Ezekiel 27

Eze 27:1-36.

TYRE'S

FORMER

GREATNESS,

SUGGESTING A

LAMENTATION OVER

HER

SAD

DOWNFALL.

2. lamentation--a funeral dirge, eulogizing her great attributes, to

make the contrast the greater between her former and her latter state.

3. situate at the entry of the sea--literally, plural, "entrances,"

that is, ports or havens; referring to the double port of Tyre, at which

vessels entered round the north and south ends of the island, so that

ships could find a ready entrance from whatever point the wind might

blow (compare

Eze 28:2).

merchant of . . . people for many isles--that is, a

mercantile emporium of the peoples of many seacoasts, both from the

east and from the west

(Isa 23:3),

"a mart of nations."

of perfect beauty--

(Eze 28:12).

4. Tyre, in consonance with her seagirt position, separated by a strait

of half a mile from the mainland, is described as a ship built of the

best material, and manned with the best mariners and skilful pilots, but

at last wrecked in tempestuous seas

(Eze 27:26).

5. Senir--the Amorite name of Hermon, or the southern height of

Anti-libanus

(De 3:9);

the Sidonian name was Sirion. "All thy . . . boards";

dual in Hebrew, "double-boards," namely, placed in a

double order on the two sides of which the ship consisted [VATABLUS]. Or, referring to the two sides or the two

ends, the prow and the stern, which every ship has [MUNSTER].

cedars--most suited for "masts," from their height and durability.

6. Bashan--celebrated for its oaks, as Lebanon was for its cedars.

the company of . . . Ashurites--the most skilful workmen summoned from

Assyria. Rather, as the Hebrew orthography requires, "They have made

thy (rowing) benches of ivory inlaid in the daughter of cedars"

[MAURER], or, the best boxwood.

FAIRBAIRN, with

BOCHART, reads the

Hebrew two words as one: "Thy plankwork (deck: instead of

'benches,' as the Hebrew is singular) they made ivory

with boxes." English Version, with

MAURER'S correction, is simpler.

Chittim--Cyprus and Macedonia, from which,

PLINY tells us, the best

boxwood came [GROTIUS].

7. broidered . . . sail--The ancients embroidered their sails often

at great expense, especially the Egyptians, whose linen, still preserved

in mummies, is of the finest texture.

Elishah--Greece; so called from Elis, a large and ancient

division of Peloponnesus. PAUSANIAS says that the

best of linen was produced in it, and in no other part of Greece;

called by HOMER, Alisium.

that which covered thee--thy awning.

8. Arvad--a small island and city near Phœnicia, now

Ruad: its inhabitants are still noted for seafaring habits.

thy wise men, O Tyrus . . . thy pilots--While the men

of Arvad, once thy equals

(Ge 10:18),

and the Sidonians, once thy superiors, were employed by thee in

subordinate positions as "mariners," thou madest thine own skilled men

alone to be commanders and pilots. Implying the political and

mercantile superiority of Tyre.

9. Gebal--a Phœnician city and region between Beirut and

Tripolis, famed for skilled workmen

(1Ki 5:18,

Margin;

Ps 83:7).

calkers--stoppers of chinks in a vessel: carrying on the metaphor

as to Tyre.

occupy thy merchandise--that is, to exchange merchandise with thee.

10. Persia . . . Phut--warriors from the extreme east and west.

Lud--the Lydians of Asia Minor, near the Meander, famed for archery

(Isa 66:19);

rather than those of Ethiopia, as the Lydians of Asia Minor form a kind

of intermediate step between Persia and Phut (the Libyans about Cyrene,

shielded warriors,

Jer 46:9,

descended from Phut, son of Ham).

hanged . . . shield . . . comeliness--Warriors hanged their

accoutrements on the walls for ornament. Divested of the metaphor, it

means that it was an honor to thee to have so many nations supplying

thee with hired soldiers.

11. Gammadims--rather, as the Tyrians were

Syro-Phœnicians, from a Syriac root, meaning

daring, "men of daring" [LUDOVICUS DE DIEU]. It is not likely the

keeping of watch "in the towers" would have been entrusted to

foreigners. Others take it from a Hebrew root, "a dagger," or

short sword

(Jud 3:16),

"short-swordsmen."

12. Tarshish--Tartessus in Spain, a country famed for various

metals, which were exported to Tyre. Much of the "tin" probably was

conveyed by the Phœnicians from Cornwall to Tarshish.

traded in thy fairs--"did barter with thee"

[FAIRBAIRN]; from a root,

"to leave," something left in barter for something else.

13. Javan--the Ionians or Greeks: for the Ionians of Asia Minor

were the first Greeks with whom the Asiatics came in contact.

Tubal . . . Meshech--the Tibareni and Moschi, in the mountain region

between the Black and Caspian Seas.

persons of men--that is, as slaves. So the Turkish harems are supplied

with female slaves from Circassia and Georgia.

vessels--all kinds of articles. Superior weapons are still

manufactured in the Caucasus region.

14. Togarmah--Armenia: descended from Gomer

(Ge 10:3).

Their mountainous region south of the Caucasus was celebrated for

horses.

horsemen--rather, "riding-horses," as distinct from "horses" for

chariots [FAIRBAIRN].

15. Dedan--near the Persian Sea: thus an avenue to the commerce of

India. Not the Dedan in Arabia

(Eze 27:20),

as the names in the context here prove, but the Dedan sprung from Cush

[BOCHART],

(Ge 10:7).

merchandise of thine hand--that is, were dependent on thee for trade

[FAIRBAIRN]; came to buy the produce of thy hands

[GROTIUS].

a present--literally, "a reward in return"; a price paid for

merchandise.

horns of ivory--Ivory is so termed from its resemblance to horns. The Hebrew word for "ivory" means "tooth"; so that they cannot have

mistaken ivory as if coming from the horns of certain animals,

instead of from the tusks of the elephant.

16. "Syria was thy mart for the multitude," &c. For "Syria" the

Septuagint reads "Edom." But the Syrians were famed as merchants.

occupied--old English for "traded"; so in

Lu 19:13.

agate--Others translate, "ruby," "chalcedony," or "pearls."

17. Minnith . . . Pannag--names of places in Israel famed for good

wheat, wherewith Tyre was supplied

(1Ki 5:9, 11;

Ezr 3:7;

Ac 12:20);

Minnith was formerly an Ammonite city

(Jud 11:33).

"Pannag" is identified by GROTIUS with "Phenice,"

the Greek name for "Canaan." "They traded . . .

wheat," that is, they supplied thy market with wheat.

balm--or, "balsam."

18. Helbon--or Chalybon, in Syria, now Aleppo; famed for its wines;

the Persian monarchs would drink no other.

19. Dan also--None of the other places enumerated commence with the

copula ("also"; Hebrew, ve). Moreover, the products specified,

"cassia, calamus," apply rather to places in Arabia. Therefore,

FAIRBAIRN translates, "Vedan"; perhaps the modern Aden, near the straits

of Bab-el-man-deb. GROTIUS refers it to Dana, mentioned by

PTOLEMY.

Javan--not the Greeks of Europe or Asia Minor, but of a Greek

settlement in Arabia.

going to and fro--rather, as Hebrew admits, "from Uzal." This

is added to "Javan," to mark which Javan is meant

(Ge 10:27).

The metropolis of Arabia Felix, or Yemen; called also Sanaa [BOCHART]. English Version gives a good sense,

thus: All peoples, whether near as the Israelite "Dan," or far as the

Greeks or "Javan," who were wont to "go to and fro" from their love of

traffic, frequented thy marts, bringing bright iron, &c., these

products not being necessarily represented as those of Dan or Javan.

bright iron--Yemen is still famed for its sword blades.

calamus--aromatic cane.

20. Dedan--in Arabia; distinct from the Dedan in

Eze 27:15

(see on

Eze 27:15).

Descended from Abraham and Keturah

(Ge 25:3)

[BOCHART].

precious clothes--splendid coverlets.

21. Arabia--the nomadic tribes of Arabia, among which Kedar was

pre-eminent.

occupied with thee--literally, "of thy hand," that is, they traded with thee for wares, the product of thy hand

(see on

Eze 27:15, 16).

22. Sheba . . . Raamah--in Arabia.

chief of . . . spices--that is, best spices

(De 33:15).

Obtained from India and conveyed in caravans to Tyre.

23. Haran--the dwelling-place of Abraham in Mesopotamia, after he

moved from Ur

(Ge 11:31).

Canneh--Calneh, an Assyrian city on the Tigris; the Ctesiphon of the

Greeks

(Ge 10:10).

Eden--probably a region in Babylonia (see

Ge 2:8).

Chilmad--a compound; the place designated by

PTOLEMY "Gaala of Media."

The Chaldee version interprets it of Media.

HENDERSON refers it to

Carmanda, which XENOPHON

describes as a large city beyond the Euphrates.

24. all sorts of things--Hebrew, "perfections"; exquisite articles

of finery [GROTIUS].

clothes--rather, "mantles" or "cloaks"; literally, "wrappings." For

"blue," HENDERSON translates, "purple."

chests of rich apparel, bound with cords--treasures or repositories of

damask stuffs, consisting of variegated threads woven together in

figures [HENDERSON].

cedar--The "chests" were made of cedar, in order to last the

longer; and it also keeps off decay and has a sweet odor.

25. sing of thee--personification; thy great merchant ships were

palpable proofs of thy greatness. Others translate from a different

Hebrew root, "were thy (mercantile) travellers."

FAIRBAIRN translates,

"Were thy walls." But the parallelism to "thou wast glorious" favors

English Version, "sing of thee."

26. In contrast to her previous greatness, her downfall is here, by

a sudden transition, depicted under the image of a vessel foundering at

sea.

east wind--blowing from Lebanon, the most violent wind in the

Mediterranean

(Ps 48:7).

A Levanter, as it is called. Nebuchadnezzar is meant. The "sea" is the

war with him which the "rowers," or rulers of the state vessel, had

"brought" it into, to its ruin.

27. The detailed enumeration implies the utter completeness of

the ruin.

and in all thy company--"even with all thy collected multitude"

[HENDERSON].

28. The suburbs--the buildings of Tyre on the adjoining continent.

29. So on the downfall of spiritual Babylon

(Re 18:17,

&c.).

shall stand upon . . . land--being cast out of their ships in which

heretofore they prided themselves.

30. against thee--rather, "concerning thee."

31. utterly bald--literally, "bald with baldness." The

Phœnician custom in mourning; which, as being connected with

heathenish superstitions, was forbidden to Israel

(De 14:1).

32. take up--lift up.

the destroyed--a destroyed one. Literally, (as opposed to its

previous bustle of thronging merchants and mariners,

Eze 27:27),

"one brought to death's stillness."

in . . . midst of . . . sea--insular Tyre.

33. out of the seas--brought on shore out of the ships.

filledst--didst supply plentifully with wares.

enrich . . . kings--with the custom dues levied on the wares.

34. In the time when . . . shall . . .

shall--Now that thou art broken (wrecked)

. . . thy merchandise . . . are fallen

[MAURER].

35. isles--seacoasts.

36. hiss--with astonishment; as in

1Ki 9:8.