In the eleventh year, in the first of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken! She who was the gateway of the peoples has been returned to me. I will be replenished, now that she is laid waste;’ therefore the Lord Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the middle of the sea; for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh. ‘She will become plunder for the nations. Her daughters who are in the field will be slain with the sword. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.’
“For the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, with chariots, with horsemen, and an army with many people. He will kill your daughters in the field with the sword. He will make forts against you, cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you. He will set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he enters into your gates, as men enter into a city which is broken open. He will tread down all your streets with the hoofs of his horses. He will kill your people with the sword. The pillars of your strength will go down to the ground. They will make a plunder of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise. They will break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses. They will lay your stones, your timber, and your dust in the middle of the waters. I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more. I will make you a bare rock. You will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more; for I Yahweh have spoken it,’ says the Lord Yahweh.
“The Lord Yahweh says to Tyre: ‘Won’t the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made within you? Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground, and will tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.
They will take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, “How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there!”
Now the islands will tremble in the day of your fall. Yes, the islands that are in the sea will be dismayed at your departure.’
“For the Lord Yahweh says: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I bring up the deep on you, and the great waters cover you; then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living. I will make you a terror, and you will no more have any being. Though you are sought for, yet you will never be found again,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 11, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21 Either of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the…
Either of the captivity of Jeconiah, or of the reign of Zedekiah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–21 Eze 26:1 And it came to pass in the…
Eze 26:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ver. 1. In the eleventh year.] Of Jehoiakim’s captivity and Zedekiah’s reign.
Read full note →
In the first day of the month,] i.e., Of the fifth month, when the news came to Tyre of the destruction of Jerusalem twenty days before, which occured on the ninth day of the fourth month. {2Ki 25:1}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–21 The eleventh year of Jeconiah’s captivity, the year wherein…
The eleventh year of Jeconiah’s captivity, the year wherein Jerusalem was taken.
The first day of the month; that month which followed the taking of Jerusalem, i.e. the fifth month; for Jerusalem was taken on the fourth month, ninth day, and in twenty days after the news was brought to Tyrus, which behaved herself as the prophet will declare.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 15 This prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which…
This prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that Jerusalem was taken, and in the first day of the month, but it is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem was taken, which was the fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps it was the first month, and so it was the first day of the year. Observe here,
I. The pleasure with which the Tyrians looked upon the ruins of Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in Babylon, but God told him what Tyrus said against Jerusalem (Eze 26:2): "Aha! she is broken, broken to pieces, that was the gates of the people, to whom there was a great resort and where there was a general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one account and some upon another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power, and interest, which Jerusalem had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and so now that she is laid waste I shall be replenished." We do not find that the Tyrians had such a hatred and enmity to Jerusalem and the sanctuary as the Ammonites and Edomites had, or were so spiteful and mischievous to the Jews. They were men of business, and of large acquaintance and free conversation, and therefore were not so bigoted, and of such a persecuting spirit, as the narrow souls that lived retired and knew not the world. All their care was to get estates, and enlarge their trade, and they looked upon Jerusalem not as an enemy, but as a rival. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a good friend to David and Solomon, and we do not read of any quarrels the Jews had with the Tyrians; but Tyre promised herself that the fall of Jerusalem would be an advantage to her in respect of trade a commerce, that now she shall have Jerusalem's customers, and the great men from all parts that used to come to Jerusalem for the accomplishing of themselves, and to spend their estates there, will now come to Tyre and spend them there; and whereas many, since the Chaldean army became so formidable in those parts, had retired into Jerusalem, and brought their estates thither for safety, as the Rechabites did, now they will come to Tyre, which, being in a manner surrounded with the sea, will be thought a place of greater strength than Jerusalem, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will rise out of the ruins of Jerusalem. Note, To be secretly pleased with the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it, with their fall when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that does most easily beset us, but is not thought to be such a bad thing, and so provoking to God, as really it is. We are apt to say, when those who stand in our light, in our way, are removed, when they break of fall into disgrace, "We shall be replenished now that they are laid waste." But this comes from a selfish covetous principle, and a desire to be placed alone in the midst of the earth, as if we grudged that any should live by us. This comes from a want of that love to our neighbour as to ourselves which the law of God so expressly requires, and from that inordinate love of the world as our happiness which the love of God so expressly forbids. And it is just with God to blast the designs and projects of those who thus contrive to raise themselves upon the ruins of others; and we see they are often disappointed.
Read full note →
II. The displeasure of God against them for it. The providence of God had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued so if she had, as she ought to have done, sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities and sent her an address of condolence; but when, instead of that, she showed herself pleased with her neighbour's fall, and perhaps sent an address of congratulation to the conquerors, then God says, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus! Eze 26:3. And let her not expect to prosper long if God be against her.
1. God will bring formidable enemies upon her: Many nations shall come against thee, an army made up of many nations, or one nation that shall be as strong as many. Those that have God against them may expect all the creatures against them; for what peace can those have with whom God is at war? They shall come pouring in as the waves of the sea, one upon the neck of another, with an irresistible force. The person is named that shall bring this army upon them - Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, that had many kings tributaries to him and dependents on him, besides those that were his captives, Song 2:37, 38. He is that head of gold. He shall come with a vast army, horses and chariots, etc., all land-forces. We do not find that he had any naval force, or any thing wherewith he might attack it by sea, which made the attempt the more difficult, as we find Eze 29:18, where it is called a great service which he served against Tyrus. He shall besiege it in form (Eze 26:8), make a fort, and cast a mount, and (Eze 26:9) shall set engines of war against the walls. His troops shall be so numerous as to raise a dust that shall cover the city, Eze 26:10. They shall make a noise that shall even shake the walls; and they shall shout at every attack, as soldiers do when they enter a city that is broken up; the horses shall prance with so much fury and violence that they shall even tread down the streets though so ever well paved.
2. They shall do terrible execution. (1.) The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their fortifications, shall destroy the walls and break down the towers, Eze 26:4. For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence against the judgments of God? Her strong garrisons shall go down to the ground, Eze 26:11. And the walls shall be broken down, Eze 26:12. The city held out a long siege, but it was taken at last. (2.) A great deal of blood shall be shed: Her daughters who are in the field, the cities upon the continent, which were subject to Tyre as the mother-city, the inhabitants of them shall be slain by the sword, Eze 26:6. The invaders begin with those that come first in their way. And (Eze 26:11) he shall slay thy people with the sword; not only the soldiers that are found in arms, but the burghers, shall be put to the sword, the king of Babylon being highly incensed against them for holding out so long. (3.) The wealth of the city shall all become a spoil to the conqueror (Eze 26:12): They shall make a prey of the merchandise. It was in hope of the plunder that the city was set upon with so much vigour. See the vanity of riches, that they are kept for the owners to their hurt; they entice and recompense thieves, and not only cease to benefit those who took pains for them and were duly entitled to them, but are made to serve their enemies, who are thereby put into a capacity of doing them so much the more mischief. (4.) The city itself shall be laid in ruins. All the pleasant houses shall be destroyed (Eze 26:12), such as were pleasantly situated, beautified, and furnished, shall become a heap of rubbish. Let none please themselves too much in their pleasant houses, for they know not how soon they may see the desolation of them. Tyre shall be utterly ruined; the enemy shall not only pull down the houses, but shall carry away the stones and the timber, and shall lay them in the midst of the water, not to be recovered, or ever made use of again. Nay (Eze 26:4), I will scrape her dust from her; not only shall the loose dust be blown away, but the very ground it stands upon shall be torn up by the enraged enemy, carried off, and laid in the midst of the water, Eze 26:12. The foundation is in the dust; that dust shall be all taken away, and then the city must fall of course. When Jerusalem was destroyed it was ploughed like a field, Mic 3:12. But the destruction of Tyre is carried further than that; the very soil of it shall be scraped away, and it shall be made like the top of a rock (Eze 26:4, Eze 26:14), pure rock that has no earth to cover it; it shall only be a place for the spreading of nets (Eze 26:5, Eze 26:14); it shall serve fishermen to dry their nets upon and mend them. (5.) There shall be a full period to all its mirth and joy (Eze 26:13): I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease. Tyre had been a joyous city (Isa 23:7).; with her songs she had courted customers to deal with her in a way of trade. But now farewell all her profitable commerce and pleasant conversation; Tyre is no more a place either of business or of sport. Lastly, It shall be built no more (Eze 26:14), not built any more as it had been, with such state and magnificence, nor built any more in the same place, within the sea, nor built any where for a long time; the present inhabitants shall be destroyed or dispersed, so that this Tyre shall be no more. For God has spoken it (Eze 26:5, Eze 26:14); and when what he has said is accomplished they shall know thereby that he is the Lord, and not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should repent.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year,....…
And it came to pass in the eleventh year,.... Of Jehoiachin's captivity and Zedekiah's reign, the same year that Jerusalem was taken:
in the first day of the month; but what month is not mentioned; some have thought the first month, and so it was the first day of the year; others the fourth, the same in which the city of Jerusalem was taken; but more probably the fifth, the first of which was twenty days after the taking it; in which time the news of it might be brought to Tyre, at which she rejoiced; and for which her destruction is threatened, and here prophesied of:
Read full note →
that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying; as follows:
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 The sin of Tyre, ver. 1, 2. The utter…
The sin of Tyre, ver. 1, 2. The utter destruction of it, ver. 3- 14. The astonishment of the neighbouring nations, ver. 15-21.
In the eleventh year - Of Jechoniah's captivity, the year wherein Jerusalem was taken. The month - That month which followed the taking of Jerusalem.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21 This prophecy, beginning here and ending in the twentieth…
CHAPTER XXVI
This prophecy, beginning here and ending in the twentieth verse
Read full note →
of the twenty-eighth chapter, is a declaration of the judgments
of God against Tyre, a very famous commercial city of
antiquity, which was taken by Nebuchadnezzar after an arduous
siege of thirteen years. The prophet begins with introducing
Tyre insulting Jerusalem, and congratulating herself on the
prospect of accession to her commerce now that this city was no
more, 1, 2.
Upon which God denounces utter destruction to Tyre, and the
cities depending on her, 3-6.
We have then a particular account of the person raised up in
the course of the Divine providence to accomplish this work.
We see, as it were, his mighty hosts, (which are likened to the
waves of the sea for their multitude,) raising the mounds,
setting the engines, and shaking the walls; we hear the noise
of the horsemen, and the sound of their cars; we see the clouds
of smoke and dust; we see the sword bathed in blood, and hear
the groans of the dying. Tyre, (whose buildings were very
splendid and magnificent, and whose walls were one hundred and
fifty feet in height, with a proportionable breadth,)
immediately disappears; her strong (and as she thought
impregnable) towers are thrown down; and her very dust is
buried in the sea. Nothing remains but the bare rock, 7-14.
The scene is then varied. The isles and adjacent regions, by a
very strong and beautiful figure, are represented to be shaken,
as with a mighty earthquake by violent concussion occasioned by
the fall of Tyre. The groans of the dying reach the ears of the
people inhabiting these regions. Their princes, alarmed for
themselves and grieved for Tyre, descend from their thrones,
lay aside their robes, and clothe themselves with-sackcloth?-no,
but with trembling! Arrayed in this astonishing attire, the
prophet introduces them as a chorus of mourners, lamenting Tyre
in a funeral song or dirge, as customary on the death of
renowned personages. And pursuing the same image still farther,
in the person of God, he performs the last sad office for her.
She is brought forth from her place in solemn pomp; the pit is
dug for her; and she is buried, to rise no more, 15-21.
Such is the prophecy concerning Tyre, comprehending both the
city on the continent and that on the island, and most
punctually fulfilled in regard to both. That on the continent
was razed to the ground by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 572, and that
on the island by Alexander the Great, B.C. 332. And at present,
and for ages past, this ancient and renowned city, once the
emporium of the world, and by her great naval superiority the
centre of a powerful monarchy, is literally what the prophet
has repeatedly foretold it should be, and what in his time was,
humanly speaking, so highly improbable-a BARE rock, a place to
spread nets on!
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI
Verse 1. The eleventh year] This was the year in which Jerusalem was taken; the eleventh of the captivity of Jeconiah, and the eleventh of the reign of Zedekiah. What month we are not told, though the day is mentioned. There have been many conjectures about this, which are not of sufficient consequence to be detailed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 7, 12, 15, 19 Eze 26:1. In the eleventh year, in the first…
Eze 26:1. In the eleventh year, in the first day of the month — By the eleventh year seems to be intended the eleventh of Jehoiachin’s captivity; for Ezekiel seems to reckon this time chiefly from that period. What month it was is not mentioned: some think the first month of the year is meant; others the first month after the taking of Jerusalem.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 7, 15 Prophecies against Tyre. The siege of Tyre lasted thirteen…
Prophecies against Tyre. The siege of Tyre lasted thirteen years beginning 585 b.c., about three years after the capture of Jerusalem. While besieging Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar had driven Pharaoh Hophra back to the borders of Egypt. Tyre being thus relieved from a dangerous enemy, was exulting in her own deliverance, and in her neighbor’s ruin, when Ezekiel predicted the calamity about to befall her. The name Tyre means rock, and was given to the city in consequence of its position. This island-rock was the heart of Tyre, and the town upon the continent - called “Old Tyre,” possibly as having been the temporary position of the first settlers - was the outgrowth of the island city. The scanty records of ancient history give no, distinct evidence of the capture of insular Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar; but the fact is very probable. Compare especially Eze 26:7-12; Eze 29:18. The present state of Tyre is one of utter desolation, though the end was long delayed (compare Isa. 23). Tyre was great and wealthy under Persian, Greek, Roman, and even Muslim masters. The final ruin of Tyre was due to the sultan of Egypt (1291 a.d.).
In the first day of the month - The number of the month being omitted, many suppose “the month” to mean the month when Jerusalem was taken (the rebirth month), called “the month,” as being so well known. The capture of the city is known to have taken place on “the ninth day of the fourth month” and its destruction on “the seventh day of the fifth month.” This prophecy therefore preceded by a few days the capture of the city. The condition of Jerusalem in the latter months of its siege was such that the Tyrians may well have exulted as though it had already fallen.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Year of the prophet’s captivity. (Haydock) --- He still…
Year of the prophet’s captivity. (Haydock) --- He still dates from the transmigration of Joachin, chap. i., &c. (Worthington) --- Some think he speaks of the first, fourth, or fifth month. Tyre was not besieged till after the ninth day of the fourth month, when Jerusalem was taken; nor could she express her joy for that event before, unless God allude to her dispositions, &c., chap. xxv. 1. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 2. Tyre and Sidon (Ch. 26–28)
2. Tyre and Sidon (Ch. 26–28)
Eze_26:1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first of the month, that the word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2Son of man, because Tyre [Heb. Zor] says upon Jerusalem, Aha, broken is [has become] the gate of the people; it turns itself [or, is turned] to me; I will be [become] full; she is [has become] desolate. 3Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, I am against [over] thee, Tyre, and I bring up upon thee many nations [heathen peoples], as the sea mounts up by his 4waves. And they destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers; and I 5sweep her dust out of her, and give her as a mere [bald] rock. A spreading of nets shall she be in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken—sentence of the Lord Jehovah—and she is for a booty to the nations. 6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they know that I am Jehovah. 7For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, out of the north, a king of kings, with horse, and with chariot, 8and with riders, and company, and much people. Thy daughters in the field he will kill with the sword, and he gives against thee a battering-tower, and casts up 9a wall against thee, and places against thee a buckler. And the thrust of his breaker will he give against thy walls, and break down thy towers with his 10swords. From the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; from the sound of the rider, and the wheel, and the chariot shall thy walls shake, at his entering into thy gates, as one cometh into a broken city. 11With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread all thy streets: thy people shall he slay with the sword, 12and the pillars of thy strength he shall throw down to the earth. And they plunder thy wealth, and despoil thy merchandise [thy commercial goods], and break down thy walls, and the houses of thy pleasure shall they pull down, and shall 13lay thy stones and thy timbers and thy dust in the midst of the sea. And I make to cease the noise of thy songs, and the sound of thy harps shall no more 14be heard. And I give thee as a mere [bare] rock: a spreading of nets shalt thou be; thou shalt be built no more: for I, Jehovah, have spoken it—sentence of the Lord Jehovah. 15Thus saith the Lord Jehovah to Tyre, Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, of the groaning of the pierced-thought, at the murder and 16murder in thy midst? And all the princes of the sea descend from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and shall put off their embroidered garments: in terror shall they clothe themselves: upon the ground shall they sit and tremble 17every moment, and are astonished at thee. And they raise over thee a lamentation, and say to thee: How art thou destroyed, inhabited, out of the seas, renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which gave their terror to all her inhabitants! 18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy downfall, and the islands which are in the sea shall be amazed at thy disappearing [lit., going out]. 19For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, When I give thee as a desolate city, as cities [are] which are not inhabited, when I make the 20flood to come over thee, and the waters, the many, cover thee; and I make thee to come down with those that go down to the pit, to the people of ancient time; and I cause thee to dwell in the land of the depths, in wildernesses from of old, with those that go down to the pit, so that thou mayest not be inhabited: there 21have I given beauty in the land of the living. For a terror will I give thee, and thou art not [any more]; thou shalt be sought for, and shalt not be found any more for ever. Sentence of the Lord Jehovah.
Read full note →
Eze_26:1. Sept.: ... μια του μηνος του πρωτου—
Eze_26:2. … συνετριβε, ἀπολωλεν, τα ἐθνη ἐπεστραφη προς με, ἡ πληρης ἠρημωται—Sept. read: נמלאה; so also Chald., Ar., Syr.: desolata est.
Eze_26:4. ... πυργους σου, και λικμησω τον χουν αὐτης ἀπ̓ αὐτης.
Eze_26:6. Sept.: ... αἱ ἐν τω πεδιῳ—
Eze_26:7. ... και συναγωγης πολλης ἐθνων σφοδρα.
Eze_26:8. ... προφυλακην κ. περιοικοδομησει, κ. περιποιησει ἐπι σε κυκλῳ σου χαρακα κ. βελοστασεις ὁπλων, κ. τας λογχας αὐτου ἐπι σε δωσει. (9) Τα τειχη σου κ. τους πυργους—Vulg.: Et vineas et arietes … destruet in armatura sua.
Eze_26:10. Sept.: ... ὡς ὁ εἰσπορευομενος … ἐκ τεδιου.
Eze_26:11. ... κ. την ὑποστασιν τ. ἰσχυος σου ἐπι … καταξει.
Eze_26:13. Κ. καταλυσει … τ. μουσικων σου … των ψαλ τηριων σου—
Eze_26:16. ... ἐκ τ. ἐθνων τ. θαλασσης … τ. μιτρας ἀπο τ. κεφαλων αὐτων … και ἐκστασει ἐκστησονται … φοβηθησονται τ. ἀπωλειαν αὐτων.—Vulg.: … auferent exuvias suas … et attoniti super repentino casu tuo admirabuntur.
Eze_26:17. Sept.: ... και κατελυθης ἐκ θαλασσης … ἡ δουσα τ. φοβον αὐτης.—Vulg.: … quos formidabant universi.
Eze_26:18. Vulg.: … eo quod nullus egrediatur ex te (other read. האיים).
Eze_26:19. Sept.: ... ἐπι σε τ. ἀβυσσον—
Eze_26:20. ... προς τ. καταβαινοντας εἰς βοθρον … ὠς ἐρημον αἰωνιον μετα καταβαιν. … ὁπως … μηδε ἀνασταθης ἰει γης ζωης. (Some Codd. have אל יורדי.)
EXEGETICAL REMARKS
Eze_26:1. The Starting-point of the Prophecy.
The year indicated in this verse is that of the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem (Jer_39:2); therefore the parallels suggested are: Tyre against Jerusalem, Tyre as Jerusalem. The blank month (as also at Eze_32:17) some (for example, Hengst.) would supply out of Eze_24:1, therefore the tenth, as pointing back to the beginning of the siege; others, and of these already the Sept., by taking the number given for the day (on the first) as applying also to the month. If we do not resort to a slip of the scribe (Keil), we may as well suppose, with Hävernick, the fifth month suggested by the specified year as that of the destruction of Jerusalem, as, with Kimchi, the fourth month of the same year for the conquest of the city (Jer_52:5-6; Jer_52:12). With both suppositions Eze_26:2 agrees, where the hostile utterances might well enough have proceeded on the ground of what, if not actually done, was certainly in the course of being done.
Eze_26:2-6. Outline of the Judgment in the general
Eze_26:2 (Eze_25:3). צוּר=צוֹר ,צֹר, that is, flint-stone, rock (sarra)—the Greek designation Τὐρος, from the Chaldaic form מוּר—was that Phenician city which for a long course of time possessed the supremacy that had previously been exercised by Sidon. In the present time it is pronounced by the Arabians Ssur. On account of its connection with the coalition, Tyre forms the more clamant an occasion for God’s judgment, as, being, according to Hävernick, “on the summit of external splendour, it then deemed itself to be invincible;” and according to Hengst., it was, “along with Egypt and Babylon, the most glorious concentration of the worldly power.” דלתות, plural, the gate-leaves, for the gate, hence with the sing, of the verb. Jerusalem was not thus spoken of by Tyre, because many people were generally going and coming there, which also would not have been expressed by העמים (the peoples), but either with reference to the messengers of the coalition, who assembled there (Jeremiah 27), or, as Hitzig supposes, as a centre of foreign commerce, a business-mart, for which a natural jealousy could speak, since Solomon had established the commerce of Palestine. Hengst. looks upon Jerusalem as a “world-city, because it regarded the true religion as the highest good,” and makes the Messianic expectations of Zion to have been known in Tyre, and to have awakened bad blood in the proud queen of the seas (?). The streaming of the peoples thither, on account of which the gate was said to be broken, is to him the Jerusalem for the future brought to view (Isa_2:2; Mic_4:1), as Jerusalem was at all times a magnet for the minds in heathendom that sought after God.—נסבה, Niph. from סבב, fitly spoken of a gate (comp. Pro_26:14). If with reference to Jerusalem it was broken down, then with reference to Tyre it is turned towards him; that is, the commerce of the people is open to him; he has that alone now which hitherto he had to share with Jerusalem. [Kliefoth: into Jerusalem’s gate, hitherto shut to the peoples, on religious grounds, Tyre might now especially draw in, turn it to account (?). Hitzig derives the subject from what follows, and translates: “her fulness turns itself to me.”]—The being full (Eze_27:25) has respect to traffic and the wealth which flows from it.
Eze_26:3 (Eze_13:8; Eze_13:20)—the many nations correspond as well to the general comprehensive outline of the prophecy in this first section, as they answer to the outspoken scorn of Tyre and his malicious arrogant speculations (Eze_26:2).—The pictorial representation is derived from the marine situation of Tyre. Hitzig, who thinks of the particular bands of the host to be brought up, makes the sea the accusative, supplies the subject from the context, and takes לְגליו distributively; as the sea in regard to its waves, one after the others, and over the others. According to Ewald, לְ denotes the accusative. Hengst. explains according to Eze_26:19 : “as if I brought up the sea and its waves.” This representation already suggests the younger Tyre (Φοινισσα νασος in Euripides), which stood upon the island-rock hard by the coast, that is now united to the land. The walls and towers in Eze_26:4 appear to be quite in accord with the general character of the prophecy, and to go farther beyond the time of Nebuchadnezzar than some have supposed (Curtius, iv., Arrian, ii.), although the five years’ siege which it sustained against Salmanassar seems to imply the existence then of walls and towers (Josephus, Antiq. viii. 5). Hiram II. not only built the temple of Melkarth, and formed both the islands into one, but also added an entirely new quarter to the city (Eurychoron), and surrounded the city with a strong wall. A second harbour was besides added by him, and a palace erected for him, while old Tyre fell more into the background. What is here said, however, of the fortifications might equally, if not rather, be said of the old city, which was built upon the land; since insular Tyre came into consideration pre-eminently on account of the Melkarth temple, the old national sanctuary of the “Tyrian Heracles,” which stood upon its north side, on a second small island somewhat farther to sea, on account also of the maritime power of the state, what belonged to it as a fleet-station. Whence the name very specially reflected its insular position; so that insular Tyre must here be regarded as a pregnant title for the whole.—Her dust is the rubbish of the demolished buildings. סחיתי, I sweep, only here, from סחה, to sweep, forms a paronomasia with שׁחתי, and prepares for the following, in which Tyre, that in Eze_26:2 had boasted it over the desolated Jerusalem as being full, should be reduced to its original bare condition. A papyrus roll, which has preserved to us an account of an Egyptian officer’s journey, describes insular Tyre in its beginnings as a village, which lies on a rock in the midst of the sea: people bring water to it in wherries, and the place abounds with fish.—Eze_24:7-8 Nomen omen.
Eze_26:5. משׁטח denotes a place where something is spread out, here: the fishermen lay out their draw-nets to dry. So precisely did Robinson find it.—Eze_7:21.
Eze_26:6. The daughters of Tyre in the field are manifestly to be regarded as distinguished from insular Tyre, but, according to the general style of the section, in correspondence too with the plural, such as, if not dependent on her, submitted to the supremacy of Tyre, and then had under the ascendency of Assyria withdrawn from this relationship—as the insular city Aradus (Arvad), on the coast Antaradus (Tortosa), and Marathus (Amrit), Simyra (Sumra), Botrys (Batrun), Gebal (Byblos, Dschebeil), Beryton (Beirut), Sidon (Saida), Ssarpat (Sarepta), etc.; so, too, Palætyrus, the old city, where still exists the great old aqueduct, the Khan, and the smithy of Ras Al Ain.
Eze_26:7-14. The Execution by Nebuchadnezzar
In these verses the general outline is exhibited in a detailed description suited to the time of Ezekiel, as it was to be carried into execution by Nebuchadnezzar. Here and elsewhere he is named Nebuchadrezzar (Greek: Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosorus, Nabukodrosoros), upon the old Persian inscriptions at Bisutun: Nabuqadratschar, Nabuqudratschar, a name compounded of Nabu (Nebo), the name of God, Zar or Sar (prince), and Kadr (in Arab. might). According to Niebuhr, the form given here in the text would come very near to the native one. That he should be represented as coming out of the north points to the way by which he was to come on Judah.—King of kings, on account of the vanquished princes, along with Great King, a common title in the inscriptions.—The rhetorical delineation of the army is not to be pressed. Horse and chariot look away in the first instance from the manning; they fetch up the riders for horse, for chariots, perhaps company (קהל), in order to close with the great multitude of people on foot. Hengst. understands by the riders the chariot warriors (Eze_26:10). According to others, the company consists of much people (עס־רב); comp. Eze_23:24.
Eze_26:8. The population of the towns on the land fall under the enemy directing his attack from thence, chiefly put to the sword; and so Eze_26:6 is fulfilled.—Eze_21:27; Eze_4:2.—Buckler designates the long bucklers held close together, so that in a siege men could work under their cover, and get near to the walls. On account of the distinction indicated by thy daughters in the field, the expression against thee is used, and it must consequently be the insular Tyre against which the siege conducted by Nebuchadnezzar was directed.
Eze_26:9. מחי from מחה is the thrusting. קֹבֶל must, according to Gesenius, be that which lies over against, therefore, with מחי, percussio oppositi, for wall-breaker (battering-ram). קבל without doubt indicates a besieging instrument in general, if not some one in particular. (Chald. percussio tormentorum suorum.) Meier thinks of what envelopes, protects, covers (קובע, buckler), hence of the protecting cover under which men attacked with the battering-ram, similarly as צנה in Eze_26:8. “The thrust of his protecting cover,” that is, what he effects under the same, etc. Hävernick translates מחי by extirpation, and קבלֹ by defence (?). Hengst.: “The destruction of his battering-ram, or engine.” “מחה, from which מחי comes, is always used in the sense of destroying, extirpating, etc.; and so, not thrusting or striking, but destruction is the natural meaning of the noun. קבלֹ is anything in front of, or opposition to, another; hence kaballo is a general designation of what the enemy was to put in hostile array against the walls of Tyre—his enginery. And the two words together may be fitly expressed by, his enginery of destruction.”—P. F.]—The swords kill the defenders of the towers, in consequence of which the towers are torn down. As Häv. justly remarks, the unusual, the superhuman, the fact that God Himself was in the work, is meant to be represented. This idea, however, is found by Häv., not in the words killing the defenders of the towers, but being said to break down the towers—as if the words had imparted to them a supernatural force, to do a work not proper to them.—P. F.] Most, however, generalize the expression בחרבותיו into: “through his iron,” thinking of iron hooks, which were driven in, cutting into the hook-work J. H. Michaelis: securibus).
Eze_26:10. The expressions here are of a poetico-rhetorical character. The land moves into the sea, as it where, with its dust, through the excessive number of cavalry moving into the island-city. Wheel and chariot are distinguished with reference to the wound, which is ascribed to them, rolling and battling. As the siege already described, so show the pressing into the taken city presupposes silently, because quite self-evidently, a connecting found between the land and insular Tyre, which, according to Hengst., must already have existed, but probably was thrown up by Nebuchadnezzar or the purposes of the siege. It is made perfectly hear by the כמבואי that Tyre as well as every their (land-city) was vanquished. (“The uncommon sea-fortress must sink down before his power into a common stronghold.”) מבקעה, Hitzig: “more exactly, one burst open, taken by storm.”
Eze_26:11. מצבה, from נצב, is something it right up, a pillar, not to be thought of as applying to memorial pillars of heroes or kings, but monuments of national strength in the temple if Hercules, such as the two mentioned by Herodotus (of gold [chrysolith] and emerald). Sepp.: At the entrance into the temple of Melkarth Mood two pillars (like Boaz and Jachin at Jerusalem), as the well-known boundary-pillars or an-stadia in front of all the temples of Hercules, which should set a bound to deluges and conflarations—water and fire. “According to others: the gods of Tyre go down in the dust. Hengst.: These pillars were symbols of the power and glory of Tyre.”
Eze_26:12. רכל of going about, tafficking. Treasures and wares.—ובתי חמדתך, Hengst.: “Thy beautiful houses,” corresponding to palaces, Isa_23:13. Hitzig: “More exactly after which one has desire, which please one.” wald: “The beautiful turreted dwellings and summer towers of the rich merchant-princes.” Häv.: “On account of the limited space, very high houses, such as did not exist even in Rome” (Strabo, 16). These were to the home-returning merchants the object of their longing desire; as in Isaiah 23, it is with the impression upon such home-voyagers that the prophecy opens. Arsenals and wharfs, the buildings adapted for marine trade, might also be meant.—Stones, wood, dust, point to the entire ruins; comp. Eze_26:4.
Eze_26:13. So comes the constrained Sabbath upon song and lyre, noise and pleasure. Nothing remains but the silent rocks and the desert sea.
Eze_26:14. The resumption (as already at Eze_26:12) of Eze_26:4-5 conducts back what was accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar to the general outline at the beginning, just as what is said in Isa_23:15 sq. is to be thought of episodically in the Epos on Tyre. To this latter point matters were tending with Tyre, and Nebuchadnezzar was a force in regard to it.
Eze_26:15-18. The Impression made by the Fall of Tyre
Eze_26:15. הלא, in the form of a question we have the sure prognostication of what would, on the spreading of the report of Tyre’s fall, be the impression made by it in the colonies. The same enemy, indeed, did not harass them; but what can now any longer be placed aloft above others? What can still be secure before others?—The fall must be rendered palpable by the groaning, etc.—איים are the seaboard regions as well as the isles.—Hitzig notices the excellent choice of the expression, as the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean are precisely those which have been commonly visited by a shaking (earthquake, רעש).
Eze_26:16. We must call to mind the settlements of the Phœnicians in the Sidonian and Tyrian period along the various coasts, in Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, the Baleares, and think of Utica, Gades (Cadiz), Kalpe (Gibraltar), Malaka (Malaga), etc. On the princes of the sea, comp. Isa_23:8. One can imagine the princely might and pomp of the chief men in these places of commerce, the aristocratic style of their public appearances.—What follows is a description of the Eastern way of mourning.—Jon_3:6; Eze_21:31 [26].—מעיל, outer garment, wide for display.—Eze_16:18.—Instead of all glory, which they lay aside, they clothe themselves in terrors.—Eze_7:27; Job_12:13.—וחרדו repeats חרדות.—לרגעים, at moments, so that the trembling, like a fever, never for a moment leaves them (Hitzig).
Eze_26:17; Eze_19:1.—The catastrophe and ruins ask, How could so peculiar, wonderful, famous, powerful a place have met its overthrow?—Häv.: “Ah! how art thou condemned to the ground, thou inhabitress of the seas!” since מימים is = upon the seas there; but the city that dwelt away upon the seas is that whose inhabitants spread themselves over the seas, settled down there. Others: inhabited, peoples from the seas, that is, sea-dwellers, sea-peoples. Hitzig: “Thou populous in the sea,” properly, forth of the sea, or more exactly, from out of the sea. “Bearing a human population, it jutted up immediately above the surface of the water, as if it had sprung from the lap of the sea.”—Ewald reads, after Eze_27:34, נִשְׁכַּרְתְּ, shattered out of the seas. Some have also read מִיָּמִים = from days (of old), from everlasting inhabited.—ההללה from הלל, to make shining, to praise.—She is called strong in the sea (בים); Hitzig: through the sea, her maritime position. More correctly: in the sea, in the strong element it was a strong city; therefore not only a sea-power, but a power in the mighty sea.—חתיתם is the terrors ascribed to Tyre and its inhabitants. These terrors of her name she gave far and wide through the sea (in consequence of her wealth, her greatness, and power), to all her inhabitants, which would point to Venice similarly situated, if therewith it were meant that the city with its population inspired before it fear into all its individual inhabitants, held them over against one another in fear and trembling (Cocc.). It must rather be meant that the terror of the Tyrian supremacy stuck and adhered to every Tyrian, as later something of the same sort to every Roman. Comp. Hitzig. [Hengst.: “Tyre had a double class of inhabitants—her citizens, and her connections in the colonies, who, ideally taken, dwelt in Tyre, because the roots of their existence were there. The inhabitants in the one sense were the terror of the inhabitants in the other. They must bow before them, and obey their commands.” So previously Hävernick. (Isa_23:2.) Ewald refers the second יושׁביה to the inhabitants of the sea, which is hardly feminine. The Syriac supplies חארץ, omnibus habitatoribus terrœ.]
Eze_26:18. Hitherto Tyre had frightened all; now all are frightened over Tyre. אשׁר נים sharpens the idea of island, and intensifies the preceding האין.—Comp. Eze_26:16.—If Tyre fell, what issue then awaits even islands in the midst of the sea? The issue, outgoing, is more nearly defined by the fall. Others have thought of emigration, flight in the ships.
Eze_26:19-21. The End and—a Beginning
An epilogue in these verses.—נחרבת looks back to החרבה in Eze_26:2.—בהעלות parallel to בתתי, hut containing the thought of destruction in an image, which at the same time prepares for Eze_26:20-21. The flood rises out of the depth to fetch down the city covered with many waters, with its rubbish and its corpses.—תהום, from הום (המה), is the swelling depth, the boiling mass of water up from the sea. [According to Hengst., it is ideal: the overflowing of the nations—for which Eze_26:3 supplies no ground.]
Eze_26:20. The city goes along with it, as with the dead generally, אל־עס עולם, either general: to the people among the hidden, in the darkness of the realms of death; or more special: to the people of ancient time; or quite special: to the people covered, buried by the deluge (Hengst.: the ancestral guests of hell, Gen_6:4).—תחתיות, the lowest depths, pictured out by בחרבות מעולם, in the uninhabited places from everlasting, by means of which “the image of the destruction, the annihilation of all human greatness, is thoroughly completed” (Häv.). As the going down, so also the dwelling is coloured by the fellowship of the dead, in parallel sentences.—למען לא תשׁבי, some, so that thou dwellest not, namely, longer where thou dost dwell; Hengst: “that thou sit not,” but mayst lie down. The intention is perhaps to be understood of the entire disappearance from among the dwelling-places of men; comp. at Eze_29:11.—ונתתי, unless dependent upon למען, introduces a new sentence, and then fitly a conclusion. Or Eze_26:20 : “Then I make thee go down,” sq., “then I make thee dwell,” sq., “then give I thee,” sq. Over against the ruin of Tyre comes beauty (ornament, Eze_25:9)—(with that בארץ תחתיות, with this חייס בארץ)—the land of the living, earth with its life-hope, life-development, over against the lower world separated by death; Psa_27:13. [Hitzig: “And that thou shed not forth renown in the land of the living.” Ewald reads ולא תִנָּצְבִי, and translates: “that thou remain not, nor exist in,” etc. Kliefoth: “that thou be not inhabited, and I do not make glorious (namely, in respect to thee, Tyre (?)) in the land.” The negative ought to be applied to both clauses of the verse: not be inhabited, and not set as an ornament. The Chaldee and those who followed it understood the last clauses of Judah, and hence took it positively. But the Sept. properly understood both clauses of Tyre, and took both negatively.—P. F.]
Eze_26:21. Close of Tyre, בלהות, of frightful judgments, and indeed of sudden destruction. Therefore to be made an example of such. Gesenius concretely: I will make thee for the down-going, that is, into something that goeth down. Philippson: “I suddenly annihilate thee.”—The נתתי צבי is met by this בלהות אתנך.—Comp. besides, Psa_37:10; Psa_37:36.
HOMILETICAL HINTS
On Ch.26
Eze_26:1-6. Tyre, the home of the first learned jurist, Ulpian, is the burial-place of the gifted theologian Origen; and the ruins of its once gorgeous cathedral cover the bones of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.—“Selfishness is a very great sin, especially when one seeks to become rich through other people’s hurt” (Cr.).—Tyre against Jerusalem: a study for the times.—“The prophet would check the despondency which a sight of the world shining in its glory can so readily evoke in the people of God when sighing under the cross” (Hengst.).—The loud triumph of the world over the Church is still only an apparent triumph.—The Church may be brought down, but the world with all its lust must utterly go down.
Eze_26:3. Yes; many nations shall come; God took Tyre at her word, but how?—Against the high wave-stroke of the towering heart, there come the high beating waves of retribution.—“God serves Himself of men in executing punishment, where an angel might rather have done it (Sennacherib), in order that we may become more sensible of our impotence” (Stck.).—The sea, which had been the hope of Tyre, now its terror.—God, the Leader of the enemies of His enemies.
Eze_26:4. Walls, towers, all is nothing, if God is not all.—What survives if God falls upon us?—The comforting and the terrible faithfulness of God to His word.—All things and persons are included in the annihilating judgments of God.
Eze_26:7-14. Nebuchadnezzar, a servant of God: in Egypt the insects were such.—The world-conqueror and the world-ruler.—The king out of the north is, above all, death; and if he draws up in array, he has a multitude also for his host, and there will be pain for the soul as well as for the body.—No fortress stands so secure and so firmly guarded that God’s judgment cannot reach and enter it.—Every power is broken at last.—“Whosoever does not tremble before the divine law will be only the more affrighted before the divine punishment when it alights” (Stck.).
Eze_26:12. The spoiling of our goods is the final end of all upon earth; therefore should we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, which remain for ever. Sic transit gloria mundi.
Eze_26:13-14. The lust of the world shall be one day suffering; the suffering of the pious eternal glory.—Let not thy heart be so stunned by the noise which the world makes as not to mark the bare rock which lies beneath; be not deceived by the merry songs and lively instruments of music: upon the graves even of the rich and the great all is still.—Here the fishing-net, elsewhere the cobwebs.
Eze_26:15 sqq. The interest in the downfall of others, arising from the consideration of the nothingness and perishableness of all earthly things, from the feeling of one’s own impotence and weakness, from the consciousness of sin and guilt.—The echo of misery.—“When God punishes, He does it not merely on account of the ungodly, who must feel such punishment, but also on account of other ungodly persons, that they may become better by such examples” (St.).—Herakles, the strength of Tyre, the might of commerce (comp. the Heb. word rakal).—The fall of Tyre an impressive preaching of repentance.—“The downfall of the ungodly is more readily mourned and bewailed than the tribulation of the righteous” (St.).—“That may be accomplished in a moment which was not expected to take place in years” (Stck.).—The Bible also represents tragedies, in which whole peoples may weep and kings take their place in the dust.—“When earthly well-being departs, the world complains—only its eternal perdition troubles it not” (Stck.).—The fall of the great should make us shy of seeking after such perishable greatness.—The unrighteous grief of the world, and the righteous lamentation of the world.—The terror before Tyre, and the terror upon Tyre.—If thou art frightened at sin in time, thou shalt not need to be frightened at its punishment when it is too late.
Eze_26:19-21. “These three verses hang together. The overthrow of the great city, and the glorification of the church. The one is the consequence of the other. There was a time when Rome was desolated, and the peoples covered it like water. At last it also went down to the dead in the Council of Trent, where, by its anathemas, it cut itself off from true believers. God has delivered His church, the land of the living, from Babylon, and adorned her with peace and manifold gifts” (Cocc.).—Tyre in the going down, Zion in the rising up again.—“He who has such hope may well let the scorn of Tyre pass—respice finem” (Hengst.).—“Just as God overthrows the proud antichristianism, so much the higher will He one day raise His church”(Tüb. Bible).—“Even in the hardest threatenings there is an under-current of promise for the children of God” (St.).
Eze_26:21. As there is a seeking and not finding, so also shall there be a being sought and not found.—“This is likewise said of every ungodly one who has been prosperous, Psa_37:36. He is not to be found in heaven for ever, and in hell none cares to seek or to be found” (B. B.).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Tyre-- (Jos 19:29; Sa2 24:7), literally, meaning "the rock-city,"…
Tyre-- (Jos 19:29; Sa2 24:7), literally, meaning "the rock-city," Zor; a name applying to the island Tyre, called New Tyre, rather than Old Tyre on the mainland. They were half a mile apart. "New Tyre," a century and a half before the fall of Jerusalem, had successfully resisted Shalmaneser of Assyria, for five years besieging it (MENANDER, from the Tyrian archives, quoted by JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9.14. 2). It was the stronger and more important of the two cities, and is the one chiefly, though not exclusively, here meant. Tyre was originally a colony of Zidon. Nebuchadnezzar's siege of it lasted thirteen years (Eze 29:18; Isa. 23:1-18). Though no profane author mentions his having succeeded in the siege, JEROME states he read the fact in Assyrian histories.
Aha!--exultation over a fallen rival (Psa 35:21, Psa 35:25).
Read full note →
she . . . that was the gates--that is, the single gate composed of two folding doors. Hence the verb is singular. "Gates" were the place of resort for traffic and public business: so here it expresses a mart of commerce frequented by merchants. Tyre regards Jerusalem not as an open enemy, for her territory being the narrow, long strip of land north of Philistia, between Mount Lebanon and the sea, her interest was to cultivate friendly relations with the Jews, on whom she was dependent for corn (Eze 27:17; Kg1 5:9; Act 12:20). But Jerusalem had intercepted some of the inland traffic which she wished to monopolize to herself; so, in her intensely selfish worldly-mindedness, she exulted heartlessly over the fall of Jerusalem as her own gain. Hence she incurred the wrath of God as pre-eminently the world's representative in its ambition, selfishness, and pride, in defiance of the will of God (Isa 23:9).
she is turned unto me--that is, the mart of corn, wine, oil, balsam, &c., which she once was, is transferred to me. The caravans from Palmyra, Petra, and the East will no longer be intercepted by the market ("the gates") of Jerusalem, but will come to me.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 1. First day of the month — The number…
AGAINST TYRE AND SIDON, CHAPS. 26-28.
1. First day of the month — The number of the month has dropped out. Was it the fifth? (Jer_52:6; Jer_52:12.)
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 1. first day of the month] The 11th year…
1. first day of the month] The 11th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity was that in which Jerusalem was taken. On the 9th day of the 4th month of this year the city was stormed, and on the 10th day of the 5th month it was destroyed (Jer_52:6; Jer_52:12). The present prophecy assumes the destruction of the city (Eze_26:2). The month is not stated. If the 11th year be read in Eze_33:21 (see there), fugitives announcing the fall of the city reached the prophet on the 5th of the 10th month of that year. The prophecy is probably later than this date, and the month may be the 11th or 12th.
1. All prophecy is moral, is based on moral considerations. What the prophet aims his threats against is not the prosperity of Tyre, but its pride of heart, which was rebellion against Jehovah, God over all. The humiliation of Tyre was morally as good as its ruin, in so far as it shewed that there were higher forces in the world than itself.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (1) In the first day of the month.—The year…
(1) In the first day of the month.—The year was that in which Jerusalem fell (2Ki_25:2-4; 2Ki_25:8-9), but the month is not given here, and cannot now be ascertained. It is plain from Eze_26:2 that Tyre already felt sure of the issue of the siege; but there is a marked difference between this and the language in Eze_25:3, which could only have been used after the capture of the city. This prophecy may therefore well have been given at any time during the eleventh year. Possibly the Alexandrine Septuagint is right in supplying “the first” month; but as this is omitted in the Roman copy, it is more likely to have been a mere conjecture. There is a similar omission in Eze_32:17, but the number is easily supplied there from Eze_26:1. Probably, in both cases the omission is a mere error of the scribes.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 The prophetic messages against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the…
The prophetic messages against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the Philistines were comparatively short. That against Tyre spreads over three chapters. (Eze 26:1-29:18) The special prominence thus given to the latter city was probably due to its political importance in Ezekiel"s time, possibly also to the personal knowledge which may be inferred from his minute description of its magnificence and its commerce. It is ushered in with special solemnity as "a word of Jehovah.
In the eleventh year, etc. The last date given (Eze_24:1) was the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year (sc. B.C. 590). We have now come to the eleventh year, on which, on the ninth day of the fourth month, Jerusalem was taken, while its destruction followed in the seventh day of the fifth month. (Jer_52:6, Jer_52:12) Here the number of the month is not given in the Hebrew or the Vulgate, while the LXX inserts the "first month." in Eze_32:17 we have a like omission, and in both cases it is natural to assume an error of transcription. The tidings of the capture may have reached both Tyre and Tel-Abib, and Ezekiel may have heard of the temper in which the former had received them, just as he had heard how the nations named in the previous chapter had exulted in the fall, imminent and, as they thought, inevitable, of the holy city.
Read full note →
Vers. 1-3. Tyro, the England of antiquity.
We have here an outline of the great, desolating judgment that was to fall upon Tyre; it is more fully described in the succeeding verses of the chapter, and lamented over in the next chapter. There are several points in the condition and history of Tyre that call for especial attention to the fate of this famous city; but the resemblance between Type and England is so striking, that we may feel much more interest in Ezekiel"s utterances when we consider their bearing on our own country in the present day.
I THE SIMILAR PROSPERITY OF TYRE AND ENGLAND.
1. In wealth. Tyre was one of the richest cities of the East, if not the very richest. Her splendor was renowned, and the wealth of her merchants was proverbial. Like England today, she was envied by other peoples for her worldly prosperity.
2. Through commerce. The wealth of Tyre was not drawn from rich mines or fertile soil of her own territory. It was not booty taken in war, like that of Babylon. Her riches came by trade. Her princes wore merchants. Thus she was like our "nation of shopkeepers.
3. By seafaring. The early commerce of Syria was carried on by Midianites over the desert; (Gen_37:28) but the later and more profitable commerce was over the waters westward, round the coast of the Mediterranean and to as far as Cornwall in Britain, perhaps even to the distant Azores. Like Venice in the Middle Ages, like Spain later, like the Netherlands after the Reformation, like England today, Tyro in ancient times was the mistress of the sea. Hence a certain cosmopolitan character.
4. With constructive art. The vast foundations of Baalbec tell of the building powers of Tyro. Solomon"s temple was a grand specimen of Tyrian architecture, built with Tyrian art. We do not equal those great builders in originality. But inventive genius and manufacturing energy are characteristic of our race. Thus the material splendor of Tyro has passed to England.
II THE FATE OF TYRE A WARNING FOR ENGLAND. The splendor and prosperity of Tyro did not save her from ruin. Can we see in her fall any hint of a similar danger threatening our own country? Consider both its immediate cause and the providential necessity that lay behind.
1. The immediate cause. Tyro was overthrown by Babylon (Ver. 7). She was not able to withstand the terrific onward march of the Eastern power. She was strong at sea, but feeble ashore. She was not a military power. She proves that wealth will not protect from ruin, but will rather invite it. The wealth of London is a temptation to the invader. Prosperity is not its own security.
2. The providential necessity. Wealth enervates, and no doubt Tyro was weakened by luxury. But behind such natural operations God, the Judge of all the earth, saw the sin of Tyro. She was greedy and selfish (Ver. 2). Commerce does not always win friends. By competition it stirs up jealousy. When deceptive or overreaching, it rouses the antagonism of those on whom it preys. Tyro was a most wicked city. Her very religion was shamefully immoral. Though the temple of Jehovah was built by Tyrian artists, the worship of Jehovah was not accepted by the Tyrian citizens. Like Tyro, we may build a temple for others, and never worship in it ourselves. We may patronize religion, and be none the better for it. We may send the gospel to the heathen, and become pagans at home. The temple they built for the Jews did not save the Tyrians. Nothing can save England but the uprightness and the personal religion of her people.
HOMILIES BY J.D. DAVIES Vers. 1-6. Collision between man"s plans and God"s plans.
Appearance is never a safe guide. It might seem to a carnal eye as if the downfall of Israel would bring worldly advantage to Tyre. But that prospect was soon overcast. Righteous obedience is the only safe guide to men. The path may be, for a time, rough and dark, yet it will bring us into a paradise of light.
I NATIONAL SELFISHNESS IS SIN. Nations have their vices as well as individual persons. If the leaders of a nation cherish evil purposes or pursue evil plans, unchecked by the subjects of the realm, the whole nation contracts guilt. Yet if one person or more, moved by better feelings, discountenances the national deed, that person is exculpated from the common blame, and shall be owned by God. The protection of Noah and his family, of Lot and his daughters, amid the general destruction, proves the fatherly care of God for individuals. The single grain in a heap of chaff shall be cared for by God.
II AN OFFENSE DONE TO A NATION IS AN OFFENSE AGAINST GOD. Tyre had rejoiced in Jerusalem"s overthrow. Instead of lamenting Israel"s sins, the people of Tyre had room only for one thought-their own selfish advantage. The trade of Jerusalem would flow to Tyre. This calamity in Israel would bring a talent or two of gold into the pockets of Tyrian traders. What base ground for jubilation! No matter what suffering or humiliation the Jews may endure, Tyre would add to the smart by taunt and triumph. But God is not deaf. Into his ears every sound of selfish boasting came. He weighs every thought and word of man in his balances of justice. That selfish taunt will not float idly on the summer gale. It is a grief to Jehovah, and he will repay. "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. In all human affairs, individual or national, God has a real interest. He will never be left out of the account.
III SELFISH PLANS ABE DOOMED TO REVERSE. Tyre had said, "I shall be replenished." God said, "I will make her like the top of a rock." Tyre had "reckoned without her host." Instead of security, she was to be inundated with invasion. Instead of wealth, there should be want. Instead of glory, desolation. Her selfish hope should burst like a bubble. The golden eggs she expected soon to be hatched proved to be the eggs of a cockatrice. Selfish greed is a bad investment. The desire to promote our national interests, to the injury of another nation, is not patriotism; it is selfish envy and pride. Triumph over another"s fall is base, is diabolic.
IV SECULAR LOSSES OFTEN BRING REAL GAIN. "They shall know that I am the Lord." This is a gain of the noblest kind a gain that is abiding and permanent. Such knowledge is better than rubies. The bulk of men will not learn this lesson in the day of prosperity, but in the cloudy days of adversity, when all earthly good has vanished, the lesson stands out clearly before their eyes. Some earthly sciences are best learnt in the dark. This knowledge of God is best learnt in the dark hour of affliction. For when all human calculations have failed, and all human plans have collapsed, men are compelled to feel that an unseen hand has been working, an unseen Being has been presiding in their affairs. Of a truth, the Lord reigneth. D.
HOMILIES BY W. JONES Vers. 1-21. The sin and doom of Tyre.
it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying," etc.
I THE SIN OF TYRE. "Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha! she is broken that was the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste." The sin which is here charged against Tyre is extreme and cruel selfishness. There is no evidence in this chapter that the Tyrians were animated by any hostile feelings towards the Jews, as the Ammonites, Edomites, and Philistines were. But Tyre was a great and prosperous commercial city, and the inhabitants thereof rejoiced in the destruction of Jerusalem because they thought that they should profit thereby. This is made quite clear in the verse before us. The Tyrians are represented as speaking of Jerusalem as "she that was the gate of the peoples." The plural expresses the fact, says the "Speaker"s Commentary," "that many peoples passed through Jerusalem as the central place on the highway of commerce. This was eminently the case in the reign of Solomon, when for the time Jerusalem became the mart to which was gathered the trade of India and of the far East. The fame of its early greatness as the emporium of Eastern commerce still clung to Jerusalem, and this city, even in decadence, kept up enough of its original trade to be viewed with jealousy by Tyre, who owed her greatness to the same cause, and in the true spirit of mercantile competition exulted in the thought that the trade of Jerusalem would now be diverted into her markets." Their greed of gain had rendered them unfeeling and even cruel in their attitude towards their suffering neighbors, with whom in former times they had been in friendly relations. They rejoiced at the calamity of others because they believed it would contribute to their prosperity. They exulted in the downfall of others if it was likely to promote their own rise. This spirit is unbrotherly, selfish, mean, cruel. It is utterly opposed to the Divine will, and awakens the stern displeasure of the Almighty. Here is solemn admonition to persons, companies, societies, and nations, who would secure prosperity without regarding the means which they employ to do so. Are there not many today who care not who is impoverished if only they are enriched, who suffers if only they succeed, or who sinks provided that they rise? However their spirit may be tolerated or even approved by men, it is abhorrent unto God.
II THE JUDGMENT OF GOD.
1. Its Author. "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up." God himself in his providence brought upon Tyre the punishment of her extreme selfishness and cruel boastings against fallen Jerusalem. Ill fares it with any city which has the Lord against it.
2. Its instruments. "I will cause many nations to come up against thee I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon," etc. (Ver. 7). Nebuchadnezzar had conquered many kingdoms. He was a "king of kings," and the army which he led against Tyre was recruited from "many nations." He was the first instrument employed by God to punish Tyre for her sin. And ages afterwards, Alexander and his forces inflicted terrible sufferings and losses upon the people of the proud city.
3. Its nature. Several features of the punishment of Tyre are exhibited by the prophet.
(1) Siege. "They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers and he shall make forts against thee," etc. (Vers. 8-10). Nebuchadnezzar besieged insular Tyre for thirteen years. Very great must have been the miseries of the people during those weary years.
(2) Spoliation. "She shall become a spoil of the nations and they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise," etc. (Ver. 12). The riches in which they had prided themselves, and in the hope of the increase of which they had exulted in the downfall of Jerusalem, would be seized and possessed by others. The beautiful houses of their merchant-princes would be destroyed and their city ruined.
(3) Slaughter. "Her daughters which are in the field shall be slain with the sword he shall slay thy people with the sword." The daughters in the field are the cities on the mainland which were dependent on Tyre, or submitted to her supremacy, with special reference, perhaps, to Palaetyrus, or Old Tyre, "the suburb of the insular Tyre, standing on the shore." We are not aware of any record of the extent of the slaughter by Nebuchadnezzar and his army. Probably it was very great. When Alexander besieged Tyre, fearful was the slaughter of the inhabitants thereof. Besides eight thousand men slain in the attack, two thousand were crucified after the city was taken" (Kitto).
(4) Complete and irretrievable overthrow. "They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock," etc. (Vers. 4, 5, 14, 19-21). This part of the prophecy was not fully accomplished until centuries had passed away. Nebuchadnezzar, as we have said, besieged Tyre for thirteen years. He would be able soon to take Palaetyrus, on the mainland, which was dismantled, if not entirely destroyed, by him. Whether at the end of the thirteen years he took the island-city is uncertain. The suggestions of the "Speaker"s Commentary" on the point seem to us very probably correct: "Nebuchadnezzar was indeed determined not to leave this city, once the vassal of the Assyrian, independent, and persevered until Tyre gave in.
Nebuchadnezzar may then have insisted upon his right, as a conqueror, of entering the island-city with his army; but the conquest was probably barren of the fruits he had expected so far as spoil was concerned, (cf. Eze_29:18) and Nebuchadnezzar, having asserted his majesty by reducing the city to vassalage, may have been content not to push matters further, and have willingly turned his forces in another direction." More than two centuries later, Alexander besieged Tyre. At that time the city "was completely surrounded by prodigious walls, the loftiest portion of which, on the side fronting the mainland, reached a height of not less than a hundred and fifty feet." The island on which it was built was nearly half a mile from the mainland. And as Alexander had no fleet, its situation made his task a difficult one. The difficulty was thus overcome: The harbor of Tyre to the north being "blockaded by the Cyprians, and that to the south by the Phoenicians," afforded Alexander an opportunity for constructing the enormous mole, or breakwater, which joined the island to the mainland. This mole was two hundred feet wide, and was composed of the ruins of Palaetyrus, the stones and the timber and the dust of which were thus laid in the midst of the waters (Ver. 12). Across the mole Alexander marched his forces, and soon made himself master of insular Tyre. Having done so, in addition to the ten thousand who were slain, thirty thousand of the inhabitants, including slaves, free women, and free children, were sold for slaves. But even after the Chaldean invasion under Nebuchadnezzar, Tyre" never regained independence, but was great and wealthy under Persian, Greek, and Roman masters.... It was never again a world-power, capable of raising itself again in its own might against the kingdom of God. In the present condition of Tyre we note the fulfillment of Ezekiel"s predictions. In A.D. 638 it formed part of the conquests of Khalif Omar, who, however, dealt leniently with the inhabitants, and the city for many years enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity. The ruin of Tyre was due to the Sultan of Egypt, who, in the year A.D. 1291, took possession, the inhabitants (who were Christians) having abandoned it without a struggle. The Saracens thereupon laid it in ruins, and did not allow the former inhabitants to return. In the first half of the fourteenth century it was visited by Sir John Mandeville, who found it in that state of desolation in which it has remained ever since" ("Speaker"s Commentary"). Of modern travelers we quote the testimony of M. Renan as to its present state: "No great city which has played so important a part for centuries has left fewer traces than Tyre. Ezekiel was a true prophet when he said of Tyre," They shall seek for thee, and thou shalt be no more". (Eze_26:21) A traveler who was not informed of its existence might pass along the whole coast, from La Kasmie to Ras-el-Ain, without being aware that he was close to an ancient city.... Tyre is now the ruin of a town built with ruins.
III THE LAMENTATION FOR TYRE. (Vers. 15-18.)
1. The deep and widespread impression made by her destruction. "Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall," etc.? (Ver. 15). The coasts and islands of the Mediterranean are represented as shaking at the fall of the proud city, because her fall would denote the instability of all things. When Tyre is overthrown, what place can be deemed secure?
2. The consternation produced by her destruction. "Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones," etc. (Ver. 16). By "the princes of the sea," we should probably understand the chief men in "the settlements of the Phoenicians in the Sidonian and Tyrian period along the various coasts, in Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta; in Spain, Sicily, Sardinia," etc. These are represented as changing their splendid robes for the garb of mourners, as coming down from their exalted and luxurious seats and sitting upon the ground. Persons in great affliction or sorrow are frequently represented as seated or prostrate upon the ground. (cf. Job_2:8, Job_2:13; Isa_3:26 Isa_47:1; Lam_2:10) Shakespeare, in "King John," makes Constance say
My grief"s so great, That no supporter but the huge firm earth Can hold it up: here I and sorrow sit; Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.
These great men, moreover, were seized with amazement and continual trembling.
3. The lamentation awakened by her destruction. "And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed," etc.! Thus would the fall of the prosperous island-city be bewailed by neighboring peoples.
CONCLUSION. Certain lessons stand out with impressive clearness and force.
1. The insecurity of worldly greatness, glory, and power.
2. The heinousness of the sin of selfishness.
3. The evanescence of the prosperity which is attained without regard to the rights or interests of others. W.J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv7, 12, 13, 15, 21 Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar King of…
Eze_26:7-14
Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon.
Read full note →
The prophecy against Tyre
I. What were the grounds of her judgment. She was judged for her sins.
1. She abused the privilege of civilisation. Tyre was the most cultivated state of antiquity, invented letters, weights and measures, money, arithmetic, the art of keeping accounts. She made her painting and sculpture and architecture and music and letters, all her skill and learning and refinement, instruments of corruption.
2. Tyre abused also the privilege of commerce. The Tyrians were a nation of merchants. But there are two classes of merchants. There are those who aim to develop new countries, to introduce new crops and arts and industries, to elevate races, to make commerce the servant of God. There are others who make everything bend to gain. A prince or an entire people may thus abuse the privilege of commerce. So Tyre abused her privilege.
3. She abused the privilege of her intimate connection with the Jewish people. In the enjoyment of this distinction she stood alone. Tyre was a bulwark of Israel, covering Zion as the wing of the cherub covered the altar. In the unscrupulousness of her lust of empire and gain she broke the brotherly covenant, and when Jerusalem fell she rejoiced in her overthrow. To her unscrupulousness nothing was too sacred to be turned to profit.
II. The delay of the judgment. The method of God, sometimes, is swift retribution, as with Sodom and Gomorrah, sometimes slow, as with Tyre. She was long in filling her measure of guilt. Over two hundred years before the siege of Nebuchadnezzar, Joel prophesied against her. A few years later Amos took up the prophecy, then Isaiah in 712 B.C., Ezekiel in 590, Zechariah in 487. Yet the judgment delayed. She suffered calamities, but always rose above them. The prophecies were not literally fulfilled. The Christian era came in. Tyre still stood; Shalmaneser had besieged it; Nebuchadnezzar had invested it by sea and land for thirteen years, and conquered it; Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C., after a frightful siege of six months, had stormed, captured, and destroyed it, massacring thousands of its inhabitants, and selling thirty thousand into slavery. But after each disaster it had arisen anew, In the days of Jerome, in the fifth century, it was still standing, e city powerful and opulent. It was still flourishing eight hundred years later, in the times of the Crusades. It was the seat of a Christian bishopric. It had stood over twenty-five hundred years. The prophecies against it were nearly two thousand years old. Was the Bible, then, which had proved true in prophecies against Egypt and Nineveh, and Edom and Judah, to be found at fault here?
III. The literal fulfilment of judgment. In the year 1291 the Sultan of Egypt laid siege to the strong city of Ptolemais or Acre. Terror spread through the crusaders kingdom. Tyre shared it. Capture meant massacre and slavery. Ptolemais fell on the very day on which the evil news reached Tyre. At vespers the people in mass forsook their city. In panic and haste they embarked upon their galleys, and went out never to return. The Mahometan came. He overthrew the city. He choked one of the matchless harbours with the ruins. He cast into the sea, statues and columns and the huge stones of warehouses and palaces. He set the last fire to her splendour. He scraped the rock. Standing amid the ruins we may see the dust and ashes of her conflagration, the broken marble columns beneath the sea and scattered upon the shore, the fishers nets spread upon the rock, and feel, with every traveller who thus stands, that the last prophecy concerning her must also prove true, That shalt be built no more.
1. The fate of Tyre is a warning to those engaged in traffic. Beware of the iniquity of traffic, of the pride, the luxury, the unscrupulousness, the atheism.
2. The fate of Tyre exalts the Word of God. If we look upon its ruins simply as a record of fulfilled prophecy, they force the conviction, This is the accomplishment of the Word of God, the one thing on earth amid the vast mutations of time, as passes unceasingly the glory of the world, which is unchangeable. (Sermons by Monday Club.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 THE FALL OF TYRE. (Chap. 26)
THE FALL OF TYRE. (Chap. 26)
EXEGETICAL NOTES.—“In four sections, commencing with the formula, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ Tyre, the mistress of the sea is threatened with destruction. In the first strophe (Eze_26:2-6) there is a general threat of its destruction by a host of nations. In the second (Eze_26:7-14), the enemy is mentioned by name, and designated as a powerful one; and the conquest and destruction emanating from him are circumstantially described. In the third (Eze_26:15-18), the impression which this event would produce upon the inhabitants of the islands and coast-lands is depicted. And in the fourth (Eze_26:19-21), the threat is repeated in an energetic manner, and the prophecy is thereby rounded off.”—(Keil).
Read full note →
Eze_26:1. “In the eleventh year, in the first day of the month.” The year is that of Jerusalem’s capture, B.C. 588. The month is not named. Probably it was the woeful “fourth” month (2Ki_25:3; Eze_3:15).
Eze_26:2. “The gates of the people.” The plural noun denotes one gate, as the verb is in the singular. Jerusalem was named “the gate of the peoples” on account of the many nations which would flow into it (Isa_2:2; Mic_4:1). Jerusalem was also to Tyre the gate of communication with the East. “She is turned unto me.” The rendering should be, “it is turned unto me,” i.e., the gate of the peoples. “Tyre considers herself the heiress of Jerusalem. The fall of the spiritual centre presents to view the enhanced importance of the secular.”—(Hengstenberg.)
Eze_26:3. “As the sea causeth his waves.” Tyre suffered from successive waves of invasion, chiefly those of Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander, the Crusaders and the Saracens. It was not finally overthrown till the thirteenth century, yet it never recovered from the blow which the King of Babylon inflicted upon it.
Eze_26:4. “I will also scrape the dust from her.” “The destruction here referred to was that of the towers, walls, and other edifices, destroyed by the besiegers. Not a vestige was to remain. In place of splendid edifices and impregnable bulwarks nothing was to be seen but bare rocks, fit only for fishermen to spread their nets on.”—(Henderson.)
Eze_26:5. “The spreading of nets.” According to Dr. Robinson, the southern side of the rock of Tyre is still used by fishermen for this purpose.
Eze_26:6. “Her daughters.” Her daughter-cities, such as Gebal, Beyrout, &c. “By the ‘field’ we are to understand the open country, i.e., the towns and villages dependent upon her and lying back from and along the coast. These were to be involved in the same catastrophe with the mother-city, their fate was bound up in hers.”—(Henderson.)
Eze_26:8. “The buckler.” “Here obviously denotes the testudo, or vaulted roof of large united shields employed by an attacking enemy for protection in siege-operations.”—Henderson.
Eze_26:11. “Strong garrisons.” The proper meaning of the word is “pillars,” such as were erected in honour of the idol-gods. In the temple of Melkarth at Tyre, there were two famous pillars; one of topaz, the other of emerald.
Eze_26:14. “Thou shalt be built no more.” “This was literally fulfilled with respect to the continental city. That part which lay on the island recovered itself after the lapse of seventy years, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah (Eze_23:17-18), and was in a very flourishing condition in the time of Alexander, by whom a causeway was constructed between the shore and it, by means of which he reached the city, and took it by storm after a siege of seven months.”—Henderson.
Eze_26:15. “The isles.” “This term is frequently used so as to embrace the coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea; we have therefore to understand it here as applied to the Phoenician colonies on the islands and coasts of that sea.”—(Keil). Her numerous maritime colonies looked up to Tyre as the mother city. Even Carthage sent her a yearly offering.
Eze_26:16. “The princes of the sea.” “These are not kings of the islands, but, according to Isa_23:8, the merchants presiding over the colonies of Tyre, who resembled princes. ‘Their thrones,’ not royal thrones, but chairs, as in 1Sa_4:13, etc. The picture of their mourning recalls the description in Jon_3:6. The antithesis introduced is a very striking one: clothing themselves in terrors, putting on terrors in the place of the robes of state which they have laid aside. The thought is rendered still more forcible by the closing sentences of the verse. They tremble ‘by moments,’ i.e., as the moments return—actually, therefore, ‘every moment’ (Isa_27:3).”—(Keil).
Eze_26:17. “Strong in the sea.” “This feature of the description must be referred to the insular part of the city, which had been strongly fortified as the port for the protection of the warehouses and the shipping. The concluding clause is descriptive of the despotic rule which the merchant-princes of Tyre exercised over the inhabitants, whether regular citizens or those who were there temporarily on business.”—Henderson.
Eze_26:20. “With them that descend into the pit.” “The disappearance of Tyre is compared to that of the dead, who, placed in their sepulchre, are no more seen among the living. While this was to be the fate of that renowned city, Jehovah promises to set glory in the land of the living. Some refer this to the restoration of the Jewish polity. And if this is meant to include the Messiah and His spiritual kingdom, for whose introduction that restoration was designed to be preparatory, the interpretation may readily be admitted.”—Henderson.
Eze_26:21. “I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more.” “The desolation of Tyre was to be so complete that it should be an object of terror to all who approached the spot where it had stood. Not a vestige of it was to remain: a prophecy which was literally fulfilled, for though insular Tyre afterwards rose into notice, the ancient continental city never recovered from her ruin.”—Henderson.
HOMILETICS
TYRE THREATENED WITH JUDGMENT
Tyre rose to her greatest eminence under the reign of Hiram, the friend of David and of Solomon. The time, therefore, of her highest prosperity corresponded with that of Jerusalem. If each of these two cities had been faithful to its high calling, the issue would have been glorious. The Bride of the Messiah would have been worthy of her Lord, and the daughter of Tyre would have brought her gifts sincere and acceptable. But both cities fell, Jerusalem by aspiring after worldly splendour, and Tyre by pride gendered by her commercial greatness. In this Chapter, the overthrow of Tyre is foretold, and in the two following chapters, her world-wide commerce and the nature of her sin are more particularly described. As described in this chapter, we consider:—
1. Her crowning sin. The judgment of Tyre was the result of many forms of sin, but there were two leading sins on which the prophet here dwells.
1. The sin of insulting the chosen people. Tyre rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, instead of reading the lessons of a warning example.
2. The sin of intense selfishness. Tyre glories in the prospect of becoming great through the downfall of Jerusalem, “I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste” (Eze_26:2). To feast upon the prospect of becoming rich through the ruin of others, is the vilest form of selfishness.
II. Her judgment. God was against Tyre (Eze_26:3), and whatsoever He opposes must come to nought. Mark the special features of her judgment.
1. She is taken at her own word. Tyre expected that the nations would come to her, now that the gateway of her communication with the East is thrown open. But they shall, indeed, come to her, yet in a way in which she least expected. “I will cause many nations to come up against thee” (Eze_26:3).
2. That in which she most trusted becomes the chief source of her terror. The sea was the great source of her wealth, and to it she looked for her future stability and prosperity. Yet on the sea would God work His wonders of judgment for her destruction (Eze_26:5; Eze_26:14).
3. The judgment on her would be awful in its completeness. Tyre would become like the bare rock upon which nothing was left (Eze_26:4-5), like dead cities and nations of the earth (Eze_26:20). She was to be “no more,” but the memory of her would be a “terror” to after ages (Eze_26:21). Her destruction would not be the work of one sharp moment, but would be like the successive waves of the sea, slow but irresistible, which would be a lengthening of her calamity (Eze_26:3). Tyre had mocked Jerusalem, but she herself shall be mocked in turn (Eze_26:17). God’s retribution is visited often in kind as well as in degree. Her goods are to be destroyed, and her pleasures, and all her glory laid in the dust (Eze_26:12-13). What a picture of the end of all things on earth! The believer has the enduring substance, which cannot be taken by the spoiler nor corroded by the tooth of time.
4. The instrument of the judgment. Nebuchadnezzar, who for this purpose was the servant of God. And God can use what instruments He pleases in His works of judgment or of mercy.
5. Yet God would bring glory out of the judgment. “I shall set glory in the land of the living” (Eze_26:20). The “beauty” of Tyre should disappear like that of Moab (Eze_25:9), like that of ancient Israel (Eze_20:6; Eze_20:15), like that of Babylon (Isa_13:19); yet from their ashes a higher and a better life should spring. The Redeemer of the world came upon the wreck of the world’s hopes. Human history is a continued example of growth out of corruption and decay. When pagan Rome was destroyed, then Christian Rome arose; and when Christian Rome became corrupt, then God raised His church out of it, once more investing her with the glory of that liberty wherewith Christ hath made her free.
(Eze_26:15-21.)
1. God, by His destructive judgments upon great states makes others to tremble that were secure. When the Lord drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea, it caused the nations to fear. (Exo_15:14). And when he brought destruction upon Babylon, it made all hearts melt, and they were full of fears and pains, as a woman in travail. (Isa_13:6-8.)
2. Great cities have their periods, they abide not for ever. As they have a time to come into the world, so a time to go out of it; as they have a time to get up on high, so a time to descend low. Tyre had her day to fall, her day of departure (Eze_26:18), she descended into the pit with the people of old time (Eze_26:20.) Babylon had its time to begin (Gen_11:8), and its time to cease (Isa_14:4.) You may read of Nineveh’s raising (Gen_10:11.), and of her desolation (Nah_3:7; Zep_2:13.) Hence we may see the instability of human things. Learn not to trust in strong holds, neither think it any great privilege to be citizens, of such perishing cities, but labour to be citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the city prepared of God, and hath foundations which shall never be razed (Heb_11:10-16).
3. God’s people are glorious, and the glory of the land. They are His glory (Isa_4:5; Zec_2:8). The godly ones were the glory of Zion (Isa_6:13). The saints are a holy seed, the substance and the glory of any nation.
4. There is a difference of lands in the world, all are not alike. There is “the land of the living.” In Canaan there were the living waters, the ordinances and means of grace and salvation which other lands had not. David judged himself even among the dead when he was shut out from the people, the worship, and the ordinances of God; his soul fainted and he was almost gone (Psa_84:2).
5. God’s people may be deprived of their privileges and comforts for a season, but He will in due time restore them to the enjoyment of the same. “I shall set glory in the land of the living.” God’s glory, His people were in Babylon, but He would not lose nor leave His glory there, He brought them back again, and “set them in the land of the living.” He gave them another temple, all those ordinances and privileges they had before. “I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory” (Isa_46:13).—(Greenhill.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Section 4 (Eze 26:1-21; Eze 27:1-36; Eze 28:1-26).
Section 4 (Eze 26:1-21; Eze 27:1-36; Eze 28:1-26).
Tyre and Sidon, the world of mammon under the abasing hand of God.
Read full note →
We come now to Tyre, though in Tyre we find no direct enmity to Israel. Tyre, as we know, was in the days of David and Solomon ministering in friendly fashion to the Israelites; and in the day of their prominent blessing, under Christ their King, the daughter of Tyre will be there again with a gift. Tyre thus stands apart from Edom and Philistia. She is a Canaanite, however -of no good significance in this respect. The Canaanite was ever under the doom of being a servant of servants to his brethren, and in his proudest day he is still this. Tyre is essentially the merchantman; his professed object even is to serve. No doubt his aim is first of all to serve himself. He has not the true spirit of service for God, but finds in the necessity of man the opportunity for his own gain, and this is what we find as to the cause of his judgment here. Jerusalem has been judged -Jerusalem, in many ways a centre of attraction for the people around, "the gate of the peoples," as Tyre calls her. The rejoicing at her fall is Canaanite enough. She says against Jerusalem: "Aha, she is broken, the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me. I shall be replenished now that she is laid waste." How naturally we understand it, alas! How natural it is! How common is such rejoicing on the part of merchantmen at all times! The habitual acquirement of riches from the need of others hardens the heart, there is little need to say; and thus with Tyre here: and for this she is judged. As we plainly see, Tyre is the world of mammon, and we need not wonder at the large place it has in Ezekiel’s prophecy.
1. Tyre means "a rock." This island city was built upon a rock, and what it needed for its peculiar purposes was not productive power in the place it occupied, but a suitable gathering point where the products of other parts might come and be exchanged. In the immensity of its resources, Tyre might indeed look upon itself as a rock that could not be shaken. The greater the necessities of others, the more the streams of supplies from all quarters ministered to it. But God takes up its character in result, and pronounces that it shall be a rock -a rock and nothing more -"a bare rock," or "cliff," as the word which He uses means. The word for "bare," means rather, "dry," dried by the sun, in fact; barren enough, surely, in the idea of it, for few things can dry as the sun.
The point for us is that which we find in the first ancestor of all these Canaanites, who were Hamites; and Ham is "the sun-dried one." He is what man fallen from God and in conflict with Him necessarily is, darkened by the light itself. And this is the nature of all heathenism; not, as people imagine, a condition in which men are groping after God, but on the contrary, one in which they are doing their best to forget God, and turn away from Him. God did not leave man His creature without the primitive knowledge of Himself; and there is in him still a witness to God, however perverted. But if he turns from the true God, he must have a God of his own -make it out of a beast, or fashion it out of stone with a chisel, or hew down a tree, and fashion into some grotesque shape what he reserved from the fire. As the sun can darken, so it can dry. God’s blessings, which all surrounding nature furnishes to man, are the very things which he takes to dry himself up into a being divested of every human sympathy. Not only Godward, but manward also, he thus becomes parched and barren. This was the process that was going on in Tyre: the process that makes men misers or usurers, and sometimes prodigals also for the luxury of prodigality -drawing remorselessly from others the means which they scatter again with lavish hands. This is what characterized Tyre, which God decrees shall in the end be just what it has made itself, a sun-dry cliff; or, as He puts it otherwise, a mere place of the spreading of nets; the device of poverty to lay hold upon the living being of which it makes merchandise.
(1) The date of the prophecy is in the eleventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, on the first of the month; the month itself, if we have the true text here, not being given. What can we make of this eleventh year? Is it characterized by not being yet the full twelve, which speaks of the manifest government of God that shall be? In fact, all this judgment of which Ezekiel speaks, falls short of the full end which prophecy for the most part contemplates, though here assuredly there is the shadow of this. The blow has fallen upon Jerusalem, and Tyre is quite ready to take advantage of it. Proud of her position and counting upon her many sources of strength, she can sit apart, hoping to profit by that which she does not dread. But, as God declares to her, it is but a vain dream. The many nations whom she has seen constantly coming to replenish her, are now come up against her with the resistless force of the waves of the sea, to overtop her defences, destroy her walls, and break down her towers. She that hath so often profited by the spoil of the nations, shall be in turn a spoil for the nations; and the judgment of God, carrying further the judgment of man, as her history has fully shown, declares itself in that which has been fully accomplished: "I will scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah." And her doom is to be the declaration of Jehovah’s name -the Name which she has despised.
(2) In the first place the instrument of Tyre’s destruction is declared to be Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon; but we must not confound with this the full end which Jehovah Himself makes of her, as in the 14th verse. The siege by Nebuchadrezzar was the beginning of the end. There was a revival after this, however, and another siege by the Grecian king Alexander. This brought down her strength effectually, although the remnant of a city remained for a long time, more and more wasting and drying up until the end was reached, when, as we see today, nothing but a bare rock was left, used for the spreading of nets only. Nebuchadrezzar is here, however, as all through this part of Ezekiel, the special instrument of the divine judgment.
The name is striking enough in connection with his own history, meaning "the god Nebo’s prince;" Nebo being worshiped in Babylon as the interpreter of the gods -answering to the Greek Mercury. The word Nebo is but a form of the Hebrew nabi, "the prophet," and this strikingly connects with the heathen wise men’s utter failure to interpret to Nebuchadrezzar the divinely-sent dream which Daniel alone was able to make known. Thus the discredit of Nebo was complete, and this witness of God to Nebuchadrezzer was natural and necessary for one whom God was taking up, in His dealings with the nations around, to make him himself the interpreter of the divine mind as to them; thus out of the dark north was the light to break out, but only as the flash from the storm-cloud. The proper meaning of divine revelation could not be given through him, as is plain; it belonged rather to those who were now under the rod for their sins, yet the recipients of promises which should be, and shall be, fulfilled when Babylon and all that has succeeded it should have passed away.
In the meantime no effectual resistance was possible; it only rendered the destruction of those that opposed themselves more complete. As the prophet speaks here, the breach in Tyre had already been made for him by their sins. Her stones, her timber and her dust were now to be laid in the midst of the waters; the noise of her songs was to cease, and all her pomp and glory were to perish together. As already said, however, the complete end would wait for many generations.
(3) The lessons of such a fall need hardly be dwelt upon. They are felt instinctively by all that are in the presence of them, while, as unwelcome, they are dismissed as quickly as possible. The lessons of God’s school are too humiliating to man to be welcomed by him. He may perforce accept the sentence of condemnation upon himself, and the passing away of all the false glory which he would fain make true, but cannot. The sentence of God is upon it; but, as He says here, that He may set true glory in the land of the living. The earth is at present little like this; it is rather the sepulchre of the dead; what man conceives as glory is largely that of those who have been in an eminent way the destroyers of mankind: Blessed be God, all this has indeed to pass away; that which can be shaken is to be removed, in order that that which cannot be shaken may remain, and our kingdom is in that which cannot be shaken.
2. We have now an analysis of all the sources of greatness such as we see in Tyre, together with the announcement of its bereavement and desolation; in fact, its own rowers bringing it into the deep waters in which it is to find shipwreck. It is a picture which God has put before us in much detail, and had we eyes to see more into it, we should assuredly realize its meaning for ourselves; for while Tyre itself has passed away, no one can doubt that it has had many successors in the generations following, and that today the world is largely characterized by what we find in it. There are certain characteristics about it also which naturally enlist men’s sympathies. Tyre was not a great conqueror as Assyria or Babylon. It does not express to us the despotic tyranny of man over man which we see so much of in the history of the world. The activities that we find in it have very much the character of ministry to the need of others; they are employed in making the best of all man’s resources and spreading abroad everywhere the products of his hands and of his intellect. The merchants are in our day more and more realized as the princes of the earth, and the rule of commerce is looked at very much as meaning the rule of civilization and the elevation of the nations generally to more equality, causing the brotherhood of man to be more realized in that which gives each his place in service to the common good. It does not take deep looking into it to realize that it is self-interest which stirs everywhere in it, a motive which is at once intensely powerful and readily communicating itself also to others. Persuade a man that it is his own interest that you are seeking -how readily in general will he be accessible to such a motive! And in this sense only it is a civilizer as prompting men to follow that which is to be personal gain, and thus spreading abroad a civilization which, however, has been reached in another way. And the gain must be of a sort which the lowest can realize. However man may value intellect, with the mass, appeals to the intellect in any other way than personal gain have very little power. They are comparatively few who are much moved by intellectual appeals, save as it can be shown that it may be made to minister to the gratification of the lower senses. Religion again is that which it is evident should be most powerful in its appeal to man; and it is true that almost everywhere man’s conscience responds to it. You do not find in the masses the casting off of God, but, on the other hand, you do not find in the masses anything like a spirit of real obedience to Him. He will make his bow, and go his own way; or he will give his money, and pay a good price to be allowed to do so; but a real religious nation has yet to be found.
Yet, after all, in the revelation of God to man’s conscience is found the true springs of power for the proper development of man as man, such as is alone worth speaking of as civilization. Here, mind and heart go together, and under its influence is developed a man, not a monster. Here the mind of man fully wakes up, as we may see if we will, in the track of light which the Bible leaves behind it wherever it has been. What would not we attain were we only true with the truth and to Him who gave it to us! But we are not, alas! The children of light are everywhere but a small minority; and more than this, alas, as we have divine authority for saying, "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." These can concentrate themselves without distraction upon objects which appeal to them in the deepest way, and the power of worldly interests over the people of God themselves may well assure us, if we need any assurance, of what they must be to those with whom they are their all. The light once introduced will be true to its own nature; and as all the fruits of the earth develop only under the light of heaven, so the mind of man awakened by the truth manifests its God-given power in a way which wakes up others, who nevertheless are not themselves truly under its influence. These can discern just so much as serves their worldly interests, and even pursue further in this direction what those truly wiser let slip in mere carelessness out of their hands. And thus it is that unbelief can assert today that natural science belongs to it, while it gives at the same time that peculiar twist which turns it into the enemy of the truth itself.
So Christianity has manifested itself in such a way that today the great Powers of the earth have become "Christian nations." Yet this must be read in another way that it may be seen in its rightful aspect. Alas, we must say, that the "Christian" powers have become powers of the earth. Everywhere, what we see is, that instead of the grace which is really the Christian spirit -the grace which grace has taught and which makes gracious, the spirit of self-sacrifice for others, such as the cross is the great example of -there is in fact in every kingdom of the earth today the spirit of gain, the opposite of self-sacrifice, everywhere dominant. Men may talk of altruism in the same way as heathen philosophers themselves could read excellent moral lessons to their pupils, but if you expect the practice you must be sanguine indeed. We must expect nothing of this sort in the mass until Christ comes, or that any other principle will rule the world save the Canaanitish principle which is exemplified here in Tyre -of selfish gain. No doubt, with it all, a certain progress results; certain fruits even of Christianity itself, though plucked half-ripened from that which they grew upon, are made available to a continually increasing number, while the fruits of intellect merely are still more made to serve, as they are amply able to serve, the lust of acquirement. The way in which the Spirit of God in Ezekiel dwells upon all this in the prophecy before us, may assure us of what interest it should have for us in following it out; yet how little has been the interest! Commentators are mostly content to point out what has been plain enough upon the surface, how all the treasures of the earth are heaped up in Tyre, and how all the nations around are made to minister to her; little more indeed do they give us except scraps of geography and history, which may be good enough for the historian, but which for the prophet, we may be sure, could have little that was attractive. What we do find here is certainly a moral and spiritual analysis of what so much constitutes the world of today, the world of mammon; and if we profit rightly by it, we must look into our own hearts and search out what is there, for the lusts of the flesh are native to us, alas, and "all that is in the world," as the apostle tells us, is "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life;" fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind."
(1) The ship is used allegorically here as picturing Tyre for us, a most natural figure, which we use still when we speak of the "ship of state," thinking in this of the needed power and skill that must be put forth in human effort to make it prosper, to catch favoring winds and avoid shoals and rocks. We should surely expect to find this vividly pictured here, and the moral character of things brought out; this state in Tyre, being a commercial one, having its true image, therefore, in every vessel sailing from its port. We may say that man has been working at this ship ever since, doing his best to perfect its beauty; and how attractive it may be we realize in the exhibitions which it is continually affording us of all the productions of nature and of man which it brings together, and, as it were, embodies in itself the restless, ever-craving spirit of man, the untiring energy which works in him.
We have the materials of the vessel first, from which we go on to see the character of the crew that mans it; then its merchandise, the prizes which it holds up to others and for which it works itself.
We have first the material of the vessel’s frame-work: "Of cypresses of Senir they have made all thy planks. Cedars from Lebanon have they taken to make masts for thee." The word for "cypresses" is not confined to what we now call cypress; it would apply to the whole fir tribe to which the cypresses belong, but Senir or Hermon was in fact renowned for these (Sir 24:13), and their wood was of the best for the kind of work contemplated here. Hermon designated here by its Amorite name, means, as we have seen elsewhere, "the ban," the exterminating curse upon evil. It was the mountain which, with its white dome, dominated the land of Israel, and from which, in most expressive connection, the river Jordan, the river of death, ran down to the sea of judgment, the salt sea. It was that which marked out the tenure upon which Israel held the land, as seen in the extermination of the Canaanite out of it, which was the preservation of that awful purity of which its dome, rising like a great white throne above all else, naturally spoke. Notable it seems that Senir, the Amorite name, should be used here instead of Hermon. Senir is said to mean "cuirass," "coat of mail," from senar, "to clang, clatter," a notable comment, as it seems, of the Amorite talker upon that Israelitish ban. Senir, then, furnishes the funereal cypress as material for the ship of Tyre. No wonder if the issue is a funeral!
Lebanon, which means "white," is the range of which Hermon is the southern point; the same image would suggest the same solemn thought. This furnishes the cedar-masts upon which is hoisted the sail to carry the ship of commerce forward in its career. From Bashan come the oars, as the propelling force which alone could be duly trusted in those days: a strength not derived from God, but from native energy -"well fed," as was proverbial of that which came from Basilan. We need not wonder to find human energy emphasized in this way, almost at the outset.
After the oars comes the rudder, as the word probably means, though there is a doubt about it; but we would not expect it to be left out, as otherwise must be the case. The steering of a vessel is surely of the first importance; it must have lessons for us if lessons there be everywhere here. The word used, however, is keresh, "planking." A specific word for "rudder" there does not seem to be in the Hebrew. It is taken here collectively by most, perhaps, either for the benches for the rowers, or for the deck; but, in connection with what has immediately preceded it, this view would have little apparent significance. The suggestion that it is the thick plank work which forms the scaffold of the mast, argues no better for our purpose. Meyer suggests "table-work, wainscoting for the laying out of the ship." It is Rashi who suggests "the helm," which, says Schroeder, "recommends itself more than the others, on account of its importance for the vessel and its suitableness in respect to the adorning that follows." There is some difficulty also in connection with this, but it is generally taken. as meaning that it was of ivory inlaid in pine, box-wood, or cedar. That some kind of wood is intended, is obvious, and the word for it seems to intimate what is straight, as pine or cedar would be. It being from the isles of Chittim also, that is, from Cyprus, reminds us that the Cyprian pines were especially noted as ship-building material.
All this is serviceable for us, mainly in ascertaining, if we may, the spiritual significance; and if Chittim be Cyprus, as is generally allowed, then it stands for all that is fair and lovely in nature, the sweet influences which are apt to rule the heart, rigorously enough it may be, and be to it what Chittim means, "the breakers down," destroying the true response of the heart to Him from whom all natural blessings come. But how such influences do guide, in one way or another, the course of the ship of commerce, while there are master-needs indeed which must be met, and which must in a certain sense control. yet how much there is of ministry to pleasure merely, and to luxury! How much of all the material of trade goes to this end! And the guidance of the ship must be accord ingly.*
{*This influence of the pleasant, gentle and soft as a guide, is seen in the loosing of the ship in which Paul was carried as a prisoner to Rome, from Fair Havens, when "the south wind blew softly" (Act 27:8, etc.). Such a "rudder" or guide resulted in the disastrous voyage and shipwreck of the ecclesiastical vessel of which the ship was a type. -S. Ridout.}
Next, we have either the sail or ensign, or most probably the sail which is at the same time the ensign; and this gives the fullest moral significance. Egypt provides for this the fine linen, which everywhere speaks of practical righteousness -necessarily here as the world recognizes it; while it is ostentatiously put forth as "embroidered," to attract the eye. Your personal interests, it would say, are to be cared for with all uprightness, and here is something quite needful to enable the vessel at the same time to catch the wind and minister to its own. Is it not, in fact, for its own interests to serve yourself? How can you sever these? Thus you have the best possible security that your interests will be served. This interweaving of argument is often very elaborate, as we know.
Last of all here the good ship needs a covering, and the idea is, to protect it from the sun. The isles of Elishah furnish this in the purple colors, which speak of earthly dominion, whether this may refer to the powers of the world, whose protection she may fairly claim as servant to all their interests, or whether it refer to the claim of dominion on her own part, her power rooting itself so firmly as it does in the interests of the many. In the language of the day, she is abundantly insured in this way; but, whether it be the men or the measures by which she insures herself, how much its motto finds adoption in the principle held secretly, if not openly, that "God has forgotten." This seems to be the meaning of Elishah here; and is not this the secret of the abundant care which everywhere the world must take of itself? -that which the serpent taught man in Eden; and the question as to God once raised, man’s hand is immediately lifted to pluck for himself the fruit, though forbidden. That "God helps those who help themselves" means, in the ear of faith, that God can be trusted no more.
Next comes the manning of the vessel, in which, significantly, Zidon, "the taker of prey," and Arvad, "the runner loose," are the rowers. She will often have to trust this human energy and skill when the winds of heaven will do nothing for her. The motives and the character indicated do not commend themselves to heaven; so we need not wonder. The master-mind, the controlling power is that of Tyre herself. We have the repairers next; very necessary indeed when human machinery is so constantly wearing out. These are the elders of Gebal, from a word which means "to plait," "combine," "twist together." Plenty of this work has to be done for the stopping of leaks and much else in this way. Finally, we see in this ship of trade how common interests, as it is boasted, bring the world together. "All the ships of the sea" are in her, as if all were one vessel to serve her purposes and to carry on the civilization of the world upon the ground of the common brotherhood of man. and the conservation of the universal good.
Yet the vessel of commerce must be prepared for the conflict also, and it has many a battle to fight. And we see her armament for this: First of all, Pharas (Persia), "division," reminding us of the old motto, "Divide and conquer" -a very reliable one, surely. Next we have Lud (not the Shemite of Gen 10:22, but the Mizraimite or Egyptian of Gen 10:13), which may mean, as it is taken to mean, "strife." Thus if Pharas speaks of manoeuvering and diplomacy, Lud speaks of preparation for more open war; while Put (or Phut) is given either as "trampling down," or else "despising," or "rejection." One may be tempted to think here of the crowding out of all separate interests of those who do not belong to the combination which trade favors and which favors trade, a thing for which, in its extreme form, "boycotting" is the name today. Then the sons of Arvad are seen upon the walls round about, a careless and unscrupulous crowd, while the Gammadim, who are in her towers, may be "guards," as the Septuagint calls them, and thus speak of the constant spirit of watchfulness which in all this and at all times has to be maintained. This would give a consistent sense, but there are other conjectures which seem only that.
(2) Now, as to the merchandise. What can be said of it for edification, which all Scripture is to serve? Is it a mere catalogue, an inventory of where, as a matter of history, she found the goods with which she traded, and of the goods themselves? Little else seems ever to have been made of it, but are we not warranted to seek for something more? Certainly the difficulties are greater here than elsewhere, and any interpretation that may be proffered will doubtless be stamped as visionary by the many who shrink from allegory with the aversion that Israel themselves had to Ezekiel’s parables. Yet if the choice is to be between an absolute giving up of such scriptures as these, or seeking in them what we are positively assured all Scripture has (2Ti 3:16-17), what is the position for faith to take? Plenty of difficulties there are, of course. What we have here is, upon the surface, just a catalogue of lands or peoples with their produce with which they traded, and there seems no moral element in them, nor in the fact of the trading either. We are indeed to buy the truth and not to sell it; but this is not in question here. The wares embraced otherwise all kinds of material; for what is there a man will not sell who will sell his soul to satisfy the craving of a moment? To how much of all this should we be able to assign a spiritual meaning that shall stand the test of sober, judicial reflection? And if mistakes are too many or too serious, will it not cast doubt upon the whole inquiry? Yet, with all this, it would seem to some less serious than to own that in the word of God there are large portions here and there to which no spiritual meaning can be assigned -portions which might vanish entirely from the pages they occupy, and Scripture be rather bettered for their absence. If they are not "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," then why should they be found in the word of God at all?which is not a mere history, but God’s word, to which we must neither add, nor diminish from it.
Coming now to consider the commerce of Tyre and what it represents for us, we find Tarshish coming first and last in the list, apparently giving character to the whole. It is important therefore to know just what Tarshish means. The derivation is mostly understood to be from rashash, "to break down," or if in the hiphil, "to cause to break down;" but the word is usually taken as a noun, and as meaning "fortress," which involves another and apparently altogether conjectural meaning of rashash. The "breaker down" seems also to give nothing that plainly connects with what we have here. On the other hand, Tarshish may be a compound word, the first syllable from the verb tun "to go about," and thus "to explore," "search out," or even sometimes "to traffic." The second syllable may then be shesh, which means "white marble" or "white linen," the common element of which plainly is "white," or as it is suggested, "shining;" and here we find what at first sight seems singularly in keeping with all that is before us.
Tarshish was the second son of Javan, as Javan was the fourth son of Japheth, the typical Gentile by whose seed the isles of the Gentiles were divided. Javan is thus in character the wanderer from God, as the Gentile plainly was. There is not in him the positive opposition that we find in the sons of Ham, and in Noah’s prophecy the two are widely distinguished in God’s ways of dealing with them. "God will make room for Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" -a partaker of the revelation of which Shem is the depositary. But in the meanwhile he is away from God, busy and making room for himself. He spreads abroad unfettered; but Javan, whose name in its root-meaning gives the thought of "boiling," "bubbling," or "fermentation," seems akin to yayin, "wine." Greece,* which Javan confessedly represents, was the land of wine, given over to the worship of Bacchus; and in its light-heartedness, its poetry, and even its philosophy, bears witness of a kind of intoxication of spirit which would answer to the name.
{*Literally, "Ionia." -S. Ridout.}
Javan’s first-born is Elishah, "God has forgotten," which is always the thought in a soul which has forgotten Him. His second son is Tarshish; and, according to what has been already said as to the derivation, naturally speaks of one who goes out from the presence of God, a seeker on his own account, attracted by everything that is shining or conspicuous. He is seeking to satisfy himself with that which never satisfied any; but thus we can understand the energy that he puts into it, so that he is the ideal explorer, and the riches of the earth become his own. He has, as we see here, silver, the current money of the merchant; iron, the great material for manufacturing implements, and we have had enough talk about "the iron age," to recognize what it stands for. Then he has tin, which is literally "alloy," and which, however serviceable for men’s ends, is in Scripture described as impurity, as much that seems very serviceable surely is. Lastly we have lead, which in Scripture scarcely stands for anything but dross or weight. There is no gold in this catalogue; but, on the other hand, while not noticed in this connection, there is in Tarshish a precious stone which we have had before us as the topaz, and which gives a similitude for the wheels of the cherubic vision. That it should not be noticed in this connection seems striking here. It is not part of his merchandise. Is it not rather a witness from God to himself? For with all his eager hunt after something that will satisfy, the stamp of vanity is upon it all, as the topaz wheel bears witness. How plain indeed the moral, and how significant, even, that it should be omitted here! Just the one thing, one might say, omitted from the inventory of the wealth of Tarshish. But Tarshish is the foremost contributor to Tyre’s commerce, and gives, as what is introductory mostly does in Scripture, the character of all that follows. Here is the restless spirit of one adrift from God -a prodigal. How often are "the substantial gains of commerce," as they are called, but prodigal wasting of the Father’s goods!
We have Javan next, with Tubal and Meshech, who belong to the same order, and are indeed brethren. Tubal means "issue." Tubal-Cain is but another Cain, a continuation of the one who first sought to take possession of the earth and build his city there. We may remember Tubal-Cain as the instructor of every artificer in brass and iron, who thus contributes to the civilization of the city which Cain has built. A similar thought we have in Ahab, whose name means "brother of his father," again one in whom heredity clearly holds its place and shows its full value. Thus Tubal here. Meshech, elsewhere associated with him in Scripture, means "a drawing out," as of seed from the basket of the sower hence, "a sowing." In connection, the two together look backward and forward; they tell -how surely! -as the beginning so shall be the end. Not that there is not progress; there truly is; but progress in this way, and in fallen man, is scarcely to be boasted in. So we find these three sellers here with their vessels of brass and human chattels also. We shall see how prominent these are in the great confederacy against Jehovah and Israel of which Ezekiel speaks later.
We have next Togarmah, which no doubt is Armenia, the third son of Gomer, Ashkenaz and Riphath being the other two. None of the three is known as to its derivation, and only Togarmah as the people for whom it stands. This vagueness makes all else about it doubtful for our purpose.
Next we have the sons of Dedan, which, if it has the meaning we have before ascribed to it, is of that "progress," such as it is, which the world can show. It is remarkable that what they trade in is in general what is used for purposes of veneer -an outside which does not truly indicate what is beneath. How much of what is called education goes for this, and how much of what is counted civilization consists in it!
Next we have Aram, child of Shem though he is, but fallen from the blessedness of this, and who, instead of speaking of Him whom God constantly exalts, and finding his own exaltation in Him, has learned the fatal habit of self-exaltation (see Jdg 3:8, Notes); and who, enriched with many a precious thing from the divine goodness, would fain exchange them for Tyre’s manufactured articles. Nophek, here, from a word which means "to blow up a fire," is thought to mean a precious stone of a glowing, ruddy hue, probably a carbuncle; thus it may speak of what One who suffered in the fire has produced in glory to God.
Purple speaks of the royal crown which followed the cross. Then the broidered work, which may well image the Spirit’s embroidery of the new creature, far surpassing that of which the psalmist speaks (Psa 139:15) when he applies the same word to the work of the old creation. Next we have the fine linen, which is ever in Scripture practical righteousness, or what stands for this. Then what is considered to be coral, literally, "heights" (surely not from the great price paid for it, as some suppose, but rather from its manner of growth), and which, as found in the sea, gives us heights out of the depths, as we may say; and how much more than can be expressed is implied here! Finally, we have kadkod, "the sparkler," another gem. Whatever it was, whether jasper, garnet, ruby, or agate, the Lord’s promise to His people of making their windows "agates," shows that it was to some good extent transparent, and naturally suggests, as typical of a future blessing, the visions of glory that shall surely come. All this may be significant enough as the portion of a fallen Shemite, which, alas, he is ready to barter -for what? It is not said; and silence is surely more significant than speech -goods of Tyre’s own manufacture, that is enough to say.
But Judah too is here in line with the rest; Judah too will barter her wheat of Minnith (her own "portion") and her dainties of honey and oil and balm. There needs little skill to interpret this; we need not emphasize the sorrowful way in which the people of God will barter away what is their own portion -and again, for what?
Damascus follows, as Aram preceded. It is but another form of Aram (see 2Sa 8:6, Notes), and speaks of elevation by activity, being itself a noted place of traffic. Its contributions are the wine of Helbon, "fatness" -the stimulus of successful self-enrichment, and the whiteness of its wool which has been shorn from the sheep.
The next sentence is again more or less doubtful. The merchandise, however, speaks strongly for Arabia, and Vedan may be Aden, which, although there is no full certainty about it, has come generally to be accepted: and Aden was celebrated as a commercial emporium from very ancient times. The wrought iron may remind us, as one has suggested, of the sword-blades of Yemen, as Uzal was the ancient name of Sanaa, its capital. Cassia and calamus are also Arabian products. If Javar and Uzal both speak in different ways of man’s departure from God, it may remind us of what in Scripture is devoted to Him now turned aside to self-indulgence, while the wrought iron may speak of the many inventions which man attributes to necessity as their mother, but which God attributes to his departure from original uprightness, by which he has got into necessity (Ecc 7:29).
Now comes again Dedan, though probably another, the Edomite, not the Arabian; as some have thought there may be also a connection between them. That the men of what is counted "progress" should furnish riding-cloths for others than themselves is not to be wondered at, and even as Edomites they may serve Israelites in this way. God is above all the world’s ways to serve their own ends, and makes them serve Himself, and thus serve His people in some ways, after all.
Arabia and Kedar, "darkness," in their meaning are connected by ereb, "evening," the time of darkness, and thus of mixture when the forms of darkness are abroad. Naturally enough the two peoples sell sheep and lambs, though they may often quite rightly sell goats also.
Sheba and Raamah then come together. They are remarkable as being the first Cushite or indeed Hamitic people named, with the exception probably of one of the Dedans, in whom the opposition to God and to the light may be expected fully to show itself. Accordingly we find, first, Sheba, "captor," in whom we may read the great enemy of God and man. It would be strange if he who leads men captive made no more contribution than we have seen to Tyre’s merchandise. Here he makes notable contribution by his merchandise, and with him is associated Raamah, "rumbling," "trembling," "agitation," "thunder," and Raamah is the father of Sheba, while named second here. In these two names together there is as much truth as one can find in what is often said, that fear is the parent of all religion. It will be readily allowed, of course, that there is a fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom, and that reverential fear is a very different thing from what these names would speak. In all heathenism and superstition fear is that which has completes control, and how much of the sway that Satan has over a soul is found in this! "We have not received the spirit of bondage unto fear," says the apostle to his fellow-Christians, but Satan, as the dread power which works by death, makes men "all their lifetime subject to bondage." Thus we can understand that Raamah is the father of Sheba here; the spirit of fear gives his place to him who holds man captive. God known, as He is in the gospel, and the soul brought into full liberty as in relationship to Him, how thoroughly and forever is the rule of Satan broken, and every form of superstition brought to an end!
It may seem strange to find here what Sheba can make merchandise of. The chief of spicery and all precious stones and gold are in the catalogue. But if this surprises us, we may look on to the book of Revelation and notice Babylon’s array: "In purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand," and yet "full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication." But in truth, Satan is known by his selling these. He does not buy them, nor has he acquired them aright, nor will he enrich any with them. All through, he is the captor merely, and in his method, the deceiver. God. does not sell; He gives. Or if He invites to buy, that is, to come to His terms about that which is to be your own, He is careful to assure us that it is "without money and without price."
Next and really last in this catalogue, we have Haran, "the parched," "the dry," but he is associated with Kanneh, "the firm," "the upright," and also with Eden, the place of "delight" lost from earth; for, alas, these are still but the merchants of Sheba, doing his work with Asshur, the Shemite, who has lost his place in connection with the revelation of God, and is wandering among the perverted traditions of men, and with Chilmad who, as the word seems to mean, points out the "quasi learner." Their traffic is in rich apparel, by which the nakedness of the fall is done away, nay, covered over with adornment, and of which, as we see by the carefully packed bales that are noticed here, they evidently made much.
The analysis ends here, save only that we find how that the ships of Tarshish are the one great means to unite all these together. It is all indeed the fruit of a spirit away from God, which therefore explores the earth for whatever it can make gain of, but which, nevertheless, can yield no satisfaction. All is thus united together like their bales of merchandise, by which Tyre is made for the present very glorious, but in the midst of what is the very image of instability, "in the heart of the seas."
(3) Now comes the end of all this glory. The very hands by whose power the good ship has been carried on, bring her into great waters, and there the east wind of adversity breaks her helplessly "in the heart of the seas." No skilful management avails any more; no stoppage of leaks can be attempted any more. Useless are the men of war, and all that assemblage which has been gathered in and about her falls into the heart of the seas in the day of her ruin. The cry of the pilots is only one of despair the open places of the land that might give her refuge, are themselves shaking, and shut out hope, and those who stand afar off in fear for her judgment only recall the glory of the past as those who fain would be incredulous that it is past. So full of help to many, so abundant in the riches continually being distributed, all the inhabitants of the isles are astonished and their kings are horribly afraid, their countenance is troubled. Where shall any find a security that Tyre has not found? All this lamentation is sealed by one single and emphatic word from God: "Thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more."
3. We have now an address to the prince of Tyre, in which we see the effect upon him of the abundance of wealth gathered together and the power implied by this, exalting his heart to a place more than human. "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the heart of the seas; and thou art a man and not God, and thou settest thy heart as the heart of God." Monstrous as all this may be, it is yet, after all, the natural development of what took place in the Garden of Eden itself, when the temptation presented by the evil one was distinctly, "Ye shall be as God." No doubt this was to be a moral likeness -"knowing good and evil;" nevertheless, it was a place usurped, not given by God, and naturally leading to still more open and extreme usurpation. We see in it apparently also reminiscences of the dealings which we know Tyre had had with Israel in Solomon’s time, when she had been permitted to contribute to the temple of God in Jerusalem. Solomon sat, as the inspired Word says, "on the throne of Jehovah in Israel" (1Ch 29:23), His representative in that place. This representative place was given him from God Himself. The prince of Tyre takes it in a carnal fashion, and in independence. With him it is no mere representative authority which might, in the fear of God, be realized by any of those "powers that be," of whom the apostle speaks as "ordained of God," so that obedience to the power becomes for the believer obedience to God Himself. In Tyre there was no such sense of responsibility, but the language is according to what we find concerning one who in the last days shall himself sit in the temple of God, "showing himself that he is God." It is the language of Antichrist, of whom the prince of Tyre here is, no doubt, to some extent, a shadow. But what is Antichrist himself except the full manifestation of fallen manhood, with the restraint upon it which God is exercising now, removed, so that the depths of the heart come out? Who that lifts himself up against God but becomes God to himself, in fact, robbing God of the glory which He will not give to another? Incredible it might indeed seem that any could go to the full length of what is here, when manifestly, as he is reminded, he is but a man -and what a nothing is man before God, even the wisest! As to his wisdom amongst men, no doubt he might claim much as searcher out of the secrets of all the earth, and knowing how to use for his purposes all that he acquired. He was "wiser than Daniel," as the prophet says to him and, as we see, the wisdom of Daniel had reached far already in those days. Daniel had shown himself wise as to the secrets of a monarch’s chamber, and. could interpret to him. the thoughts of his heart, nevertheless it left Daniel in the place of entire subordination to the king to whom he ministered. Here was one who had learned to use his wisdom in his own behalf, to give himself a place amongst men, a greatness which was merely acquired, however, neither innate nor moral, and therefore no real greatness in the sight of God. He had gathered riches into his treasury and continually was increasing them, but to debase himself morally in a way that he was not competent even to estimate. He is incapable of receiving God’s judgment of things as they really are, and thus God would have to teach him by men like himself, with a lesson of the sword, marring all his beauty and bringing his brightness to an end. God needed to put forth no manifest divine power against him, the power of men was enough. Would he maintain an argument for his own divinity in the face of the weapons of those who would put him to death? Uncircumcised as he was, having never learned the lesson of self-judgment, he would die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, and the Lord seals this as the doom which He has pronounced upon him.
4. Nevertheless, for such an one there is a lamentation. If God must execute judgment, He does not smite without recognizing the sorrow of this, which is always His "strange," if necessary, "work." Here was the man enriched with everything that his hand could acquire, nay, with all that God had filled the earth with in the way of beauty: and beauty there is in it, how much beyond any that we apprehend! Who could expect to come after the king in this way? He had "sealed up the sum" of perfection which it seemed impossible for mere man to transcend; full of wisdom he had shown himself; perfect in beauty he had come to be. True, it was for his own interests, and the beauty which he had acquired was but artificial, the result of all that he had heaped together of the world’s goods. He had been, as it were, in another Eden, a garden like that of old, stored with everything pleasant to the eye. Nature had for him opened its resources to enrich him with its innermost secrets; nay, it had revealed beauties which are indeed the manifold reflections of perfect light, the source of which is in God Himself. Thus every precious stone was his covering -the exquisite beauty with which God has strewed the earth, and which the fall itself has not removed, although it has dimmed the lustre in which it was meant to shine -this covered him. You could not, as it were, think of the man himself for all the glory that was spread out over him. Moreover, in man himself what beauty is there, and what a capacity for awakening out of the things around him, over which he is sovereign, the hidden capacities everywhere existent, and which he alone has power to evoke to his Creator’s praise! Thus the workmanship of his tabrets and of his pipes was in him. In the day that God had created him they were prepared. He was himself the chief of creation, more glorious in himself than all this glory; all the more humbly should he have learned it, as what was from God and therefore for God.
Thus he was "the anointed," that is, as it seems, the "king cherub." Ezekiel has already taught us how to understand this, for the cherubic forms of his vision are predominantly human; and these cherubim show us the working of all this living ministry ordained of God to work out His will and to fulfil His purposes upon the earth. The cherubim upon the mercy-seat, which we have seen interpreted for us by these living creatures, cover the throne of God, and this language is again and again used with regard to them. They emphasized the judgment and the justice which were the habitation of His throne; and, as transformed into the living creatures, the fire of God ran up and down amongst them. From this, in the tenth chapter, the linen-clothed man took the coals of fire to scatter over the city in judgment for the desecration of the sanctuary. Thus the stones that covered the cherub himself were, in fact, "stones of fire." In them, as we have many times seen, were the reflections of the divine attributes, which must be revealed in wrath therefore against all profanation of them. So had this king of Tyre been walking as "amidst the stones of fire." However ignorant and however careless, nevertheless his was the responsibility of such a position. His would be the judgment if he abused such a position. It should be plain that much more than the temporary ministry to the temple in Solomon’s time is here intended. No doubt the connection of Tyre with the temple in this case was the connection with that revelation of God of which Israel was the depositary; it should have enlightened him fully as to the One with whom he had to do, and brought him consciously into that light in which henceforth he would have seen light.
But it is not merely knowledge that makes us responsible, but the lack of knowledge when we should have had it; how much more, therefore, the lack of availing one’s self of the opportunity for knowledge which God is everywhere giving, is in fact pressing upon men! All the beauty of creation was in the temple upon the mountain of God, dedicated to the God of creation, seen in its proper place, and thus with all the beauty which such a place would give it; for the jewel is seen in the light, and God’s jewels in the light of God. Yet in these relationships of Tyre with Israel, we have the anticipation of a time to come, when, under a greater than Solomon, "the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift." And as we think of Hiram, the Tyrian, the fashioner of things in the temple (the very name of the king of Tyre of that time being his own), how suggestive it is of privileges conferred, and at the same time of responsibilities incurred!
The Lord owns also the blamelessness of her ways in this respect, which in some sense, at least, might well be taken for the time of her creation, putting her as a nation in the place in which she might have availed herself of blessed opportunities, and united herself to the people of God in a way that certainly He on His part would have owned and perpetuated. But the attraction of the world was too great, and the history of man from the beginning repeated itself here. Deceit and violence quickly followed. How we misconceive often as uprightness in man that which is only lack of opportunity; or, let us say, lack of trial sufficient to reveal a man even to himself and certainly to others! How men can be taken thus with their own beauty, when it is but factitious, a glory with which circumstances only have surrounded one, like the halo of a traditional saint; and the God of truth cannot spare it, while the heart lifted up because of this external beauty is corrupted by it. All the sanctuaries of the soul, or what should be such, become profaned. It is the image of man that appears in them instead of God. Covetousness shows itself as idolatry and thus out of it comes forth the fire which shall surely and finally sweep it all away.
Many have seen in all this account a greater prince depicted than the king of Tyre, and we cannot refuse such application of prophecies which have their most obvious fulfilment near at hand; but this is only the pledge and anticipation of that final one which is always the great thing with God, while man is prone to lose sight of it in what is nearer and therefore larger to his eyes. In all this part of Ezekiel, the judgment at hand by Nebuchadnezzar has indeed a special place; but there are, nevertheless, many intimations in various places, both of final judgment and of final blessing. Here, where the glory of the world has been spread out so before our eyes, it seems fully in place that there should be seen a real prince of it, and in this way some of the things here speak with more fulness than in their first application: thus the fall, by self-occupation and the pride begotten by it -for it was in this way that he who was created an upright and glorious being became an apostate and a devil. The cherub character given him would be more difficult, spite of the common thoughts about angelic cherubs, if we were to take Ezekiel alone. But Daniel reveals the principalities of the earth as angelic, and as having a place in this way from which even their fall has not yet removed them. Thus it is, as the apostle tells us, "with spiritual wickedness in heavenly places" that we are in conflict still, and the book of Revelation shows this just at the time when Satan is cast down from heaven (Rev 12:1-17). In Job also we are made to realize the cherub place he has. In his accusation of Job, which is all upon the ground of righteousness, as detecting what is false and unreal, he is, as it were, professedly covering the throne of God. And while in Ezekiel the human and other forms of the cherub seem to leave no place for the angelic, yet they in no wise conflict, with this, the thought itself of the cherub requiring naturally, as one would say, the angel also as the highest natural creature of God to supplement it. Thus also we may realize the application of what is said of Eden here, though it be gone from the earth, and the stones of fire. What to an angel must be the riches of the earth, which man, prodigal as he is, so little cares to estimate, while he is so busy squandering them! After all, we may well conceive here the great king of Tyre, whose judgment abides a future time, when he too shall be cast out of the mount of God and come to that end which, in the patience of God, so long has tarried.
5. We have now the judgment upon Sidon, as supplementary to the judgment upon kindred Tyre. It is of the briefest, but as the first-born of Canaan, he cannot be overlooked here. Sidon means not distinctively "the fisher," as some say, for which there is no word, but "the taker of prey." Sidon was a great mercantile power before Tyre was known, and thus Homer speaks exclusively of her. In general, Tyre represents the Canaanite character, and therefore Sidon requires briefer notice. But she has been a pricking brier and a grievous thorn in Israel’s side; not very formidable, perhaps, through lack of power, but that was not her fault. It is the enmity that God judges here, as elsewhere. Israel has sinned and given occasion to what the malice of others might do and justify themselves in doing. Nevertheless, it was malice, and that against God in His people. Hence, Jehovah should be known by them in judgment simply. In Israel, spite of her terrible failure and sin, He will be known in final grace; it must be in grace, for she can claim nothing, as we know. Can any of us claim anything from God on any other ground? But this only makes it sure that God will cleave to this in which all the interests of man and His own glory are alike concerned. In us He is going to show "the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Who shall forbid Him this? And how suited that this unrepenting grace should take up Israel also according to the angel’s words to Zechariah (Zec 3:1-10), in which her sin and just condemnation are alike owned: "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" True, it is this; but Satan is ever and only the adversary against God as he is against man. But if it is God’s will to pluck a brand out of the fire, who shall say Him nay?
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 § 2. Tyre (and Sidon) (Ezekiel 26-28)
§ 2. Tyre (and Sidon) (Ezekiel 26-28)
Tyre was the capital of Phoenicia, the seaboard country on the NW. of Palestine. The Phoenicians were the great mariners of the ancient world, and Tyre was a famous seaport, renowned for its wealth and splendour. It joined in the league against Nebuchadrezzar, and was besieged by him for thirteen years (597-584 b.c.). See Intro. Ezekiel predicts its overthrow in three prophecies, one in general terms (Ezekiel 26), one describing Tyre under the figure of a gallant ship (Ezekiel 27), and one directed specially against the king of Tyre (Eze_28:1-19). Zidon (or Sidon) was another Phoenician seaport, about 20 m. N. of Tyre; which was its younger rival. It also joined in the league against Babylon (Jer_27:3), and its downfall too is predicted by Ezekiel (Eze_28:20-26). Part of the language of these chapters is reproduced in Revelation 18.
Read full note →
The Fall of Tyre Predicted
The desolation of Tyre is announced (Eze_26:1-6), its siege by Nebuchadrezzar is vividly described (Eze_26:7-14), a lamentation for its fall is put into the mouths of the princes of the sea (Eze_26:15-18), and God's threat of judgment is again repeated (Eze_26:19-21).
1. The eleventh year] 586 b.c. The month is not given, but the date must have been after the destruction of Jerusalem, in the fifth month of that year (2Ki_25:8): see Eze_26:2.
2. Tyrus] RV 'Tyre,' and so throughout Ezekiel 26-28. Aha, etc.] Tyre had rejoiced because of the commercial advantage she would reap from the fall of Jerusalern. Gates of the people] RV 'gate of the peoples.' Jerusalem lay near the highway of traffic which led northward to Tyre, and its fall would remove a barrier to Tyrian trade.
4. Like the top of a rock] RV 'a bare rock': so in Eze_26:14.
6. Her daughters] tributary states or cities.
15. Isles] the maritime countries of the Mediterranean.
16. Princes of the sea] the rulers of these seaboard lands.
20. Tyre is personified, and represented as going down into the under-world of the dead: see Eze_31:14-18; Eze_32:18-32. And shall set glory] perhaps we should read, with LXX, 'nor arise.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Eze 26:1-21. A lengthy prophecy concerning Tyrus is found…
Eze 26:1-21. A lengthy prophecy concerning Tyrus is found in this and in the chapters which follow. These great predictions have found a startling fulfilment. History confirms all that Ezekiel spoke should come to pass. In Eze 26:1-14 we have the overthrow of the powerful city predicted.
The city of Tyrus (which means rock) was partly built upon an island off the mainland in the Mediterranean Sea. It was an ancient Phoenician city and is mentioned in Scripture for the first time in Jos 19:29, where it is called “the strong city.” It had a wonderful commerce, a description of which in its variety, we find in the twenty-seventh chapter. It was inhabited by seafaring men, and the prophet Isaiah describes this wealthy and influential city as “the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth” Isa 23:8. We read in the next chapter how Syria, Persia, Egypt, Spain, Greece and every quarter of the ancient world laid their choicest and most precious things at the feet of Tyre, who sat enthroned on ivory, covered with blue and purple, from the isles of Elishah. Her beauty was perfect Eze 27:11. During the reign of David and Solomon, Tyre came into great prominence, playing an important role in the commercial, political and religious history of Israel. Hiram, King of Tyrus, sent cedar trees to Jerusalem, as well as workmen, who built David a house 2Sa 5:11. How Tyrus aided in the construction of the temple and the palace under Solomon’s reign, may be learned by consulting the following passages:1Ki 5:1-18; 1Ki 7:13-51; 1Ch 14:11, 2Ch 2:3; 2Ch 2:11. When the ships of Solomon sailed away to Ophir, “Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon, and they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon” 1Ki 9:27-28). She sinned against Jerusalem and the people of God. Joel and Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah mention her and her well-deserved judgment Joe 3:4-21; Amo 1:9-15; Isa 23:1-18; Jer 47:4.
Read full note →
In the third verse of our chapter, we read the divine announcement of Tyre’s fate: “Behold I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causes its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.” It was to become a place for the spreading of nets and a spoil to the nations. This great judgment was not all at once carried out. Nebuchadnezzar came first against her as predicted in Eze 26:7-11. He besieged Tyre on the mainland and after thirteen years took the city; while that part of Tyrus which was built upon the island in the sea, protected by the fleet of Tyrus, escaped. Then came for her seventy years when she was forgotten, as predicted by Isaiah (Isa 23:15). After these years had passed Tyrus saw a startling revival. The island city became more powerful and wicked than before; “she committed fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth” Isa 23:17. The continental Tyrus, however, remained in ruins.
Centuries passed and it seemed as if Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning Tyre’s complete overthrow would remain unfulfilled. It was about 240 years after when the literal fulfillment of this prophecy was accomplished. Alexander the Great came against the city built on the island. After seven months the city was taken by means of a mole, by which the forces of Alexander could enter the city. In constructing this mole, Alexander made use of the ruins of the old city. The stones, timber and the very dust of the destroyed city was laid into the sea to erect the causeway which accomplished the utter ruin of the wealthy city. And thus Ezekiel’s prophecy was fulfilled. “And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.” The complete end of Tyrus had come. “And thou shalt be no more, though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again” (Eze 26:21). So completely was the work done by Alexander, depositing the debris of the ruins of Tyrus on the mainland into the sea, that its exact site will remain undeterminable. And Alexander the Great fulfilled still another prophecy. Before he came on his mission, directed by God, to make an end of the proud and wicked city, Zechariah, the great post-exilic prophet, had once more announced the fate of Tyrus. “And Tyrus,” said the Lord through Zechariah, “did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the ruin of the streets.” This was after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the Tyrus on the mainland and she became the great island city. “Thus,” said Zechariah, “behold, the Lord will cast her out, and He will smite her power in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire” Zec 9:3-17). Alexander did this: he laid proud Tyrus in ashes. What an evidence that all these words are divine!
The effect of the fall of Tyrus and a lamentation over that fall are revealed in Eze 26:15-21. There is a description of the descent of Tyrus into the pit (Eze 26:19-20). The last sentence of Eze 26:20, “And I shall set glory in the land of the living,” means the coming glory of the earthly Zion, the glory in store for Israel.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 7, 15 A General Outline of the Judgment
A General Outline of the Judgment
v. 1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, namely, after the deportation of Jehoiachin, in the first day of the month, the month of the year not being mentioned, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Read full note →
v. 2. Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, in the same malicious joy which had been found in the Ammonites, 25:3, Aha! she is broken that was the gates of the people, Jerusalem being the chief commercial rival of Tyrus, the great mart of trade on the Mediterranean. she is turned unto me, that is, good fortune had begun to favor Tyre, as she now thought; I shall be replenished, literally, "I will become full," that is, gain all the trade formerly held by her hated rival, now she is laid waste, for it seemed that Jerusalem was now definitely disposed of and could no longer come into consideration as a rival:
v. 3. therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, the Lord setting himself in stern opposition to her ambitions, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, namely, in the armies mustered for the conquest of the proud city, as the sea causeth his waves to come up, especially in the form of an immense tidal wave, which overwhelms all that comes in its way.
v. 4. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, whose business section was built on an island and was strongly fortified, and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, as it were, the last bit of fruitful soil, and make her like the top of a rock, absolutely bare and without even the ruins of buildings to indicate the former proud metropolis.
v. 5. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, this very point of the fulfillment of the prophecy standing out plainly, as travelers relate; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God, whose word cannot fall to the ground; and it shall become a spoil to the nations, instead of amassing further fortunes, as she had hoped to do.
v. 6. And her daughters which are in the field, the cities and towns tributary to Tyrus on the mainland, shall be slain by the sword, overthrown by the conquering invaders; and they shall know that I am the Lord. Men who refuse to acknowledge the Lord willingly are often obliged to do so under the stress of the convincing power of His judgments.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 19 in the eleventh year
in the eleventh year
"in year 11." This means the eleventh year after King Jehoiachin was taken into exile in Babylon. AT: "in the eleventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin" (See: Ordinal Numbers and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Read full note →
on the first day of the month
"on day 1 of the month." It is uncertain which month of the Hebrew calendar Ezekiel meant. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
the word of Yahweh came
This is an idiom that is used to introduce something that God told his prophets or his people. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 3:16. AT: "Yahweh spoke this message" or "Yahweh spoke these words" (See: Idiom)
Son of man
"Son of a human being" or "Son of humanity." God calls Ezekiel this to emphasize that Ezekiel is only a human being. God is eternal and powerful, but humans are not. See how you translated this in Ezekiel 2:1. AT: "Mortal person" or "Human"
Tyre has said against Jerusalem
Here the city names "Tyre" and "Jerusalem" represent the people of those cities. AT: "the people of Tyre have said against the people of Jerusalem" (See: Metonymy)
Aha!
The word "Aha" is a sound people make when they discover something. AT: "Yes!" or "This is great!" (See: Exclamations)
The gates of the people are broken
The people of Tyre use these words to refer to Jerusalem as if it were a city gate through which traders from the surrounding nations pass. This can be stated in active form. AT: "Armies have broken down the gates of the people" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
She has turned to me
Here the word "she" refers to the word "gates" which have "turned" on their hinges to open to Tyre. This phrase means that Tyre has now replaced Jerusalem as the city through which the traders from many nations pass. AT: "The gateway has opened to me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I will be filled up
Here to be "filled up" represents being prosperous. AT: "I will become prosperous" (See: Metonymy)
she is ruined
"Jerusalem is ruined"
translationWords
year
day
month
word of God
Son of Man
Tyre
Jerusalem
gate
people group
ruin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 15, 17, 19 26:1–28:19 The message against Tyre, Israel’s northwestern neighbor, is…
26:1–28:19 The message against Tyre, Israel’s northwestern neighbor, is much more substantial than the short oracles preceding it. It takes the form of three nearly parallel panels (26:2-21; 27:1-36; and 28:1-19), each presenting a variation on the same message—that Tyre would come to a horrible end and exist no more (27:36).
26:1 February 3, 585 BC was about seven months after the fall of Jerusalem.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.