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Eze_27:3. Sept.: ... ôῳ ἐìðïñéῳ ô . ëáùí , ἀðï íçóùí ðïëëùí … ἐãù ðåñéåèçêá ἐìáõôç êáëëïò ìïõ ,—
Eze_27:4. ... èáëáóóçò ôῳ Âååëåéì , ê . õἱïé óïõ (other read.: áָðַéִêְ , âáåìֹê , ëìá , thy sons,) Arabs, Syr., Hex.).
Eze_27:5. ... ὠêïäïìçèç óïé , ôáéíéáé óáíéäùí êõðáñéóóéíùí —other read.: áàå ìê ; Syr.: adduxerunt. Hexapl.: ædificata est tibi, as Sept.
Eze_27:6. … ( ἱóôïõò ) ἐëáôéíïõò , ἐê … ἐðïéçóáí ô . êùðáò óïõ . Ôá ἱåñá óïõ … ïἰêïõò ἀëóùäåéò ἀðï íçóùí —(other read.: ÷ãùê , Arabs as Sept. in plur.—Sept. read áúé àùøéí ).
Eze_27:7. ... ôïõ ðåñéèåéíáé óïé äïîáí ê . ðåñéâáëåéí óå ὑáêéíèïí … êáé ðåñéâïëáéá ἐãåíåôï óïé .
Eze_27:8. Ê . ïἱ ἀñ÷ïíôåò óïõ ïἱ êáôïéêïõíôåò Óéäùíá —
Eze_27:9. ... Ïἱ ðñåóâõôåñïé Âéâëéùí … ïὑôïé ἐíéó÷õïí ô . âïõëçò óïõ … ἐãåíïíôï óïé ἐðé äõóìáò äõóìùí . Vulg.: … habuerunt nautas ad ministerium variæ supellectilis tuæ.
Eze_27:10. ... ἐêñåìáóáí ἐí óïé .—
Eze_27:11. Sept.: ... öõëáêåò ἐí ô . ðõñãïéò … ἐðé ôùí ὁñìùí óïõ —(other read.: åâîøéí , et Cimmerii. Sept. read åùîøéí ); Vulg.: … sed et Pygmæi—
Eze_27:12. ... Êáñ÷êäïíéïé ἐìðïñïé óïé … êáé ÷ñõóéïí ê . ÷áëêïí … ἐäùêáí ô . ἀãïñáí óïõ . Vulg.: Carthaginenses.
Eze_27:13. Ἡ Ἑ ëëáò êáé ἡ óõìðáóá ê . ôá ðáñáôåéíïíôá .. Vulg.: advexerunt populo tuo.
Eze_27:14. Other read.: úåøâîä .
Eze_27:15. Sept.: Ôἱïé ̔ Ñïäéùí … ἀðï íçóùí ἐðëçèõíáí ô . ἐìðïñéáí óïõ ὁäïíôáò ἐëåöáíôéíïõò , ê . ôïéò åἰóáãïìåíïéò ἀíôåäéäïõò ô . ìéóèïõò óïõ ,
Eze_27:16. ἀíèñùðïõò ἐìðïñéáí óïõ … ôïõ óõììêôïõ óïõ , óôáêôçí ê . ðïéêéëìáôá ἐê Èáñóåéò ê . ̔ Ñáììïè ê . Êïñ÷ïñ ἐäùðáí (other read.: àãí , Edom, Sept. in the sense of man, followed by Arabs, Syr., Hexapl.).
Eze_27:17. ... ἐí óéôïõ ðñáóåé ê . ìõñùí , ê . êáóéáò , ê . ðñùôïí ìåëé … åἰò ô . óõììéêôïí óïõ ( åôðâ , nonnulli per: “et balsamum” alii åôââ , “et ficus, grossulos,” vel ex Arab. “angurias, pepones Indicos”). Vulg.: … in frumento primo: balsamum … et resinam (Sept. ῥçôéíçí ) proposuerunt in nundinis tuis.
Eze_27:18. Sept.: ... ê . ἐñéá ἐê Ìéëçôïõ (19), ê . ïἰíïí åἰò ô . ἀãïñáí óïõ ἐäåêáí . Ἐî Ἀóçë óéäçñïí … óðáñôéïí ê . ôñï÷éáò ἐäùêáí ἐí ô . óõììéêôῳ óïõ ἐóôéí . Vulg.: … in vino pingui, in lanis coloris optimi. Dan et Græcia et Mosel—(other read.: ããï ).
Eze_27:20. ... ìåôá êôçíùí ἐêëåêôùí —Vulg.: … in tapetibus ad sedendum.
Eze_27:21. ... äéá ÷åéñïò óïõ , êáìçëïõò —(other read.: áôøéí , in tauris vel juvencis.—Chald.).
Eze_27:23. ... êáé Äáéäáí … ê . ×áñìáí . (For çøï it is read äøä , and for åëðä a reading exists åëìðä .)
Eze_27:24. ... ἐí ìá÷áëéì ê . ἐí ãáëéìá ὑáêéíèïí ê . ðïñöõñáí ê . èçóáõñïõò ἐêëåêôïõò äåäåìåíïõò ó÷ïéíéïéò ἐí êõðáñéóóéíïéò (25) ðëïéïéò ἐí áὐôïéò . Êáñ÷çäïíéïé ἐìðïñïé óïõ , Èáñóåéò ἐìðïñïé óïõ ἐí ô . ðëçèåé ἐí ô . óõììéêôù óïõ , ê … ê . ἐâáñõíèíò .—Vulg.: … multifariam involucris hyacinthi et polymitorum gazarumque pretiosarum … cedros quoque habebant in negotiationibus tuis. Naves maris principes tui in negotiatione tua—
Eze_27:26. Div. read.: ëîéí .
Eze_27:27. Other read.: åëì . Sept.: ἠóáí äõíáìåéò óïõ , ê . ὀ ìéóèïò óïõ ἐí ô . óõììéêôῳ óïõ … êáé ïἱ óõìâïõëïé óïõ êáé ïἱ óõììéêôïé óïõ ἐê ô . óõììéêôùò óïõ , ê . … ðáóá ἡ óõíáãùãç .—
Eze_27:28. ... ôçò êñáõãçò óïõ ïἱ êõâåñòçôáé óïõ öïâῳ —Vulg.: … conturbabuntur classes.
Eze_27:29. ... êáé ïἱ ἐðéâáôáé ê . ïἱ ðñùñåéò ôçò èáëáóóçò .
Eze_27:32. Sept., Arabs, Syr. read áðéäí , “their sons.” Êáé ëçøïíôáé ïἱ õἰïé áὐôùí … êáôáóéãçèåéóá ἐí ìåóῳ èáëáóóçò ;—
Eze_27:33. Ðïóïí êáé ôéíá åὑñåò ìéóèïí ἀðï ô . èáëáóóçò ; Ἐíåðïéçóáò ἐèíç ἀðï ô . ðëçèïõò óïõ ê . ἀðï ô . óõììéêôïõ óïõ … ðáíôáò ôáò âáóéëåéò —
Eze_27:34. Íõí óõíåôñéâçó ἐí èáëáóóç , ἐí âáèåé ὑäáôïò ὁ óõììéêôïò óïõ . Vulg.: … contrita es a mari; in profundis … ceciderunt.
Eze_27:35. ( Ἐðåóïí ) ôáíôåò … êáé ïἱ êùðçëáôáé óïõ ἐóôõãíáóáí ἐðé óå … ê . ἐäáêñõóáí ôῳ ðñïóùðῳ áὐôùí ἐðé óïé . Vulg.: … tempestate perculsi mutaverunt vultus.
Eze_27:36. Sept. add ëåãåé êõñéïò ὁ Èåïò .
Eze_27:1-25. The Glory of Tyre
Eze_27:2. For that the overthrow of Jerusalem was the prophetic prolepsis, for this the overthrow of Tyre. With the lamentation, expression is at the same time given to the righteous pain occasioned by the misuse of the fulness of divine gifts, which Tyre had enjoyed.— åàúä , J. H. Michaelis makes: tu etiam, ut alii.
Eze_27:3. îáåà is the entrance into a city, the entrance of the gate; and so here îáåàú , the openings or entrances of the sea, into which people entered from the sea, and again went out into the sea—therefore the harbours or ports (porta and portus). Hävernick refers to Strabo 16:2, Arrian 2:20, 21, who make mention of a northern and southern harbour of Tyre, and at the same time of the deficiency elsewhere of proper harbours on the Syrian coast. Hengst.: “from whence the sea is readily accessible on all sides, in the centre of the then civilised world: thus Tyre went forth for purposes of trade to visit the nations.”—For äַéִùַׁáְúִּé (to be thus pointed) the Qeri has äַéּåֹùֶׁáֶú .—On øëìú , comp. at Eze_26:12— àìÎàééí× , which for the sake of merchandise frequents many coasts.—The address to Tyre holds up to her, as previously in Eze_26:2 her scornful malicious joy, so here her complete self-satisfaction. Perfect in beauty is as much as: perfectly beautiful, that is: of perfect beauty, but not as well: the completion of beauty. Observe the parallel with Jerusalem in Lam_2:15. What is indicated thereby appears from Eze_27:4 : for the “I am perfect in beauty,” in the mouth of Tyre is the theme of the detailed descriptions that follow.—In the heart of the sea = in the midst of the sea, surrounded on every hand by the same. J. H. Michaelis cites the words of Alexander the Great to the Tyrian ambassador (Curtius, iv. 2): Vos quidem fiducia loci, quod insulam incolitis, pedestrem hunc exercitam spernitis.—A strait of four stadia separated the city from the continent.—The boundaries, the strict meaning of âáåìé , are the territory enclosed by these.—Hence the perfectness of its local position; hence, also, this perfectness under the notion of the beautiful, which certainly comprehends not merely the architectural (though this primarily), but also generally the civic beauty of Tyre.
Eze_27:5. In this further look Tyre is allegorized by our prophet—after his own peculiar manner—under the image of a state-ship. The builders (in Eze_27:4) mediate the transition; not less (as Hitzig acutely remarks) was the image suggested by the local position of Tyre,—in the midst of the sea, surrounded by a wilderness of masts, the city had the appearance of a sea-ship.—Because a state-ship, hence the finest kinds of wood for material (accusative).—(Häv. remarks, that in reality the palaces of Tyre were made of cedar from Lebanon, Joseph. Antiq. viii. 5.)— ùְׂðִéø ( = ùøéåï , Deu_3:9), the Amorite name for Hermon, though from this in the stricter sense distinguished, was renowned for its cypresses (Sir_24:17), which were recommended by the firm, durable nature of the wood (Virgil, Georg. 2:444).—The framework of the vessel, with which the delineation commences, presents itself as dualistic ( ìçåúéí ),—the boards or timbers both right and left, especially where the whole is meant, as here. The mast (main-mast), in accordance with its representative character (comp. Eze_27:7), is of wood of the nobler kind, cedar, Psa_29:5.
Eze_27:6. Bashan, on the farther side of Jordan, from Jabbok to Hermon, and eastward to the outermost limits, on the south-west mountainous—so called from its oaks. It belongs to the world-embracing character of Tyre that all lands contributed to her glory.— îִùּׁåֹè = îָùׁåֹè , ver 29, from ùׁåè , to row. The oars must be of heavy, in particular of firm, wood.— ÷ֶøָùׁ is “board” or plank, from ÷ָøַùׁ , to split; here collectively, either of the benches for rowers (Eze_27:2-3) over each other, or of the deck (Hitzig). Häv.: the thick plank-work as stays, the scaffold of the mast. Meier: table-work, wainscoting, for the laying out of the ship. Rashi: the helm; which recommends itself more than the others, on account of its importance for the vessel, and its suitableness in respect to the adorning that follows. The strange ùׁï , ivory (elephant’s tooth), is anyhow modified by áúÎàùøéí , daughter of—what? àùׁåø is “step,” from àָùַׁø . A kind of wood, however, must be meant. As it is more nearly indicated by the isles of Chittim, and by these are to be understood in the larger sense the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, Rosenmüller thinks of Sardinia and Corsica, and, with many, supposes the box-tree to be meant, which is quite common in the latter island (Virgil, Æn. 10:137). The expression, however, more particularly denotes the islands and coasts of Greece. Recent expositors understand it of Cyprus, on account of the old Phœnician city in it, Êßôéïí , Êßôôïí (Chethi), and of the islands and coasts in the neighbourhood. Häv. is in favour of the Cyprian pines (Theophrast. Hist. pl. Eze_5:8)
Very suitable; Cyprus was particularly famous for its excellent ship-building materials. The regularly successive compact growth of the pine would agree well with àùø , also its firm, sure position, and its thick wood. Gesen. takes the word as & úְּàַùּׁåּø , Sherbin-cedar. Hitzig throws the two words together, and reads áּúְàùøéí ; which is unnecessary, since áú denotes simply the subordinate dependent relationship—more exactly expressing that which is enclosed by another ( áú òéï , the pupil: also in Lam_3:13, áú àùôä , the arrow), and indicating that the ivory formed only the costly article inlaid in the wood mentioned. This wood itself was the material; of it was the helm made, and the handle and other parts were ornamented with ivory.
Eze_27:7. Comp. on Eze_16:10. Out of Egypt, with its famous looms, went forth “embroidered linen” (Hitz.), “embroidered byssus” (Hengst.), with flowers and figures.—The more immediate destination: to be to thee for a sign ( ðֵí , visible from afar), leads one, with îôøùê , to think either of sails provided with emblems and devices, after the Egyptian fashion, or rather of the flag placed by the ancients on the fore-part of the ship.— àøâîï is the red purple, purple-red cloth, from a shell-fish ( ðïñöýñá ) found on the Syrian and Peloponnesian coasts. The islands of Elishah, according to Jerome, were the islands of the Ionian Sea; according to Bochart, the Peloponnesus, in which was Elis (Hellas). As derived from so great a distance, this purple figures here as a foreign commodity, and does so, indeed, by means of its finely coloured fabric; its splendid colour was much prized.— úëìú ; comp. at Eze_23:6— îëִñä (part. Piel of ëñä ) is the covering of the ship above deck, against the heat of the sun.
Eze_27:8 forms a transition to the manning, not of the ship, but of the Tyrian state-constitution. Zidon, the oldest city of Phœnicia, on this account designated “the mother,” and Arvad, the island Aradus, entirely covered by the city of the same name,—hence a second Tyre, which, as did also Zidon, always possessed its own kingdom,—serve to illustrate the commonwealth represented by Tyre, each contributing its share of help; but illustrate also the relation of the several parties, the oarsmen being from those places, but the helmsmen (captains), those skilled in navigation, were Tyrians, so that Tyre stands forth as the guiding intelligence. And so also in Eze_27:9 figure the ancients; they were the experienced, approved masters and skilled architects from Gebal (where was the burial-place of Adonis, whence the name), in Tyre, employed in its marine force. Comp. 1 Kings 5:32 [1Ki_5:18]. For the allegory of the ship, their expertness in healing breaches, renovating, instantly repairing what was decayed, is drawn into consideration. (May there not, however, withal be meant to be conveyed an impression of the supremacy which Tyre in this position exercised upon the other Phœnician states?) But the sentence that follows introduces the principal point, for which all that precedes was merely preparatory, namely, that Tyre was a mercantile power.— îìç is, in the general, seamen, so designated from the “salt,” for sea ( ἁëéåéò , from ἁëò ). Tyre included, as it were, all navigation in itself; the sea-world was its fleet. (Hitzig: foreign merchant - vessels lie here at anchor. Hengst.: all the Tyrians with their colonies are, as it were, in this one giant ship, as the jolly-boats in an ordinary large ship, and are sent out from it.)— òøá , “to exchange,” hence: “to trade.”
Eze_27:10. Before the main tendency indicated was given way to, the representation turns back from the image of the ship, through an emphasizing of the military weapons of defence and offence, in which Tyre prided herself, to the beginning, and so to the city.— ôøí (Pares, Fares, Fars, in the cuneiform inscriptions Pâraça) must be Persia. Hitzig contends for those who, in primeval times, settled in Africa. Hengstenberg, as also Häv., holds firmly by their Asiatic character, and as having even then probably entered into connection with the anti - Chaldaic coalition in a relation to Tyre,—the first germ of their later victorious lifting of the shield against the Chaldean ascendency; comp. at Eze_8:16. Lud and Phut are African populations: the former, not the Semitic Lydians, may well enough be the Hamitic Ludim (Gen_10:13); the latter, the Libyans of antiquity—both well known as soldiers in the Egyptian army (Jer_46:9). Either to picture the far-extending relations of the Tyrian mercantile power are they named, or because the most foreign among the foreign; as in Rome, in Byzantium, they were purposely taken into pay, whether for display or as a security against internal tumults. We learn the existing relations best from Carthage. Rich enough to pay the costs, the mercenary army secured for the Tyrian merchant ability to ply his traffic; he found in it military protection for his settlements, and advantage also for prosecuting new undertakings. If the hanging up of shield and helmet is not a poetical expression,—their arms were thy arms, their conquests thine, or such like,—we must think of a military custom, as to-day still the armour is hung up when there is no service. The garrison of the city they did not likely form (Hitzig), as Eze_27:11 shows that the protection of the city was committed to domestic and allied troops. But what were the Gammadim? Hävernick explains the word from the dialects by “valiant,” “audacious,” and thinks that it was the favourite expression for the national militia, as there was among the Carthaginians a “sacred host.” The latter, however, would not be designated the proper troops, in contrast to the mercenaries! Hence Hengst.: “bold champions”—a Tyrian designation for a select band. Hitz.: “deserters from the neighbouring countries, to whom the rich republic offered more favourable conditions than the kings,”—if there may not have been the marring of the original âִּáֹּøִéí , with reference to Son_4:4! [Jewish expositors made out of the word pigmies—from âֹîֶã , an ell, therefore ell-high—because they appeared such in the towers. Others conjectured a particular Phœnician allied people to be meant by it (Gamale); the Targum: Cappadocians. Meier, with an eye to òîã , explains it: “as posts.” We must then render: “The sons of Arvad and thy force were on thy walls round about, and posts in thy towers.”]—It is to be remarked that ùׁìè is a noble shield, while in Eze_27:10 only common armour is mentioned. So, too, the language rises; while it is there úìåÎáê , here it is úìå òìÎçåí× ; the home element is heightened. Hence, also, instead of ðúðå äãøê , which is as much as: it ornamented thee (Eze_16:14) thus to have distant ones, foreigners, in thy pay, to do thee service, now it is: ëììå éôéê , they completed thy beauty, forming at the same time a close of the detailed theme.
Eze_27:12. The mercantile glory of Tyre begins here; comp. Eze_5:9.—Tarshish, the most renowned mart of commerce in the West, a city and district of Spain, Tartessus, between the two mouths of the Bætis (Guadalquivir). It traded with Tyre not so much by means of things brought thither, as because the fulness and variety of the Tyrian wares, the costly, rich articles which the Tyrian vessels brought, were given ( ðúï ) in payment for the abundance in precious metals for which Tartessus was renowned in antiquity (Diodor. 5:35 sq.; Strabo, 3.; Plin. Hist. Nat.). But trader agrees better with that than merchant. It was a barter-dealing, as was very commonly the case in antiquity.— òֹæáåï (only in plural), from òæá , to let go; and hence better, with Hitzig, taken as equal to wares, than, with Ewald, as “sale.”
Eze_27:13. Javan is the land of Greece (Ionia); Tubal, often joined with Meshech, are together the Tibareni and Moschi of the ancients, in Lesser Asia,—the former to the west of the latter, who were the inhabitants of a mountainous region between Iberia, Armenia, and Colchis. The enumeration of the traders in Tyre’s merchandise turns now, therefore, northwards.—In souls of men, slave-traffic; if we have not a special case in Joel 4:6 (Eng. V. Eze_3:6), then it was reciprocal. Häv. is of opinion that female slaves from Greece were of old highly estimated in the East, and, on the other side, male slaves (?).—For the copper (or brass) articles, Hitzig makes account of the name Tibareni, as well as the neighbours of the Moschi, the Chalybes, and remarks that to this day the Colchian mountains in Trabosan contain unexhausted mines of copper. Häv. notices that in the hilly Caucasian region inhabited by Tubal and Meshech, the people have been ever distinguished for their beauty, and that through all time they have been noted for commerce in slaves (see Bochart, Phaleg.). Comp. besides, at Eze_27:9.
Eze_27:14. Togarmah is Armenia.—From the house, either out of the region, or the race of people from it(?). Armenia was distinguished for its breeding of horses. Herodotus speaks of its asses (1. 194).— ñåñéí åôøùׁéí , usually draught horses and riding horses.
Eze_27:15. The sons of Dedan, occasioned by îáéú going before, are the Cushite Dedanites (Gen_10:7), as middle-men in the trade. As such, and as representatives of the land-trade with their caravans, yet as identical with those in Eze_27:20, since Scripture knows only of one Dedan, the Arabian one, they are regarded by Hengst.; but he admits of no connection on the part of Dedan directly with the many islands. On the other hand, Häv., following Heeren’s guidance, thinks of a south Arabian tribe, and the three Bahrein islands (Gesen.: “perhaps the island Daden”?), on the west side of the Persian Gulf, where were the “many coasts” of the East Indies, with which the articles mentioned of ivory and ebony very well suit. With Hitzig, also, the Dedanites are the traders with Tyre in the south-east, from the Persian Gulf (Isa_21:13). If we should understand by àééí islands, we must suppose it to be said, that what the caravans transported had also by Tyre been conveyed by sea. According to Philippsen, it is meant that those caravans of the Indian wares contained others also from distant sea-coasts unknown to us.— ñçøú , according to Hitzig to be pointed as a participle (?), is merchandise or traffic, in the sense of the abstract for the concrete. The addition: of thy hand, marks the dependence, the intermediate sort of traffic; they were agents for Tyre.—The horns, used of ivory, since it was the teeth of the elephant, must be understood by way of comparison. Pliny recognises it as dentes, and yet names it cornua elephanti. It is commonly connected with ebony (Diospyros Ebenum, which has white bark, dark green leaves, and medlar-like fruit). For both, Ethiopia was famous in the old world.— àֶùְׁëָø ( ùָׂëָø , ùָׁëַø )—comp. Hupfeld on Psa_72:10—might, with äùׁéáå (to bring back, restore), be understood in the sense of a sort of tribute, since Tyre would represent herself as having, through her merchandise, made the products of all lands, as it were, tributary to her. It suits with àùׁëø (payment), however, as with äùׁéá , to think of barter, in which the value of the goods purchased is brought back, restored.
Eze_27:16. Those who read Edom [that is, instead of Aram, which was done by the Sept., exists also in several codices, and is preferred by Ewald, Hitzig, etc.] conceive that Aram lay too far out of the way from Dedan, in the direction of Israel (!); also, that first in Eze_27:18 it comes in regular order. Edom, however, and in particular Petra, was important as a goods emporium. And not less so was Aram, i.e. Syris, in the wider sense Mesopotamia, for an agency-traffic. The Syrians, according to Jerome, were born merchants, madly intent on its gains. [Usque hodie permanet in Syris ingenitus negotiations ardor, qui per totum mundum lucri cupiditate discurrunt, et tamtam mercandi habent vesaniam, etc.]— îøá îòùׂéê , for which, at Eze_27:12, there is îøá ëìÎäåï , designated as (artistic) work, manufactured goods. Carbuncle ( ðôê ), a precious stone; see at Exo_28:18. On the rest, comp. at Eze_27:7.— áåõ appears to designate the Syrian, in contradistinction from the Egyptian byssus ( ùֵׁùׁ )—the finest white cotton?—Babylon was renowned for its weaving, as it was also a market for precious stones.— øָàîåֹú , part. act. plur. for øîåú ; Hengst.: precious things, what stands high, is valuable. In particular, red (dark) corals or pearls, have been thought of.— ëãëã , a gem of glittering splendour (Gesen.); jasper has been suggested, also garnet, crystal, ruby.
Eze_27:17. Palestine gave wheat in merchandise to Tyre ( çèéí , in grains).—Minnith ( îðéú ), a place in the territory of the Ammonites (Jdg_11:33); comp. 2Ch_27:5; 1 Kings 5:25 [1Ki_5:11]; Act_12:20.— ôðâ , according to Meier, might be: “the rubbed off,” “the shaved off” = êáóéá , ÷ְöִéòָä ; or more generally: “something soft” = sweet, which dissolves itself. R. Parchon in his Lexicon makes it = çìåú ãáùׁ , placenta mellis. Some have referred to ôð÷ , deliciari, and combined therewith several operations. Comp. Rosenmüller. Balsam, however, has also been given as an interpretation, but öøé is the term for that, namely, the resin from the balsam-powder (opobalsamum), Jer_8:22. Hitzig recurs to pannaga (serpent), a Sanscrit word for a healing aromatic wood.— ãáùׁ , the honey of bees, as well as grape-syrup (dibs) and fruit-syrup generally—a great article of merchandise in Palestine, Eze_16:13; Deu_32:13.—On oil, comp. Deu_8:8; Deu_28:40; 1 Kings 5:25 [ 1Ki_5:11]; 2Ch_2:10; Hos_12:2 [1].
Eze_27:18. Damascus is here specialized, because it was a particularly important mart of commerce for Tyre; comp. Eze_27:16; Eze_27:12. Hengst. remarks on the riches, that they must therefore have paid for wares also with gold.—Helbon, now Aleppo, famous for its wine, the wine of the Persian kings, still a notable city (Strabo, 15.). Instead of white wool, Ewald has “wool of Sachar,” a Syriac town, where was then the best wool. But öçø expresses the shining white wool, as wool of that sort was especially derived from the pasture-lands of Syria and Arabia (Häv. ). “The finest and most silky, because the sheep pasturing in the deserts were always under the open heaven” (J. D. Mich.). The Sept.: Milesian wool.
Eze_27:19. åãï can neither be a third Dedan (Ewald), nor “and Dan”, but it must be taken for an unknown Arabic district; according to Movers, it would be the trade-renowned Aden. Javan, too, is perhaps to be taken for a Greek settlement in Arabia, and to be distinguished, as Arabic, from that in Eze_27:13; and îàåæì may serve as a nearer determination of it—only not as part. Pual from àָæָì , to turn, wind (a thread); in the Talmud: to spin, îְàåּåָּì , that is, “the spun” yarn (Gesen., Meier)—such a mention of a particular sort of ware being scarcely suitable here, but as îֵàåּæָì , agreeably to Gen_10:27 = out of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. It accords with this that a Javan in Yemen is mentioned, and the articles which are referred to likewise agree. Tuch very properly calls to remembrance, in connection with áøæì òùåú , wrought iron, the sword-blades of Yemen, along with the Indian so famous through all the East.— ÷øä , the Arabic cassia (a kind of cinnamon), and ÷ðä , a reed, acorus calamus, likewise native to Arabia; according to others an Indian product, which Yemen traded in from there.
Eze_27:20. Dedan—ch. Eze_25:13; Gen_5:3—Semitic—comp. Eze_27:15—in Northern Arabia. áâãéÎçôùׁ ìøëáä , Gesen.: tapetes stratœ aa equitandum; from the verb çôùׁ , to stretch. Others: “robes,” “garments of the nobles,” which would be expressed through the meaning “setting free.” Häv. questions the signification of spreading out (comp. Hupfeld on Psa_88:6 [5]); holds “to cover,” “to bind,” “to wind round,” as the radical meaning; and as to the matter, compares Jdg_5:10. The allusion probably is to the splendid riding or horse apparel, which in the East (like the stirrups, for example) are marks of distinction and luxury.
Eze_27:21. Arabia ( òøá ; comp. òøáä , a steppe), here together with “all the princes of Kedar” (Gen_25:13)—in Pliny, Codrei—a particularizing of the small trafficking nomadic tribes in the interior of Arabia; comp. Eze_27:15. Their large property in flocks is well known; comp. also Jer_49:28 sq.—Even the roving, unsettled Bedouins of the desert were Tyre’s ready instruments for his merchandise.
Eze_27:22. The merchants of Sheba and Raamah ( øòîä ), that is, Sabæa, in Arabia Felix, and the Cushite ῬÝãìá , on the Persian Gulf.— øàùׁ , the head, for the highest of their kind; here of the foremost, most excellent perfumes ( áֶּùֶׂí , or áּùֶֹׁí , of the balsam-shrub), if the genuine balm is not meant by it. The mountains of Hadramaut and Yemen yield all sorts of precious stones, and the latter was esteemed among the ancients as a very rich gold region.
Eze_27:23. Haran (Gen_11:31, ÊÜῤῥáé , the Carræ, noted in later times for the defeat of Crassus) comes into view as on the cross-way of the caravans when they were passing through Mesopotamia. Khanneh ( ëðä , contracted for ëַּìְðֵä ), the later Ctesiphon, as a commercial city on the Tigris. Eden ( òãï ) is the Mesopotamian, as distinguished from the Syrian, town, which has been sought in the delta of the Euphrates—Maadan?—By the Sheba here Rosenmüller understands another Sabæa than that mentioned in Eze_27:22. Häv. translates: “Haran and Canneh and Eden are the merchants of Saba; (on the other hand) Asshur, Chilmad are thy customers” (?). Keil and Movers, understand the meaning to be, that the Sabæans, who held a yearly market in Carræ, were named as negotiators between the districts of Mesopotamia and Tyre.—Asshur must, according to Keil, not be Assyria, but (Movers) the emporium of Sura (Essurieh), on the Euphrates, above Thapsacus, in a caravan road which branches off toward ëìîã , Charmande. Häv. sees in Chilmad a Tyrian emporium for the trade with Assyria.
Eze_27:24. îëììéí , from ëìì , ornaments, perfectly fine articles, finished productions; by which may be understood, with Häv., works of art of tasteful, perfectly beautiful workmanship, or, with others, of splendid garments. (Ewald: full equipments.)— âìåí (from âìí , to roll, wind up) is a mantle, a wide garment, well-nigh corresponding to the Chlamys; comp. Eze_27:7.— âðæéí , treasures, which signification Hengst. firmly retains; but what were “treasures of damask”? The word must specify the preceding more general objects of beautiful workmanship. Häv. takes it for a Persian word, intended to designate a foreign object, and naturalized in Syriac; either girdles, or pouches, or trousers. (Gesen.: chests for packing and preserving in: Hitzig: “and in cords.” âðæ , what is twined, wound up. Ewald: pouches of Damascus.)— áøåîéí ; Gesen.: a kind of cloth with a many-coloured wool, the ðïëýìéôá of the Greeks, damask. Häv.: garments of peculiar sorts of weaving ( äéðëïÀäåò ?). The Tyrians then dyed silk-yarn, silk, and cotton wool.— áçáìéí× Häv. translates: “with threads wound round and firm,” as a nearer description, partly in respect to the costly threads with which the cloth in question was inwrought, and partly in respect to its durability.— àøåæ