Isaiah 23:1

The prophecy commences by introducing the trading vessels of Phoenicia on their return home, as they hear with alarm the tidings of the fate that has befallen their home. "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entrance any more! Out of the land of the Chittaeans it is made known to them." Even upon the open sea they hear of it as a rumour from the ships that they meet. For their voyage is a very long one: they come from the Phoenician colony on the Spanish Baetis, or the Guadalquivir, as it was called from the time of the occupation by the Moors. "Ships of Tarshish" are ships that sail to Tartessus (lxx inaccurately, πλοῖα Καρχηδόνος). It is not improbable that the whole of the Mediterranean may have been called "the sea to Tarshish;" and hence the rendering adopted by the Targum, Jerome, Luther, and others, naves maris (see Humboldt, Kosmos, ii. 167, 415). These ships are to howl (hēlı̄lū instead of the feminine, as in Isa 32:11) because of the devastation that has taken place (it is easy to surmise that Tyre has been the victim); for the home and harbour, which the sailors were rejoicing at the prospect of being able to enter once more, have both been swept away. Cyprus was the last station on this homeward passage. The Chittim (written in the legends of coins and other inscriptions with Caph and Cheth) are the inhabitants of the Cyprian harbour of Citium and its territory. But Epiphanius, the bishop of Salamis in the island of Cyprus, says that Citium was also used as a name for the whole island, or even in a still broader sense. Cyprus, the principal mart of the Phoenicians, was the last landing-place. As soon as they touch the island, the fact which they have only heard of as a rumour upon the open sea, is fully disclos…

Tyre being a sea-port town, this prophecy of its overthrow fitly begins and ends with, Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for all its business, wealth, and honour, depended upon its shipping; if that be ruined, they will be all undone. Observe, I. Tyre flourishing. This is taken notice of that her fall may appear the more dismal. 1. The merchants of Zidon, who traded at sea, had at first replenished her, Isa 23:2. Zidon was the more ancient city, situated upon the same sea-cost, a few leagues more to the north, and Tyre was at first only a colony of that; but the daughter had outgrown the mother, and become much more considerable. It may be a mortification to great cities to think how they were at first replenished. 2. Egypt had helped very much to raise her, Isa 23:3. Sihor was the river of Egypt: by that river, and the ocean into which it ran, the Egyptians traded with Tyre; and the harvest of that river was her revenue. The riches of the sea, and the gains by goods exported and imported, are as much the harvest to trading towns as that of hay and corn is to the country; and sometimes the harvest of the river proves a better revenue than the harvest of the land. Or it may be meant of all the products of the Egyptian soil, which the men of Tyre traded in, and which were the harvest of the river Nile, owing themselves to the overflowing of that river. 3. She had become the mart of the nations, the great emporium of that part of the world. Some of every known nation might be found there, especially at certain times of the year, when there was a general rendezvous of merchants. This is enlarged upon by another prophet, Eze 27:2, Eze 27:3, etc. See how the hand of the diligent, by the blessing of God upon it, makes rich. Tyre became rich and great by industry, though she had no…

23:1-18 Tyre was a prosperous seaport northwest of Israel. The relationship between Judah and Tyre went back to the time of David and Solomon (1 Kgs 5:8-9). Tyre, with its proximity to plentiful forests and to the Mediterranean Sea, was one of the commercial centers of the ancient Near East. Its fleets were renowned, and its colonies brought it great prestige and riches. The city came under repeated attack by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Macedonians, and it fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Isaiah not only prophesied the end of Tyre but by implication warned all whose wealth and earthly securities lead to pride instead of dependence on God (see Isa 2:12-16; Matt 11:21). 23:1 The ships of Tarshish plied the sea between the Phoenician coast and the port of Tarshish in Spain (see 2:16; 23:6). • rumors you heard in Cyprus: Cyprus was the last port of call for sailors coming home from Spain before the final leg of their journey to Tyre.