The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 23
Chapter XXIII · Vol. III, pp. 1172–1173
1 The miserable overthrow of Tyre. 15 Her restoration after seventy years.
1 The burden1 of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish;2 for ait is laid waste,3 so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim4 it is revealed to them.
B.C. cir. 725.
1 Heavy judgment denounced against, ch.13.1. Am.1.9,10. Joel 3.4-6,8. Je.25.22; 47.4,7. Eze.xxvi.-xxviii. Zec.9.2-4.
2 ch.2.16. Ps.48.7; 72.10. ch.60.9, i.e. Cilicia, Spain, North Africa, &c.
a ver.14. Eze.26.2-14; 27.26-35.
3 Within and without: the tidings are brought by, or to, the inhabitants of Italy, &c.
4 Or, Cutheans captivity comes, ver.12. Je.2.10; 25.22. Eze.26.7,8. ch.14.11; 15.1; 22.2. Je.25.10,11.
2 Be bstill, ye inhabitants of the isle;5 thou whom the cmerchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor,6 the harvest of the driver, is her revenue; and she is ae mart of nations.7
6 Corn and flax of Egypt, Je.2.18. Eze.27.7.
d Ge.15.18; 41.1. Ex.1.22?. Nu.34.5. Jos.13.3. 1 Ch.13.5. Je.2.18.
7 See note * below.
* Sihor is a name of the Nile. It signifies 'black' or 'turbid.' The word rendered 'river' is yeor, which is the Egyptian name of the Nile. Consequently, the verse should be translated as follows: 'And in great waters the fruit of Sihor, the harvest of Yeor, was her revenue.' Egypt was the principal granary of Tyre: and its fertility depended altogether on the Nile.—P.
4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea8 hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, gI travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
5 As hat the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be isorely pained at the report of Tyre.
h Ex.vii.-xiv., or ch.xix.xx.
i Eze.26.15-21; 27.26-36; 28.19.
6 Passj ye over to Tarshish; khowl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
j ver.7,10,12; ch.21.15.
k ch.15.2-5,8; 22.1-6; 16.7.
7 Is this your ljoyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet1 shall carry her afar off2 to sojourn.
8 Whon hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
n ver.9,11. Eze.xxvii.xxviii. Re.18.7.
9 The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain3 the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
3 Heb. to pollute, ch.2.11,17; 5.15; 13.11. Job 40.11,12. Mal.4.1. Ja.4.6. Ex.18.11. Lu.1.51-53; 14.11. Pr.16.18. Eze.28.2-10,12-19. Lu.16.15. 1 Co.1.28,29.
10 Pass through thy land as a river,4 O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.5
4 Overflow thy land as a river without restraint. Fleeing swiftly, silently, or in great numbers, ver.7,12. Ge.19.17.
5 Heb. girdle, ver.14.
11 Heo stretched out his hand over the sea; he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the pmerchant city,6 to destroy the strong holds7 thereof.
o Ex.14.21. ver.4. Hag.2.6,7,22,23. He.12.26. Pr.21.30. Ps.33.10,11. ch.5.25; 14.6. Je.50.34.
p Heb. Canaan, Ge.9.25; 10.15-19.
6 Or, concerning a merchant-man.
7 Or, strength.
12 And he said, qThou shalt no more rejoice O thou oppressed virgin,8 daughter of 9Zidon, arise, pass over to Chittim;1 there also shalt thou have no rest.
13 Behold2 the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not till sthe Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the places thereof; and he brought it to ruin.3
2 Ge.10.10; 11.9. But the Assyrians rebuilt the cities, as 2 Ch.11.5,11. Da.4.30.
s Ps.72.9.
3 This verse presents many difficulties to the interpreter. Why are the Chaldeans here mentioned? What is the meaning of the second clause? What place is referred to in clause three? The following seems to be the sense:—'Behold the land of the Chaldees (the people who were the instruments employed in the destruction of Tyre); this people (the people now inhabiting the land) was not (had no existence as a nation until a recent period). The Assyrians founded it (the country) for dwellers in the desert (for the Chaldeans, who, previous to this time had led a wandering life). They set up its towers (the towers of Babylon), they reared up the palaces thereof. He (the Chaldean) brought it (Tyre) to ruin.'—P.
14 Howl,t ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
t ver.1,2,6,11. Re.18.18,17.
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten useventy years, according to the days of vone king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing4 as an harlot.5
4 Exert herself to regain her traffic.
5 Heb. it shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot.
u Je.25.9-22; 27.3-7; 29.10.
v Da.7.17,23; 8.20-22. Re.17.10,12.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten: make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass, after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication6 with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
6 Trade in a fraudulent and luxurious manner, Ho.12.7. Re.17.2. Eze.27.15,16.
18 And xher merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to yeat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.
x Eze.28.24. Ps.45.12; 72.10; 87.4. Ac.21.3-5. ch.60.6,7. Zec.14.20,21.
y De.12.18,19; 14.23-27. 1 Co.9.13,14. Ga.6.6. 1 Ti.5.17,18.
Notes
Ver. 1-5. Those concerned in the ships of Cilicia, the south parts of Spain, and other sea-ports, shall grievously bewail the extensive destruction of Tyre, as the harbours and places of entertainment and commerce there shall be all destroyed by the Chaldeans or Greeks, and part of the inhabitants carried captive; of which they shall be informed by the people with whom they trade. There shall be nothing but mournful silence and desolation in Tyre, which had been lately filled with mariners, merchants, and goods: filled with the corn and other commodities of Egypt; and resorted to by all the trading nations of the known world. Zidon, her parent and neighbouring city, shall be quite overwhelmed with confusion, because Tyre, long the mistress of the sea, instead of sending forth her colonies, shall be bereaved of her inhabitants. And the ruin of Tyre shall be no less alarming to the Egyptians and other neighbouring nations than the destruction of Egypt by Moses, or by the Ethiopians or Assyrians, &c. 6, 7. Notwithstanding her antiquity, and wonted gaiety and mirth, the inhabitants of Tyre shall, in great anguish and grief, leave their own country, and flee for shelter to Lesser Asia, Spain, or the north of Africa. 8, 9. Nor shall all their glory and wealth be able to prevent their ruin, since God has determined to pull down their pomp and magnificence as a warning to others. 10. Their fortifications and armies being ruined, the inhabitants of Tyre, long supported by their sea trade, shall be glad, in multitudes, swiftly to flee from their country never to return. 11, 12. It is God who, to the terror of the nations around, permits the Chaldeans or Greaks to destroy it; and though never conquered since it was founded by the Zidonians, it shall now be destroyed. Nor shall the inhabitants, carried captive to Chaldea or Greece, or who flee to other places, obtain there any fixed safety or quietness. 13. Nor need the Tyrians think the ruin of their city impossible. The Chaldeans, so anciently formed into a nation by Nimrod, and lately re-established by Baladan, an Assyrian prince, shall, after all their fortification of Babylon their capital, and their conquest of nations, bring them, and then be brought themselves, to ruin. 15-17. And after the Tyrians have been deprived of their trade for seventy years, answerable to the continuance of the Chaldean monarchy, they shall find again their wonted liberty; and they shall, by every engaging art, draw the nations to trade with them as formerly. 18. At last the Tyrians shall, in the apostolic age, be converted to the faith of Christ, and shall employ their power and wealth to promote his glory, and plentifully support his ministers and members.
Ver. 1. Tarshish. 'Tarshish' is a name common to Tarsus in Cilicia, some portion of India or Africa situated on the Indian Ocean, or of Spain; which last probably is the country here meant. See ver. 6. C.—Chittim. The Chittim were a people descended from Javan, Ge. 10. 4. Cyprus was probably their original seat. Its chief town was Citium, which is radically identical with Chittim. The Greeks afterwards occupied Cyprus, but seem to have been called Chittim. They established colonies far and wide throughout the Levant. From them Macedon—Ma Keti, 'the land of the Keti or Chittim'—derived its name. They also settled in Italy. P.
Ver. 3. The seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue. Grain from the banks of the Nile, 1 Ch. 3. 5. The river, most probably the Euphrates, as the channel of Indian commerce. C.
Ver. 5. Tyre. Ancient Tyre was situated on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, about 25 miles south of Sidon; New Tyre, on an island, about half a mile from the land; for upwards of 300 years it was justly considered the commercial capital of the world. Yet, when at the height of prosperity, its destruction was foretold by Ezekiel, Eze. xxvi.-xxviii., as well as by Isaiah. Yet how unlikely was its ruin! It was a place of prodigious strength, so that it successfully withstood Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, during a siege of five years; and was not taken by Nebuchadnezzar till after a siege of thirteen years. The island city had walls 150 feet high; but was taken by Alexander after a siege of seven months, and reduced to a state of utter ruin. It subsequently recovered a portion of its prosperity; but has long been what Ezekiel foretold, 'as the top of a rock, a place to spread nets upon.' Jameh estimates the present inhabitants of New Tyre at about 4000. The ancient city is a total ruin. C.
Ver. 15. Seventy years. From the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar till its restoration as a kingdom by Darius Hystaspes, in gratitude for their naval services, was just seventy years 'according to the days of one king,' or 'one kingdom,' that of Babylon; and from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar till Babylon was taken by Cyrus, was just seventy years—the whole period allotted by Providence to the Babylonian monarchy. C.
Ver. 17. Is not the last clause of ver. 17, beginning 'and she shall turn,' &c., to be read as a parenthesis, and united to ver. 16, and the first clause of ver. 17 to be read as the preface to ver. 18? And is not the whole a promise already in part fulfilled by the early conversion of Tyre to the Christian faith; and of blessed days to come, of which the past is the emblem, and the prophecy the security? C.
Reflections.—The wealthiest on earth are quickly reduced to poverty, and the most noisy traders to silence. And earthly friends can give but little help in our distress, however deeply they be concerned on account of it. When God pursues, there is no fleeing from our misery: and the more secure we lived, the more grievous will be our fall. There is no fixed, no solid rest but in Jesus Christ and in fellowship with him!—What a mercy is it if an afflicting God do not draw out his wrath to all generations,—to eternity! And if he turn back our captivity, he can bring back our lost prosperity. But earthly wealth often seduces men's souls into spiritual whoredom. Happy therefore are they whose troubles lead them to the knowledge of God, and whose trade regained is devoted to the service of Jesus Christ! Let him be my merchant, my wealth, my strong city; and I, and all I have, be Holiness to the Lord.