The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
1. The burden of Tyre. Tyre was very wealthy, and highly celebrated, both on account of the variety and extent of its commercial intercourse with all nations, and on account of the flourishing colonies which sprang from it: Carthage, which was the rival of the Roman Empire, Utica, Leptis, Cadiz, and other towns, which also sent every year a present to Tyre, by which they...
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.
Commenting on Isaiah 23:1-14
The burden of Tyre,.... Or a prophecy concerning the destruction of it. The Targum is, "the burden of the cup of cursing, to give Tyre to drink.'' This was a famous city in Phoenicia, which exceeded in renown and grandeur all the cities of Syria and Phoenicia (h), and was much known for its trade and navigation, for which it was well situated by the...