On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
Parallel Translations
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On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
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And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
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And on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Isaiah 23:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Chronicles 13:5 So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor the brook of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring God’s ark from Kiriath Jearim.
- Jeremiah 2:18 Now what do you gain by going to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or why do you to go on the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
- Deuteronomy 11:10 For the land, where you go in to possess isn’t like the land of Egypt that you came out of, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs;
- Isaiah 19:7 The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
- Isaiah 23:8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
- Isaiah 32:20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the donkey.
- Ezekiel 27:3-23 and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, the Lord Yahweh says: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty. They have made all your planks of cypress trees from Senir. They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you. They have made your oars of the oaks of Bashan. They have made your benches of ivory inlaid in cypress wood from the islands of Kittim. Your sail was of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, that it might be to you for a banner. Blue and purple from the islands of Elishah was your awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your wise men, Tyre, were in you. They were your pilots. The old men of Gebal and its wise men were your repairers of ship seams in you. All the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise. “ ‘ “Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you. They showed your beauty. The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valiant men were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around. They have perfected your beauty. “ ‘ “Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. They traded for your wares with silver, iron, tin, and lead. “ ‘ “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They traded the persons of men and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. “ ‘ “They of the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, war horses, and mules. “ ‘ “The men of Dedan traded with you. Many islands were the market of your hand. They brought you horns of ivory and ebony in exchange. “ ‘ “Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks. They traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. “ ‘ “Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded wheat of Minnith, confections, honey, oil, and balm for your merchandise. “ ‘ “Damascus was your merchant for the multitude of your handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool. “ ‘ “Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus were among your merchandise. “ ‘ “Dedan was your trafficker in precious cloths for riding. “ ‘ “Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, rams, and goats. In these, they were your merchants. “ ‘ “The traders of Sheba and Raamah were your traders. They traded for your wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. “ ‘ “Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were your traders.
- Ezekiel 27:33 When your wares went out of the seas, you filled many peoples. You enriched the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.
- Ezekiel 28:4 by your wisdom and by your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures;
- Joel 3:5 Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples,
- Revelation 18:11-13 The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, and people’s bodies and souls.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, the corn of Egypt, which was fed by…
Meaning, the corn of Egypt, which was fed by the overflowing of the Nile.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 23:3 And by great waters the seed of…
Isa 23:3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, [is] her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
Ver. 3. And by great waters the seed of Sihor,] i.e., Of Nile, by the overflowing whereof Egypt is made exceeding fertile, being styled the "granary of the world." Tyre was much enriched by its store thereto transported through the midland sea, called here great waters.
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 By great waters; by the sea, which is very…
By great waters; by the sea, which is very fitly called the great waters, Psa 107:23; understand, cometh, or is brought to her.
The seed of Sihor; the corn of Egypt, wherewith Egypt abounded, and furnished divers other parts of the world, whence it was called the granary of the Roman empire; which also was easily conveyed by sea from Egypt to Tyre, and thence to divers other countries. This is called seed, here, as also Hag 1:10, and elsewhere, by a usual metonymy; and the seed of Sihor, because it grew up the more abundantly because of the overflow of the river, as all sorts of authors have noted. For Sihor is nothing else but Nilus, as appears from Jer 2:18, which is called Sihor, as by the Greeks it was called Melas, from its black colour. And this and no other river seems to be that Sihor, which is so oft mentioned as one of the bounds of the land of Canaan, as Num 34:5, &c., because that land, at least in that extent which God allotted and gave it to the Israelites, though they through neglect or cowardice might not actually possess it, did reach to one of the branches of that river. And indeed, if Sihor be not Nilus, that great and neighbouring river is not named in all the Scripture, which seems very improbable.
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The harvest of the river: this clause explains the former; that plentiful harvest of corn which comes from the influence and inundation of Nilus, which is emphatically called the river, as here, so also Exo 1:22; Isa 19:5; Eze 29:3,9, as Euphrates is in other texts of Scripture.
Is her revenue; is as easily procured and plentifully enjoyed by her, as if it grew in her own territories.
A mart of nations; a place to which all nations resort for traffic.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And by great waters the seed of Sihor,.... Sihor…
And by great waters the seed of Sihor,.... Sihor is the river Nile in Egypt; it had its name from the black colour of its waters, as in Jer 2:18 hence called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo: the "seed" of it intends what was sown and grew upon the banks of it, or was nourished by the overflow of this river throughout the land, and includes corn, flax, paper, &c. with which Egypt abounded; and when this is said to be "by great waters", the meaning either is, that it grew by great waters, the waters of the Nile, and through the influence of them; or that it came by great waters to Tyre; that is, by the waters of the sea, the Mediterranean Sea:
the harvest of the river is her revenue; this clause is the same with the former, and serves to explain it; the river is the river Nile, the harvest is the seed that was sown and grew by it, and which at the proper season, when ripe, was gathered from it, and carried in ships to Tyre, with which that city was supplied and enriched, as if it had been its own produce:
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and she is a mart of nations; Tyre was a city to which all nations traded, it was a mart for them all, and where they brought their wares to sell, and always found a market for them, here they had vent. The twenty seventh chapter of Ezekiel Eze 27:1 is a proper commentary on this clause.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. The seed of Sihor - "The seed…
Verse 3. The seed of Sihor - "The seed of the Nile"] The Nile is called here Shichor, as it is Jer 2:18, and 1Ch 13:5. It had this name from the blackness of its waters, charged with the mud which it brings down from Ethiopia when it overflows, Et viridem AEgyptum nigra fecundat arena; as it was called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo, for the same reason. See Servius on the above line of Virgil, Georg. iv. 291. It was called Siris by the Ethiopians, by some supposed to be the same with Shichor. Egypt by its extraordinary fertility, caused by the overflowing of the Nile supplied the neighbouring nations with corn, by which branch of trade the Tyrians gained great wealth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And by great waters - That is, by the…
And by great waters - That is, by the abundant-waters, or the overflowing of the Nile. Tyre was the mart to which the superabundant productions of Egypt were borne (see Ezek. 27)
The seed of Sihor - There can be no doubt that by ‘Sihor’ here is meant the river Nile in Egypt (see Jos 13:3; 1Ch 13:5; Jer 2:18). The word שׁחר shichor is derived from שׁחר shachar, “to be black” Job 30:30, and is given to the Nile from its color when it brings down the slime or mud by which Egypt is rendered so fertile. The Greeks gave to the river the name Μέλας Melas (“black”), and the Latins call it “Melo” - (Serv. ad Virg. “Geor.” iv. 291. It was called “Siris” by the Ethiopians; perhaps the same as Sihor. The upper branches of the Nile in Abyssinia all receive their names from the “color” of the water, and are called the White River, the Blue River, etc.
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The harvest of the river - The productions caused by the overflowing of the river. Egypt was celebrated for producing grain, and Rome and Greece derived no small part of their supplies from that fertile country. It is also evident that the inhabitants of Palestine were early accustomed to go to Egypt in time of scarcity for supplies of grain (see Gen 37:25, Gen 37:28, and the history of Joseph, Gen. 41–43) That the “Tyrians” traded with Egypt is also well known. Herodotus (ii. 112) mentions one entire quarter of the city of Memphis that was inhabited by the Tyrians.
Is her revenue - Her resources are brought from thence.
She is a mart of nations - How true this was, see Ezek. 27. No place was more favorably situated for commerce; and she had engrossed the trade nearly of all the world.
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 Nile. Hebrew Shichor, or "muddy water," designates that river,…
Nile. Hebrew Shichor, or "muddy water," designates that river, Josue xiii. 3. --- River. The overflowing of the Nile gave fertility to Egypt, insomuch that Tyre and other nations were supplied by it with corn.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain great waters--the wide waters of the sea.
great waters--the wide waters of the sea.
seed--"grain," or crop, as in Sa1 8:15; Job 39:12.
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Sihor--literally, "dark-colored"; applied to the Nile, as the Egyptian Jeor, and the Greek Melas, to express the "dark, turbid" colors given to its waters by the fertilizing soil which it deposits at its yearly overflow (Jer 2:18).
harvest of the river--the growth of the Delta; the produce due to the overflow of the Nile: Egypt was the great granary of corn in the ancient world (Gen. 41:1-57; Gen. 42:1-38; Gen. 43:1-34).
her revenue--Tyrian vessels carried Egyptian produce obtained in exchange for wine, oil, glass, &c., into various lands, and so made large profits.
mart-- (Eze 27:3). No city was more favorably situated for commerce.
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 3. By great waters — Across the sea to…
3. By great waters — Across the sea to Egypt. The grain of the Nile land (called here Sihor, black, the black deposits of yearly fertile mud) is Tyre’s revenue. Egypt was the great emporium of the nations.
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 3. The easiest translation would be: and on great…
3. The easiest translation would be: and on great waters the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, (was) her revenue, and it (i.e. her revenue) was the gain of the nations. Shihor might be a name for the Nile, as in Jer_2:18; and the meaning would be that the revenue of Tyre (or Phœnicia) was derived from the sea-traffic in Egyptian grain. This was no doubt the case to some extent; but to suppose that the corn trade with Egypt was a principal source of wealth to Tyre is contrary to all the information we possess. The expression of the thought, moreover, is involved and enigmatic, and even if we call to our aid the subtle suggestion that Tyre, with no agriculture of her own, nevertheless reaped a rich harvest by her command of the sea, the idea is still unworthy of Isaiah, and of the rest of this poem.
The translation mart in E.V., instead of “gain” or “merchandise” is hardly justifiable.
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 (3) By great waters the seed of Sihor .…
(3) By great waters the seed of Sihor . . .—Sihor (“the dark river”) is as in Jer_2:18, a Hebrew name for the Nile. The corn-trade with Egypt (Eze_27:7, adds the linen-trade) was naturally a chief branch of Tyrian commerce. Practically, indeed, as the Egyptians had no timber to build ships, and, for the most part, hated the sea, their navy consisted of Phœnicians. Tyre practically reaped the harvest that sprang from the inundation of the Nile. For “mart,” read gain. The “great waters” are those of the great sea, i.e., of the Mediterranean.
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 By great waters; rather, on great waters; i.e. on…
By great waters; rather, on great waters; i.e. on the waters of the Mediterranean. (cf. Psa_107:23 Eze_27:26) The Egyptian vessels conveyed the corn intended for exportation to the ports at the mouths of the Nile, where it was transhipped aboard Phoenician craft, which carried it on the open sea to the countries needing it. We never hear of the Egyptians disputing the trade of the Mediterranean with the Phoenicians and the Greeks, though they certainly had trading-vessels at times on the waters of the Red Sea. The seed of Sihor; i.e. the corn of the Nile valley. "Si-her," or rather "Shihor," is the only proper name by which the Nile is designated in the Hebrew Scriptures. It means "the dark," "the turbid," and may be compared with the modern Bahr-el-azrak," used of the Eastern or Abyssinian Nile, and with the term" Nilus" itself, if that signifies "the dark blue stream." It occurs, as the name of the Nile, only in Jos_13:3 1Ch_13:5 Jer_2:18; and the present place. Is her revenue; i.e. "produces a portion of her annual income." And she is a man of nations (so Gesenius and Ewald). Delitzsch and Mr. Cheyne translate, "It is the gain of the nations," referring "it" to the corn which the Tyrians exported.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 3. "The harvest of the river.
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Egypt was the first of nations, and the masts of the vessels stood hike tall river-reeds by her banks. How expressive the words are! There is life where the river comes, life along the emerald banks to which the cattle come, and on the fields where the waters overflow.
I ALL LANDS HAVE THEIR RIVERS. Think of the Tiber, the Tigris, the Thames, the Rhone, the Rhine, the Nile, the Niger. Cities rise on their banks which are, like Tyre, populous and prosperous. The harvest is vast indeed. Ships which are freighted with necessaries and luxuries, with the works of art, the spoils of the sea, and the produce of far-away lauds, all come up the river. What wonder that the river should become a type of the blessings of the gospel that the prophet should tell us "living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem!
II THE HARVESTS ARE MANIFOLD. We are so accustomed to think of the golden sheaves of the corn-fields when we mention the rivers, that we are liable to forget how indebted we are to the broad estuaries which bear on their bosom the wealth of many nations. How manifold, too, are our harvests under the gospel! Where that comes philanthropy lives, and social purity flows, and justice is sacred in its rivers of righteousness, and salvation comes, delivering us from sensuality and sin. Harvests? Surely the Christian should notice how wide and vast the gospel waters are.
III THEIR DRYING UP IS DEATH. We cannot live without rain and rivers. Cattle perish. Verdure withers. Man himself dies. No wealth can purchase what God gives so plentifully. "Hath the rain a Father?" Oh yes. Not a mere Creator, but a Father; for it is rich in evidences of his universal care and love. God gives "the former and the latter rain," and all through the ages the rivers flow into the sea. So God"s truth remains! The living water flows, and the voice is still heard, "He, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. W.M.S.
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 The harvest of the river
Isa_23:3
The harvest of the river
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The harvest of the river
The valley of the Nile was the field for sowing and reaping.
The ships of Tyre trafficked far and wide, and by purchase or by barter the corn supplies of Egypt were fetched in to fill the barns and granaries of the merchant city, and were thence resold with profit to many nations. The harvest of the Nile most accurately describes and stands for all the resources and the wealth of Egypt, which depend entirely upon the Nile. This river brings down from the mountains of Abyssinia a great quantity of decayed vegetable matter and rich alluvial deposit, which in flood time it spreads over the land. A failure in the rise of the Nile means famine in Egypt, and it was lately computed that one foot difference in the height of the annual flood makes a difference of £2,000,000 to the income of the country. So little in this respect have things changed since the days of Isaiah. (P. T. Bainbrigge, M. A.)
The harvest of the river
We need not, however, restrict the term to the importation of corn. The harvest of the river was the merchandise of the world, which the ships of Tarshish conveyed to the city of the isle--Tyre. The harvest of the river, then, is the commerce of the city built upon its banks. God is equally the God of the harvest of the river as He is the God of the harvest of the field, and though He made the country He ordained that men should form themselves into communities and dwell together in cities, and He has laid down laws for their guidance as members of a great society which must be followed, that order may be maintained and prosperity achieved. The merchant is as much engaged in doing Gods work as the farmer is. There may not be so much romance and poetry about his occupation. But God may be glorified in the fires as well as in the green fields and the pleasant woods. It is He who assigns to every man his proper place--implants within him a desire to do his duty in his appointed sphere of action, and so contrives that while a man does his duty and provides for his own interest and welfare, he by so doing contributes at the same time to the happiness and well-being of all. (W. Rogers, M. A.)
God the great World-Provider
When the Shah of Persia some few years ago visited this country, he was taken through the docks down the river, and while contemplating the great harvest reposing on its bosom, and witnessing the crowds of people eager to see the Eastern potentate and to do him honour, he asked a pertinent question of the nobleman who accompanied him. It was this: How are these vast multitudes fed? It is a question which showed the thoughtful intelligence of the barbarian, but it is one which few pause to ask, and which few are able to answer, because few look beyond the surface and attempt to unravel the great mystery by which we are enshrouded, and recognise the agency of the invisible One in all the affairs of men. (W. Rogers, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 23:3 Fish, agricultural produce, flax, and linen were all…
23:3 Fish, agricultural produce, flax, and linen were all harvests from along the Nile (see ch 19). • Tyre was known as the marketplace of the world, comparable to modern cities like New York, Hong Kong, or London.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.