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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 23:15

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And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot.

15. seventy years ] The period fixed by Jeremiah for the duration of the Exile and the dominion of the Chaldan Empire (ch. Isa 25:11 f., Isa 29:10). The number occurs frequently in the later literature: Zec 1:12; Zec 7:5; Dan 9:2 ff.; 2Ch 36:21. It is to be noted that in all these cases there is a reference more or less explicit to Jeremiah’s prediction; and the use of the number here is probably to be accounted for in the same way. Ezekiel had used the number “forty” in a precisely similar manner (ch. Isa 4:6, Isa 29:13).

according to the days of one king ] The meaning is uncertain. Possibly it denotes a fixed, unalterable order of things, such as is maintained by the even rule of a single monarch. Some take it to mean “during the existence of one dynasty.”

shall Tyre sing as a harlot ] Rather: it shall happen to Tyre according to the song of the harlot, evidently a well-known popular ballad, quoted in the next verse.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15 18. The appendix. Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years; afterwards she shall resume her commercial activity, but its profits shall be dedicated to Jehovah’s people.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Tyre shall be forgotten – Shall cease to be a place of importance in commerce; shall be unheard of in those distant places to which ships formerly sailed.

Seventy years, according to the days of one king – That is, of one kingdom (see Dan 7:17; Dan 8:20). (Lowth) The word king may denote dynasty, or kingdom. The duration of the Babylonian monarchy was properly but seventy years. Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest in the first year of his reign, and from thence to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus was seventy years. And at that time the nations that had been conquered and subdued by the Babylonians would be restored to liberty. Tyre was, indeed, taken toward the middle of that period, and its subjugation referred to here was only for the remaining part of it. All these nations, says Jeremiah Jer 25:11, shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Some of them were conquered sooner, and some later; but the end of this period was the common time of deliverance to them all. So Lowth, Newton, Vitringa, Aben Ezra, Rosenmuller, and others, understand this. That the days at one king may denote here kingdom or dynasty, and be applied to the duration of the kingdom of Babylon, is apparent from two considerations, namely,

(1) The word king must be so understood in several places in the Scriptures; Dan 7:17 : These great beasts which are four, are four great kings which shall arise out of the earth, that is, dynasties, or succession of kings (Dan 8:20; so Rev 17:12).

(2) The expression is especially applicable to the Babylonian monarchy, because, during the entire seventy years which that kingdom lasted, it was under the dominion of one family or dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar founded the Babylonian empire, or raised it to so great splendor, that he was regarded as its founder, and was succeeded in the kingdom by his son Evil-Merodach, and his grandson Belshazzar, in whose reign the kingdom terminated; compare Jer 27:7 : And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his sons son. The period of seventy years is several times mentioned, as a period during which the nations that were subject to Babylon would be oppressed, and after that they should be set at liberty (see Jer 25:11-12; Jer 29:10; compare Jer 46:26).

Shall Tyre sing as an harlot – Margin, as the Hebrew, It shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot. That is, Tyre shall be restored to its former state of prosperity and opulence; it shall be adorned with the rich productions of other climes, and shall be happy and joyful again. There are two ideas here; one that Tyre would be again prosperous, and the other that she would sustain substantially the same character as before. It was common to compare cities with females, whether virtuous or otherwise (see the note at Isa 1:8). The same figure which is used here occurs in Rev. 17:3-19 (compare Isa 47:1; Nah 3:4; Rev 18:3, Rev 18:9).

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 23:15

Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years

Tyre forgotten seventy years

Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, like the days of one king;–a Hebrew idiom, obscure to us, though probably plain enough to Isaiahs hearers; but of which the most probable sense is, that the round number here, as elsewhere, indicates an indefinite, though considerable time, and that the prophet either farther limits this by a phrase equivalent to for about a whole generation, or else implies that the seventy years–the long time of oblivion–shall be as monotonous, and perhaps as short to look back upon, as those of a single reign.

(Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 15. According to the days of one king] what is, of one kingdom; see Da 7:17; Da 8:20. Nebuchadnezzar began his conquests in the first year of his reign; from thence to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus are seventy years, at which time the nations subdued by Nebuchadnezzar were to be restored to liberty. These seventy years limit the duration of the Babylonish monarchy. Tyre was taken by him towards the middle of that period; so did not serve the king of Babylon during the whole period, but only for the remaining part of it. This seems to be the meaning of Isaiah; the days allotted to the one king or kingdom, are seventy years; Tyre, with the rest of the conquered nations, shall continue in a state of subjection and desolation to the end of that period. Not from the beginning and through the whole of the period; for, by being one of the latest conquests, the duration of that state of subjection in regard to her, was not much more than half of it. “All these nations,” saith Jeremiah, Jer 25:11, “shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” Some of them were conquered sooner, some later; but the end of this period was the common term for the deliverance of them all.

There is another way of computing the seventy years, from the year in which Tyre was actually taken to the nineteenth of Darius Hystaspis; whom the Phoenicians, or Tyrians, assisted against the Ionians, and probably on that account might then be restored to their former liberties and privileges. But I think the former the more probable interpretation. – L.

Sing as a harlot] Fidicinam esse meretricum est, says Donatus in Terent. Eunuch. iii. 2, 4.

Nec meretrix tibicina, cujus

Ad strepitum salias.

HOR. I. Epist. xiv. 25.

“Nor harlot minstrel sings, when the rude sound

Tempts you with heavy heels to thump the ground.”

FRANCIS.

Sir John Chardin, in his MS. note on this place, says: – C’est que les vielles prostituees, – ne font que chanter quand les jeunes dancent, et les animer par l’instrument et par la voix. “The old prostitutes do nothing but sing, while the young ones dance; and animate them both by vocal and instrumental music.”

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Forgotten; neglected and forsaken by those who used to resort thither.

Seventy years; during the whole time of the Jewish captivity in Babylon. For Tyrus was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer 27:3,8; Eze 26:7, a little after the taking of Jerusalem, and was restored by the favour of the Persian monarchs after the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon.

Of one king; either,

1. Of the kingdom of Babylon, which lasted so long after this time; the word king being put for kingdom, as it is Dan 7:17; 8:21; or

2. Of one royal race, of Nebuchadnezzar, including his son, and his sons son, in whom his family and kingdom were to expire.

After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot; she shall by degrees return to her former state of prosperity and traffic, whereby she shall easily entice the merchants of the world to converse and trade with her, as harlots use to entice their customers by lascivious songs.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

15. forgottenHaving lost itsformer renown, Tyre shall be in obscurity.

seventy years(soJer 25:11; Jer 25:12;Jer 29:10).

days of one kingthatis, a dynasty. The Babylonian monarchy lasted properly but seventyyears. From the first year of Nebuchadnezzar to the taking ofBabylon, by Cyrus, was seventy years; then the subjected nationswould be restored to liberty. Tyre was taken in the middle of thatperiod, but it is classed in common with the rest, some conqueredsooner and others later, all, however, alike to be delivered at theend of the period. So “king” is used for dynasty (Dan 7:17;Dan 8:20): Nebuchadnezzar, hisson Evil-merodach, and his grandson, Belshazzar, formed the wholedynasty (Jer 25:11; Jer 25:12;Jer 27:7; Jer 29:10).

shall Tyre sing as . . .harlotIt shall be to Tyre as the song of the harlot, namely, aharlot that has been forgotten, but who attracts notice again by hersong. Large marts of commerce are often compared to harlots seekingmany lovers, that is, they court merchants of all nations, and admitany one for the sake of gain (Nah 3:4;Rev 18:3). Covetousness isclosely akin to idolatry and licentiousness, as the connection(Eph 5:5; Col 3:5)proves (compare Isa 2:6-8;Isa 2:16).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And it shall come to pass in that day,…. When Tyre is destroyed, from that time forward:

that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years; shall so long lie in its ruin, and not be rebuilt; it shall be without inhabitants, and unfrequented by men; there shall be no merchandise in it during that time; no merchants will come nigh it; she will be like a harlot cast off and forgotten by her lover: the term of time is the same with that of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, and great part of it at least run out along with it; for Tyre was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, as Jerusalem was, though some time after it, and was restored when the Babylonish empire was destroyed, at the expiration of seventy years:

according to the days of one king; or kingdom, the Babylonish kingdom, which lasted so long in Nebuchadnezzar’s family; whose family, he himself, his son, and son’s son, are here meant, as Aben Ezra thinks; and seems to be the more commonly received sense; though Kimchi and others understand it of the days of a man, which are seventy years,

Ps 90:10 and so it is added in the Septuagint version, “as the time of a man”; which perhaps was a marginal note, way of explanation, and crept into the text. Jarchi is of opinion King David is meant, whose age was seventy years, though he is at a loss to give a reason for this his opinion; but Kimchi suggests one, and that is, the covenant which was between Hiram king of Tyre and David; and this is mentioned to put the Tyrians in mind of the breach of it, which had brought desolation upon them; some understand this of the King Messiah i:

after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot; being rebuilt and restored to its former state; as a harlot who has been cast off by her lovers, on account of some disease she has laboured under, and through a dislike of her; but, having recovered her health, makes use of her arts, and this among others, to sing a song, in order to draw, by her melodious voice, her lovers to her again; and so Tyre being built again, and out of the hands of its oppressors, and restored to its former liberty, should make use of all arts and methods to recover her trade, and draw merchants from all parts to her again.

i T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 99. 1. Yalkut Simeoni in Psal. lxxii. fol. 112. 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The prophet here foretells the rise of Tyre again at the close of the Chaldean world-wide monarchy. “And it will come to pass in that day, that Tzor will be forgotten seventy years, equal to the days of one king; after the end of the seventy years, Tzor will go, according to the song of the harlot. Take the guitar, sweep through the city, O forgotten harlot! Play bravely, sing zealously, that thou mayest be remembered!” The “ days of a king ” are a fixed and unchangeable period, for which everything is determined by the one sovereign will (as is the case more especially in the East), and is therefore stereotyped. The seventy years are compared to the days of such a king. Seventy is well fitted to be the number used to denote a uniform period of this kind, being equal to 10 x 7, i.e., a compact series of heptads of years ( shabbathoth ). But the number is also historical, prophecy being the power by which the history of the future was “periodized” beforehand in this significant manner. They coincide with the seventy years of Jeremiah (compare 2Ch 36:21), that is to say, with the duration of the Chaldean rule. During this period Tyre continued with its world-wide commerce in a state of involuntary repose. “ Tyre will be forgotten: ” v’nishcachath is not a participle (Bttcher), but the perf. cons. which is required here, and stands for with an original fem. (cf., Isa 7:14; Psa 118:23). After the seventy years (that is to say, along with the commencement of the Persian rule) the harlot is welcomed again. She is like a bayadere or troubadour going through the streets with song and guitar, and bringing her charms into notice again. The prophecy here falls into the tone of a popular song, as in Isa 5:1 and Isa 27:2. It will be with Tyre as with such a musician and dancer as the one described in the popular song.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Restoration of Tyre.

B. C. 718.

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot. 16 Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. 17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Here is, I. The time fixed for the continuance of the desolations of Tyre, which were not to be perpetual desolations: Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, v. 15. So long it shall lie neglected and buried in obscurity. It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar much about the time that Jerusalem was, and lay as long as it did in its ruins. See the folly of that proud ambitious conqueror. What the richer, what the stronger, was he for making himself master of Tyre, when all the inhabitants were driven out of it and he had none of his own subjects to spare for the replenishing and fortifying of it? It is surprising to see what pleasure men could take in destroying cities and making their memorial perish with them, Ps. ix. 6. He trampled on the pride of Tyre, and therein served God’s purpose; but with greater pride, for which God soon after humbled him.

II. A prophecy of the restoration of Tyre to its glory again: After the end of seventy years, according to the years of one king, or one dynasty or family of kings, that of Nebuchadnezzar; when that expired, the desolations of Tyre came to an end. And we may presume that Cyrus at the same time when he released the Jews, and encouraged them to rebuild Jerusalem, released the Tyrians also, and encouraged them to rebuild Tyre. Thus the prosperity and adversity of places, as well as persons, are set the one over against the other, that the most glorious cities may not be secure nor the most ruinous despair. It is foretold, 1. That God’s providence shall gain smile upon this ruined city (v. 17): The Lord will visit Tyre in mercy; for, though he contend, he will not contend for ever. It is not said, Her old acquaintance shall visit her, the colonies she has planted, and the trading cities she has had correspondence with (they have forgotten her); but, The Lord shall visit her by some unthought-of turn; he shall cause his indignation towards her to cease, and then things will run of course in their former channel. 2. That she shall use her best endeavours to recover her trade again. She shall sing as a harlot, that has been some time under correction for her lewdness; but, when she is set at liberty (so violent is the bent of corruption), she will use her old arts of temptation. The Tyrians having returned from their captivity, and those that remained recovering new spirits thereupon, they shall contrive how to force a trade, shall procure the best choice of goods, under-sell their neighbours, and be obliging to all customers; as a harlot that has been forgotten, when she comes to be spoken of again, recommends herself to company by singing and playing, takes a harp, goes about the city, perhaps in the night, serenading, makes sweet melody, and sings many songs. These are innocent and allowable diversions, if soberly, and moderately, and modestly used; but those that value themselves upon their virtue should not be over-fond of them, nor ambitious to excel in them, because, whatever they are now, anciently they were some of the baits with which harlots used to entice fools. Tyre shall now by degrees come to be the mart of nations again; she shall return to her hire, to her traffic, and shall commit fornication (that is, she shall have dealings in trade, for the prophet carries on the similitude of a harlot) with all the kingdoms of the world that she had formerly traded with in her prosperity. The love of worldly wealth is a spiritual whoredom, and therefore covetous people are called adulterers and adulteresses (James iv. 4), and covetousness is spiritual idolatry. 3. That, having recovered her trade again, she shall make a better use of it than she had done formerly; and this good she should get by her calamities (v. 18): Her merchandise, and her hire, shall be holiness to the Lord. The trade of Tyre, and all the gains of her trade, shall be devoted to God and to his honour and employed in his service. It shall not be treasured and hoarded up, as formerly, to be the matter of their pride and the support of their carnal confidence; but it shall be laid out in acts of piety and charity. What they can spare from the maintenance of themselves and their families shall be for those that dwell before the Lord, for the priests, the Lord’s ministers, that attend in his temple at Jerusalem; not to maintain them in pomp and grandeur, but that they and theirs may eat sufficiently, may have food convenient for them, with as little as may be of that care which would divert them from their ministration, and that they may have, not rich and fine clothing, but durable clothing, that which is strong and lasting, clothing for old men (so some read it), as if the priests, though they were young, must wear such plain grave clothing as old men used to wear. Now, (1.) This supposes that religion should be set up in New Tyre, that they should come to the knowledge of the true God and into communion with the Israel of God. Perhaps their being fellow-captives with the Jews in Babylon (who had prophets with them there) disposed them to join with them in their worship there, and turned them from idols, as it cured the Jews of their idolatry: and when they were released with them, and as they had reason to believe for their sakes, when they were settled again in Tyre, they would send gifts and offerings to the temple, and presents to the priests. We find men of Tyre then dwelling in the land of Judah, Neh. xiii. 16. Tyre and Sidon were better disposed to religion in Christ’s time than the cities of Israel; for, if Christ had gone among them, they would have repented, Matt. xi. 21. And we meet with Christians at Tyre (Act 21:3; Act 21:4), and, many years after, did Christianity flourish there. Some of the rabbin refer this prophecy of the conversion of Tyre to the days of the Messiah. (2.) It directs those that have estates to make use of them in the service of God and religion, and to reckon that best laid up which is so laid out. Both the merchandise of the tradesmen and the hire of the day-labourers shall be devoted to God. Both the merchandise (the employment we follow) and the hire (the gain of our employments) must be holiness to the Lord, alluding to the motto engraven on the frontlet of the high priest (Exod. xxxix. 30), and to the separation of the tithe under the law, Lev. xxvii. 30. See a promise like this referring to gospel times, Zec 14:20; Zec 14:21. We must first give up ourselves to be holiness to the Lord before what we do, or have, or get, can be so. When we abide with God in our particular callings, and do common actions after a godly sort–when we abound in works of piety and charity, are liberal in relieving the poor, and supporting the ministry, and encouraging the gospel–then our merchandise and our hire are holiness to the Lord, if we sincerely look at his glory in them. And our wealth need not be treasured and laid up on earth; for it is treasured and laid up in heaven, in bags that wax not old, Luke xii. 33.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Verse 15-18: RESTORED AND MADE A BLESSING

1. For 70 years Tyre is to be forsaken and forgotten, (Verse 15; Jeremiah 25; Jeremiah 11, 22).

2. At the end of 70 years she is likened unto a harlot who has lost her trade; taking a harp, she makes sweet melody, and sings such songs as will attract her former lovers, (Verse 16).

3. The Lord will permit her to be restored to the work and wealth that was hers in days gone by; very soon she is illicitly entangled once more with the kingdoms of the world, (Verse 17; comp. Eze 16:25-29; Nah 3:4-7).

4. Her wealth, however, will finally be devoted to the Lord -something that, evidently, still awaits its ultimate fulfillment, (Verse 18; Isa 60:5-9; Psa 72:10-11; Mic 4:13; Zec 14:20-21).

The Lord judged Tyre because of her sin – a people that never really knew him. HOW MUCH MORE SEVERELY will He judge those who have KNOWN HIM, but REFUSED TO DO HIS WILL!! (Mat 11:21-22; Luk 10:13-14).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

15. And it shall come to pass in that day. After having spoken of the taking of Tyre, he next declares how long her calamity shall endure. It happens that cities which have been ruined are suddenly restored, and regain their former position; but the Prophet testifies that this city will be desolate and ruinous for seventy years. By being forgotten he means that there will be no merchandise, because she will not have the ordinary course of trade.

According to the days of one king. (115) Some think that the days of one king relate to David, but that is exceedingly frivolous, for “the days of a king” are put for the age of a man, in the same manner as the age of a man is shewn by the Psalmist to be generally limited to seventy years. (Psa 90:10.) But why did he mention “a king” rather than any other man? It was because Tyre had a king, and reckoned time by the life of a king. This contributed greatly to establish the certainty of the prediction, for the Prophet could not have ascertained it by human conjectures.

Tyre shall have a song like that of a harlot. By “the song of a harlot” he employs a beautiful comparison to denote merchandise; not that in itself it ought to be condemned, for it is useful and necessary to a commonwealth, but he alludes to the fraud and dishonesty with which it frequently abounds, so that it may justly be compared to the occupation of a harlot.

(115) Bogus footnote

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

c. SUBMISSION

TEXT: Isa. 23:15-18

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years it shall be unto Tyre as in the song of the harlot.
16

Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

QUERIES

How are the days of one king related to Tyres 70 years?

Why does Tyre return to harlotry after 70 years?

When does Tyres merchandise become holiness to Jehovah?

PARAPHRASE

And it will come to pass in the day of Tyres downfall, she shall lie waste till her devastation has achieved its purpose in the divine disposition of things. This state of affairs will remain constant with her, like the affairs of one kings tenure, for a long period of years symbolized by the number seventy. After this seventy years of forgottenness she will resume her former life just like the story told in the lyrics of the Song of The Harlot. So, Tyre, you have been forgotten. Take up the harp and play sweet melodies, sing many songs, perhaps you may bring yourself to the attention of your former customers and be remembered. Yes, after your long time of forgottenness the Lord will allow you to be restored but you will be no different than you were before; you will return again to prostituting yourself with the nations of the world for money. Yet, the time will come when she shall make contributions to the kingdom of Jehovah. Tyres greatest treasures will not be hoarded silver and gold but will be the food and clothing of righteousness for those who dwell in the presence of Jehovah.

COMMENTS

Isa. 23:15-16 SUBJECTION: Alexander the Great took the city killing 8000 and selling 30,000 into slavery. He imported many foreigners into the ruined city to colonize it and left it after spending seven months to subdue it. After Alexanders death, Tyre passed into the hands of Ptolemy Lagi, and when Antigonus, in 314 B.C. took Phoenicia from him, Tyre resisted and he had to blockade it 15 months before it would yield, showing how quickly it had recovered from its previous disaster.

The period seventy years might refer to the 70 years of the Babylonian empire when Nebuchadnezzar had subdued Tyre. However, we think the number seventy is being used to denote a period of time whose completeness is determined by the divine purposes and known only to the divine Person. Seven is the Divine, Perfect, Complete number of the Bible. Ten signifies also a measure of completion. Seven multiplied by ten then means a period during which God will have achieved His purpose in a given direction. Tyre will be forgotten or lie devastated until God is ready for her to be remembered again. It is too difficult to pinpoint an exact 70 years.
Like the days of one king probably refers to the idea that while one king reigns there usually is no major changes in policy, things remain static. Tyres God-destined period of forgottenness will remain static for as long as God wishes it to be so.
The Song of the Harlot suggests a song whose lyrics tell the story of how a forgotten, derelict, old harlot might seek to rehabilitate herself in her old occupation. She might take up a harp and start strumming an accompaniment to her little piece. She might wander up and down the streets advertising her wares. Perhaps she could bring herself to the attention of her former customers.

Isa. 23:17-18 SALVATION: Tyre became a part of the Seleucid kingdom when Antiochus III drove the Ptolemies from Syria (198 B.C.), and the Seleucid kings regarded the city of importance and gave it the right of asylum, and it was allowed the status of a free city by the Romans, Antony recognizing the magistrates and council of Tyre as allies. When the Parthians attacked and took Syria, in 40 B.C., Tyre would not submit and was left untouched, being too strong for them. Tyre is mentioned in the New Testament several times; Christ visited its territory (Mat. 15:21; Mar. 7:24), and people from there came to hear Him (Luk. 6:17). Herod Agrippa I had trouble with Tyre, and a deputation came to visit him at Caesarea (Act. 12:20). Paul visited Tyre on his journey from Asia to Jerusalem (Act. 21:3-7). Christianity was accepted by the people of Tyre, so that the 2nd century A.D. saw a bishopric established there, and in the 4th century a council was held there to consider charges against Athanasius, by the party of Arius; he was condemned, a decision which brought the Tyrian church into disrepute. Tyre was already obnoxious to Christians because the anti-Christian philosopher Porphyry was from there. Tyre continued to be a commercial center, and Jerome says that it was the noblest and most beautiful of the Phoenician cities and an emporium of commerce for almost the whole world. It was of considerable importance during the Crusades and continued so until toward the end of the 13th century, when its trade declined, and it is now a small city of approximately 5000.

Isa. 23:17-18 seem to indicate a two-fold result of Gods permitting Tyre to be restored after a period of forgottenness. First, a part of her will return to her former ways of prostituting herself before the world for commercial purposes. Second, a part of her will become a treasure, not selfishly hoarded, but put to use as holiness (dedicated) to Jehovah. This second has its beginning, no doubt, in Ezr. 3:7 when she supplies goods to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple after the captivities. But we believe the ultimate fulfillment is in those people converted by the gospel and become precious jewels, the wealth, of the kingdom of God. The conversion of Gentiles and their incorporation in the kingdom of Jehovah through the preaching of the gospel is symbolized and prefigured in just this manner in Isa. 60:1-14; Isa. 61:1-9; Hag. 2:7-9, etc. In spite of what should happen to Tyres physical glory or her commercial prowess, her greatest remembrance for all eternity will be those precious saints (like the Syro-Phoenician woman who believed Jesus, Matthew 15; Mark 7) who are the jewels of the kingdom of God, and who have supplied food and clothing to many hungry and naked sinners through the ages.

QUIZ

What do the 70 years of Tyres history most likely refer to?

What is the Song of the Harlot?

What two-fold consequence comes as a result of Gods visiting Tyre again?

How does Tyres merchandise become holiness to Jehovah?

How does it feed and clothe those who dwell before Jehovah?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(15) Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years.If we take the number literally, the seventy years may coincide with those of the captivity of Judah, during which, under the Chaldan supremacy, Tyre was reduced to a state of comparative insignificance. It seems better, however, with Cheyne, to take it as a symbolic number for a long period of indefinite duration, and so, bringing it into closer connection with the context, to reckon the period from its conquest by the Assyrians.

According to the days of one king.We look in vain for any ruler of Assyria or Babylon whose reign was of this length, and the words probably mean, as the days fixed by a kingi.e., by a despotic and absolute decree. Possibly, however, the one king may stand for one dynasty.

Shall Tyre sing as an harlot.Literally, there shall be to Tyre as the song of the harlot, possibly referring to some well-known lyric of this type. The commercial city, welcoming foreigners of all nations as her lovers for the sake of gain, is compared to the prostitute who sells herself for money. (Comp. Rev. 17:2.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

After Seventy Years Tyre Will Be Restored ( Isa 23:15-18 ).

Analysis.

a And it will come about in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king (Isa 23:15 a).

b After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute (Isa 23:15 b).

c Take a harp, go about the city, you harlot, you have been forgotten.

c Make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.

b And it will come about after the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will return to her hire, and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth (Isa 23:17).

a And her merchandise and her hire will be holiness to Yahweh. It will not be treasured or laid up, for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before Yahweh to eat sufficiently and for durable clothing (Isa 23:18).

In ‘a’ Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, for the period of one king, but in the parallel she will in the end finally be remembered by Yahweh, for she will turn to Yahweh. In ‘b’ she will after the seventy years go forth as in the song of the prostitute, and in the parallel she will return to plying her trade as a prostitute to the nations of the world. In ‘c’ and parallel we have the song of the prostitute.

Isa 23:15-16

‘And it will come about in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute,

Take a harp,

Go about the city,

You harlot, you have been forgotten.

Make sweet melody,

Sing many songs,

That you may be remembered.’

The destruction of Tyre would have effect for ‘seventy years’. Then she would again begin her harlot ways. She will rise again and bring herself to people’s memories. This is pictured in the form of what was probably a well known song about a prostitute who had been off the streets and had been forgotten. So she took her harp and went about the city singing sweet melodies, so that soon she was again remembered. Central to the thought is that she was a harlot, as was Tyre with its licentious ways. Indeed harlotry is a description regularly used of cities in the Bible because of the behaviour that occurred in them and because they were idolatrous (compare Isa 1:21; Nah 3:4; Eze 23:5; Eze 23:7; Eze 23:11; Eze 23:16).

‘Seventy years, according to the days of one king.’ It is often suggested that this indicates a precise measurement like Isa 16:14; Isa 21:16, but the use of the number seventy militates against this, nor does this refer to a business contract. The phrase here rather suggests that it is a symbolic number. Kings rarely lived for anywhere near seventy years, never mind reigning for that period (the ‘book of days’ which was kept in respect of a king, and is often mentioned in this connection, covered only his reign). Thus this probably means ‘seventy years, that is, the lifetime of a king’, with seventy years being thus clearly indicated to be symbolic and signifying the divine perfection of the determined period as often occurs with the use of seventy.

On the other hand it may refer to the length of reign of a particularly long-lived king.

Tyre was constantly subject to attack by the Assyrians and equally constantly rebelled when the opportunity arose. She was never loath to take part in insurrections. Which incident this refers to is unclear, for it is very general and could be applied to any major taking of the mainland city. But the period of ‘seventy years’ may reflect the period when Tyre came under the domination of Sidon some years after Tyre’s capture and partial destruction by Sargon II in 722 BC. Thus she was ‘forgotten’. The period would badly affect her world position and her trade. She regained her autonomy in around 630 BC.

Isa 23:17

‘And it will come about after the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will return to her hire, and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.’

After her restoration Tyre will again become prominent in world trade and in taking her licentious behaviour ‘worldwide’. She will not have learned from her judgment.

Isa 23:18

‘And her merchandise and her hire will be holiness to Yahweh. It will not be treasured or laid up, for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before Yahweh to eat sufficiently and for durable clothing.’

The contrast with Isa 23:17 is stark. This clearly looks beyond Isa 23:17 into the future. Such sudden switches are seen elsewhere in Isaiah who sees all the future as one. (We have already seen in the burdens how in the end other nations will turn to Yahweh – Isa 18:7; Isa 19:19-25). God will turn her around. Then Tyre’s merchandise and trading will have been purified (thus it is not trade itself that is seen as sinful). It will be ‘holiness to Yahweh’, separated to Him and His service. This was partly so in that Tyre would provide material for the new temple (Ezr 3:7). But the description goes beyond that. The point is that her selfish building up of wealth will cease and she will rather make it available to supply the needs of God’s people. She will partake in the blessings of the future (Rev 21:24-26). There would be those in Tyre too who would be conquered by Christ and have their part in the new heaven and the new earth.

We should note as we come to the end of this section that Babylon and Edom were the only two of the ten for whom Isaiah had a burden, whose final and complete destruction was, or will be, emphasised. In the cases of both Egypt and Tyre (and even Assyria) their future restoration is emphasised. Compare also Ethiopia/Sudan (Isa 18:7). Thus behind all the judgments is the prospect of final restoration for all apart from those set against God from the beginning by their very nature. What ‘Babylon’ stood for, pride, arrogance, rebellion, blasphemy, anti-Yahwism, the occult, must be destroyed, whichever nation it was in. And what ‘Edom’ stood for was betrayal. As the brother tribe of Israel who turned against them (Esau/Edom was Jacob/Israel’s brother) they were the Judas before Judas.

(Ezekiel will take another approach to Isaiah with regard to Tyre. He stresses the final end of Tyre (Isa 26:14). But his emphasis all through is on judgment. Thus we see that the prophets are more to be seen as drawing lessons from the future of the nations than as trying to prophesy the whole future. Both were right. Tyre did cease as a powerful city, but its people did continue, and many did come to Christ).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Restoration of TyRev. 15. And it shall come to pass in that day, at the time when this prophecy would be fulfilled, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, the length of the Chaldean supremacy, according to the days of one king, the reference to this period being as of a time during which the lot of Tyre will be uniformly bad. After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot, the fate of Tyre will be according to the song of the harlot, a portion of which is now quoted:

v. 16. Take an harp, or zither, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, with pleasant playing, sing many songs that thou mayest be remembered, the trade of Tyre being compared with the business of a harlot because both serve mammon and, in part, the lowest desires of the flesh. The methods of Tyre are now represented as having success.

v. 17. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre, in mercy, to give her another opportunity to repent, and she shall turn to her hire, the gain of her trade being compared to the price of prostitution, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth, because she would court merchants from all nations and admit any one for the sake of gain.

v. 18. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord, by a disposition of God of which probably many of the Tyrians were not aware; it shall not be treasured nor laid up, concealed for her own use; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, His disciples, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing, to be taken care of in the proper manner, with changes of raiment according to the custom of the time. There seems to be no doubt that this prophecy refers to the Christian era. We know that Jesus visited the neighborhood of Tyre, Mat 15:21, that Paul found disciples there, Act 21:3-6, that it afterward was a powerful Christian bishopric, its cathedral being one of the most splendid of the early days. Other phases of the prophecy concerning Tyre are given by other prophets.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Isa 23:15-17. And it shall come to pass in that day The second part of this discourse contains the alleviation of the calamity decreed upon Tyre. In these verses the prophet informs us, first, that God would circumscribe within certain bounds his severity to Tyre, and within seventy years restore it to its former state; and then, secondly, in the 18th verse, foretels, that in process of time the Tyrians would be converted to the true religion. The former particular is related, first literally, and then figuratively. According to the days of one king or kingdom, means the Babylonian monarchy, which was to continue seventy years. Tyre is represented under the image of a harlot; and thence these figures are borrowed: the plain meaning of the verse is, that she should lie neglected of traders and merchants for seventy years, as long as the Babylonish empire lasted, and after that should recover her liberties and her trade, and draw in several of all nations to deal with her; and particularly the kings of the earth to buy her purples, which were worn chiefly by emperors and kings, and for which Tyre was famous above all places in the world. Seventy years was the time prefixed for the duration of the Babylonian empire. So long the nations were to groan under that tyrannical yoke: accordingly at the end of that period, Cyrus and the Persians subverted that empire, and restored the conquered nations to their liberties. These seventy years may likewise be computed in this manner: Tyre was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the 32nd year of his reign, and in the year before Christ 573. Seventy years from that time, will bring it down to the year before Christ 503, and the 19th of Darius Hystaspis. At that period, as appears from history, the Ionians had rebelled against Darius, and the Phoenicians assisted him with their fleet; and consequently it is reasonable to conclude that they were now restored to their former privileges. In the succeeding reign we find that they, together with the Sidonians, furnished Xerxes with several ships for his expedition into Greece; and by the time of Alexander, the Tyrians were grown to such power and greatness, that they stopped the progress of that rapid conqueror longer than any part of the Persian empire besides. All this, however, is to be understood of the insular Tyre; for as the old city flourished most before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, so the new flourished most afterwards; and this is the Tyre which henceforth is so much celebrated in history. Bishop Newton and Vitringa.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

b) The Restoration of Tyre

Isa 23:15-18

15And it shall come to pass in that day,

That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
According to the days of one king:
After the end of seventy years

14Shall Tyre sing as an harlot;

16Take an harp, go about the city,

Thou harlot that hast been forgotten:
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That thou mayest be remembered.

17And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years,

That the Lord will visit Tyre,
And she shall turn to her hire,
And shall commit fornication
With all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

18And her 15merchandise and her hire

Shall be holiness to the Lord;

It shall not be treasured nor laid up:
For her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord,

To eat sufficiently, and for 1617durable clothing.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

Isa 23:15. On the form comp. Ewald, 194 b.

Isa 23:17. The He of the suffix is without Mappik. Comp. Ewald, 247 d.

Isa 23:18. is . . [The word in Arabic means old and then excellent.D. M.].

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. After 70 years, which will have a character of unity as the period of the reign of one king, the wish will be fulfilled in Tyre that is expressed in a well-known song which advises a forgotten harlot, by singing and playing in the streets of the city, to cause herself to be again remembered (Isa 23:15-16). The Lord will again assist Tyre, she will renew her commercial intercourse, which is compared with amorous solicitation, with all the countries of the earth (Isa 23:17). But the gain of her harlotry will be consecrated to the Lord, and be assigned by Him to His servants for their rich enjoyment.

2. Isa 23:15-16. Regarding the expression In that day comp. on Isa 7:18. Seventy years shall Tyre be forgotten.This is the duration of the Chaldan supremacy, which according to Jeremiah (comp. my remarks on Jer 25:11), lasted from the battle of Carchemish to the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, consequently according to the information we now possess, from 605 (4) till 538 B. C., or 67 years. This period of 67 years may possibly, when we have more exact knowledge, be extended to quite 70 years or thereabouts. It can, however, be taken as a round number of 70 years, according to prophetic reckoning. Tyre will be so far forgotten, as it will be lost in the great empire of the world. This period of its being forgotten shall last 70 years according to the days of one kingThe expression recalls Isa 16:14 : Isa 21:16; but the meaning is different. Here the emphasis lies on . The Prophet intends to declare that this period will have for Tyre a character of unity. It will happen to Tyre under the successor as under the predecessor. The change of rulers will produce no alteration. This time of seventy years, during which Tyre will be forgotten, will bear as uniform a character as if the whole period were the time of the reign of only a single king. These words make the judgment heavier; there will be no alleviation of its severity. [This interpretation is preferable to the common one which makes king stand here for kingdom or dynasty.D. M.]. After 70 years, what in a well-known song often sung by frivolous young people, is under a certain condition set forth in prospect to a courtesan who is no longer sought after, shall be fulfilled in the case of Tyre. She shall regain the lost favor. But the Prophet intends at the same time to say that Tyre must do as the harlot in order again to attain favor. Tyre shall, after 70 years, endeavor to recover the favor of the nations, and again employ her old commercial arts in order to form business connections. And the Lord will vouchsafe success. [The translation of the latter part of Isa 23:15, in the text of the E. V., cannot be fairly made out of the original Hebrew. The rendering in the margin is the right one. Isa 23:16 is a snatch of the song of the harlot, and might have the marks of a quotation. D. M.].

3. And it shall comeclothing.

Isa 23:17-18. That commercial intercourse is compared with unchaste intercourse has its ground herein that the former serves Mammon and the belly (taken in the widest sense). But mammon and the belly are idols, and idolatry is fornication (comp. Nah 3:4). Tyre will return to her hire for harlotry (Mic 1:7), and will practise fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth. And her gain (Isa 23:3), or her hire as a harlot, will be holy unto the Lord.It will not be kept by the gainers and laid up in the treasury (Isa 39:6), or concealed, hidden in the ground ( as a verb only here), but it will serve those who dwell before Jehovah (not stand, for to stand before the Lord marks the service of the priests in the temple, Deu 10:8; Jdg 20:28, etc.), i.e. the Israelites in general, because the territory in which they dwell is the holy land, which has the house of Jehovah for its all-dominating centre. We may ask here how it is conceivable that the Lord can restore a people on which He has inflicted judgment, in order that it may begin again its old business of fornication; and how the wages of prostitution can be consecrated to the Lord, as in Deu 23:18 it is expressly forbidden to bring the hire of a whore into the house of God. I believe that the passage before us, which bears in this point a great resemblance to Isa 19:18 sqq., belongs to those utterances which must have been obscure to the Prophet himself, because the key to their interpretation is not furnished till they are fulfilled. This fulfilment, however, seems to be afforded by the Christian Tyre, respecting which we shall say more immediately. [Instead of a queen reinstated on the throne, Tyre appears as a forgotten harlot suing once more for admiration and reward. This metaphor necessarily imparts a contemptuous tone to the prediction. The restoration here predicted was to be a restoration to commercial prosperity and wealth, but not to regal dignity or national importance. Notwithstanding the apparent import of the figure, the conduct of Tyre is not in itself unlawful. The figure, indeed, is now commonly agreed to denote nothing more than commercial intercourse, without necessarily implying guilt. In ancient times when international commerce was a strange thing, and nearly monopolized by a single nation, and especially among the Jews, whose laws discouraged it for wise but temporary purposes, there were probably ideas attached to such promiscuous intercourse entirely different from our own. Certain it is that the Scriptures more than once compare the mutual solicitations of commercial enterprise to illicit love. That the comparison does not necessarily involve the idea of unlawful or dishonest trade, is sufficiently apparent from Isa 23:18. Alexander. D. M.].

4. In regard to the fulfilment of this prophecy we can get at the right view only when we attend carefully to the peculiarity of the prophetic vision. The Prophet does not see every thing, but only the principal matters, and he sees all the chief things which are essentially identical, not one after the other, but as it were on one surface beside each other. Hence it happens that that appears to him an immediate effect, which in reality is the result of a long course of development extending over thousands of years. Hence frequently the appearance is as if fulfilment did not correspond to the prophecy, while yet the fulfilment only happens in another way than it seemed from the point of view of the Prophet that it ought to happen. I have, to cite an example, shown in detail in my Commentary on Jeremiah , 50, 51, that Babylon was never destroyed by the hand of man. It has been various times captured. The conquerors injured the city, the one on this, the other on that part, but none of them at once so entirely destroyed it, as, according to Jeremiah 50, 51, apparently should have been done. And yet the final, result corresponds quite to the picture which Jeremiah draws of Babylons destruction. The same is the case here. Isaiah affirms two separate things: 1) Tyre shall be destroyed, and that by the Chaldans; 2) It shall be restored after 70 years, and its wealth shall be serviceable to the kingdom of God. And these announcements have also on the whole been fulfilled; but because the separate constituents of the prophecy were accomplished at various times, widely apart from one another, the fulfilment, while it corresponds to the prophetic picture as a whole, is not evident in its details. Our prophecy does not refer to the siege by Shalmaneser, because the Prophet (Isa 23:13) expressly declares that he has the Chaldeans in view as the enemies that would cause the ruin of Tyre. After what has been already said I cannot acknowledge that there is anything to justify an alteration of the text. But the conflicts of Shalmaneser with Tyre can have furnished the occasion for our prophecy. The object at which the Assyrian, and afterwards the Babylonian rulers aimed for the extension and security of their kingdom towards the southwest, was the conquest of Egypt. The conquest of Syria, Phenicia, Palestine, Philistia and the adjoining territories of Arabia was only in order to the attainment of that end. The possession of Phenicia, that ruled the sea, was especially of the greatest importance for the war with Egypt, because Phenicia, with its fleet in the hands of the Assyrians, could be just as useful to them as, in the service of the Egyptians, it could be hurtful to them. For this reason the Prophet (Isa 23:5) depicts the terror which the capture of Tyre would produce in Egypt. For that party in Jerusalem that was disposed to rely on the alliance with Egypt against Assyria, the integrity of Tyre must for this reason be a matter of prime moment. We might say: they relied on Tyre as the right arm of Egypt. As now the Prophet combated the reliance on Egypt, he must also be concerned to destroy the false hopes that were placed on Tyre. He does this in our chapter, while he represents Tyre as a city devoted by the Lord to destruction (Isa 23:8 sqq.). Why should Judah trust in such a power and not rather in Him who is able to decree such a doom on the nations? To set this before his people for due consideration, was certainly the practical aim of Isaiah. But we must now inquire more precisely: Did Isaiah see himself prompted to this discourse before the campaign of Shalmaneser against Tyre, during the same, or after it? It is not indeed impossible for the Prophet to have uttered this prediction before the conflicts which Shalmaneser, according to the fragment of Menander in Josephus (Antiqq. IX. 14, 2), carried on with the Tyrians; but any ground in facts for making this assumption is entirely wanting. It is also in itself not impossible for Isaiah to have composed the prophecy after the blockade of Tyre had been raised, perhaps at the same time with those prophecies against Egypt (18, 19, 20), and against the nations whose subjugation was a necessary preliminary to attacking Egypt (15, 16, Isa 21:11 sqq.). We might even appeal in support of this view to Isa 20:6, where under it would be proper to understand Phenicia and specially Tyre. But this prophecy belongs to the year 711 B. C., consequently to a time when the blockade of Tyre by Shalmaneser was long past. For Shalmaneser was in the year 722 already dead. But now it is certainly less probable that a Prophet should make a matter the subject of a prophecy at a time when this matter has been partially disposed of and engages less the general interest, than that he should do this at a time when the matter in question is going on, and is attracting the greatest attention. I therefore hold it to be more probable that our prophecy was delivered before the year 722, and that it consequently belongs to a time when the conflict with Tyre was still lasting. The prophecy published at this juncture was, moreover, intended to tell the Israelites that the Assyrians would not conquer Tyre, as then seemed likely, but that the Chaldeans would do so. The prophecy then belongs to the same time as chapter 28 (comp. the introduction to 2833), which first assails the Egyptian alliance, and, as we will there show, must have been composed before the capture of Samaria (comp. Isa 28:1), and therefore before the contemporaneous blockade of Tyre (comp. Schrader,ut supra, p. 155). The blockade by Shalmaneser and his successor Sargon, although the expression in Menander would warrant our inferring a final surrender, does not seem to have been attended with consequences particularly hurtful to the Tyrians. The Assyrians were themselves interested in sparing the resources of the Tyrians, that they might use them for their own advantage. From this time till the commencement of the Chaldean wars there is a complete gap in the history of Phenicia (Movers, II., I., p. 400). That Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre is now no more disputed by any one. That the siege lasted thirteen years has at least great internal probability. Josephus states it on the authority of Philostratus (Antiqq. X. 11, 1) and of the Tyrian Menander (although, without expressly mentioning his name, Contra Apion, 1, 21). We have, besides, the authority of the prophet Ezekiel (2628, Isa 29:16 sqq.). But the question is: Did Nebuchadnezzar also destroy Tyre? On this subject many needless words have been used by those who thought that the honor of prophecy absolutely required that Tyre should have been destroyed at once and directly by Nebuchadnezzar. This did not happen, and is by no means necessary to save the credit of prophecy. We know from Herodotus (II. 161) and Diodorus (I. 68) that the Egyptian king Apries, who was cotemporary with Nebuchadnezzar, undertook a successful expedition against the Phenicians who had hitherto been his allies. How would this be conceivable if Phenicia (to which doubtless Tyre is to be reckoned) had not been for the Egyptians the country of an enemy, i.e., a Babylonian province? According to the account already mentioned, which Josephus (Contra Apion I. 21) communicates from Tyrian sources, there arose difficulties in regard to the succession to the throne of Tyre after the thirteen years siege. A king Baal ruled for ten years after Itobaal, in whose reign the siege began. But then follow two judges, one high-priest, then again two judges, who govern in conjunction with a king. The duration of these governments was, in the case of some of them, very brief. At last the Tyrians procure for themselves a king from Babylon in the person of Merbaal, and after his death they obtain from the same place his brother Hiram. For, according to 2Ki 25:28, there were, beside Zedekiah, other captive kings in Babylon. If now Nebuchadnezzar brought the royal family with him to Babylon, is not that a proof of his having conquered Tyre? (comp. Movers,ut supra, p. 460 sqq.). So much is established, that Tyre, since the close of the conflicts with Nebuchadnezzar, ceased to be an independent state. Although it was not destroyed, which would not have served the interests of the Chaldeans, it became a province of the Babylonian empire, whence it passed over into the hands of the Persians, Grecians and Romans, as Jerome on Ezekiel 27 says: Quod nequaquam ultra sit regina populorum nec proprium habeat imperium, uti habuit sub Hiram et ceteris regibus, sed vel Chaldis vel Macedonibus vel Ptolemis et ad postremum Romania servitura sit. The conquest by Nebuchadnezzar was the act in the worlds history which originated the complete destruction of Tyre, though its ruin was not all at once effected. This act had involved in it what should take place in the future, and this future gradually unfolded the significance of that act which was such a beginning as presaged the coming end, as was the earnest of the final doom of Tyre. Its capture by Alexander the Great (333 B. C.; comp. Curt. 4:7 sqq.; Arrian II. 24) was one of the chief events in the accomplishment of its predicted ruin. But Tyre outlived even this visitation. Curtius says expressly: Multis ergo casibus defuncta et post excidium renata, nunc tamen longa pace cuncta refovente sub tutela Roman mansuetudinis acquiescit. Who can help thinking here on the restoration which Isaiah, Isa 23:15 sqq., promises to the city? Isaiah indeed promises this restoration after 70 years. But these 70 years denote only the duration of the rule of the Chaldeans. The Prophet sees only one master of the Phenician capitalthe Chaldeans (Isa 23:13). This is the relative defect in his vision. He sees too the restoration immediately after the disappearance of this one enemy. This is likewise a relative defect. For, as in reality the destruction of Tyre had many distinct stages, so also was it with the restoration. The occasion and starting point of the restoration is seen by the Prophet in the passing away of this one arch-enemy. But to Isaiah this flourishing anew of Tyre was only a revival of its commerce, and this was really the fact. Thus Jerome on Ezekiel 27 states that Tyre usque hodie perseverat ut omnium propemodum gentium in illa exerceantur commercia.Pliny, however, remarks (Hist. Nat. V. 17): Tyrus olim clara. . nunc omnis ejus nobilitas conchylio atque purpura constat. Tyre became afterwards a Christian city. When our Lord was upon earth, longing souls came from the borders of Tyre and Zidon to see and to hear Him; and He, on His part, did not disdain to honor these borders with His presence (Mar 3:8; Luk 6:17; Mat 15:21). Paul found there (Act 21:3 sqq.) a Christian church. In the beginning of the fourth century Methodius was bishop of Tyre. In 315 a church erected there at great expense was dedicated by Eusebius of Csarea. In 355 a Synod convoked by the Eusebians against Athanasius was held there. In 1125 it was taken by the crusaders and incorporated in the kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1127 it became the seat of an archbishop. William of Tyre, the celebrated historian, occupied the see of Tyre from the year 1174. Not till the end of the 13th century did the Saracens destroy the fortifications. After Alexander the Great had connected Tyre with the main land by means of a mole, it ceased to be an island, and it is now a village of fishermens huts, with about 3,000 inhabitants (Sur). All that the Prophet announced has thus in fact been fulfilled. But in the language of prophecy and in the language of its fulfilment, divine thoughts clothe themselves in such strangely different forms that only he can perceive the identity who understands how to combine the long-drawn lines of history into one picture in perspective. This picture will exactly correspond to that of the Prophet. [The remarks of our author, when carefully studied, vindicate the Prophet from the charge of even a relative error. The Prophet does not say that the predicted restoration of Tyre should all at once take place on the expiration of seventy years, or the close of the rule of the Chaldeans. The requirement of the prophecy is satisfied if Tyre should begin to flourish after its deliverance from the Chaldean oppression. The Spirit of God again saw in the capture of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar the germinant force which would issue in its final complete destruction, and accordingly foretells that the ruin of Tyre would follow that event. But whether this should happen at once, or in the course of time, is not declared. Nebuchadnezzar brought Tyre to ruin; for his capture of it led to its entire destruction, though there intervened a long line of operations and issues which it required many ages to develop. The remark of Abarbanel, that has been often quoted, is here in point, that it is the custom of the prophets in their predictions to have respect at once to a near and remote period, so that prophecies pointing to very distant times are found among others which relate to the immediate future. Whence we may the more certainly conclude that God might threaten the Tyrians with the destruction of their city, though it might be brought on at different times and by gradual advances. There is no mistake made by Isaiah in the picture which he drew. It fully served the object intended by God. The relative mistake is in the exponent of the prophecy.D. M.]

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. On Isa 23:1 sqq. Commerce and seaports are not in themselves evilbut where commerce prospers and is in full bloom, there Gods gift and ordinance are to be recognised. Solomon engaged in commerce (2Ki 10:28). When trade declines, this is to be looked upon as a punishment from the hand of God on account of the extortion practised by merchants. For a merchant shall hardly keep himself from doing wrong, and a huckster shall not be freed from sin (Sir 27:29). Sin is committed not only where merchants deal falsely, but also where they are proud of their riches and magnificence, and move along as princes and lords, and forget the poor, and at the same time neglect divine service, Gods word and sacrament. Cramer. [This is quite too indiscriminate a censure of merchants and traders. Cicero (De Off. Lib. 1) expresses a similar opinion as to the necessity for hucksters to practise deceit in order to make a profit. Happily the book of Ecclesiasticus is not inspired Scripture, and Christianity has so far improved the spirit of men of business that the language of the Apocrypha as quoted above and of Cicero would not now be tolerated, but would be universally regarded as most unjust and calumniatory.D. M.]

2. On Isa 23:8-9. This place affords us consolation. As the threatening of the Prophet against Tyre was not vain, so also the tyranny of our adversaries will come to an end. Neither the Pope nor the Turk believes that they can fallbut they shall fall, as Tyre fell. Luther.

3. On Isa 23:18. Ego intelligo de futuro regno Christi, quod et ipsa Tyrus convertenda est ad Dominum. Dicit igitur, postquam reversa fuerit ad suas negociationes, imminebit regnum Christi, quod Tyrus quoque amplectetur, sicut testatur Acts 21. Luther.

On Isa 23:18. They who dwell before the Lordi.e., who believe on Him, will have: 1) their merchandise, 2) will eat and be satisfied, 3) will be well clothed. Therefore money and property, food and goodly apparel, are not to be condemned and renounced. This admits of practical application against monkery and the Anabaptists. Cramer. [The original Anabaptists of Germany maintained a community of goods.D. M.]

HOMILETICAL AND HINTS

1. [On Isa 23:1-14. Why did God bring these calamities on Tyre? Not to show an arbitrary and irresistible power, but to punish the Tyrians for their pride (Isa 23:9). Many other sins, no doubt, reigned among them: idolatry, sensuality and oppressionbut the sin of pride is fastened upon as that which was the particular ground of Gods controversy with Tyre. Let the ruin of Tyre be a warning to all places and persons to take heed of pridefor it proclaims to all the world that he who exalts himself shall be abased. After Henry.D. M.]

2. [Isa 23:8-9. An appropriate text for a discourse on Gods moral government over the nations, Dan 4:3.D. M.]

3. On Isa 23:18. Concerning the right use of worldly goods: 1) We ought not to gather them as a treasure, nor to hide them. 2. We ought to consecrate them to the Lord, and therefore apply them: a) to sacred objects, b) for the wants of the body according to the will of the Lord.

Footnotes:

[14]Heb. It shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot.

[15]gain.

[16]Heb. old.

[17]splendid.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

It is worthy remark, that Tyre’s captivity was appointed by the Lord, to be of the same length as Israel’s, and under the same government. Was this designed, (I only ask the question, not determine) that the children of Tyre, by mingling with God’s Israel in captivity, might become acquainted with Israel’s God? Certain it is, that after Tyre began to recover from her ruin, and commenced trade again, there was a friendly intercourse between Israel and Tyre. In the days of Nehemiah, certain men of Tyre lived in Judah, for the holy man of God complained of their profaning the sabbath in selling their fish on the Lord’s day, Neh 13:16 . And it should seem, by what our Lord saith of Tyre and Sidon, that he had his eye upon it for good; Mat 11:21-22 . And in the after age, when Christ had finished redemption, and was returned to glory, the apostles, in their general dispersion of preaching the gospel, found disciples in Tyre, Act 21:4 . Reader, who shall say, but that for the conversion of the men of Tyre, in bringing the Lord’s heritage that were among them to the knowledge of Jesus, the overthrow of Tyre was appointed? Who shall calculate to what extent in the present hour the Lord is accomplishing his purpose, in the commotions of the earth, among kingdoms and people, in order to gather his dispersed to himself, from all the varieties of the earth? Oh, what a subject of this kind will open in heaven, when the Lord shall have brought home his whole Church! Then every tongue will break out in that voice of praise, in singing the song of Moses, and of the Lamb, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty: just and true are thy ways, thou, King of saints! Rev 15:3 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Isa 23:15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

Ver. 15. Tyre shall be forgotten, ] i.e., Laid aside by God, as if not at all minded in her misery: slighted also and unfrequented by men, as a withered harlot.

Seventy years. ] So long as the Jews, whom they jeered, were held captives in Babylon.

According to the days of one king, ] i.e., The duration of the Babylonish monarchy, under Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his son’s son. Jer 27:7

Shall Tyre sing as an harlot. ] Ut meretrix, i.e., Mercatrix. Harlots fallen into some foul disease are abandoned; but recovering thereof, they seek, by singing and other allurements, to regain their paramours; so should Tyre deal by her old customers, being, as was once said of Helena after her return from Troy, , no changeling, but as good as ever.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

seventy years. See Jer 25:9-11; Jer 27:2-7. From the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (496 B.C.) to the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus (426 B.C.)

one. Hebrew. ehad, a compound unity, hence “one” of a dynasty, here, the Babylonian dynasty. Not yahid, a single one. See note on Deu 6:4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Isa 23:15-18

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years, it shall be unto Tyre as in the song of a harlot. Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that has been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Jehovah: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.”

Peake declared that, “This is best referred to Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Tyre (585-577 B.C.). This, of course is correct; but the critical dictum about “predictive prophecy” forces such a scholar to date the passage “after the exile,” which is ridiculous, there being no evidence for such a thing anywhere on earth. The repeated mention of “seventy years” is significant, that being almost exactly the duration of the Chaldean dynasty that controlled Babylon during their conquest of Assyria and their conquest of Jerusalem and the removal of Judah into captivity. Lowth pointed out that:

“Nebuchadnezzar began his conquests in the first year of his reign; from thence to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus are seventy years, at which time the nations taken by Nebuchadnezzar were to be restored to liberty…Some of the nations were conquered sooner, some later; but the end of the seventy years was the occasion for the deliverance of all of them.

In this connection Barnes also noted that “king” in the Bible may and many times does refer to a dynasty rather than to a single monarch.

The mention of the “song of a harlot” (the end of Isa 23:15) is a reference to the custom of ancient harlots who, when they became old, often resorted to the role of a singing beggar to attract gifts, or to induce renewed acceptance by old customers. Isaiah here adopted that ancient custom as a metaphor of what would happen to Tyre after her fall to the Babylonians.

In this connection we might ask, in what way was Tyre a harlot? Well, their very religion was largely Baal-worship, featuring hundreds of both male and female prostitutes; but more is intended here. By pandering to the slave trade, which we have already mentioned, they were prostituting their honor and sacrificing the lives of countless people in order to satisfy the greed and lust of people who desired to own slaves. In a similar way today, some people are pandering to the desire of the wicked for drugs.

Isa 23:17 states that Jehovah would restore Tyre and bless the city again after the seventy years; and we might have hope that after such a scourge was lifted, Tyre might have learned her lesson; but no! She returned to her hire and “played the harlot with all the nations of the world” (Isa 23:17). “A nation’s prosperity is of God; all is in his hand. He controls the destiny both of men and of nations.

The final Isa 23:18 speaks of the commerce in which Tyre continued to engage as resulting in benefit to the people of God, and this is another mystery found in this chapter. Is there a reference here to the conversion of citizens of Tyre in the kingdom of Christ? It does not appear that this was ever extensive enough to warrant such a statement as is found here. We like the comment of Hailey who wrote:

“Might not the prophecy mean simply that whatever the motives of tradesmen, Jehovah uses commerce for the good of mankind, consecrating it to that purpose? What we know of God and his ways tends to make this view reasonable.

The unreasonable and inaccurate dating of this prophecy often encountered violates the very words of the prophecy. For example, Kelley flatly declared that, “The prophecy of Tyre’s restoration probably belongs in the sixth century!” If so, what about the “seventy years” mentioned three times? Such a date simply does not fit, and it could not possibly be correct.

(The end of Division II)

Isa 23:15-16 SUBJECTION: Alexander the Great took the city killing 8000 and selling 30,000 into slavery. He imported many foreigners into the ruined city to colonize it and left it after spending seven months to subdue it. After Alexanders death, Tyre passed into the hands of Ptolemy Lagi, and when Antigonus, in 314 B.C. took Phoenicia from him, Tyre resisted and he had to blockade it 15 months before it would yield, showing how quickly it had recovered from its previous disaster.

Like the days of one king probably refers to the idea that while one king reigns there usually is no major changes in policy, things remain static. Tyres God-destined period of forgottenness will remain static for as long as God wishes it to be so.

The Song of the Harlot suggests a song whose lyrics tell the story of how a forgotten, derelict, old harlot might seek to rehabilitate herself in her old occupation. She might take up a harp and start strumming an accompaniment to her little piece. She might wander up and down the streets advertising her wares. Perhaps she could bring herself to the attention of her former customers.

Isa 23:17-18 SALVATION: Tyre became a part of the Seleucid kingdom when Antiochus III drove the Ptolemies from Syria (198 B.C.), and the Seleucid kings regarded the city of importance and gave it the right of asylum, and it was allowed the status of a free city by the Romans, Antony recognizing the magistrates and council of Tyre as allies. When the Parthians attacked and took Syria, in 40 B.C., Tyre would not submit and was left untouched, being too strong for them. Tyre is mentioned in the New Testament several times; Christ visited its territory (Mat 15:21; Mar 7:24), and people from there came to hear Him (Luk 6:17). Herod Agrippa I had trouble with Tyre, and a deputation came to visit him at Caesarea (Act 12:20). Paul visited Tyre on his journey from Asia to Jerusalem (Act 21:3-7). Christianity was accepted by the people of Tyre, so that the 2nd century A.D. saw a bishopric established there, and in the 4th century a council was held there to consider charges against Athanasius, by the party of Arius; he was condemned, a decision which brought the Tyrian church into disrepute. Tyre was already obnoxious to Christians because the anti-Christian philosopher Porphyry was from there. Tyre continued to be a commercial center, and Jerome says that it was the noblest and most beautiful of the Phoenician cities and an emporium of commerce for almost the whole world. It was of considerable importance during the Crusades and continued so until toward the end of the 13th century, when its trade declined, and it is now a small city of approximately 5000.

Isa 23:17-18 seem to indicate a two-fold result of Gods permitting Tyre to be restored after a period of forgottenness. First, a part of her will return to her former ways of prostituting herself before the world for commercial purposes. Second, a part of her will become a treasure, not selfishly hoarded, but put to use as holiness (dedicated) to Jehovah. This second has its beginning, no doubt, in Ezr 3:7 when she supplies goods to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple after the captivities. But we believe the ultimate fulfillment is in those people converted by the gospel and become precious jewels, the wealth, of the kingdom of God. The conversion of Gentiles and their incorporation in the kingdom of Jehovah through the preaching of the gospel is symbolized and prefigured in just this manner in Isa 60:1-14; Isa 61:1-9; Hag 2:7-9, etc. In spite of what should happen to Tyres physical glory or her commercial prowess, her greatest remembrance for all eternity will be those precious saints (like the Syro-Phoenician woman who believed Jesus, Matthew 15; Mark 7) who are the jewels of the kingdom of God, and who have supplied food and clothing to many hungry and naked sinners through the ages.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Tyre shall: Jer 25:9-11, Jer 25:22, Jer 27:3-7, Jer 29:10, Eze 29:11

one king: Dan 7:14, Dan 8:21, Rev 17:10

shall Tyre sing as an harlot: Heb. it shall be unto Tyre as the song of an harlot, Eze 27:25, Hos 2:15

Reciprocal: Gen 36:30 – dukess in the Isa 24:8 – General Jer 25:11 – seventy Eze 16:35 – O harlot Eze 26:3 – Behold Nah 3:4 – the mistress

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Isa 23:15-17. And it shall come to pass, &c. Here begins the second part of this discourse, which contains an alleviation of the judgment decreed against Tyre. The prophet foretels, 1st, That God would circumscribe within certain bounds his severity to Tyre, and within seventy years restore it to its former state; and, 2d, That in process of time the Tyrians should be converted to the true religion, Isa 23:18. The former particular is predicted, first literally, and then figuratively. Tyre shall be forgotten Neglected and forsaken by those who used to traffic with her; seventy years, according to the days of one king Or kingdom, meaning the Babylonian, which was to continue seventy years. After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as a harlot, &c. The plain meaning of this metaphorical passage, says Bishop Newton, in which Tyre is represented as a harlot, is, that she should lie neglected of traders and merchants for seventy years, as long as the Babylonian empire lasted, and after that she should recover her liberties and her trade, and draw in several of all nations to deal with her, and particularly the kings of the earth to buy her purples, which were worn chiefly by emperors and kings, and for which Tyre was famous above all places in the world. Seventy years was the time prefixed for the duration of the Babylonian empire. So long the nations were to groan under that tyrannical yoke, though these nations were subdued, some sooner, some later than others, Jer 25:11-12. Accordingly, at the end of seventy years, Cyrus and the Persians subverted the Babylonian empire, and restored the conquered nations to their liberty. The bishop observes further, that these seventy years may also be computed after another manner. Tyre was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the thirty-second year of his reign, and in the five hundred and seventy-third before Christ. Seventy years from thence will bring us down to the year five hundred and three before Christ, and the nineteenth of Darius Hystaspis. At that time, it appears from history that the Ionians had rebelled against Darius, and the Phenicians assisted him with their fleets: and, consequently, it is reasonable to conclude that they were now restored to their former privileges. In the succeeding reign we find that they, together with the Sidonians, furnished Xerxes with several ships for his expedition into Greece. And, by the time of Alexander, the Tyrians were grown to such power and greatness that they stopped the progress of that rapid conqueror longer than any part of the Persian empire besides. But this is to be understood of the insular Tyre; for, as the old city flourished most before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, so the new city flourished most afterward, and this is the Tyre that henceforth is so much celebrated in history.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

23:15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of {t} seventy years shall Tyre {u} sing as an harlot.

(t) Tyrus will lie destroyed seventy years which he calls the reign of one king, or a man’s age.

(u) Will use all craft and subtilty to entice men again to her.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

In the day that the Lord would execute His plan against Tyre, there would be a period of 70 years when Tyre would experience relief from her oppressors. Compare the 70 years of Israel’s captivity in Babylon, probably not the same period. "Like the days of one king" refers to the book of days that kings kept in which they recorded the events of their reigns day by day. The meaning is similar to "as a hired man would count" (Isa 16:14; Isa 21:16), namely, that these would be 70 literal, fixed years. Tyre did experience such a period of respite following the campaigns of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. During the next 70 years, Assyria was in decline and did not pay much attention to Tyre. Another view is that the 70 years followed Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion. A third view is that the 70 years are the same as those of the Babylonian captivity of Israel (Delitzsch, 1:414, 420). A fourth interpretation is that 70 is a round number and indicates simply an extended period of time. Consequently Tyre regained some of her former strength.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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