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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
26:1-28:19 Oracles against Tyre. The Tyre oracles are neatly divided into three large segments by the concluding refrain at 26:21, 27:36, and 28:19. With further subdivisions, there are seven units in all. This lengthy collection, surpassed only by the Egypt oracles, immediately raises the question, why so much about Tyre? The answer seems to be that, of the states addressed by Ezekiel, only Tyre and Egypt had the power to withstand Babylon: Egypt's power was military, Tyre's was economic. This latter factor is especially prominent in Ezekiel's oracles. Some have claimed that the Tyre oracles, especially ch. 26, are examples of unfulfilled prophecy. Ezekiel announces the devastation of Tyre at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (26:7-13). Tyre eventually capitulated but was not destroyed, as Ezekiel eventually knew (29:17-20). How is this so-called "failure" of the prophetic word to be explained? Some recent interpreters have preferred to identify Alexander the Great's victory over Tyre in with Ezekiel's prophecy. This interpretation is unsatisfactory, however, because it does not do justice to the expectation that Babylon would destroy Tyre (cf. 26:7). Others appeal to God's sovereign freedom, claiming he is able not only to carry out a threat but also to relent, as with Nineveh in Jonah 3. However, there is no suggestion that Tyre repented as did Nineveh, and this approach renders the interpretation of prophecy quite arbitrary. A third strategy lays emphasis on the element of promise rather than prediction: no matter the actual outcome, the real intent was to subject Tyre to God's sovereignty by the prophetic word. However, this reading is unsatisfactory in that it seems to render insignificant the details of Ezekiel's language. A further possibility is to read Ezekiel 26 along the lines suggested in ch. 16, that is, that metaphorical language should not be confused with literal. Since much of this prophecy is metaphorical, one should not look for literal fulfillment. Finally, it is also clear that biblical prophecy is not necessarily exhausted in a single historical horizon (cf. Jeremiah's [Jer. 25:12; Dan. 9:2, 20-27]). So too here, Tyre's initial reduction in Ezekiel's day (see note on Ezek. 26:1-21) was but the firstfruits of the unfolding of God's judgment on Tyre. The exposition here seeks to steer carefully through these difficulties.
26:1-21 Against Tyre. The prophet announces the destruction of Tyre at the hands of the Babylonians in four oracles grouped into two pairs, each linked by the Hebrew ki (vv. 7, 19; "for," "because"; see 25:6): 26:1-6 and 7-14 look toward Tyre being razed; vv. 15-18 and 19-21 stand imaginatively on the other side of destruction, depicting reactions to Tyre's demise. To the claim that the prophecies in ch. 26 were never fulfilled, the best answer recognizes that the prophecy against Tyre in vv. 3-14 is a complex one. It combines elements that would be fulfilled in the attack of Nebuchadnezzar (he besieged Tyre for , from , an attack described in vv. 7-11), and in the subsequent attack and conquest by Alexander the Great in (this provides a fulfillment for the complete destruction predicted in vv. 3-6 and vv. 12-14). OT prophecies often contain different elements that are fulfilled in the near future and in the more distant future. In addition, some parts of ch. 26 were not even fulfilled until a time later than Alexander (see note on v. 14).
26:1-6 Apart from the date formula (see note on v. 1), this unit bears striking similarity to those of ch. 25 and thus serves as a "hinge" between that sequence on Judah's nearest neighbors (see note on 25:1-32:32) and this larger complex of Tyrian oracles. Like those nations, Tyre had been involved with the coalition referred to in Jer. 27:3, and now is censured for its insult to and exploitation of Jerusalem (Ezek. 26:2).
26:1 The date formula lacks the month, and so cannot be fixed with precision. It falls within the span of According to Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Tyre was launched around and lasted (Jewish Antiquities 10.228).
26:3 The agents of destruction here are many nations, described metaphorically as the crashing of the sea and its waves. The description that follows continues this figurative language. This was fulfilled partially by the siege of Nebuchadnezzar, and then more fully in the conquest by Alexander the Great in (see note on 26:1-28:19). Both Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great led the military forces from "many nations" whom they had conquered. Nebuchadnezzar's title "king of kings" (26:7) reflected this reality and echoes historical records of Assyrian royal language. Alexander the Great, in attacking Tyre, had the help of
26:4-5 The location of Tyre in the midst of the sea, often seen in extrabiblical sources as a sign of its security, is now described with derision (see also v. 17). In the conquests of Alexander the Great, Tyre was indeed destroyed and made like a bare rock.
26:6 Her daughters on the mainland are the villages on the mainland that were opposite the island city of Tyre. They were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and again by Alexander.
26:7-14 This oracle develops its briefer partner (vv. 2-6), adding specificity and concreteness to the imagery as its message is reinforced. Some repeated vocabulary contributes to their coherence ("walls" and "towers," vv. 4 and 9; "bare rock," vv. 4 and 14; "a place for the spreading of nets," vv. 5 and 14).
26:7 Nebuchadnezzar (II) of Babylon reigned
26:8-10 Ezekiel's oracle includes many of the traditional elements of siege warfare, at the same time conjuring up much of its claustrophobia. daughters. See note on v. 6.
26:12 That Tyre's wealth should be subject to plunder is not only inevitable in ancient warfare, it is also poetic justice, given its gloating (v. 2). However, by the time that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Tyre, much of value had been removed by sea, and apparently little wealth remained after of siege (see 29:18). Later, Alexander the Great conquered Tyre by building a
26:14 You shall never be rebuilt. Tyre was rebuilt and reconquered several times after Alexander the Great, so the complete fulfillment of this prophecy did not come immediately. The modern city of Tyre is of modest size and is near the ancient site, though not identical to it. Archaeological photographs of the ancient site show ruins from ancient Tyre scattered over many acres of land. No city has been rebuilt over these ruins, however, in fulfillment of this prophecy.
26:15-18 Off the island itself, the vantage point is now that of the mainland cities (cf. vv. 6, 8) as their princes mourn the downfall of formerly majestic Tyre. The lament itself appears in vv. 17-18, an outpouring of fear-induced grief. Laments feature prominently in the Tyre and Egypt oracles (cf. 27:1-36; 28:11-19; 32:1-32).
26:19-21 The final oracle anticipates the closing of the entire foreign-nation oracle collection, which bemoans the arrival of the nations in the underworld place of the dead (32:17-32; cf. Job 3:13-19). The repeated phrase those who go down to the pit (twice, Ezek. 26:20; see 32:18) refers to the state of those whom death has separated from communion with God (cf. Isa. 38:13).
27:1-36 A Lament against Tyre. This remarkable passage, the second installment of the Tyre series, is both simple and complex. Its simplicity lies in the unfolding narrative line, set in the form of a lament. Its complexity is in the wealth of detail and technical artistry displayed throughout. Tyre is likened to a merchant ship, whose fortunes are traced from the shipyards (vv. 4-7) and crew (vv. 8-11) to its tragic loss at sea (vv. 26-27) and the outcry its loss provokes (vv. 28-32a)--all culminating in a lament-within-a-lament (vv. 32b-36). A lengthy aside in the middle of the chapter (vv. 12-25) offers a sort of commercial litany, as Tyre's many trading partners and their wares are dolefully itemized (see map). A striking feature of the lament, lending to its somber tone, is the complete lack of invective; nor is God mentioned within the oracle. In spite of some obscure details and uncertain place names, the force of the lament is clear enough: for all its splendor and in spite of its wealth, Tyre is doomed.
27:5-6 The wood comes from the regions corresponding to modern Lebanon (Senir is north of Mount Hermon) and the Golan Heights (Bashan).
27:8-9 The mariners came from various Phoenician coastal cities.
27:10 Persia (modern Iran), Lud (probably in Asia Minor), and Put (Libya) mark out a vast geographical triangle from which mercenaries were drawn. The actual location of Lud is uncertain. The most common view is that Lud is Lydia (a region in western Asia Minor, later a Roman province and now part of modern Turkey), but some place it in northern Africa.
27:11 The identifications of the final group of place names are uncertain. They serve to complete the beauty boasted of in vv. 3-4.
27:12-25 The impressive range of merchant connections begins and ends with Tarshish, probably in southern Spain, implying that Tyre's trade stretched along the whole extent of the Mediterranean.
27:13 The names Javan, Tubal, and Meshech are first found as sons of Japheth in Gen. 10:2 (repeated in 1 Chron. 1:5). But in Ezekiel's time the names signified geographical regions, perhaps peopled by descendants of those men. The primary import of the names here is to signify the far-off places with which Tyre did business. More specifically, "Javan" (Hb. Yawan) was a collective OT name for Greece or the Greeks (the same Hb. term is translated "Greece" in Dan. 8:21; 10:20; 11:2; Zech. 9:13). "Tubal" refers to ancient Tabal, in what is now central Turkey (the province of Cappadocia in NT times). "Meshech" refers to a people known in Greek literature as the Moschoi, who settled in an area on the southeast edge of the Black Sea (the northeastern part of modern Turkey).
27:14 Beth-togarmah was located in the region of Carchemish and Harran.
27:32-36 The lament raised by the onlookers (vv. 28-29) offers a miniature version of the whole chapter: wealthy Tyre, who enriched the entire economy, has sunk, instilling fear in the watching nations.
28:1-19 Against Tyre's King. The final part of the Tyre oracles brings the movement of Tyre's hubris to a climax. While its pride was implied throughout ch. 26, and led to self-exaltation in ch. 27, here Tyre claims deity (28:2). Two distinct laments are presented: vv. 1-10 assail the pride of Tyre's king; vv. 11-19 present him as a primordial being fallen from grace. In neither case does a particular king seem to be in view; rather, Tyre is personified through its monarch. Tyre's wealth is constantly in view, as it has been throughout chs. 26-27, intrinsically bound up with its opposition to God.
28:1-10 Although cast in lament form, the structure of this oracle takes the familiar pattern of grounds of indictment (vv. 2b-6) and outcome (vv. 7-10) with a formulaic conclusion. Pride is at the center of the charge, reinforced by the repetition of the word "heart" (Hb. leb or lebab), used eight times in the span of vv. 2-8.
28:2 The king of Tyre is designated prince (Hb. nagid). It could simply be a stylistic variation for "king" (cf. Ps. 76:12, where it is a poetic parallel to "kings"). If it has further value beyond a simple designation for a national leader, this term could imply a divinely appointed, charismatic leader as it does in older Hebrew usage. If so, it further emphasizes the hubris of this figure.
28:4-5 Trade and commerce were the foundation of Tyre's wealth, but then that wealth led Tyre to become proud, which led to aspirations to deity.
28:6 The entire because . . . therefore structure (vv. 2, 7) is distilled in this single "hinge" verse.
28:7-8 Here the agents of divine punishment are unnamed foreigners, elsewhere identified with the Babylonians (26:7; 29:18; cf. 30:10-11). For descent to the pit, cf. 26:19-21.
28:11-19 The final anti-Tyre oracle adds a plethora of detail. As in ch. 27, there is no indictment (like in 28:1-10) but rather a narrative lament culminating in inevitable doom. The imagery is kaleidoscopic. Tyre is likened to a second Adam, clearly a created being (vv. 13, 15) and yet a "cherub" (v. 14). It is in the "garden of God" in v. 13, and on the "mountain of God" in vv. 14 and 16. Some would see v. 17 as a poetic allusion, wherein Ezekiel likens the downfall of the proud king of Tyre to the fall and curse on Satan in Gen. 3:1-15. At minimum, the extravagant pretensions of Tyre are graphically and poetically portrayed (cf. note on Ezek. 28:4-5), along with the utter devastation inflicted upon Tyre as a consequence (vv. 18-19).
28:13 Putting Tyre in Eden, the garden of God, forges a link with Genesis 2-3, but avoids connecting pagan Tyre with "the garden of Yahweh," as in Gen. 13:10 and Isa. 51:3. Some of the precious stones in this difficult list cannot be identified with confidence. It parallels similar lists in Exodus of the composition of the breastpiece of the priestly garments (see Ex. 28:17-20; 39:10-13).
28:14 As a guardian cherub, Tyre is like the cherubim guarding Eden (Gen. 3:24) rather than the "living creatures" seen in Ezekiel 1-3 and 8-11, who are throne-bearers.
28:15-16 Tyre was blameless, as was Job (Job 1:1; 12:4). But trade, coupled with violence, triggers the downfall of this previously admirable creature; see also Ezek. 28:18.
28:18 The priestly allusions are further developed as the sanctuaries are profaned.
