Acts 12:20

12:20 Now Herod ¹  was having an angry quarrel ²  with the people of Tyre ³  and Sidon. ⁴  So they joined together ⁵  and presented themselves before him. And after convincing ⁶  Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, ⁷  to help them, ⁸  they asked for peace, ⁹  because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.

Psalms 45:12

45:12 Rich people from Tyre ¹⁰ 

will seek your favor by bringing a gift. ¹¹ 

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ¹²  and Babylon to my followers. ¹³ 

Here are ¹⁴  Philistia and Tyre, ¹⁵  along with Ethiopia. ¹⁶ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 23:17-18

23:17 At the end of seventy years ¹⁸  the Lord will revive ¹⁹  Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth’s kingdoms. ²⁰  23:18 Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord’s presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes. ²¹ 

Matthew 11:21

11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ²²  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ²³  the miracles ²⁴  done in you had been done in Tyre ²⁵  and Sidon, ²⁶  they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Luke 10:13

10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ²⁷  Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if ²⁸  the miracles ²⁹  done in you had been done in Tyre ³⁰  and Sidon, ³¹  they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

[12:20]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:20]  ² tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).

[12:20]  ³ sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.

[12:20]  ⁴ sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).

[12:20]  ⁵ tn Or “with one accord.”

[12:20]  ⁶ tn Or “persuading.”

[12:20]  ⁷ tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.

[12:20]  ⁸ tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:20]  ⁹ tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.

[45:12]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[45:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).

[87:4]  ¹² sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[23:17]  ¹⁸ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[23:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “visit [with favor]” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “will deal with.”

[23:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and she will return to her [prostitute’s] wages and engage in prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the earth.”

[23:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “for eating to fullness and for beautiful covering[s].”

[11:21]  ²² sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[11:21]  ²³ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ²⁴ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ²⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ²⁶ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[10:13]  ²⁷ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[10:13]  ²⁸ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[10:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[10:13]  ³⁰ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:13]  ³¹ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”