Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 27:11
The men of Arvad with thine army [were] upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
11. with thine army ] It is scarcely possible to render: men of Arvad, they were thine army. Some proper name seems required: the men of Arvad and of Cornill conjectures Hethlon (Eze 47:15, Eze 48:1), others, Cilicia.
the Gammadims ] A proper name is certainly to be expected, but no place, Gammad, is known. Some have suggested “they of Gomer,” but an adj. is not formed from Gomer; Corn., Zemarites, Gen 10:18. Others take the word as an appellative: brave warriors.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 11. The Gammadims were in thy towers] Some think these were a people of Phoenicia; others, that tutelar images are meant; others, that the word expresses strong men, who acted as guards. The Vulgate reads Pygmaei, the pygmies, who were fabled to be a little people of a cubit in height, from gomed. a cubit; and are are told that this little people were celebrated for their wars with the cranes; but nothing of this kind can enter into this description. Probably a people inhabiting the promontories of Phoenicia are here intended; and their hanging their shields upon the walls is a proof that soldiers are meant, and persons of skill and prowess too.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Arvad: see Eze 27:8.
With thine army; mixed with other hired soldiers, made up these military forces.
Upon thy walls round about; kept guard upon the walls.
The Gammadims; some say pigmies or dwarfs, because the Hebrew word is a cubit; but the whole story of such cubit-men is fabulous. Others think it is men bold and courageous, and the word of Syriac origin and sense, and so fitly expressing the temper of Syrian or Syrophoenician soldiers. Or else, the men who name from Gammade, a town of Phoenicia. Or possibly, such as came from Aneon, another town of Phoenice; and this town had its name from its situation on a piece of land that resembles the cubit, Greek, , and in the Hebrew,
In thy towers; which were many, erected for strength and defence.
Hanged their shields upon thy walls: by this it appears these towers were also public armories, whence they fetched arms when needful, and where they laid them up when no further use of them.
Made thy beauty perfect; added much to her beauty, a well-armed state being among states as beautiful as a proper well-armed soldier among men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. Gammadimsrather, as theTyrians were Syro-Phoelignicians, from a Syriac root, meaningdaring, “men of daring” [LUDOVICUSDE DIEU].It is not likely the keeping of watch “in the towers” wouldhave been entrusted to foreigners. Others take it from a Hebrewroot, “a dagger,” or short sword (Jud3:16), “short-swordsmen.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The men of Arvad, with thine army were upon thy walls round about,…. Placed there for the defence of the city, to watch against an enemy, lest it should be surprised; here they were upon the patrol day and night; see Isa 62:6, these were the men of the same place before mentioned, Eze 27:8 which furnished Tyre both with mariners and soldiers:
and the Gammadims were in thy towers: not the Medes, as Symmachus renders it; nor the Cappadocians, as the Targum; much less were they images of their tutelar gods, as Spencer thinks, of a cubit long; nor “pygmies”, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; which to mention would not be to the honour of their militia; though Kimchi and Ben Melech call them dwarfs, men of a small stature, of a cubit high, from whence they are supposed to have their name; so Schindler q: rather they were the inhabitants of some place in Phoenicia; either of Ancon; which in Greek signifies a cubit, as Gamad does in Hebrew; or of Gammade, the same which Pliny r corruptly calls Gamale. Hillerus s thinks the word signifies “ambidexters”, or left handed men, such as Ehud:
they hanged their shields upon thy walls roundabout. Kimchi and Ben Melech observe it was a custom in some places to hang such weapons upon the tops of towers, and upon the walls of them; which might be done, either that they might be ready to take up and make use of, whenever occasion required; or to dismay their enemies, and to show them that they were provided for them:
they have made thy beauty perfect; besides the beauty of her buildings and shipping, there was the beauty of her militia; which was increased by the soldiers from Persia, Lydia, and Lybia, and added to by the men of Arvad, but completed by the Gammadim; and particularly being glided, as probably they were, looked very glittering and beautiful in the rays of the sun.
q Lexic. Pentaglott. col. 319, 320. r Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 91. s Onomast. Sacr. p. 159.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(11) The Gammadims were in thy towers.No people of this name is known, and it is extremely unlikely that the responsible posts upon the watch-towers would have been entrusted to foreigners. The word occurs only here, and is probably not a proper name, but should be translated brave men.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Arvad See Eze 27:8.
The Gammadim R.V., margin, “valorous men.” No land or city of Gammad is known. Perhaps, as has been suggested, this was a technical term for the select corps of the Tyrian army like the “Immortals” of the Persians or the “Old Guard” of Napoleon.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 27:11. Gammadims Tutelar images. Spencer. Fuller supposes these Gammadims to have been Phoenicians. The Hebrew word gammadim is derived from gamad, which signifies to be contracted, narrowed, &c. and Parkhurst is of opinion that these people were the inhabitants of the country about Tripoli in Syria, formerly called the or Elbow of Phoenicia, from its being narrowed, and projecting into the sea in that form. See Parkhurst on the word gamad.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eze 27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army [were] upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
Ver. 11. And the Gammadims. ] These were not pigmies, as the Vulgate rendereth it; nor Medes, as Symmachus; nor Cappadocians, as the Chaldee paraphrast; but Syrians of a city called Gamalla, whereof see Pliny. a
a Nat. Hist., lib. ii. cap. 91.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
men = sons. Gammadims: or, valiant men.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
of Arvad: Eze 27:8
they have: Eze 27:3, Eze 27:4
Reciprocal: Jer 46:21 – her hired Eze 27:10 – they hanged
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 27:11. The men of Arvad are mentioned in verse 8 who were used in the service of handling the work on board the ships. The same place furnished other men to guard the walls of the city. Towers were structures erected in important spots for the purpose of defense. The men who would be assigned to such a post would need to be brave and able in repelling a foe. Qammadims is from the Hebrew word gammad which Strong defines, A warrior (as grasp- jng weapons),” A shield is a protective armor and these warriors were provided with such articles so well that they had them to hang round on the walls, indicating the completeness of their equipment.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
27:11 The men of Arvad with thy army [were] upon thy walls on all sides, and the {e} Gammadims were in thy towers: they hung their shields upon thy walls on every side; they have made thy beauty perfect.
(e) That is they of Cappadocia, or pygmies and dwarfs which were called because from the high towers they seemed little.