold, (1,) _ The lamentable desolation of Tyre, by the Chaldeans, to the consternation of the Tyrians themselves, and their neighbours, Isaiah 23:1._ (2,) _ The restoration of Tyre after seventy years, when their trade and commerce should flourish aga... [ Continue Reading ]
_The burden of Tyre_ Tyre was an ancient and wealthy city, situated upon the Mediterranean sea, and for many ages one of the most celebrated cities in those parts of the world. The Greek geographer, Strabo, says, that after Sidon, it was the greatest and most ancient city of the Phenicians. Accordin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be still, ye inhabitants of the isles_ Hebrew, דמו, _be silent;_ as persons confounded, and not knowing what to say, or as mourners use to be. Silence is a mark of grief and consternation: see Isaiah 47:5; Lamentations 11:10. The prophet here addresses the people of Tyre now fled to the island. The... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be thou ashamed, O Zidon_ Tyre is called the daughter of Zidon, Isaiah 23:12, being built and first inhabited by a colony of the Zidonians. Or, rather, as Justin says, “The Zidonians, when their city was taken by the king of Ascalon, betook themselves to their ships, and landed and built Tyre.” Zid... [ Continue Reading ]
_As at the report concerning Egypt_, &c. “The words, as they stand in our translation, imply, that the Zidonians, spoken of Isaiah 23:4, or in general other neighbouring places, should be as much concerned at the news of the destruction of Tyre as they were at the calamity of Egypt, mentioned chap.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pass ye over to Tarshish_ Flee from your own country to Tartessus in Spain, and there bewail your calamity. Or, betake yourselves for refuge to some of the parts to which you used to traffic. The LXX. say, εις Καρχηδονα, _to Carthage_, which was a colony transplanted from Tyre. _Howl, ye inhabitant... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre?_ Words of admiration. Who, and where, is he that could imagine, or durst attempt such a thing as this? This is the work of God, and not of man. _The crowning city_ Which was a royal city, and carried away the crown from all other cities: _whose merchants ar... [ Continue Reading ]
_Pass through thy land_ Tarry no longer in thy own territories, but flee through them, into other countries, for safety and relief. _As a river_ Swiftly, lest you be prevented; continually, till you be all gone, and in shoals and multitudes. _O daughter of Tarshish_ Tyre is here called the daughter... [ Continue Reading ]
_He_ Namely, the Lord, mentioned in the latter part of the verse; _stretched out his hand over the sea_ That is, Tyre, called the sea, (Isaiah 23:4,) to overthrow it. _He shook_ Hebrew, הרגיז, _he made to tremble, the kingdoms_ Either the two kingdoms of Tyre and Zidon, or the neighbouring and confe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold the land of the Chaldeans_, &c. This verse, in which there is much obscurity, will admit of different interpretations. One adopted by Dr. Lightfoot and some others, is to this purpose. Behold, how easily the land of the Chaldeans was destroyed by the Assyrians, though their own hands founded... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it shall come to pass_, &c. Here begins the second part of this discourse, which contains an alleviation of the judgment decreed against Tyre. The prophet foretels, 1st, “That God would circumscribe within certain bounds his severity to Tyre, and within seventy years restore it to its former st... [ Continue Reading ]
_And her merchandise, &c., shall be holiness to the Lord._ The meaning of the prophet is extremely clear, namely, “that the time should come, after the restoration of Tyre, in which the Tyrians, out of reverence to the true God, would consecrate their wealth and gain to him, and would readily contri... [ Continue Reading ]