Ezekiel 28:11 Komentář

In this chapter we have, I. A prediction of the fall and ruin of the king of Tyre, who, in the destruction of that city, is particularly set up as a mark for God's arrows (Eze 28:1-10). II. A lamentation for the king of Tyre, when he has thus fallen, though he falls by his own iniquity (Eze 28:11-19). III. A prophecy of the destruction of Zidon, which as in the neighbourhood of Tyre and had a dependence upon it (Eze 28:20-23). IV. A promise of the restoration of the Israel of God, though in the day of their calamity they were insulted over by their neighbours (Eze 28:24-26).

As after the prediction of the ruin of Tyre (ch. 26) followed a pathetic lamentation for it (ch. 27), so after the ruin of the king of Tyre is foretold it is bewailed. I. This is commonly understood of the prince who then reigned over Tyre, spoken to, Eze 28:2. His name was Ethbaal, or Ithobalus, as Diodorus Siculus calls him that was king of Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. He was, it seems, upon all external accounts an accomplished man, very great and famous; but his iniquity was his ruin. Many expositors have suggested that besides the literal sense of this lamentation there is an allegory in it, and that it is an allusion to the fall of the angels that sinned, who undid themselves by their pride. And (as is usual in texts that have a mystical meaning) some passages here refer primarily to the king of Tyre, as that of his merchandises, others to the angels, as that of being in the holy mountain of God. But, if there be any thing mystical in it (as perhaps there may), I shall rather refer it to the fall of Adam, which seems to be glanced at, Eze 28:13. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God, and that in the day thou wast created. II. Some think that by the king of Tyre is meant the whole royal family, this including also the foregoing kings, and looking as far back as Hiram, king of Tyre. The then governor is called prince (Eze 28:2); but he that is here lamented is called king. The court of Tyre with its kings had for many ages been famous; but sin ruins it. Now we may observe two things here: - 1. What was the renown of the king of Tyre. He is here spoken of as having lived in great splendour, Eze 28:12-15. He as a man, but it is here owned that he was a very considerable man and one that made a mighty figure in his day. (1.) He far exceeded other men. Hiram and other kings of Tyre had done so in their time; and the reigning king perhaps had not come short of any of them: Thou sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But the powers of human nature and the prosperity of human life seemed in him to be at the highest pitch. He was looked upon to be as wise as the reason of men could make him, and as happy as the wealth of this world and the enjoyment of it could make him; in him you might see the utmost that both could do; and therefore seal up the sum, for nothing can be added; he is a complete man, perfect in suo genere - in his kind. (2.) He seemed to be as wise and happy as Adam in innocency (Eze 28:13): "Thou hast been in Eden, even in the garden of God; thou hast lived as it were in paradise all thy days, hast had a full enjoyment of every thing that is good for food or pleasant to the eyes, and an uncontroverted dominion over all about thee, as Adam had." One instance of the magnificence of the king of Tyre is, that he outdid all others princes in jewels, which those have the greatest plenty of that trade most abroad, as he did: Every precious stone was his covering. There is a great variety of precious stones; but he had of every sort and in such plenty that besides what were treasured up in his cabinet, and were the ornaments of his crown, he had his clothes trimmed with them; they were his covering. Nay (Eze 28:14), he walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, that is, these precious stones, which glittered and sparkled like fire. His rooms were in a manner set round with jewels, so that he walked in the midst of them, and then fancied himself as glorious as if, like God, he had been surrounded by so many angels, who are compared to a flame of fire. And, if he be such an admirer of precious stones as to think them as bright as angels, no wonder that he is such an admirer of himself as to think himself as great as God. Nine several sorts of previous stones are here named, which were all in the high priest's ephod. Perhaps they are particularly named because he, in his pride, used to speak particularly of them, and tell those about him, with a great deal of foolish pleasure, "This is such a precious stone, of such a value, and so and so are its virtues." Thus is he upbraided with his vanity. Gold is mentioned last, as far inferior in value to those precious stones; and he used to speak of it accordingly. Another thing that made him think his palace a paradise was the curious music he had, the tabrets and pipes, hand-instruments and wind-instruments. The workmanship of these was extraordinary, and they were prepared for him on purpose; prepared in thee, the pronoun is feminine - in thee, O Tyre! or it denotes that the king was effeminate in doting on such things. They were prepared in the day he was created, that is, either born, or created king; they were made on purpose to celebrate the joys either of his birthday or of his coronation-day. These he prided himself much in, and would have all that came to see his palace take notice of them. (3.) He looked like an incarnate angel (Eze 28:14): Thou art the anointed cherub that covers or protects; that is, he looked upon himself as a guardian angel to his people, so bright, so strong, so faithful, appointed to this office and qualified for it. Anointed kings should be to their subjects as anointed cherubim, that cover them with the wings of their power; and, when they are such, God will own them. Their advancement was from him: I have set thee so. Some think, because mention was made of Eden, that it refers to the cherub set on the east of Eden to cover it, Gen 3:24. He thought himself as able to guard his city from all invaders as that angel was for his charge. Or it may refer to the cherubim in the most holy place, whose wings covered the ark; he thought himself as bright as one of them. (4.) He appeared in as much splendour as the high priest when he was clothed with his garments for glory and beauty: "Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God, as president of the temple built on that holy mountain; thou didst look as great, and with as much majesty and authority, as ever the high priest did when he walked in the temple, which was garnished with precious stones (Ch2 3:6), and had his habit on, which had precious stones both in the breast and on the shoulders; in that he seemed to walk in the midst of the stones of fire." Thus glorious is the king of Tyre; at least he thinks himself so. 2. Let us now see what was the ruin of the king of Tyre, what it was that stained his glory and laid all this honour in the dust (Eze 28:15): "Thou wast perfect in thy ways; thou didst prosper in all thy affairs and every thing went well with thee; thou hadst not only a clear, but a bright reputation, from the day thou wast created, the day of thy accession to the throne, till iniquity was found in thee; and that spoiled all." This may perhaps allude to the deplorable case of the angels that fell, and of our first parents, both of whom were perfect in their ways till iniquity was found in them. And when iniquity was once found in him it increased; he grew worse and worse, as appears (Eze 28:18): "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries; thou hast lost the benefit of all that which thou thoughtest sacred, and in which, as in a sanctuary, thou thoughtest to take refuge; these thou hast defiled, and so exposed thyself by the multitude of thy iniquities." Now observe, (1.) What the iniquity was that was the ruin of the king of Tyre. [1.] The iniquity of his traffic (so it is called, Eze 28:18), both his and his people's, for their sin is charged upon him, because he connived at it and set them a bad example (Eze 28:16):By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thus thou hast sinned. The king had so much to do with his merchandise, and was so wholly intent upon the gains of that, that he took no care to do justice, to give redress to those that suffered wrong and to protect them from violence; nay, in the multiplicity of business, wrong was done to many by oversight; and in his dealings he made use of his power to invade the rights of those he dealt with. Note, Those that have much to do in the world are in great danger of doing much amiss; and it is hard to deal with many without violence to some. Trades are called mysteries; but too many make them mysteries of iniquity. [2.] His pride and vain-glory (Eze 28:17): "Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou wast in love with thyself, and thy own shadow. And thus thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of the brightness, the pomp and splendour, wherein thou livedst." He gazed so much upon this that it dazzled his eyes and prevented him from seeing his way. He appeared so puffed up with his greatness that it bereaved him both of his wisdom and of the reputation of it. He really became a fool in glorying. Those make a bad bargain for themselves that part with their wisdom for the gratifying of their gaiety, and, to please a vain humour, lose a real excellency. (2.) What the ruin was that this iniquity brought him to. [1.] He was thrown out of his dignity and dislodged from his palace, which he took to be his paradise and temple (Eze 28:16): I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. His kingly power was high as a mountain, setting him above others; it was a mountain of God, for the powers that be are ordained of God, and have something in them that is sacred; but, having abused his power, he is reckoned profane, and is therefore deposed and expelled. He disgraces the crown he wears, and so has forfeited it, and shall be destroyed from the midst of the stones of fire, the precious stones with which his palace was garnished, as the temple was; and they shall be no protection to him. [2.] He was exposed to contempt and disgrace, and trampled upon by his neighbours: "I will cast thee to the ground (Eze 28:17), will cast thee among the pavement-stones, from the midst of the precious stones, and will lay thee a rueful spectacle before kings, that they may behold thee and take warning by thee not to be proud and oppressive." [3.] He was quite consumed, his city and he in it: I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee. The conquerors, when they have plundered the city, will kindle a fire in the heart of it, which shall lay it, and the palace particularly, in ashes. Or it may be taken more generally for the fire of God's judgments, which shall devour both prince and people, and bring all the glory of both to ashes upon the earth; and this fire shall be brought forth from the midst of thee. All God's judgments upon sinners take rise from themselves; they are devoured by a fire of their own kindling. [4.] He was hereby made a terrible example of divine vengeance. Thus he is reduced in the sight of all those that behold him (Eze 28:18): Those that know him shall be astonished at him, and shall wonder how one that stood so high could be brought so low. The king of Tyre's palace, like the temple at Jerusalem, when it is destroyed shall be an astonishment and a hissing, Ch2 7:20, Ch2 7:21. So fell the king of Tyre.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 28 This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of the prince of Tyre; a lamentation for the king of Tyre; a denunciation of judgments on Zidon, and a promise of peace and safety to Israel. The order given the prophet to prophesy of the ruin of the prince of Tyre, Eze 28:1, the cause of his ruin, his pride on account of his wisdom and riches, which rose to such a pitch, as to make himself God, Eze 28:2, the manner in which his destruction shall be accomplished, Eze 28:7, the lamentation for the king of Tyre begins Eze 28:11, setting forth his former grandeur and dignity, Eze 28:13, his fall, and the cause of it, injustice and violence in merchandise, pride because of beauty and wisdom, and profanation of sanctuaries, Eze 28:16, next follow the judgments on Zidon, Eze 28:20, and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and of great tranquillity and safety in it, Eze 28:24.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me,.... After the prophecy concerning the ruin of the prince of Tyre, the word of the Lord came to the prophet, ordering him to take up a lamentation on the king of Tyre: saying; as follows:

We now find in the prophet Ezekiel two prophecies addressed to the prince of Tyre, the first of which might appear, before one had heard the second, to be spoken of some man who was prince of the Tyrians. For the present, therefore, we shall take nothing from the first one. But since the second is most evidently of such a kind that it cannot possibly refer to a man but must be understood of some higher power that fell from higher places and was cast down to lower and worse ones, we shall conclude that as an illustration that most clearly proves that these opposing and wicked powers were not so formed and created by nature but came from better conditions and changed for the worse; and [we shall conclude] that the blessed powers also are not of such a nature as to be unable to admit qualities the opposite of their own, supposing one of them should desire to do so and should become negligent and fail to guard with the utmost caution the blessedness of his condition. For when he who is called “prince of Tyre” is said to have been “among the holy ones” and “without stain” and set “in the paradise of God,” “adorned with a crown of honor and beauty,” how, I ask, can we suppose such a being to have been inferior to any of the holy ones? He is described as having been “a crown of honor and beauty” and as having walked “in the paradise of God” “without stain.” How then can anyone possibly suppose that such a being was not one of those holy and blessed powers that, dwelling as they do in a state of blessedness, we must believe are endowed with no other honor than this?… Who is there that, hearing such sayings as this, “You were a signet of likeness and a crown of honor in the delights of the paradise of God,” or this, “from the time you were created with the cherubim, I placed you on the holy mount of God,” could possibly weaken their meaning to such an extent as to suppose them spoken of a human being, even of a saint, not to mention the prince of Tyre? Or what “fiery stones” can he think of, “in the midst” of which any person could have lived? Or who could be regarded as “stainless” from the very day he was created and yet at some later time could have acts of unrighteousness found in him and be said to be “cast forth into the earth”? This certainly indicates that the prophecy is spoken of one who, not being on the earth, was “cast forth into the earth,” whose holy places also are said to be polluted. These statements, therefore, from the prophet Ezekiel concerning the prince of Tyre must relate, as we have shown, to an adverse power, and they prove in the clearest manner that this power was originally holy and blessed, and that he fell from this state of blessedness and was cast down into the earth “from the time that iniquity was found in him” and that his fallen condition was not due to his nature or creation. We consider, therefore, that these statements refer to some angel, to whom had been allotted the duty of supervising the Tyrian people, whose souls also were apparently committed to his care. But what Tyre, or what souls of Tyrians we ought to understand—whether it is the city that is situated in the territory of the province of Phoenicia or some other city of which the one we know on earth is a figure, and whether the souls are those of the actual Tyrians or of the inhabitants of that Tyre that we understand spiritually—there seems no need to inquire here. For we should appear to be investigating, in a casual manner matters whose importance and obscurity certainly demand a work and treatment of their own.

(Vers. 11 seqq.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: carnelian, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, onyx, and beryl, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald. Gold was the workmanship of your settings and your engravings; on the day that you were created they were prepared. You, Cherub, stretched out and protecting, I placed you on the holy mountain of God. You walked among the fiery stones; you were perfect in your ways from the day of your creation until iniquity was found in you. Your heart was filled with iniquity in the multitude of your trading, and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you out from the mountain of God and destroyed you, O Cherub protecting amidst the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. Therefore, I cast you down to the ground. I set you before kings, that they might gaze at you. In the multitude of your iniquities and the injustice of your trading, you have defiled your sanctification. Therefore, I will bring forth fire from your midst that will consume you, and I will turn you into ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who see you. All who see you among the nations will be astonished at you. You have become nothing and will be no more forever. LXX: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, take up a lamentation over the prince of Tyre and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of likeness, full of wisdom and adorned with the crown of beauty; you were in the delights of the paradise of God. You are surrounded by every good gemstone: sardius and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle, and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure, and agate, and amethyst, and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx, and you have filled your treasuries with gold and your storehouses with silver. From the day you were created, you were prepared with the anointed Cherub from God, and dwelling in the tabernacle, I have given you on the holy mountain of God. You have become in the midst of fiery stones. You were blameless in your days, from the day you were created; until iniquities were found in you, you filled your storehouses with iniquity from the abundance of your trade, and you sinned and were wounded by the mountain of God, and the cherub who overshadowed you led you out of the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; your wisdom was corrupted by your splendor. Because of your many sins, I cast you to the ground; I made you a spectacle before kings, that you might be dishonored. Because of the multitude of your sins and the iniquities of your trade, you have defiled your holy places. And I will bring forth fire in your midst; it will devour you. And I will make you like ashes on the earth in the sight of all who see you, and all who know you among the nations will be dismayed over you. You have become a ruin, and you will never be again. For we have declared what the prince of Tyre is and how he has fallen because of his pride, let us know his lamentations over his former glory. First, let it be agreed what it was, so that he may regret having lost what he had. 'You,' he says, 'are the seal of likeness;' according to that, which John the Evangelist rightly says about the Savior: 'For this God has sealed, the Father' (John 6:27). And about men: 'He has sealed, because God is true' (John 3:33). And in the Psalms: 'The light of your face, O Lord, has been sealed upon us' (Psalm 4:7). And in another place: 'Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be.' We know that when he appears, we shall be like him. (1 John 3:2) That is why it is said to God: Who will be like you? (Psalm 35:10) For similarity is one thing, equality is another. Therefore, the most savage heresy is the one that confesses only the Father's similarity in Christ and takes away his nature. But we not only say similarity in the Son, but also equality. That is why the Jews persecuted him: because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also made himself equal to God. (John 5) But where there is equality, there is the same nature and one substance. This is what the Apostle speaks of regarding similarity: My little children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19), so that you may receive, namely, his likeness, which you have lost through your own fault. And because in Latin codices the word for sign or seal is read as "resignaculum", expressing word for word the Greek word κακοζήλως, which is interpreted according to the Septuagint translation as ἀποσφράγισμα, that is, seal or sign. Some people understand it in this way, that the seal of God and the image which was as if expressed in the softest wax, the king of Tyre erased and lost, so that he made a reseal, not having the image and likeness of God, according to which the first man was created, as God says: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). And it should be noted that the image was only made then, and the likeness is fulfilled in Christ's baptism. And accordingly, to her to whom it has been said: You are a likeness of the seal, is joined, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, or, a crown of glory. For where the likeness of God is, there is also the fullness of wisdom, and perfect beauty, or as a crown adorned with different flowers, and composed of virtues, which the diligent increases by his own efforts, while the industry nourishes the good of nature, and the negligent diminishes it, according to what is said in Proverbs under the figure of a beautiful and ill-mannered woman: As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman without discretion (Prov. XI, 22). It follows: In the delights of the paradise of God, you were: for which reason it is called Eden in Hebrew, which also the history of Genesis narrates. Eden, however, is translated into delights. And beautifully it is named paradise of God to distinguish it, so as to show that there is a contrary paradise not of God, among those who change the truth into lying (Rom. 1), and boast of having a paradise. By this speech he demonstrates, that the one of whom it is written is by no means a human being, but a contrary fortitude, which formerly dwelt in God's paradise: although the Jews estimate prophetically, by that metaphor which is called hyperbole, that it refers to King Hiram of Tyre. But to whom is it said: You were in the delights of the paradise of God, or you have become, it shows what he had, or what he lost. Moreover, what is joined to the habitation of paradise, every precious stone is your covering, or your binding, and encirclement, jasper, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, and onyx, and beryl, sapphire, and carbuncle, and emerald, or, as in the LXX, in a different order and with other names, twelve stones are contained, this must be observed, not every precious stone surrounded the king of Tyre, or covered, and as Symmachus translated, bound and confined: but every stone that the prince of Tyre had was precious. Moreover, there are many precious stones that Scripture does not mention in this place, such as chalcedony, sardonyx, chrysoprase, hyacinth, crystal, and the most precious pearl. Even Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion differ greatly from each other in this place, not only in order, but also in number and names. In the Book of Revelation, where the city of Jerusalem is described as built with living stones, there is a slight change in order towards the end, and the same stones are set in its foundations, so that its gates are inscribed with the light of crystal (Rev. 21). But also in the breastplate of the high priest, through the four rows in the Rational (Exod. 28), the same stones are described, and on his shoulders two onyx stones, on which are written the names of the twelve patriarchs, which the true high priest, of whom it is written: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4), carries on his breast, carries on his shoulders, in order to represent the number of the twelve stones of the apostles; and in the two sacraments of both Testaments, one of which John the Evangelist leaned on his breast, in order to drink from the streams of wisdom, and could say: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). These are living stones, from which the Church is built, and about which the Apostle Peter writes: If you have believed, because the Lord is sweet: approaching him, the living stone, indeed rejected by men, but chosen and honored by God, and you yourselves, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. For the Scripture says (Isa. XXVIII, 16): Behold, I am laying in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame (I Pet. II, 3 et seqq.). Moreover, the vessel of election is united by equal votes, saying: Upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, the corner stone being Christ Jesus Our Lord: in whom all the building, being framed together, groweth up into an holy temple in the Lord (Eph. II, 10). These are the stones of which we read in another place: And the holy stones are rolled over the earth, like wheels (Zach. IX, 16), touching but little the ground, and hastening with their rolling to the heavenly places. Of which the Scripture also speaks: Behold, I will prepare thy carbuncle stone, and thy foundations sapphire, and I will make thy bulwarks jasper, and thy gates crystal, and thy walls precious stones: and all thy children shall be taught of God, and in much peace thy children shall be, and thou shalt be built in justice (Isa. 54:11-13). Concerning which, we have explained in the interpretations of the same prophet. The twentieth Psalm sings of stones of this kind: The king shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation he shall greatly rejoice. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden from him the will of his lips. For thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones (Psalm XX. 1 seq.). These are the pearls of the prophets and apostles, which, in comparison with Christ, are all sold in the Gospel (Matthew XIV), that the most precious pearl may be bought, and the stone of which Zacharias writes, which has seven eyes, that is, the seven graces of the Holy Spirit (Zach. III and IV). Read Isaiah. And it is placed by the apostle Paul as the foundation of the Church, upon which gold, silver, and precious stones are built (I Cor. III): the colors, natures, and efficacies of each of which are not to be discussed in this time; but they desire a separate volume: so that in Ezekiel, and in Exodus, and in Revelation, and in Isaiah, all the stones and orders of stones compared to each other make a great question for both the reader and the discussant. Super quibus et vir sanctus Epiphanius episcopus proprium volumen mihi praesens tradidit. Et XXXVII liber Plinii Secundi, Naturalis Historiae, post multiplicem omnium rerum scientiam, de gemmis et lapidibus disputat. Ad quorum notitiam diligens à nobis mittendus est lector. Porro Symmachi interpretatio, istum principem Tyri, quasi pretiosissimum monile lapidibus scribit esse distinctum. Denique auri tympanum vocat, in quo infixi sint lapides. And according to the Hebrew, it follows: Gold is the work of your adornment, and your holes are prepared on the day you were buried. For this reason, the Septuagint says: You filled your treasuries and storehouses with gold, reflecting the understanding and intention that his thoughts have revealed in divine sacraments, and he has gathered for himself spiritual riches, about which the Lord commanded: Store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, nor thieves dig and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. This is the hidden treasure, of which he also speaks in the Gospel: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. But the apothecae, or storehouses, are those of which it is written elsewhere: Blessed shall be thy barns and rich thy tables. After this, it is said, according to the Hebrew: 'You are the stretched out and protecting Cherub, with the ark of God and the propitiatory beneath it,' or, according to the Septuagint, that he himself, anointed and created, was with the Cherub. From this it is shown that this does not pertain to a human prince of the city of Tyre, but rather to the once holy and eminent strength that was placed as prince of the city of Tyre. And I have set you, he says, on the holy mountain of God; without a doubt, this signifies paradise, to which Paul the Apostle says he was caught up after the third heaven (1 Corinthians 12). But the cherub, of the male gender, is called in the singular number: and in the plural number they are called cherubim, which are interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. God rests and sits upon them, and uses this chariot, as the prophet says: You who sits upon the cherubim, manifest yourself (Ps. 79:2). And in another place: He ascended upon the cherubim, and flew; he flew upon the wings of the wind (Ps. 18:11). This cherub, or creature with cherub, extended and protecting the sacraments, is placed on the holy mountain of God, as we have often said. And the Apostle Paul speaks, if anyone receives the Epistle to the Hebrews: You have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of angels (Heb. XII, 22). Or certainly the holy mountain of God, as we have said, is to be understood as a paradise. He also walked among fiery stones, of which it is written: He makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a burning fire (Ps. CIII, 4). And not only God, who is called consuming fire, consumes hay, wood, and straw (Deut. IV): but also the angels, who are called fiery stones, and fervent in spirit. Hence the Lord says: I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I desire but that it be kindled (Luke XII). And what follows: You are perfect in your ways from the day of your creation (in the Septuagint: You were blameless in your days, from the day you were created), until iniquity was found in you, shows that every creature, created good by God, had perfect virtue, and that even the prince of Tyre was blameless, so that sin is not a part of nature, but of will. Until iniquity was found in you. Iniquity invented by God, which was kept enclosed in the treasure chests of your heart through pride and the abuse of power that you had received. Also, the inner chambers, or storehouses, of his wickedness were filled with a multitude of his dealings. For while he sought after many things and was not satisfied with the knowledge he had gained, nor with the power he had been given, he filled the storehouses and inner chambers of his heart so that, being satiated and made fat, he kicked against his Creator. For Jacob ate, and was satisfied, and the beloved one rebelled, becoming fat and sleek, and enlarged, and forsaking the God who made him (Deut. XXXII, 15). And from the heart come evil thoughts (Matth. XV, 19): because of which God says: You have sinned, and I have cast you out from the mountain of God, or you have been wounded by the mountain of God, which we who read are compelled to fear. For if the Cherub extended and protecting, placed on the holy mountain of God, and in the midst of fiery stones, perfect and immaculate, filled his interior with iniquity because of the abundance of trade, and sinned, and was cast out from the mountain of God, that is, from the dwelling of paradise, or wounded by the mountain of God, which clearly refers to Christ, or certainly wounded by the mountain of God, established and dwelling in himself, he is pricked in conscience by evil, while he realizes himself unworthy of the habitation of the mountain: what, then, is to be said of us? Therefore he says to him: 'And I have destroyed you, Cherub, protecting you from the midst of burning stones, so that you would not remain among the burning stones, but perish. O Cherub himself, or Cherubim, who protected you, I have brought you out from the midst of burning stones, according to what is also written about Adam: He drove out Adam, and stationed him (or Cherubim) opposite the paradise of delights (Gen. III, 24). And he gives the reasons why he was brought out, or cast out, from the midst of burning stones.' For your heart has been lifted up in your beauty, thinking that what is God's is yours. Therefore, the apostle says that he received a thorn in the flesh and an angel of Satan to buffet him, so that he would not be exalted by the greatness of his revelations and fall into the judgment of the devil (2 Corinthians 12). And so, your doctrine is corrupted, he says, along with your beauty, or you have lost your wisdom in your beauty. While you desire to be more than what you were created to be and to know more than what you have received from God, you have even lost what you had, and deformity and foolishness have possessed you instead of beauty and knowledge. Therefore, you have been cast down to the earth, you who once dwelled on the mountain of God. About which Isaiah writes: How has Lucifer fallen, who used to rise in the morning (Isa. XIV, 12)? And the Savior in the Gospel says: I saw, he said, Satan falling like lightning from heaven (Luke X). This is also what Jeremiah speaks to Jerusalem. How has the Lord darkened the daughter of Zion in His anger: He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel (Lamentations II, 1)? But you have been cast down in the sight of all kings, to terrify them by your example, either of good kings, whose heart is in the hand of God (Prov. XXI), or of evil ones, whose kingdoms the devil showed to the Savior (Matt. IV): who encountered the Babylonian king, saying: And you have been captured like us, and considered among us. Therefore, he defiled his sanctification which he had when he dwelt on the mountain and conversed among the burning stones. It follows: I will bring fire in the midst of you which shall devour you. This fire was kindled in the heart of the king of Tyre by him whose arrows are kindled, as it is written: All those who commit adultery are like an oven, their hearts (Hosea). About this fire, Isaiah also speaks: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame you have kindled (Isaiah 50), so that when you go out, it may devour the possessor, according to what is written in the same Isaiah: It consumed like the grass the fuel (Isaiah 5). On that day the mountains and hills and forests will be extinguished, and it will devour from soul to flesh. This fire, which is called alien, Nadab and Abihu offered to the altar of the Lord, and for this reason they were consumed by divine fire (Leviticus 10). Hence Moses says: This is the word that the Lord spoke: In those who approach me, I will sanctify myself. But the sanctification of God is the punishment of sinners. After this it is said: And I will turn you into ashes, so that all that you have built will be consumed by the fire of your guilty conscience. When you should have rested on the Sabbath, and should not have done any servile work, you gathered wood on the Sabbath so that you would have something to fuel the fire in your heart. He will also destroy all evil works, reducing them to ashes, so that the harmful fire may be completely extinguished, so that all may see and marvel at the destruction of the king of Tyre, and that it has become nothing, not for many centuries, but in one instant, or certainly forever, so that what is written may be fulfilled: I will not spare you, and I will not have pity. The Hebrews, among their other fables and genealogies and endless questions, are accustomed to understand these words against Hiram, king of Tyre, when they say that from Solomon to Ezekiel there are many years, which it is obvious that men did not live at that time: and thus they pronounce, as if the prophet spoke to him ironically: Are you the seal of the likeness of God, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty? You are adorned with all precious stones, you are a cherub, or created with a cherub: whereas in reality you have sinned, and you will be dissolved into ashes. And they add to their story a miracle, that contrary to Scripture, indeed without the authority of Scripture, they say that Hiram lived for a thousand years. But how violent this interpretation is, a prudent reader understands without our judgment.

The Lord speaks as follows to Ezekiel: “Son of man, take up a lament over the prince of Tyre, and say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. You experienced the pleasures of God’s paradise. Every precious stone was your covering: sardius, topaz and jasper, chrysolite and onyx and beryl, sapphire and carbuncle and emerald. Gold was the work of your beauty, and your pipes were prepared in the day that you were created. You were a cherub stretched out and protecting, and I set you in God’s holy mountain. You have walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day of your creation, until iniquity was found in you. By the multitude of your actions your inner parts were filled with iniquity and you have sinned; and I cast you out from the mountain of God, and destroyed you, O covering cherub, out of the midst of the stones of fire. And your heart was lifted up with your beauty. You have lost your wisdom in your beauty; I have cast you to the ground. I have set you before the face of kings that they might behold you. You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities and by the iniquity of your actions.”

The first part of this chapter relates to a King of Tyre, probably the same who is called in the Phoenician annals Ithobalus. He seems to have been a vain man, who affected Divine honors. The prophet treats his foolish pretensions with severe irony, and predicts his doom, Eze 28:1-10. He then takes up a funeral dirge and lamentation over him, in which his former pomp and splendor are finely contrasted with his fall, in terms that seem frequently to allude to the fall of Lucifer from heaven, (Isaiah 14), Eze 28:11-19. The overthrow of Sidon, the mother city of Tyre, is next announced, Eze 28:20-23; and the chapter concludes with a promise to the Jews of deliverance from all their enemies, and particularly of their restoration from the Babylonish captivity, Eze 28:24-26.

PROPHETICAL DIRGE ON THE KING OF TYRE, AS THE CULMINATION AND EMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT OF CARNAL PRIDE AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF THE WHOLE STATE. THE FALL OF ZIDON, THE MOTHER CITY. THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL IN CONTRAST WITH TYRE AND ZIDON. (Eze. 28:1-26) Because, &c.--repeated resumptively in Eze 28:6. The apodosis begins at Eze 28:7. "The prince of Tyrus" at the time was Ithobal, or Ithbaal II; the name implying his close connection with Baal, the Phœnician supreme god, whose representative he was. I am a god, I sit in . . . seat of God . . . the seas--As God sits enthroned in His heavenly citadel exempt from all injury, so I sit secure in my impregnable stronghold amidst the stormiest elements, able to control them at will, and make them subserve my interests. The language, though primarily here applied to the king of Tyre, as similar language is to the king of Babylon (Isa 14:13-14), yet has an ulterior and fuller accomplishment in Satan and his embodiment in Antichrist (Dan 7:25; Dan 11:36-37; Th2 2:4; Rev 13:6). This feeling of superhuman elevation in the king of Tyre was fostered by the fact that the island on which Tyre stood was called "the holy island" [SANCONIATHON], being sacred to Hercules, so much so that the colonies looked up to Tyre as the mother city of their religion, as well as of their political existence. The Hebrew for "God" is El, that is, "the Mighty One." yet, &c.--keen irony. set thine heart as . . . heart of God--Thou thinkest of thyself as if thou wert God.

Lamentation over the King of Tyre Eze 28:11. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 28:12. Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Thou seal of a well-measured building, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Eze 28:13. In Eden, the garden of God, was thou; all kinds of precious stones were thy covering, cornelian, topaz, and diamond, chrysolite, beryl, and jasper, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald, and gold: the service of thy timbrels and of thy women was with thee; on the day that thou wast created, they were prepared. Eze 28:14. Thou wast a cherub of anointing, which covered, and I made thee for it; thou wast on a holy mountain of God; thou didst walk in the midst of fiery stones. Eze 28:15. Thou wast innocent in thy ways from the day on which thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee. Eze 28:16. On account of the multitude of thy commerce, thine inside was filled with wrong, and thou didst sin: I will therefore profane thee away from the mountain of God; and destroy thee, O covering cherub, away from the fiery stones! Eze 28:17. Thy heart has lifted itself up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom together with thy splendour: I cast thee to the ground, I give thee up for a spectacle before kings. Eze 28:18. Through the multitude of thy sins in thine unrighteous trade thou hast profaned thy holy places; I therefore cause fire to proceed from the midst of thee, which shall devour thee, and make thee into ashes upon the earth before the eyes of all who see thee. Eze 28:19. All who know thee among the peoples are amazed at thee: thou hast become a terror, and art gone for ever. - The lamentation over the fall of the king of Tyre commences with a picture of the super-terrestrial glory of his position, so as to correspond to his self-deification as depicted in the foregoing word of God. In Eze 28:12 he is addressed as חתם תּכנית. This does not mean, "artistically wrought signet-ring;" for חתם does not stand for חתם , but is a participle of חתם , to seal. There is all the more reason for adhering firmly to this meaning, that the following predicate, מלא חכמה, is altogether inapplicable to a signet-ring, though Hitzig once more scents a corruption of the text in consequence. תּכנית, from תּכן, to weigh, or measure off, does not mean perfection (Ewald), beauty (Ges.), faon (Hitzig), or symmetry (Hvernick); but just as in Eze 43:10, the only other passage in which it occurs, it denotes the measured and well-arranged building of the temple, so here it signifies a well-measured and artistically arranged building, namely, the Tyrian state in its artistic combination of well-measured institutions (Kliefoth). This building is sealed by the prince, inasmuch as he imparts to the state firmness, stability, and long duration, when he possesses the qualities requisite for a ruler. These are mentioned afterwards, namely, "full of wisdom, perfect in beauty." If the prince answers to his position, the wisdom and beauty manifest in the institutions of the state are simply the impress received from the wisdom and beauty of his own mind. The prince of Tyre possessed such a mind, and therefore regarded himself as a God (Eze 28:2). His place of abode, which is described in Eze 28:13 and Eze 28:14, corresponded to his position. Ezekiel here compares the situation of the prince of Tyre with that of the first man in Paradise; and then, in Eze 28:15 and Eze 28:16, draws a comparison between his fall and the fall of Adam. As the first man was placed in the garden of God, in Eden, so also was the prince of Tyre placed in the midst of paradisaical glory. עדן is shown, by the apposition גּן אלהים, to be used as the proper name of Paradise; and this view is not to be upset by the captious objection of Hitzig, that Eden was not the Garden of God, but that this was situated in Eden (Gen 2:8). The fact that Ezekiel calls Paradise גּן־עדן in Eze 36:35, proves nothing more than that the terms Eden and Garden of God do not cover precisely the same ground, inasmuch as the garden of God only occupied one portion of Eden. But notwithstanding this difference, Ezekiel could use the two expressions as synonymous, just as well as Isaiah (Isa 51:3). And even if any one should persist in pressing the difference, it would not follow that בּעדן was corrupt in this passage, as Hitzig fancies, but simply that גן defined the idea of עדן more precisely - in other words, restricted it to the garden of Paradise. There is, however, another point to be observed in connection with this expression, namely, that the epithet גן אלהים is used here and in Eze 31:8-9; whereas, in other places, Paradise is called גן יהוה (vid., Isa 51:3; Gen 13:10). Ezekiel has chosen Elohim instead of Jehovah, because Paradise is brought into comparison, not on account of the historical significance which it bears to the human race in relation to the plan of salvation, but simply as the most glorious land in all the earthly creation. the prince of Tyre, placed in the pleasant land, was also adorned with the greatest earthly glory. Costly jewels were his coverings, that is to say, they formed the ornaments of his attire. This feature in the pictorial description is taken from the splendour with which Oriental rulers are accustomed to appear, namely, in robes covered with precious stones, pearls, and gold. מסכּה, as a noun ἁπ. λεγ.., signifies a covering. In the enumeration of the precious stones, there is no reference to the breastplate of the high priest. For, in the first place, the order of the stones is a different one here; secondly, there are only nine stones named instead of twelve; and lastly, there would be no intelligible sense in such a reference, so far as we can perceive. Both precious stones and gold are included in the glories of Eden (vid., Gen 2:11-12). For the names of the several stones, see the commentary on Exo 28:17-20. The words 'מלאכת תּפּיך וגו' s - which even the early translators have entirely misunderstood, and which the commentators down to Hitzig and Ewald have made marvellous attempts to explain - present no peculiar difficulty, apart from the plural נקביך, which is only met with here. As the meaning timbrels, tambourins (aduffa), is well established for תּפּים, and in Sa1 10:5 and Isa 5:12 flutes are mentioned along with the timbrels, it has been supposed by some that נקבים must signify flutes here. But there is nothing to support such a rendering either in the Hebrew or in the other Semitic dialects. On the other hand, the meaning pala gemmarum (Vulgate), or ring-casket, has been quite arbitrarily forced upon the word by Jerome, Rosenmller, Gesenius, and many others. We agree with Hvernick in regarding נקבים as a plural of נקבה (foeminae), formed, like a masculine, after the analogy of נשׁים, פּלּגשׁים, etc., and account for the choice of this expression from the allusion to the history of the creation (Gen 1:27). The service (מלאכת, performance, as in Gen 39:11, etc.) of the women is the leading of the circular dances by the odalisks who beat the timbrels: "the harem-pomp of Oriental kings." This was made ready for the king on the day of his creation, i.e., not his birthday, but the day on which he became king, or commenced his reign, when the harem of his predecessor came into his possession with all its accompaniments. Ezekiel calls this the day of his creation, with special reference to the fact that it was God who appointed him king, and with an allusion to the parallel, underlying the whole description, between the position of the prince of Tyre and that of Adam in Paradise. (Note: In explanation of the fact alluded to, Hvernick has very appropriately called attention to a passage of Athen. (xii. 8, p. 531), in which the following statement occurs with reference to Strato, the Sidonian king: "Strato, with flute-girls, and female harpers and players on the cithara, made preparations for the festivities, and sent for a large number of hetaerae from the Peloponnesus, and many signing-girls from Ionia, and young hetaerae from the whole of Greece, both singers and dancers." See also other passages in Brissonius, de regio Pers. princ. pp. 142-3.) The next verse (Eze 28:14) is a more difficult one. אתּ is an abbreviation of אתּ, אתּה, as in Num 11:15; Deu 5:24 (see Ewald, 184a). The hap. leg. ממשׁח has been explained in very different ways, but mostly according to the Vulgate rendering, tu Cherub extentus et protegens, as signifying spreading out or extension, in the sense of "with outspread wings" (Gesenius and many others.). But משׁח does not mean either to spread out or to extend. The general meaning of the word is simply to anoint; and judging from משׁחח and משׁחה, portio, Lev 7:35 and Num 18:8, also to measure off, from which the idea of extension cannot possibly be derived. Consequently the meaning "anointing" is the only one that can be established with certainty in the case of the word ממשׁח. So far as the form is concerned, ממשׁח might be in the construct state; but the connection with הסּוכך, anointing, or anointed one, of the covering one, does not yield any admissible sense. A comparison with Eze 28:16, where כּרוּב הסּוכך occurs again, will show that the ממשׁח, which stands between these two words in the verse before us, must contain a more precise definition of כּרוּב, and therefore is to be connected with כּרוּב in the construct state: cherub of anointing, i.e., anointed cherub. This is the rendering adopted by Kliefoth, the only commentator who has given the true explanation of the verse. ממשׁח is the older form, which has only been retained in a few words, such as מרמס in Isa 10:6, together with the tone-lengthened a (vid., Ewald, 160a). The prince of Tyre is called an anointed cherub, as Ephraem Syrus has observed, because he was a king even though he had not been anointed. הסּוכך is not an abstract noun, either here or in Nah 2:6, but a participle; and this predicate points back to Exo 25:20, "the cherubim covered (סוככים) the capporeth with their wings," and is to be explained accordingly. Consequently the king of Tyre is called a cherub, because, as an anointed king, he covered or overshadowed a sanctuary, like the cherubim upon the ark of the covenant. What this sanctuary was is evident from the remarks already made at Eze 28:2 concerning the divine seat of the king. If the "seat of God," upon which the king of Tyre sat, is to be understood as signifying the state of Tyre, then the sanctuary which he covered or overshadowed as a cherub will also be the Tyrian state, with its holy places and sacred things. In the next clause, וּנתתּיּך is to be taken by itself according to the accents, "and I have made thee (so)," and not to be connected with בּהר קדשׁ. We are precluded from adopting the combination which some propose - viz. "I set thee upon a holy mountain; thou wast a God" - by the incongruity of first of all describing the prince of Tyre as a cherub, and then immediately afterwards as a God, inasmuch as, according to the Biblical view, the cherub, as an angelic being, is simply a creature and not a God; and the fanciful delusion of the prince of Tyre, that he was an El (Eze 28:2), could not furnish the least ground for his being addressed as Elohim by Ezekiel. And still more are we precluded from taking the words in this manner by the declaration contained in Eze 28:16, that Jehovah will cast him out "from the mountain of Elohim," from which we may see that in the present verse also Elohim belongs to har, and that in Eze 28:16, where the mountain of God is mentioned again, the predicate קדשׁ is simply omitted for the sake of brevity, just as ממשׁח is afterwards omitted on the repetition of כּרוּב הסּוכך. The missing but actual object to נתתּיך can easily be supplied from the preceding clause, - namely, this, i.e., an overshadowing cherub, had God made him, by placing him as king in paradisaical glory. The words, "thou wast upon a holy mountain of God," are not to be interpreted in the sense suggested by Isa 14:13, namely, that Ezekiel was thinking of the mountain of the gods (Alborj) met with in Asiatic mythology, because it was there that the cherub had its home, as Hitzig and others suppose; for the Biblical idea of the cherub is entirely different from the heathen notion of the griffin keeping guard over gold. It is true that God placed the cherub as guardian of Paradise, but Paradise was not a mountain of God, nor even a mountainous land. The idea of a holy mountain of God, as being the seat of the king of Tyre, was founded partly upon the natural situation of Tyre itself, built as it was upon one or two rocky islands of the Mediterranean, and partly upon the heathen notion of the sacredness of this island as the seat of the Deity, to which the Tyrians attributed the grandeur of their state. To this we may probably add a reference to Mount Zion, upon which was the sanctuary, where the cherub covered the seat of the presence of God. For although the comparison of the prince of Tyre to a cherub was primarily suggested by the description of his abode as Paradise, the epithet הסּוכך shows that the place of the cherub in the sanctuary was also present to the prophet's mind. At the same time, we must not understand by הר Mount Zion itself. The last clause, "thou didst walk in the midst of (among) fiery stones," is very difficult to explain. It is admitted by nearly all the more recent commentators, that "stones of fire" cannot be taken as equivalent to "every precious stone" (Eze 28:13), both because the precious stones could hardly be called stones of fire on account of their brilliant splendour, and also being covered with precious stones is not walking in the midst of them. Nor can we explain the words, as Hvernick has done, from the account given by Herodotus (II 44) of the two emerald pillars in the temple of Hercules at Tyre, which shone resplendently by night; for pillars shining by night are not stones of fire, and the king of Tyre did not walk in the temple between these pillars. The explanation given by Hofmann and Kliefoth appears to be the correct one, namely, that the stones of fire are to be regarded as a wall of fire (Zac 2:9), which rendered the cherubic king of Tyre unapproachable upon his holy mountain. In Eze 28:15, the comparison of the prince of Tyre to Adam in Paradise is brought out still more prominently. As Adam was created sinless, so was the prince of Tyre innocent in his conduct in the day of his creation, but only until perverseness was found in him. As Adam forfeited and lost the happiness conferred upon him through his fall, so did the king of Tyre forfeit his glorious position through unrighteousness and sin, and cause God to cast him from his eminence down to the ground. He fell into perverseness in consequence of the abundance of his trade (Eze 28:16). Because his trade lifted him up to wealth and power, his heart was filled with iniquity. מלוּ for מלאוּ, like מלו for מלוא in Eze 41:8, and נשׂוּ for נשׂאוּ in Eze 39:26. תּוכך is not the subject, but the object to מלוּ; and the plural מלוּ, with an indefinite subject, "they filled," is chosen in the place of the passive construction, because in the Hebrew, as in the Aramaean, active combinations are preferred to passive whenever it is possible to adopt them (vid., Ewald, 294b and 128b). מלא is used by Ezekiel in the transitive sense "to fill" (Eze 8:17 and Eze 30:11). תּוך, the midst, is used for the interior in a physical sense, and not in a spiritual one; and the expression is chosen with an evident allusion to the history of the fall. As Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree, so did the king of Tyre sin by filling himself with wickedness in connection with trade (Hvernick and Kliefoth). God would therefore put him away from the mountain of God, and destroy him. חלּל with מן is a pregnant expression: to desecrate away from, i.e., to divest of his glory and thrust away from. ואבּדך is a contracted form for ואאבּדך (vid., Ewald, 232h and 72c). - Eze 28:17 and Eze 28:18 contain a comprehensive description of the guilt of the prince of Tyre, and the approaching judgment is still further depicted. על cannot mean, "on account of thy splendour," for this yields no appropriate thought, inasmuch as it was not the splendour itself which occasioned his overthrow, but the pride which corrupted the wisdom requisite to exalt the might of Tyre, - in other words, tempted the prince to commit iniquity in order to preserve and increase his glory. We therefore follow the lxx, Syr., Ros., and others, in taking על in the sense of una cum, together with. ראוה is an infinitive form, like אהבה for ראות, though Ewald (238e) regards it as so extraordinary that he proposes to alter the text. ראה with ב is used for looking upon a person with malicious pleasure. בּעול רכלּתך shows in what the guilt (עון) consisted (עול is the construct state of עול). The sanctuaries (miqdâshim) which the king of Tyre desecrated by the unrighteousness of his commerce, are not the city or the state of Tyre, but the temples which made Tyre a holy island. These the king desecrated by bringing about their destruction through his own sin. Several of the codices and editions read מקדּשׁך in the singular, and this is the reading adopted by the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate versions. If this were the true reading, the sanctuary referred to would be the holy mountain of God (Eze 28:14 and Eze 28:16). But the reading itself apparently owes its origin simply to this interpretation of the words. In the clause, "I cause fire to issue from the midst of thee," מתּוכך is to be understood in the same sense as תּוכך in Eze 28:16. The iniquity which the king has taken into himself becomes a fire issuing from him, by which he is consumed and burned to ashes. All who know him among the peoples will be astonished at his terrible fall (Eze 28:19, compare Eze 27:36). If we proceed, in conclusion, to inquire into the fulfilment of these prophecies concerning Tyre and its king, we find the opinions of modern commentators divided. Some, for example Hengstenberg, Hvernick, Drechsler (on Isa 23), and others, assuming that, after a thirteen years' siege, Nebuchadnezzar conquered the strong Island Tyre, and destroyed it; while others - viz. Gesenius, Winer, Hitzig, etc. - deny the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar, or at any rate call it in question; and many of the earlier commentators suppose the prophecy to refer to Old Tyre, which stood upon the mainland. For the history of this dispute, see Hengstenberg, De rebus Tyriorum comment. (Berol. 1832); Hvernick, On Ezekiel, pp. 420ff.; and Movers, Phoenizier, II 1, pp. 427ff. - The denial of the conquest of Insular Tyre by the king of Babylon rests partly on the silence which ancient historians, who mention the siege itself, have maintained as to its result; and partly on the statement contained in Eze 29:17-20. - All that Josephus (Antt. x. 11. 1) is able to quote from the ancient historians on this point is the following: - In the first place, he states, on the authority of the third book of the Chaldean history of Berosus, that when the father of Nebuchadnezzar, on account of his own age and consequent infirmity, had transferred to his son the conduct of the war against the rebellious satrap in Egypt, Coelesyria, and Phoenicia, Nebuchadnezzar defeated him, and brought the whole country once more under his sway. But as the tidings reached him of the death of his father just at the same time, after arranging affairs in Egypt, and giving orders to some of his friends to lead into Babylon the captives taken from among the Judaeans, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, and the Egyptians, together with the heavy armed portion of the army, he himself hastened through the desert to Babylon, with a small number of attendants, to assume that government of the empire. Secondly, he states, on the authority of the Indian and Phoenician histories of Philostratus, that when Ithobal was on the throne, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years. The accounts taken from Berosus are repeated by Josephus in his c. Apion (i. 19), where he also adds (20), in confirmation of their credibility, that there were writings found in the archives of the Phoenicians which tallied with the statement made by Berosus concerning the king of Chaldea (Nebuchadnezzar), viz., "that he conquered all Syria and Phoenicia;" and that Philostratus also agrees with this, since he mentions the siege of Tyre in his histories (μεμνημένος τῆς Τύρου πολιορκίας). In addition to this, for synchronistic purposes, Josephus (c. Ap. i. 21) also communicates a fragment from the Phoenician history, containing not only the account of the thirteen years' siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar in the reign of Ithobal, but also a list of the kings of Tyre who followed Ithobal, down to the time of Cyrus of Persia. (Note: The passage reads as follows: "In the reign of Ithobal the king, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years. After him judges were appointed. Ecnibalus, the son of Baslachus, judged for two months; Chelbes, the son of Abdaeus, for ten months; Abbarus, the high priest, for three months; Myttonus and Gerastartus, the sons of Abdelemus, for six years; after whom Balatorus reigned for one year. When he died, they sent for and fetched Merbalus from Babylon, and he reigned four years. At his death they sent for his brother Eiramus, who reigned twenty years. During his reign, Cyrus ruled over the Persians.") The siege of Tyre is therefore mentioned three times by Josephus, on the authority of Phoenician histories; but he never says anything of the conquest and destruction of that city by Nebuchadnezzar. From this circumstance the conclusion has been drawn, that this was all he found there. For if, it is said, the siege had terminated with the conquest of the city, this glorious result of the thirteen years' exertions could hardly have been passed over in silence, inasmuch as in Antt. x. 11. 1 the testimony of foreign historians is quoted to the effect that Nebuchadnezzar was "an active man, and more fortunate than the kings that were before him." But the argument is more plausible than conclusive. If we bear in mind that Berosus simply relates the account of a subjugation and devastation of the whole of Phoenicia, without even mentioning the siege of Tyre, and that it is only in Phoenician writings therefore that the latter is referred to, we cannot by any means conclude, from their silence as to the result or termination of the siege, that it ended gloriously for the Tyrians and with humiliation to Nebuchadnezzar, or that he was obliged to relinquish the attempt without success after the strenuous exertions of thirteen years. On the contrary, considering how all the historians of antiquity show the same anxiety, if not to pass over in silence, such events as were unfavourable to their country, at all events to put them in as favourable to their country, at all events to put them in as favourable a light as possible, the fact that the Tyrian historians observe the deepest silence as to the result of the thirteen years' siege of Tyre would rather force us to the conclusion that it was very humiliating to Tyre. And this could only be the case if Nebuchadnezzar really conquered Tyre at the end of thirteen years. If he had been obliged to relinquish the siege because he found himself unable to conquer so strong a city, the Tyrian historians would most assuredly have related this termination of the thirteen years' strenuous exertions of the great and mighty king of Babylon. The silence of the Tyrian historians concerning the conquest of Tyre is no proof, therefore, that it did not really take place. But Eze 29:17-20 has also been quoted as containing positive evidence of the failure of the thirteen years' siege; in other words, of the fact that the city was not taken. We read in this passage, that Nebuchadnezzar caused his army to perform hard service against Tyre, and that neither he nor his army received any recompense for it. Jehovah would therefore give him Egypt to spoil and plunder as wages for this work of theirs in the service of Jehovah. Gesenius and Hitzig (on Isa 23) infer from this, that Nebuchadnezzar obtained no recompense for the severe labour of the siege, because he did not succeed in entering the city. But Movers (l.c. p. 448) has already urged in reply to this, that "the passage before us does not imply that the city was not conquered any more than it does the opposite, but simply lays stress upon the fact that it was not plundered. For nothing can be clearer in this connection than that what we are to understand by the wages, which Nebuchadnezzar did not receive, notwithstanding the exertions connected with his many years' siege, is simply the treasures of Tyre;" though Movers is of opinion that the passage contains an intimation that the siege was brought to an end with a certain compromise which satisfied the Tyrians, and infers, from the fact of stress being laid exclusively upon the neglected plundering, that the termination was of such a kind that plundering might easily have taken place, and therefore that Tyre was either actually conquered, but treated mildly from wise considerations, or else submitted to the Chaldeans upon certain terms. But neither of these alternatives can make the least pretension to probability. In Eze 29:20 it is expressly stated that "as wages, for which he (Nebuchadnezzar) has worked, I give him the land of Egypt, because they (Nebuchadnezzar and his army) have done it for me;" in other words, have done the work for me. When, therefore, Jehovah promises to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as a reward or wages for the hard work which has been done for Him at Tyre, the words presuppose that Nebuchadnezzar had really accomplished against Tyre the task entrusted to him by God. But God had committed to him not merely the siege, but also the conquest and destruction of Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar must therefore have executed the commission, though without receiving the expected reward for the labour which he had bestowed; and on that account God would compensate him for his trouble with the treasures of Egypt. This precludes not only the supposition that the siege was terminated, or the city surrendered, on the condition that it should not be plundered, but also the idea that for wise reasons Nebuchadnezzar treated the city leniently after he had taken possession. In either case Nebuchadnezzar would not have executed the will of Jehovah upon Tyre in such a manner as to be able to put in any claim for compensation for the hard work performed. The only thing that could warrant such a claim would be the circumstance, that after conquering Tyre he found no treasures to plunder. And this is the explanation which Jerome has given of the passage ad litteram. "Nebuchadnezzar," he says, "being unable, when besieging Tyre, to bring up his battering-rams, besieging towers, and vineae close to the walls, on account of the city being surrounded by the sea, employed a very large number of men from his army in collecting rocks and piling up mounds of earth, so as to fill up the intervening sea, and make a continuous road to the island at the narrowest part of the strait. And when the Tyrians saw that the task was actually accomplished, and the foundations of the walls were being disturbed by the shocks from the battering-rams, they placed in ships whatever articles of value the nobility possessed in gold, silver, clothing, and household furniture, and transported them to the islands; so that when the city was taken, Nebuchadnezzar found nothing to compensate him for all his labour. And because he had done the will of God in all this, some years after the conquest of Tyre, Egypt was given to him by God." (Note: Cyrill. Alex. gives the same explanation in his commentary on Isa 23.) It is true that we have no historical testimony from any other quarter to support this interpretation. But we could not expect it in any of the writings which have come down to us, inasmuch as the Phoenician accounts extracted by Josephus simply contain the fact of the thirteen years' siege, and nothing at all concerning its progress and result. At the same time, there is the greatest probability that this was the case. If Nebuchadnezzar really besieged the city, which was situated upon an island inf the sea, he could not have contented himself with cutting off the supply of drinking water from the city simply on the land side, as Shalmanezer, the king of Assyria, is said to have done (vid., Josephus, Antt. ix. 14. 2), but must have taken steps to fill up the strait between the city and the mainland with a mound, that he might construct a road for besieging and assaulting the walls, as Alexander of Macedonia afterwards did. And the words of Eze 29:18, according to which every head was bald, and the skin rubbed off every shoulder with the severity of the toil, point indisputably to the undertaking of some such works as these. And if the Chaldeans really carried out their operations upon the city in this way, as the siege-works advanced, the Tyrians would not neglect any precaution to defend themselves as far as possible, in the event of the capture of the city. They would certainly send the possessions and treasures of the city by ship into the colonies, and thereby place them in security; just as, according to Curtius, iv. 3, they sent off their families to Carthage, when the city was besieged by Alexander. This view of the termination of the Chaldean siege of Tyre receives a confirmation of no little weight from the fragment of Menander already given, relating to the succession of rulers in Tyre after the thirteen years' siege by Nebuchadnezzar. It is there stated that after Ithobal, Baal reigned for ten years, that judges (suffetes) were then appointed, nearly all of whom held office for a few months only; that among the last judges there was also a king Balatorus, who reigned for a year; that after this, however, the Tyrians sent to Babylon, and brought thence Merbal, and on his death Hiram, as kings, whose genuine Tyrian names undoubtedly show that they were descendants of the old native royal family. This circumstance proves not only that Tyre became a Chaldean dependency in consequence of the thirteen years' siege by Nebuchadnezzar, but also that the Chaldeans had led away the royal family to Babylonia, which would hardly have been the case if Tyre had submitted to the Chaldeans by a treaty of peace. If, however, after what has been said, no well-founded doubt can remain as to the conquest of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, our prophecy was not so completely fulfilled thereby, that Tyre became a bare rock on which fishermen spread their nets, as is threatened in Eze 26:4-5, Eze 26:14. Even if Nebuchadnezzar destroyed its walls, and laid the city itself in ruins to a considerable extent, he did not totally destroy it, so that it was not restored. On the contrary, two hundred and fifty years afterwards, we find Tyre once more a splendid and powerful royal city, so strongly fortified, that Alexander the Great was not able to take it till after a siege of seven months, carried on with extraordinary exertions on the part of both the fleet and army, the latter attacking from the mainland by means of a mound of earth, which had been thrown up with considerable difficulty (Diod. Sic. xvii. 40ff.; Arrian, Alex. ii. 17ff.; Curtius, iv. 2-4). Even after this catastrophe it rose once more into a distinguished commercial city under the rule of the Seleucidae and afterwards of the Romans, who made it the capital of Phoenicia. It is mentioned as such a city in the New Testament (Mat 15:21; Act 21:3, Act 21:7); and Strabo (xvi. 2. 23) describes it as a busy city with two harbours and very lofty houses. But Tyre never recovered its ancient grandeur. In the first centuries of the Christian era, it is frequently mentioned as an archbishop's see. From a.d. 636 to a.d. 1125 it was under the rule of the Saracens, and was so strongly fortified, that it was not till after a siege of several months' duration that they succeeded in taking it. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Tyre in the year 1060, describes it as a city of distinguished beauty, with a strongly fortified harbour, and surrounded by walls, and with the best glass and earthenware in the East. "Saladin, the conqueror of Palestine, broke his head against Tyre in the year 1189. But after Acre had been taken by storm in the year 1291 by the Sultan El-Ashraf, on the day following this conquest the city passed withou