Ezekiel 27:7-9

27:7 Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail

to serve as your banner;

blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah ¹  was used for your deck’s awning.

27:8 The leaders ²  of Sidon ³  and Arvad ⁴  were your rowers;

your skilled ⁵  men, O Tyre, were your captains.

27:9 The elders of Gebal ⁶  and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; ⁷ 

all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 27:12

27:12 “‘Tarshish ⁹  was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.

Ezekiel 27:18-19

27:18 Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar, 27:19 and casks of wine ¹⁰  from Izal ¹¹  they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise.

Ezekiel 27:22

27:22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products.

Ezekiel 27:24

27:24 They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets, bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise.

Ezekiel 27:34

27:34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters;

your merchandise and all your company have sunk ¹²  along with you. ¹³ 

[27:7]  ¹ sn This is probably a reference to Cyprus.

[27:8]  ² tc The MT reads “the residents of”; the LXX reads “your rulers who dwell in.” With no apparent reason for the LXX to add “the rulers” many suppose something has dropped out of the Hebrew text. While more than one may be possible, Allen’s proposal, positing a word meaning “elders,” is the most likely to explain the omission in the MT from a graphic standpoint and also provides a parallel to the beginning of v. 9. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:81.a parallel to v. 9.

[27:8]  ³ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[27:8]  ⁴ sn Sidon and Arvad, like Tyre, were Phoenician coastal cities.

[27:8]  ⁵ tn Or “wise.”

[27:9]  ⁶ sn Another Phoenician coastal city located between Sidon and Arvad.

[27:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “strengthening damages.” Here “to strengthen” means to repair. The word for “damages” occurs several times in 1 Kgs 12 about some type of damage to the temple, which may have referred to or included cracks. Since the context describes Tyre in its glory, we do not expect this reference to damages to be of significant scale, even if there are repairmen. This may refer to using pitch to seal the seams of the ship, which had to be done periodically and could be considered routine maintenance rather than repair of damage.

[27:9]  ⁸ sn The reference to “all the ships of the sea…within you” suggests that the metaphor is changing; previously Tyre had been described as a magnificent ship, but now the description shifts back to an actual city. The “ships of the sea” were within Tyre’s harbor. Verse 11 refers to “walls” and “towers” of the city.

[27:12]  ⁹ 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.

[27:19]  ¹⁰ tc The MT leaves v. 18 as an incomplete sentence and begins v. 19 with “and Dan and Javan (Ionia) from Uzal.” The LXX mentions “wine.” The translation follows an emendation assuming some confusions of vav and yod. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:82.

[27:19]  ¹¹ sn According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 2:82), Izal was located between Haran and the Tigris and was famous for its wine.

[27:34]  ¹² tn Heb “fallen.”

[27:34]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the midst of you.”