_Take up a lamentation for Tyrus_ This alludes to the mournful
lamentations used at funerals, wherein the mourning women recounted
every thing that was valuable or praiseworthy belonging to the
deceased, and then lamented the loss of him; _and say, O thou that art
situate at the entry of the sea_ Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have made thy ship-boards_ The decks of thy ships; _of fir-trees
of Senir_ By these are meant, the fir-trees which grew upon mount
_Hermon_, which was anciently called _Shenir_, or _Senir. They have
taken cedars to make masts for thee_ Though cedars have a thick, and
not a lofty trunk, masts c... [ Continue Reading ]
_The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners_ So great was
the opulence and pride of the Tyrians, that they hired foreigners to
do the more laborious and menial employments, and would do nothing
else themselves than steer the vessels, priding themselves on being
the most able pilots. Of _Zi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Tarshish was thy merchant_ Trafficked with thee. Of _Tarshish_, see
note on Isaiah 2:16; Isaiah 23:1. _Javan, Tubal, and Meshech_ By
_Javan_ is to be understood Greece, in which sense Alexander is styled
king of Javan, or Greece, Daniel 8:21. So the LXX. translate it here,
and in that place of Dani... [ Continue Reading ]
_Syria was thy merchant_, &c. From what is said here, we may conclude
that the inhabitants of Tyre were exceedingly industrious, skilful in
arts, and politic; for here almost all nations are described as
bringing their respective commodities to Tyre, to give in exchange for
the wares or manufactures... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arabia, &c., occupied with thee_ Hebrew, ידן סחרי, _were the
merchants of thy hand;_ that is, they took off thy manufactures (see
Eze 27:15) in exchange for cattle, in which their substance chiefly
consisted. Of _Kedar_ and its flocks, see notes on Isaiah 21:16;
Isaiah 60:7. _The merchants of Sheba... [ Continue Reading ]
_The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee_, &c. Ships of Tarshish
signify sometimes in Scripture any trading or merchant ships; and in
this general sense the expression seems to be used here: the prophet,
having already reckoned up the principal countries which traded with
Tyre, now adds, in comprehen... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters_ The prophet here
begins to change the subject, and now, in metaphorical language,
speaks of the danger into which the rulers and statesmen of Tyre had
brought her by their pride and ill-concerted measures. He compares her
to a ship, impelled by its ow... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy riches, &c., and all thy company, shall fall into the midst of
the seas_ Shall be as utterly ruined and destroyed as if they were
sunk in the sea by a shipwreck. Or, this may signify their falling in
a sea- fight. _The suburbs shall shake_, &c. The cry of thy wounded
seamen shall make the inhab... [ Continue Reading ]
_When thy wares_, &c. When thy wares or manufactures were transported
through the seas to every part, _thou filledst many people _ Didst
supply the wants, or minister to the luxuries and pleasures, of many
nations. Time was when thy wares, those of thy own making, and those
that passed through thy h... [ Continue Reading ]