Ezekiel 27:12

27:12 “‘Tarshish ¹  was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.

Ezekiel 27:25

27:25 The ships of Tarshish ²  were the transports for your merchandise.

“‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

Ezekiel 1:16

1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ³  was like gleaming jasper, ⁴  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ⁵ 

Ezekiel 10:9

10:9 As I watched, I noticed ⁶  four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; ⁷  the wheels gleamed like jasper. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 28:13

28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. ⁹ 

Every precious stone was your covering,

the ruby, topaz, and emerald,

the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,

the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; ¹⁰ 

your settings and mounts were made of gold.

On the day you were created they were prepared.

Ezekiel 38:13

38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ¹¹  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

¹ sn Tarshish refers to a distant seaport sometimes believed to be located in southern Spain (others identified it as Carthage in North Africa). In any event it represents here a distant, rich, and exotic port which was a trading partner of Tyre.

² tn Or perhaps “Large merchant ships.” The expression “ships of Tarshish” may describe a class of vessel, that is, large oceangoing merchant ships.

³ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

⁴ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

⁵ tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

⁴ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

⁵ tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography.

⁶ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

⁵ sn The imagery of the lament appears to draw upon an extrabiblical Eden tradition about the expulsion of the first man (see v. 14 and the note there) from the garden due to his pride. The biblical Eden tradition speaks of cherubs placed as guardians at the garden entrance following the sin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:24), but no guardian cherub like the one described in verse 14 is depicted or mentioned in the biblical account. Ezekiel’s imagery also appears to reflect Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology at certain points. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:119-20.

⁶ tn The exact identification of each gemstone is uncertain. The list should be compared to that of the priest in Exod 28:17-20, which lists twelve stones in rows of three. The LXX apparently imports the Exod 28 list. See reference to the types of stones in L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:91.

⁶ tn Heb “young lions.”