27:1-3 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to write a lamentation over Tyre, though presently it was renowned for its seafaring and commercial leadership in the world. Tyre's neighboring kings sang the first dirge over Tyre's demise (26:15-18), but Ezekiel was to utter the one in this chapter. The destruction of sinners always moves the heart of God, and it should also move the hearts of His spokespeople.
Tyre had taken great pride and conceit in itself, and this was another cause of its judgment by God (cf. 26:2; Ps. 10:4; Prov. 6:17; 8:13; 16:18). Like Jerusalem, it considered itself perfect in beauty (Lam. 2:15; cf. Ezek. 28:1-17; Rev. 3:17).
27:4 Ezekiel described Tyre as a large, beautiful merchant ship.367He used this figure to portray Tyre's pride and her prominence and dominance as a maritime power.
"The earliest Phoenician ships each had 50 oarsmen and were quite fast. The later commercial ships were much longer and had a crew of up to 200 with two or three banks of oars on each side."368
The limits of this "ship of state"were those of the sea itself, and its builders had made it into a magnificent enterprise. The materials that had gone into its construction had been of the finest quality.
27:5-7 The wood was fir (pine or cypress) from the Mount Hermon region, and the mast was a strong cedar from Lebanon. Likewise her oars were of the best strong oak from Bashan, and her decks of boxwood (or cypress) from Cyprus contained beautiful inlaid ivory. Her linen sail had come from Egypt, which was famous for its linen production (Gen. 41:42; Prov. 7:16), and it had become Tyre's distinguishing flag or banner. The awning over the deck, or possibly the deck itself, was an attractive combination of violet and purple colors, and it came from Elishah (Italy, Sicily, Carthage, Cyprus, and Syria all being possibilities). In other words, Tyre's development as a city-state came through obtaining the finest materials of her day by trading with the producers of those materials.
27:8-9 Strong men from Sidon and Arvad, other neighboring Phoenician towns, were this ship's rowers, and its pilots were wise men. The Phoenicians were peerless in their seamanship in antiquity. The repairmen on board were also wise men from the famous elders of Gebal (Byblos in Lebanon). All other trading peoples cooperated with Tyre because it was the leading merchant marine power of its day.
"The description of every lavish detail of the trading vessel that represents the city of Tyre is expressed as an elaboration of Tyre's opinion of her own matchlessness: I am perfect in beauty' (3)."369
27:10-11 Famous mercenaries from distant lands were on board; Tyre was able to attract warriors to fight for her because she was strong. But the outstanding men of Tyre itself were traders, not soldiers. These foreign soldiers came from as far away as Persia, Lud (Lydia in Anatolia, modern eastern Turkey), and Put (on the African coast of the southern Red Sea).370These soldiers contributed to the glory of Tyre's reputation as a mighty city-state. Likewise the men of Arvad and the Gammadim (men of Gammad, places unknown) were part of her fighting force.371They hung their shields on Tyre's walls identifying themselves with her and pledging to defend her.
