Chapter XXVII
Ver. 1-30. Tyre's Former Greatness, Suggesting a Lamentation over her Sad Downfall, a. 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— it<., piurai, "entrances," i. e., ports or havens ; referring to the
double port of Tyre, at which vessels entered rountl the north and south ends of the is!»nd, so that ships could find a ready entrance from whatever point the wind might blow (cf. ch. 28. 2). merchant of . . . people for many
Isles i. e., a mercantile emporium of the peoples of many sea-coasts, both from the east and from the west, I.saiah
23. 3, " A mart of nations." of perfect beauty—(Ch. 28. 12.) 4. Tyre, in consonance witli her .sea-girt pixsition, separated by a strait of half a mile from the mainland, is described as a stiip built of the best material, and manned with the best mariners ajid skilful pilots, but at last in tempestuous seas wrecked (i'. 26). 5. .Senlr—the Aniorite name of Hermon, or the southern height of Anti-libanus (Deuteronomy 3. 9); the Sidonian name was Sirion. "All thy . . . boards:" dual in Hebreiv, " dowWe-boards," viz., placed In a double order on the two sides of which the ship consisted. [Vatablus.] Or, referring to llie two sides or the two ends, the prow and the stern, which every ship has. [Munsteh.] cedars—most suited for "masts," from their height and durability. 6. Bashau^ celebrated for its oaks, as Lebanon was for its cedars, the company of . . . Ashnrltes—the most skillul workmen summoned from Assyria. Rather, as the Ifrbrew orthography requires, "They have made thy (rowing) bencties of ivory inlaid !>» the daughter of cedars" [Mauker], or t/ie bc.tt boxirood. Fairiiaiun, with Bochart, reads the Hebrew two words as one: "Thy plankwork
shisl) in Spain, isles—maritime lands. Even mighty Carthage used to send a yearly oflering to the temple of Hercules at Tyre: and the mother-city gave high priests to her colonies. Hence the consternation at her fall felt in the widely-scattered dependencies with which she was so closely connected by the ties of religion, as well as commercial intercourse, shake—metaphorically: be agitated (Jeremiah 49. 21). 16. eome down from their thrones
. . . upon tlie ground—"The throne of the mourners" (Job 2. 13; Jonah 3. 6). " Princes of the sea " are the merchant rulers of Carthage and other colonies of Tyre, who had made themselves rich and powerful by trading on the sea (Isaiah 2;}. 8). clothe . . . with trembling Hebrew, "tremblings." Uf. ch. 7.27, "Clothed with desolation;" Psalm 132.18. In a imblic calamity the garment was changed for a mourning garb. 17. inhabited of seafaring men— i. e., which wast freciuented by merchants of various sea-bordering lands. [Grotiu.s.] Faihbairn translates with Peschito, "Thou inhabitant of the seas" (as tlie fictnew lit. means). Tyre rose as it were out of the seas as if she got thence her inhabitants, being peopled so (dosely down to the waters. So Venice was called " t lie bride of the sea." strong In the sea—through her Insular posi I ion. rnuse their temir to l>e on all that haunt \t—viz., tiie sea. The Hebrav Is rather, "they put COD
(deck: instead of 'benches,' as the Hebrew is singular)
tlicy made ivory with boxes." Jilnglish Vii'sion, with Maurer's correction, is simpler. Chiltim—Cyprus and Macedonia, frf m which, Pliny tells us, the b ist boxwood
PLANTS MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES.
Tlie Riches and Ommerce of Tyre. EZEKIEL XXVII. The Irrecoverable Fall of the Oily.
with wheat, balm—or, " balsam." 18. Hclboii—orChalybon, iti Syria, now Aleppo; famed for its wines; the Persian monarchs would drink no other. 19. Dan also— None of the otlier places enumerated commence with the copula (also; Hebrew, "ve"). Moreover, the products specified, "cassia, calamus," apply rather to places In Arabia. Therefore, Fairbaibn <rarisfa^e«, " Vedan ;" perhaps the modern Aden, near the straits of Bab-el-mandeb. 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 He-
came. [Gbotics.] 7. broldered . . . sail—The ancients embroidereil their sails often at great expense, especially the Egyptians, whose linen, still preserved in mummies,
Ih of the tinest texture. Eaishali—Greece ; so called from
Ells, a large and ancient division of Peloponese. Pausanlas says, that the best of linen was produced in it, and
in nootlier part of Greece; called by Homer "Alisium." that whlcli covered tliee—tliy awning. 8. Arvad—
Bmall island and city near Phoenicia, now Huad: its inhabitants are still noted for sea-faring habits, tliy wise Dien, O Tjrrus . . . tliy pilots—Whilst the men of Arvad once thy equals (Genesis 10. 18), and the Sidonians once thy superiors, were employed by thee in subordinate positions as "mariners," thou madest thine own sliilled men alone to be commanders and pilots. Implying the
fcrew admits, "from Uzal." This is added to "Javan," to mark whicli Javan is meant (Genesis 10. 27). The metropo-
lis of Arabia Felix, or Yemen; called also Sanaa. [Bochart.] EngliJsh Version gives a good sense, thus, AU peoples, whether near as the Israelite " Dan," or far as the Greeks or " Javan," who were wont to " go to and fro" liom their love of traffic, frequented tliy marts, bringing bright iron, &c., these products not being necessaril.y represented as those of Dan or Javan. bright Iron—Yemen
political and mercantile superiority of Tyre. 9. Gebal—
Phoenician city and region between Beirut and Tripolis, famed for slcilied workmen (Margin, I Kings 5. 18; Psalm
83. 7). calkers stoppers of chinks in a vessel : carrying on the metaphor as to Tyre, occupy tliy mercliandlse i. e., to exchange merchandise with thee. 10. Persia . . . Pliut —warriors from the extreme east and west. Liid-the Lydians of Asia Minor, near the Meander, famed for archery (Isaiah 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 Gyrene, Khielded warriors, Jeremiah 4^ 9, descended from Phut, son of Ham), hanged . . . shield . . . comeliness—war-
is still famed for its sword blades, calamus—aromatic cane. 30. Dedan—in Arabia ; distinct from the Dedan in
V. 15 (see note). Descended from Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25. 3). [Bochart.] precious clothes—splendid coverlets. 31. Arabia—the nomadic tribes of Arabia, among which Kedar was pre-eminent, occupied tvlth thee— ii'Z., "of thy hand," /. e., they traded with thee for wares, the product of thy hand (notes, see v. 15, 16). 33. Slieba . . . Rainali—in Arabia, spices, &c.—obtained from India and conveyed In caravans to Tyre, chief of . . . spices— 1. e., best spices (Deuteronortiy 33. 15). 23. Haran the dwelling-place of Abraham in Mesopotamia, after he moved from Ur (Genesis U. 31). Caniieh Calneh, an Assyrian cit.v on the Tigris; the Ctesiphon of the Greeks (Genesis 10. 10). Eden—probably a region in Babylonia (see Genesis 2. 8). Chllmad—a compound ; the place designated by Ptolemy Oaala of Media. The Chaldee version interprets it of Media. Henderson refers it to Carmanda, which Xenoplion describes as a large city beyond the Euphrates. 34:. all sorts of things—Hebrew, "perfections;" exquisite articles of finery. [Grotius.] clothes —rather, "mantles" or "cloaks;" lit., im-appings. For "blue," Henderson translates, "purple," chests of rich apparel, bound with cords—treasures or repositories of damask stuffs, consisting of variegated threads ivoven together
riors hanged their accoutrements on the walls for ornament. Divested of the metaphor it means, it was an honour to thee to have so many nations supplying thee with hired soldiers. 11. Gammadlms— rather, as the Tyrians were Syro-Plioenicians, from a Syriac root, meaning darinc/, "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 (Judges 3. 16), "short-swordsmen." 13. Tarshlsh—Tartessus in Spain, a country famed for various metals, which were exported to Tyre. Much of the "tin" probably was conveyed by the Phoenicians from Cornwall to Tarshish. traded In thy fairs—"did barter with thee" [Fairbaibn]; from a
root, "to leave," soinetliing left in barter for something
else. 13. Javaii—the lonians or Greeks: for the lonians of Asia Minor were tlie first Greeks whom the Asiatics came in contact with. Tubal . . . Meshecli—the Tibareni and Mosehi, in the mountain-region between the Black and Caspian Seas, persons of men i. e., 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. Togarniah—Armenia: descended from' Gomer (Genesis 10. '-i). Their mountainous region south of tlie Caucasus was celebrated for horses, horsemen —rather, "riding-horses," as distinct from "horses" for
in figures. [Henderson.] cedar—The "chests" were made of cedar, in order to last the longer; and also it keeps off decay, and has a sweet odour. 35. singof thee-personi-
ficatiou; thy great merchant ships were palpable proofs of thy greatness. Others translate from a di fterent Hebrew
root, "were thy (mercantile) travellers." Fairbaibn
translates, "Were thy walls." But the parallelism to "thou wast glorious" favours English Version, "sing of thee." 3G. 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 (Psalm 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. 37. The detailed enumeration implies the utter completeness of the ruin, and in all thy company—" even with all thy collected multitude." [Hendebson.] 38. The suburbs—The buildings of Tyre on the adjoining continent. 39. So on the downfiUl of
chariots. [Faikbaikn.] 15. Dedan—near the Persian Sea: thus an avenue to the commerce of India. Not the Dedan in Arabia (v. 20), as the names in the context here prove, but the Dedan sprung from Cush [BOCHABT], (Genesis 10. 7). merchandise of thine hand —i.e., were dependent on thee for trade [Fairbaibn]; came to buy the produce of thy hands. [Grotius.] 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, a present lit., a reward in return ; a price paid
spiritual Babylon (Revelation 18. 17, <ic.). shall stand upon . . . land—being cast out of their ships in which heretofore they prided themselves. 30. against thee—
for mercliandise. IG. " Syria was thy mart for the multitude," &c. For Syria the IjXX. read Edam. But the Syrians were famed as merchants, occupied—old English for " traded ;" so in Luke 19. 13. agate—others transUUe, "ruby," " chaIce<lony," or "pearls." 17. Mliinltli
rather, "concerning thee." 31. utterly ^>al^\—lit., bald with baldness. The Phoenician custom in mourning; which, as being connected with heathenish superstitions, was forbidden to Israel (Deuteronomy 14. 1). 33. take up —lift up. the destroy<d—a destroyed one. Lit. (as opposed to its previous bustle of thronging merchants and mariners, t). 27), "one brought to death's stillness." In . .. midst of . . . sea—insular Tyro. 33. out of the seas brought on shore out of the sliips. fiUedst—didst supply plentifully with wares, enrich , , . kings—with thfl 601
, . , Pannag—names of places in Israel famed for good wheat, wherewith Tyre was supplied (1 Kings 5. fl, 11; Ezra 8. 7; Acts 12.20); Minnith was formerly an Ammonite city (Judges II. 3.!). "Pannag" is identified by Grotius with "Ptienicc, ' the Greelc name for Cnnaan. "Tbey traded . . . wlieat," i. <>., they supplied tliy market
Go(r& Judgment on the King of Tyre, EZEKIEL XXVIII. Judgment of Zldon, and Israel Reslored.
custom dues levied on the wares. 34. In tlie time -wlieii
The nine precious stones here mentioned answer to nlnu of the twelve (representing the twelve tril)es) in the liigh priest's breastplate (Exodus 31). 10-13; Revelation 21. li, 19-
. . . sSkalt . .» sliall—iVoio tliat thou a?< broken (wrecked),
&('., t.liy merchandise, &c.,are fallen. [Mauker.] 35. Isles —sea-coasts. 36. Uiss—with astonishment; as in 1 Kings
21). Of the four rows of three in ea(-h, the third is omitted in the Jfcbrcw, but is supplied in the LXX. In this, too, tdcre is an ulterior reference to Antichrist, who is blasphemously Lo arrogate the office of our Divine High J'riest (Zechariah 0. 13). tabrets—tambourines, pipea—lit., lioltB in musical j)ipes or flutes, created i. c., in the auy of tfune accession to tlie tlirone. Tanibournies and all tjia marks of j{iy w re ready prepared lor thee ("in thee,'' i. p. with and tor 'hee). Tliou hadst not, like others, to worU thy way to the throne through arduous sti uggles. No sooner created than, like Adam, thou wast surrounded with tlie gratifications of Eden. Fairbairn, for "pipes," translates, "females" (having reference to Genesis 1. 27.),
9. 8. CHAPTER XXVIII.
Vcr. 1-26. I'KOl'HETICAL DiKGE ON THE KiNQ OF TYRE, AS vuE Culmination and Embodiment op the Spirit
OS' CaHNAL Pr) UE and HELF-SUrFICIENCY OF THE WHOI.E Statu. The Fall of Zidon, the Mother-city. The Bestoration of Israel in contrast with Tyre and Zidon. 2. Ilecanse, &c.—Repeated resumptively in v. 6; the apodosis begins at d. 7. "The prince of Tyrus" at the time was Ithobiil, or Xtlibaal II.; the name implying his close couuection with Baal, the Phcenician supreme god, whose representative he was. I am . . . god, I sit in . . .
f. e., musician-women. Mauukr explains the Jlebrew not as to mu.sic, but as to the setting and mounting of the genvs previously mentioned. 14. anointed clterub—Gi-SKNiL'S translates from an Aramaic root, "extended cherub." English W'Tsion, from a Hebrew root, is better. "The cherub consecrated to the Lord by the anointing oil." [F'airbairn.] covtrctli — Tlie imagery employed by Ezekiel as a priest is from the Jewish temple, wherein the cherubim overshadowed the mercy-seat, as the king of Tj-re, a demi-god in his own esteen, extended hir. protection over tlie interests of Tyre. The cherub—an ideal compound of the higliest kinds of animal existence, and the type of redeemed man in liis ultimate state of perfection—is made tlie image of the king of Tyre, as if the beau ideal of humanity. The pretensions of Antichrist are the ulterior reference, of whom the king of Tyre is a type. Of. "As God ... in the temple of God" (2 Thessalonians 2. 4). I Have set tliee—not tliou set thj-self (Proverbs 8. 16; Romans 13. I), upon tlie Jioly mountain of God—Zion; following up the image, in . . . midst of stones of fire—in ambitious imagination he stood in the place of God, "under whose feet was as it were a pavement of sapphire," whilst His glory was like "devouring
Beail of (Jod . . . the seas—As God sits enthroned in His heavenly citadel exempt from all injury, so I sit secure in my i)npregnat)le stronghold amidst the stormiest elemi nts, able to control them at will, and make tliem subserve my interests. Tlie language, though primarily here apjilied to tlie king of Tyre, as similar language is to the king of Babylon (Isaiah II. 13, 14), yet has an ulterior and
lnll( r a;'co)npIish)nent in Satan and his embodiment in Antichrist (Daniel 7. 2.5; 11. 36, 37; 2 Thessalonians 2. 4; Revi laiion 13. 6). This feeling of superhuman elevation in the king ol Tyre was fostered by the fact that the island on wi'.icli Tyre stood was called "the holy island" [Banco xia'iiion], being sacred to Hercules, so much so that the colonii-s looked up to Tyre as tlie mother-city of their religion, as well as of their political existence. The Hebrew for "God" is El, i. e., the Mighty One. yet, Ac.—keen irony, set tliiiie Jieart as . . . Iteart of Go«l—Thou tliinlcfst of thyself as if thou wert God. 3. Ezekiel iro\ii'-any alludi s to Ithbaal's overweening opinion of tlie wisdom of himself and the Tyrians, as though superior to that of Daniel, whose fame had reached even Tyre as eclipsing tlie Chaldean sages. "Thou art wiser," vt2., in thy own opinion (Zechariah 9. 2). no secret—i'i2., forgetting riches (,r. 4). tliat tUey can Itlde i. e., that can be hidden. 5. 'Psalm 02. 10.) 6. Because, &c.—resumptive of v. 2. 7. tlieiefore—apodosis. strangers . . . terrible of tUe nations— the Chaldean foreigners noted for their ferocity (ch.
fire" (Exodus 24. 10, 17). 15. perfect—prosperous [GroTius], and having no defect. So Hiram was a sample of the Tyrian monarch in his early days of wisdom and prosperity (1 Kings 5. 7, iSc). till ini<nuity ... in tliee like the primeval man thou hast fallen by abusing God's
30. il; ol. 12). against the beanty of tliy wisdom—j. p., against thy beautiful possessions acquired by tliy wisdom on which thou so pridest thyself (u. 3-5). defile tUy briglitness—obscure the briglitness of thy kingdom. 8. tine i>it
gifts, and so hast provoked God's wratli. IG. filled tlie midst of thee—». c., they have filled the midst of tlie city
he as the head of the state being involved in the guilt of
tlie state, w'liich he did not check, but fostered, cast tliee as profane-no longer treated as sacred, but driven out of the place of sanctity (see v. 14) which thou hast occupied
i.e., the bottom of the sea; the image being that of one conquered in a sea-fight, tlie deaths—piura?, as varioiis kinds of dentils are meant (Jeremiah 16. 4). of titein
(cf. Psalm 89. 39). IT. Iirlglituess—thy splendour, lay
tiiee before Ulngs—as an example of God's wrath against presumptuous pride. 18. tliy sanctuaries—t. e., the holy places, attributed to the king of Tyre in v. 14, as his ideal position. As he "profaned" it, so God will "profane" him (u. 10). fire . . . devour—as he abused his supposed elevation amidst " the stones of fire" (?;. 16), so God will make His "fire" to "devour" him. ai. Zidon—famous for its fishery (from a root, Zud, " to fish") ; and afterwards for its wide-extended commerce; its artistic elegance was proverbial. P'ounded by Canaan's first-born (Genesis 10,
. . . slain lit., pierced through. Such deaths as those, pierced with many wounds die. 9. yet say i. e., still saj-; referring to v. 2. but, &c.—but thy blasphemous boastings shall be falsified, and thou shalt be shown to be but man, and not God, in the hand (at the mercy) of Him, Ac. 10. deittJis of . . . uncircnmcised i. e., such a death as the uncircumcised or godless heathen deserve; and perhaps, also, such as the uncircumci.sed inflict, a great ignominy in the eyes of a Jew (1 Samuel 31. 4) ; a fit retribution on him who had scoffed at the circumcised Jews. 13. eenlest up tl»e snm—lit., "Thou art the one sealing the sum of perfection." A thing is sealed when completed (Daniel i). 21). "The sum" implies the full measure of
I.)). Tyre was an offshoot from it, so that it was involved in the same overthrow by the Chaldeans as Tyre. It is mentioned separately, because its idolatry (Aslitaroth, Tamniuz or Adonis) infected Israel more than that of Tyre did (ch. 8. ; Judges 10. 6 ; 1 Kings II. 3A). The notorious Jezebel w;is a daughter of the Zidonian king, sliail be sanvtilied in lier—when all nations shall see that I am the Holy .fudge in the vengeance that I will inflict on her
bciiiilj/, from a Hebrew root, "to measure." The normal man—one formed after accurate rule. 13. in £den—the king of Tyre is represented in his former high state (contrasted with his subsequent downfall), under images drawn from the primeval man in Eden, the type of liuuianity in its most God-like form, garden of God the model of ideal loveliness (ch. 31. 8, 9; 30. 35). In the person of the king of Tyre a new trial was made of humanity with the greatest earthly advantages. But as in the case of Adam the good gifts of God were only turned Into ministers to pride and self, every precious stone so in Eden (Genesis 2. 12), "gold, bdellium, and the onyx tone." So the king of Tyre was arrayed In jcwel-beipauglcd robes after the fashion of Oriental monarchs.
for sin. no more . . . brier . . . luito . . . Israel— as tlie idolatrous nations left in Canaan (among which Zidon is expressly specified in the limits of Asher, Judges
I. 31) had been (Numbers 33. 53; Joshua 23. 13). "A brier,"
first ensnaring the Israelites in sin, and then l)eing made the instrument of punishing them, pricking—W., "causing bitlerness." The same Hebrew is translated, "fretting" (Leviticus 13. 51, 52). The wicked are often called " thorns" (2 Samuel 23. U). 85, :40. Fullilled in yart
G02
The Judijinent of Pharaoh. EZEKIEL XXIX. Tlie Rtsloration of Egypt.
of thy routed army shall be brought together, and rallied, after its defeat in the wilderness. Pharaoh* led an army against Cyrene in Africa, in support of Aricranes, who had been stripped of his kingdom by the Cyrenians. The army perished and Egypt relielled against hiui. [Junius.] But the reference is m.ainly to the defeat by Nel_)uchadnezzar. beasts . . . fowls—hostile and savage men. 6. stair of reed to . . , Israel—alluding to the reeds on the banks of the Nile, on which if one leaned they broke (Note,v.i\ Isaiah 36. 6). All Israel's dependence on Egj'pt proved hurtful instead of beneficial (Isaiali 30. 1-5). 7. Itand—or /lojidie of the reed, rend . . . sliouidi-i'—Ijy the splinters on which the shoulder or arm would fall, on the support failing the hand, madest . . . l4>i»3 ... at a stand i. e., made them to be disabled. Maurrr somewhat similarly (referring to a kindred Arabic form ), " TI)i)U hast stricken both their loins." Faiubaiun, not so Avcll, "Thou lettest all their loins stand," /. e., b;; thcin:<elvc>s, be-
al tlio restoration from Babylon, when Judaism, so far from being merged in heathenism, made Inroads by con-
versions on the idolatry of surrounding nations. The
full accomplishment Is yet future, when Israel, under
Christ, shall be the centre of Christendom; of which an
titrnest was given in the woman from the coasts of Tyre
Buii ,Si:lon who sought the Saviour (Matthew lo. 21, 21, 26-
28; cf. Isaiah 11. 12). dwell safely—(Jeremiah 23. 6.)