Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 23

Verses 1-18

Concerning Tyre (23:1-18)

One of the most remarkable peoples of the ancient world were the Phoenicians, who are the subject of this prophecy. Inhabiting the territory of modern Lebanon, these descendants of the old Canaanites turned to the sea and founded trading colonies all over the Mediterranean area, becoming indeed “the merchant of the nations” (vs. 3). The “ships of Tarshish” (vs. 1) were the ocean-going trading vessels of Tyre’s commercial fleet, named from Phoenician metal refineries as far west as Sardinia and Spain. Here Isaiah announces the purpose of the Lord to bring this country, the capital of which was Tyre, into trouble, evidently referring to its subjection to a vassal status under the Assyrians. Ezekiel 27-28 is a comparable prophecy from the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Both are valuable literary sources contemporary with the great days of Tyre and the Phoenicians. Verse 13 seems to be fragmentary and is obscure. It is an editorial comment that probably refers to the long siege of Nebuchadnezzar against Tyre. Verses 15-18 predict a seventy-year period of decline for Tyre, after which all her commerce wiil be dedicated to the Lord. This small eschatological fragment about the future of Tyre is difficult to fix precisely into the known history of the country. In any case it, too, is an appendix to the primary poetic oracle in verses 1-12.