Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 26:2
Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, [now] she is laid waste:
2. The sin of Tyre: her rejoicing over the calamity of Judah, in the hopes that it will further her interests.
Aha, she is broken ] Rather: aha! the gate (door) of the peoples is broken, it is turned unto me. (“Door” is plur. having leaves, or by attraction of peoples.) The idea appears to be that Jerusalem or Judah was a door barring the entrance to Tyre, which being broken and turned or opened towards Tyre the nations would stream with their commerce towards her. The kingdom of Judah lay across the great commercial routes from the south, and no doubt intercepted much of the merchandise that otherwise would have reached Tyre, and probably exacted custom on that which was allowed to pass. The natural sense of “door of the nations” would be door into the nations (Nah 3:13; Zec 11:1), and the idea would be that the door was now opened for Tyre to enter. The sense remains the same: that which stood between Tyre and the nations is removed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2. Prophecy is always ideal in its delineations. Its threats and promises are alike hyperbolical whether they concern Israel or the nations. And in regard to fulfilment the same general principles must be applied to all prophecies, those of redemption and those of calamity alike. The former are not fulfilled at once, nor at all literally, neither need we expect immediate or literal fulfilment of the latter. At the same time in regard to both it must be maintained that the prophets imagined the fulfilment as they describe it. This, however, is part of their idealism; the moral element is always the main thing in their prophecies. What they predict is the exhibition of Jehovah’s moral rule of the world; the form in which they clothe this exhibition may not be quite that given in history.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gates – i. e., one gate of two leaves.
The people – Or, the peoples (and in Eze 27:3), the plural expressing the fact that many peoples passed through Jerusalem, as the central place on the highway of commerce, e. g., in the reign of Solomon. This was viewed with jealousy by Tyre, who owed her greatness to the same cause, and in the true spirit of mercantile competition exulted in the thought that the trade of Jerusalem would be diverted into her markets. Render it: Aha! She is broken – the gate of the peoples! She is turned unto me. I shall be filled. She is laid waste.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Tyrus hath said] From this it would appear that Jerusalem had been taken, which was on the fourth month of this year; but it is possible that the prophet speaks of the event beforehand.
She is broken that was the gates of the people] Jerusalem, a general emporium.
I shall be replenished] The merchandise that went to Jerusalem will come to me, (to Tyre.)
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Tyrus; the city for the people; it is probable it was a universal joy, therefore ascribed to the whole city, built on a rock and island of the same name, not far distant from the continent, a very great traded port and city.
Hath said; either God revealed this to the prophet so soon as these insulting Tyrians spoke it, or else Ezekiel speaks of it prophetically, and as if it were done.
Said against Jerusalem, Aha; showed great joy at the fall of Jerusalem, and triumphed over her.
She is broken by Nebuchadnezzars army.
The gates of the people; near to the gates of the cities were usually, the great merchants, and so here Jerusalem is called the great mart of nations and people from all parts resorting to her for trade or religion.
She is turned unto me; trading interest will turn to me, they that did carry merchandise to Jerusalem will now bring it to me.
I shall be replenished; have full trade, my haven full of ships, streets full of buyers and sellers, ships full of wares, houses full of lodgers, and purses full of money.
She is laid waste; she reflected on wasted Jerusalem with joy, which was impious, injurious, and inhuman, to rejoice in the ruin of her neighbour.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Tyre (Jos 19:29;2Sa 24:7), literally, meaning”the rock-city,” Zor; a name applying to the islandTyre, called New Tyre, rather than Old Tyre on the mainland.They were half a mile apart. “New Tyre,” a century and ahalf before the fall of Jerusalem, had successfully resistedShalmaneser of Assyria, for five years besieging it (MENANDER,from the Tyrian archives, quoted by JOSEPHUS,Antiquities, 9.14. 2). It was the stronger and more importantof the two cities, and is the one chiefly, though not exclusively,here meant. Tyre was originally a colony of Zidon. Nebuchadnezzar’ssiege of it lasted thirteen years (Eze 29:18;Isa 23:1-18). Though noprofane author mentions his having succeeded in the siege, JEROMEstates he read the fact in Assyrian histories.
Aha!exultation over afallen rival (Psa 35:21; Psa 35:25).
she . . . that was thegatesthat is, the single gate composed of two folding doors.Hence the verb is singular. “Gates” were the placeof resort for traffic and public business: so here it expresses amart of commerce frequented by merchants. Tyre regards Jerusalemnot as an open enemy, for her territory being the narrow, long stripof land north of Philistia, between Mount Lebanon and the sea, herinterest was to cultivate friendly relations with the Jews, on whomshe was dependent for corn (Eze 27:17;1Ki 5:9; Act 12:20).But Jerusalem had intercepted some of the inland traffic which shewished to monopolize to herself; so, in her intensely selfishworldly-mindedness, she exulted heartlessly over the fall ofJerusalem as her own gain. Hence she incurred the wrath of God aspre-eminently the world’s representative in its ambition,selfishness, and pride, in defiance of the will of God (Isa23:9).
she is turned unto methatis, the mart of corn, wine, oil, balsam, &c., which she once was,is transferred to me. The caravans from Palmyra, Petra, and the Eastwill no longer be intercepted by the market (“the gates”)of Jerusalem, but will come to me.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, aha,…. As rejoicing at her destruction, and insulting over her in it; which was barbarous and inhuman, and resented by the Lord:
she is broken that was the gates of the people; through whose gates the people went in and out in great numbers; a city to which there was very popular, not only for religion, from all parts, at their solemn feasts, but for merchandise from several parts of the world; and was now full of people before its destruction, the inhabitants of Judea having fled thither for safety, upon the invasion made by the king of Babylon; but now the city was broken up, as it is said it was, by the Chaldean army,
Jer 52:7, its gates and walls were broken down, and lay in a ruinous condition. The Targum is,
“she is broken down that afforded merchandise to all people.”
She is turned unto me; either the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which escaped and fled to Tyre for refuge; or the spoil taken out of it, which was carried there to be sold; and even the captives themselves to be sold for slaves, which was one part of the merchandise of Tyre; see
Eze 27:3, or the business, trade, and merchandise carried on in Jerusalem, were brought to Tyre upon its destruction; so Jarchi and Kimchi. The Targum is,
“she is turned to come unto me;”
which favours the first sense; all may be intended.
I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste; or, “I shall be filled” b; with inhabitants, riches, and wealth, with merchants and merchandise, Jerusalem her rival being destroyed; this was what gave her joy; and is a common thing for persons to rejoice at the fall or death of those of the same trade with them; hoping for an increase of theirs by means of it, which yet is sinful.
b “implebor”, Cocceius, Starckius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Tyre shall be broken and utterly destroyed
Eze 26:2. Son of man, because Tyre saith concerning Jerusalem, “Aha, the door of the nations is broken; it turneth to me; I shall become full; she is laid waste;” Eze 26:3. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will come upon thee, O Tyre, and will bring up against thee many nations, as the sea bringing up its waves. Eze 26:4. They will destroy the walls of Tyre, and throw down her towers; and I will sweep away her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. Eze 26:5. She shall become a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken it, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah; and she shall become booty for the nations. Eze 26:6. And her daughters which are in the land shall be slain with the sword; and they shall learn that I am Jehovah. – Tyre, as in the prophecy of Isaiah (Ezekiel 23), is not the city of that name upon the mainland, or , Old Tyre, which was taken by Shalmaneser and destroyed by Alexander (as Perizon., Marsh, Vitringa, J. D. Michaelis, and Eichhorn supposed), but Insular Tyre, which was three-quarters of a mile farther north, and only 1200 paces from the land, being built upon a small island, and separated from the mainland by a strait of no great depth (vid., Movers, Phoenizier, II p. 288ff.). This Insular Tyre had successfully resisted the Assyrians (Josephus, Antt. ix. 14. 2), and was at that time the market of the nations; and in Ezekiel’s day it had reached the summit of its greatness as mistress of the sea and the centre of the commerce of the world. That it is against this Tyre that our prophecy is chiefly directed, is evident from Eze 26:5 and Eze 26:14, according to which Tyre is to become a bare rock in the midst of the sea, and from the allusion to the daughter cities, , in the field, i.e., on the mainland (in Eze 26:6), as contrasted with the position occupied by Tyre upon a rocky island in the sea; and, lastly, from the description given in Ezekiel 27 of the maritime trade of Tyre with all nations, to which Old Tyre never attained, inasmuch as it possessed no harbour (vid., Movers, l.c. p. 176). This may easily be reconciled with such passages as Eze 26:6, Eze 26:8, and Ezekiel 27, 28, in which reference is also made to the continental Tyre, and the conquest of Tyre is depicted as the conquest of a land-city (see the exposition of these verses). – The threat against Tyre commences, as in the case of the nations threatened in Ezekiel 25, with a brief description of its sin. Tyre gave expression to its joy at the fall of Jerusalem, because it hoped to derive profit therefrom through the extension of its commerce and increase of its wealth. Different explanations have been given of the meaning of the words put into the mouth of Tyre. “The door of the nations is broken in pieces.” The plural indicates the folding doors which formed the gate, and are mentioned in its stead. Jerusalem is the door of the nations, and is so called according to the current opinion of expositors, because it was the centre of the commerce of the nations, i.e., as a place of trade. But nothing is known to warrant the idea that Jerusalem was ever able to enter into rivalry with Tyre as a commercial city. The importance of Jerusalem with regard to other nations was to be found, not in its commerce, nor in the favourable situation which it occupied for trade, in support of which Hvernick refers to Herodotus, iii. 5, and Hitzig to Eze 23:40-41, but in its sanctuary, or the sacred calling which it had received for the whole world of nations. Kliefoth has therefore decided in favour of the following view: That Jerusalem is called a gate of the nations, not because it had hitherto been open to the nations for free and manifold intercourse, but for the very opposite reason, namely, because the gate of Jerusalem had hitherto been closed and barred against the nations, but was now broken in pieces through the destruction of the city, and thereby opened to the nations. Consequently the nations, and notably Tyre, would be able to enter now; and from this fact the Tyrians hoped to derive advantage, so far as their commercial interests were concerned. But this view is not in harmony with the text. Although a gate is opened by being broken in pieces, and one may force an entrance into a house by breaking the door (Gen 19:9), yet the expression “door of the nations” cannot signify a door which bars all entrance on the part of the nations, inasmuch as doors and gates are not made to secure houses and cities against the forcible entrance of men and nations, but to render it possible for them to go out and in. Moreover, the supposition that “door of the nations” is equivalent to shutting against the nations, is not in harmony with the words which follow. The expression “it has turned to me,” or it is turned to me, has no meaning unless it signifies that through the breaking of the door the stream of the nations would turn away from Jerusalem to Tyre, and therefore that hitherto the nations had turned to Jerusalem. is the 3rd pers. perf. Niphal of , for , formed after the analogy of , etc. The missing subject to is to be found ad sensum in . It is not the door itself, but the entrance and streaming in of the nations, which had previously been directed towards Jerusalem, and would now turn to Tyre. There is no necessity, therefore, for Hitzig’s conjecture, that should be altered into , and the latter taken as the subject.
Consequently we must understand the words of the Tyrians as signifying that they had regarded the drawing of the nations to Jerusalem, i.e., the force of attraction which Jerusalem had hitherto exerted upon the nations, as the seat of the divine revelation of mercy, or of the law and judgment of the Lord, as interfering with their endeavour to draw all nations to themselves and gain them over to their purposes, and that they rejoiced at the destruction of Jerusalem, because they hoped that henceforth they would be able to attract the nations to themselves and enrich themselves with their possessions. This does not require that we should accredit the Tyrians with any such insight into the spiritual calling of Jerusalem as would lie beyond their heathen point of view. The simple circumstance, that the position occupied by Jerusalem in relation to the world apparently interfered with the mercantile interests of the Tyrians, would be quite sufficient to excite a malignant pleasure at the fall of the city of God, as the worship of God and the worship of Mammon are irreconcilably opposed. The source from which the envy and the enmity manifesting itself in this malicious pleasure took their rise, is indicated in the last words: “I shall fill myself, she (Jerusalem) is laid waste,” which Jerome has correctly linked together thus: quia illa deserta est, idcirco ego implebor . , to be filled with merchandise and wealth, as in Eze 27:25. On account of this disposition toward the kingdom of God, which led Tyre to expect an increase of power and wealth from its destruction, the Lord God would smite it with ruin and annihilation. , behold, I will come upon thee, as in Eze 13:8; Jer 50:31; Nah 3:5. God will lead a powerful army against Tyre, which shall destroy its walls and towers. Instead of the army, “many nations” are mentioned, because Tyre is hoping to attract more nations to itself in consequence of the destruction of Jerusalem. This hope is to be fulfilled, though in a different sense from that which Tyre intended. The comparison of the advancing army to the advancing waves of the sea is very significant when the situation of Tyre is considered. is the subject to , and the Hiphil is construed with instead of the accusative (compare Ewald, 292 c with 277 e). According to Arrian, ii. 18. 3, and Curtius, iv. 2. 9, 12, and 3. 13, Insular Tyre was fortified all round with lofty walls and towers, which were certainly in existence as early as Nebuchadnezzar’s time. Even the dust of the demolished buildings ( ) God would sweep away ( , . . , with a play upon ), so that the city, i.e., the site on which it had stood, would become a bare and barren rock ( , as in Eze 24:7), a place where fishermen would spread out their nets to dry. “Her daughters” also, that is to say, the towns dependent upon Tyre, “on the field,” i.e., the open country – in other words, their inhabitants – would be slain with the sword.
In Eze 26:7-14 the threat is carried still further. – Eze 26:7. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from the north, the king of kings, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and a multitude of much people. Eze 26:8. Thy daughters in the field he will slay with the sword, and he will erect siege-towers against thee, and throw up a rampart against thee, and set up shields against thee, Eze 26:9. And direct his battering-rams against thy walls, and throw down thy towers with his swords. Eze 26:10. From the multitude of his horses their dust will cover thee; from the noise of the horsemen, wheels, and chariots, thy walls will shake when he shall enter into thy gates, as they enter a city broken open. Eze 26:11. With the hoofs of his horses he will tread down all thy streets; thy people he will slay with the sword, and thy glorious pillars will fall to the ground. Eze 26:12. They will make booty of thy possessions, and plunder thy merchandise, destroy thy walls, and throw down thy splendid mansions, and sink thy stones, thy wood, and thy dust in the water. Eze 26:13. I will put an end to the sound of thy songs, and the music of thy harps shall be heard no more. Eze 26:14. I will make thee a bare rock; thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets, and be built no more; for I Jehovah have spoken it, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. – Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon, – this is the meaning of the rhetorical description in these verses, – will come with a powerful army (Eze 26:7), smite with the sword the inland cities dependent upon Tyre. (Eze 26:8, compare Eze 26:6), then commence the siege of Tyre, destroy its walls and towers ( Eze 26:8 and Eze 26:9), enter with his army the city in which breaches have been made, put the inhabitants to death (Eze 26:10 and Eze 26:11), plunder the treasures, destroy walls and buildings, and cast the ruins into the sea (Eze 26:12). Nebuchadrezzar, or Nebuchadnezzar (for the name see the comm. on 2Ki 24:10, is called king of kings, as the supreme ruler of the Babylonian empire, because the kings of conquered provinces and lands were subject to him as vassals (see the comm. on Isa 10:8).
His army consists of war-chariots, and cavalry, and a great multitude of infantry. are co-ordinate, so far as the rhetorical style is concerned; but in reality is subordinate to , as in Eze 23:24, inasmuch as the consisted of . On the siege-works mentioned in Eze 26:8, see the comm. on Eze 4:2. signifies the construction of a roof with shields, by which the besiegers were accustomed to defend themselves from the missiles of the defenders of the city wall while pursing their labours. Herodotus repeatedly mentions such shield-roofs as used by the Persians (ix. 61. 99, 102), though, according to Layard, they are not to be found upon the Assyrian monuments (see the comm. on Nah 2:6). There is no doubt that signifies the battering-ram, called in Eze 21:27, though the meaning of the words is disputed. , literally, thrusting or smiting. , from , to be pointed either or (the form adopted by v. d. Hooght and J. H. Michaelis is opposed to the grammatical rules), has been explained by Gesenius and others as signifying res opposita , that which is opposite; hence , the thrusting or demolishing of that which stands opposite. In the opinion of others, is an instrument employed in besieging; but there is nothing in the usage of the language to sustain either this explanation or that adopted by Hvernick, “destruction of his defence.” , his swords, used figuratively for his weapons or instruments of war, “his irons,” as Ewald has very aptly rendered it. The description in Eze 26:10 is hyperbolical. The number of horses is so great, that on their entering the city they cover it with dust, and the walls shake with the noise of the horsemen and chariots. ‘ , literally, as the marchings into a broken city, i.e., a city taken by storm, generally are. The simile may be explained from the peculiar situation of Insular Tyre. It means that the enemy will enter it as they march into a land-fortress into which a breach has been made by force. The words presuppose that the besieger has made a road to the city by throwing up an embankment or dam. , the memorial pillars of thy might, and the pillars dedicated to Baal, two of which are mentioned by Herodotus (ii. 44) as standing in the temple of Hercules at Tyre, one of gold, the other of emerald; not images of gods, but pillars, as symbols of Baal. These sink or fall to the ground before the overwhelming might of the foe (compare Isa 46:1; Isa 21:9, and 1Sa 5:3). After the slaughter of the inhabitants and the fall of the gods, the plundering of the treasures begins, and then follows the destruction of the city. are not pleasure-houses (“pleasure-towers, or garden-houses of the wealthy merchants,” as Ewald supposes), for there was not space enough upon the island for gardens (Strabo, xvi. 2. 23), but the lofty, magnificent houses of the city, the palaces mentioned in Isa 23:13. Yea, the whole city shall be destroyed, and that so completely that they will sweep stones, wood, and rubbish into the sea. – Thus will the Lord put an end to the exultation and rejoicing in Tyre (Eze 26:13; compare Isa 14:11 and Amo 5:23). – The picture of the destruction of this powerful city closes with the repetition of the thought from Eze 26:5, that Tyre shall be turned into a bare rock, and shall never be built again.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(2) She is broken that was the gates of the people.Gates is in the plural simply because the word originally means a leaf of a door or gate, and hence the two leaves mean the gate; accordingly the sense would be better conveyed by using the singular in English. On the other hand, people, both here and in Eze. 27:3, is intentionally in the plural =the nations. By omitting all the words in italics in this verse a better idea is obtained of the exultation of Tyre over the fall of Jerusalem.
This exultation is described as of a purely selfish and commercial character, and shows nothing of the spitefulness and religious animosity of the nations mentioned in the previous chapter. Jerusalem had been made in the days of Solomon the great commercial emporium of the inland trade from Arabia, and even from India, as well as the negotiator of products between Egypt and the Hittites and other northern nations. Doubtless something of this commercial importance still remained to Jerusalem in her decay, of which we have already seen evidence in Ezekiel 16; but however this may have been, a considerable city, situated as Jerusalem was, must of necessity have been the centre of many of those transactions between the surrounding nations which Tyre would gladly have monopolised for herself. Hence her exultation: Jerusalem being destroyed, all that gave her importance among the nations must come to increase my prosperity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Tyrus Tyre was the chief city of Phoenicia, which was the leading naval power the Great Britain of the ancient world. It was but a small country, smaller even than Palestine, but its fame filled the whole earth. Phoenician credit and currency extended “from the coasts of Britain to those of Northwest India and probably to Madagascar This trade tapped river basins as far apart as those of the Indus, the Euphrates, probably the Zambesi, the Nile, the Rhone, the Guadalquivir” (Smith, Isaiah, i, p. 390). In the eleventh century B.C. an Egyptian official was sent to Phoenicia for cedar wood (Pap. Golenischeff), as were Solomon’s agents one hundred years later. Tradition ascribes the invention of navigation to the Tyrians. Sennacherib (700 B.C.) boasts that he had builded at Nineveh, by Phoenician carpenters, “artful, great ships, according to their home manner,” and ordered as their sailors, prisoners of war, Tyrians, Sidonians, etc. It was during Ezekiel’s lifetime (600 B.C.) that a Phoenician sea captain circumnavigated Africa ( Herodotus, 4:42). For fifteen hundred years Phoenicia was the merchant of all nations. Her vast wealth made the mightiest kings of Egypt and Babylon look toward her as a possible prize, but because of her strategic position, unequaled navy, and shrewd diplomacy, she was enabled to maintain for many centuries her practical independence. In the fourteenth century B.C. Abimelki prostrates himself before the Pharaoh and calls Tyre the “handmaid of Egypt;” but the allegiance of Tyre to Egypt was entirely selfish and Egyptian power in Phoenicia was not great. Again and again in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. the Assyrian king boasts: “I marched up to the great sea of the West. I cleansed my weapons in the great sea. I put tribute upon Damascus, Tyre, Sidon,” etc. But the frequency of these campaigns indicates how superficial were the conquests. On a tablet from Sinjerli, Baal, king of Tyre, is represented as kneeling before Esarhaddon with a ring through his lips attached to a cord in the hands of the great king; but the inscriptions do not even name Tyre as a vassal state, and certainly the picture does not represent the ordinary relations of the king of Tyre with the king of Assyria ( McCurdy, ii, p. 345). Phoenicia did not depend for victory upon her soldiers, but upon her gold, and rather than have her commerce interrupted she could well afford to give tribute. She made, of course, political alliances with the states lying between her and her enemies. During the prosperous reigns of David and Solomon, Phoenicia was a warm friend to Israel; but after the division of the kingdom she lost interest in her weak neighbor and “sold” her to the Greeks or the Edomites as her own advantages dictated (Amo 1:9; Joe 3:6). Previous to Assurbanipal (668-626 B.C.) the Assyrians seem to have been content with gifts from the chief cities of Phoenicia, but his successors urged campaign after campaign in the vain attempt to completely subjugate their small but doughty adversary. Nebuchadnezzar was determined to do this, but failed to get from Tyre the treasure that he had anticipated (see Eze 29:18).
She is broken that was the gates of the people Literally, gate of the peoples. Jerusalem was the gateway opening from Egypt to Babylon and Phoenicia, and she had evidently been getting some of the trade of which Tyro wished the monopoly.
She is turned Rather, it. The gate of traffic now opens more freely toward Phoenicia since her rival is disposed of.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 26:2. She is broken, &c. She is broken: the commerce of the people is turned unto me. She who was full of citizens is laid waste. Houbigant. See ch. Eze 27:3. Tyre was noted for her commerce; so that when Jerusalem was taken, the spoil of the city was carried thither for sale, and several of the inhabitants who were made captives were sold there as slaves. Those who follow our Translation suppose, that Jerusalem is called the gates of the people, because of the great confluence both of Jews and proselytes to that city from all parts at the solemn festivals. See Isaiah 23. Jer 25:22; Jer 47:4. Amo 1:9. Zec 9:2.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 26:2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, [now] she is laid waste:
Ver. 2. Because that Tyrus hath said. ] Wicked men shall give account for their “hard speeches also,” Jdg 1:15 if not sooner, yet certainly at the last day, with the whole world all on a light fire about their ears. Tyre was the chief city of Phoenicia, built before Solomon’s temple, saith Josephus; a and anciently called Sarra, b saith Servius, of the Hebrew tsor, which signifieth a rock, because it was built upon a rock. It became the most famous and wealthy market town of the whole East; and having so great a resort to it from all parts, it was a very sinful place; and framing comedies out of the Church’s tragedies, hath this prophecy to champ upon, for a rebater of its pride and petulance.
Aha.
That was the gates of the people.
She is turned unto me.
I shall be replenished.
a Antiq., lib. viii. cap. 2.
b Sarrano dormiat ostro. – Virg. Gorg., lib. ii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son of man. See note on Eze 2:1.
Tyrus = Tyre, the city. Now, es Sur, Hebrew, tzur = a rock,
people = peoples.
she is turned: i.e. the tide of her traffic.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Tyrus: Eze 27:1 – Eze 28:26, Jos 19:29, Psa 83:7, Isa 23:1-18, Jer 25:22, Jer 27:3, Jer 47:4, Joe 3:4, Amo 1:9, Amo 1:10, Zec 9:2-4
Aha: Eze 25:2, Eze 25:3, Eze 25:6, Eze 36:2, Psa 35:21, Psa 40:15, Psa 70:3, Psa 83:2-4
the gates: Lam 1:1, Act 2:5-10
she is: Eze 25:10, Jer 49:1
Reciprocal: 2Ch 28:9 – because the Lord God Job 39:25 – ha Isa 10:13 – For he saith Isa 14:29 – Rejoice Jer 24:9 – to be a Jer 30:16 – General Jer 33:24 – thus Jer 48:27 – was not Jer 50:11 – ye were Lam 1:21 – they are Lam 4:21 – be glad Eze 5:8 – in the Eze 23:32 – thou shalt be Eze 27:36 – hiss Hab 1:15 – therefore Zec 1:15 – and Zec 2:8 – the nations
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 26:2. Phoenicia was a narrow tract of country north of Palestine and lying along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Its principal cities were Tyrus (or Tyre) and Sidon and es-pecially the former. Because of its outstanding importance It has been referred to in the prophecies and histories, even when the writers may have been considering the country in general. There are several chapters devoted to this nation and city beginning with this verse. See Eze 25:3 for the meaning of aha, Gates of the -people is a figurative expression used because of the position of the city as a commercial center. Turned unto me. The first person is used because Tyrus is the speaker, gloating over her imagined supremacy in her traffic against Jerusalem,
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eze 26:2-3. Because that Tyrus hath said, Aha, she is broken, &c. The meaning seems to be, the city is broken, at whose gates the people entered in; that is, the place is demolished where there used to be a confluence of people from all parts, especially at the solemn festivals. She is turned unto me, I shall be replenished Tyre rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem, because she expected her trade would be increased by it in becoming the mart for the commodities which, while Jerusalem stood, were bought and sold there. To which may be added, that when Jerusalem was taken, the spoil of the city was carried thither for sale, and several of the inhabitants who were made captives, were there sold as slaves. Therefore, behold, I am, against thee, O Tyrus The providence of God had greatly favoured Tyre: it was a pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued so if its inhabitants had sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities; but when, instead of that, they took pleasure in those calamities, and rejoiced at the fall of that neighbouring city, because of the gain which they thought would thereby accrue to them, they provoked the wrath of God against themselves, for he cannot but abhor the conduct of all such as take pleasure in the calamities of others. I will cause many nations to come up against thee, &c. The Chaldeans with their confederates might be very properly called many nations, as, without doubt, the army of Nebuchadnezzar, whose dominions were very extensive, was made up of the people of various nations. As the sea causeth his waves to come up They shall be as loud, as numerous, as irresistible, as the waves of the sea. This is one of the beautiful and expressive images which occur in the magnificent prophecy here recorded. Bishop Newcome. Great and victorious armies are described in other places of Scripture under the figure of an inundation carrying all before it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
26:2 Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the {b} gates of the people: she is turned to me: I shall be {c} replenished, [now] she is laid waste:
(b) That is, the famous city Jerusalem to which all people resorted.
(c) My riches and fame will increase: thus the wicked rejoice at their fall by whom they may have any profit or advantage.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Divine judgment would come on this city-state because its people rejoiced at Jerusalem’s destruction (cf. 25:3; Gen 12:3; Pro 15:5 b). According to other prophets the Tyrians had also sold Jews as slaves to the Greeks and Edomites (Joe 3:4-8; Amo 1:9-10). The Tyrians viewed Jerusalem’s destruction as advancing their commercial interests. The Tyrians controlled the sea routes, but Judah had controlled the land routes. Controlling trade routes enabled a nation to impose tolls and so obtain revenue. Now Jerusalem would cease to compete with Tyre for this income. The Babylonians thus opened Jerusalem’s gates to Tyre.
"When Judah was strong and subjugated Edom, she controlled the caravan routes to the Red Sea, thus hindering the Phoenician tradesmen from gaining all the profit they hoped for." [Note: Feinberg, p. 148.]
The prophetic perfect tense in Hebrew describes a future event as though it were past, as well as describing past events. Jerusalem fell on the tenth day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (2Ki 25:8; Jer 52:12), which was the eleventh year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. Dyer dated the fall of Jerusalem on July 18, 586 B.C. [Note: Dyer, "Ezekiel," p. 1278.] Because of the absence of reference to the month of this prophecy, it is impossible to date it definitely before or after the fall of Jerusalem. Ezekiel, however, gave it before news of Jerusalem’s fall reached him and the other exiles (cf. 33:21).