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O thou oppressed virgin: so he calls her, either for her pride and beauty, and living in great ease and pleasure; or because she had hitherto never borne the yoke of a conquering enemy; though withal he declares that she should be oppressed or defloured very suddenly.
Daughter of Zidon; whereby he understands either,
1. Zidon herself, who suffered in and with Tyre: for so this phrase seems generally to be used,
the daughter of Zion, or of Jerusalem, or of Babel, or Egypt, &c., being nothing else but Zion, Jerusalem, Babel, Egypt, &c. Or rather,
2. Tyrus, as most interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, understand it, of whom this whole context and prophecy speaks; which may well be called the daughter of Zidon, because she was first built and possessed by a colony of the Sidonians; as Pliny calleth Carthage the daughter of Tyre, because she was built by a colony of Tyrians. And the title of daughter is ofttimes given in Scripture to towns or cities which had their being from or dependence upon other cities; in which sense we read of the daughter of Heshbon, Num_21:25, and of Rubbah, Jer_49:2,3, and of Sodom, and of Samaria, Eze_16:46,49,53. And the daughter of Tarshish here above, Isa_23:10, is not meant of Tarshish itself, but of Tyrus, which had a relation to and dependence upon Tarshish.
Pass over to Chittim; of which place See Poole "Isa_23:1". There also shalt thou have no rest; thither thine enemies shall pursue thee, and there shall they overtake thee, although thou wilt think thyself secure when thou art fled to remote parts beyond the sea.