Bible Commentary

Isaiah 23:1-14

Isaiah 23:1-14

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public Domain

THE BURDEN OF TYRE. We hero reach the last of the "burdens"—the concluding chapter of the series of denunciatory prophecies which commenced with . It is an elegy "in three stanzas, or strophes" (Cheyne)—the first extending from to ; the second, thence to ; and the third from to .

An undertone of sadness, and even of commiseration, prevails throughout it, the prophet viewing Tyre as a fellow-sufferer with Israel, persecuted and oppressed by the fame enemy, Assyria, which was everywhere pushing her conquests, and had recently extended her dominion even over Babylon ().

This last allusion fixes the date of the prophecy to a time subsequent to B.C. 710, when the Assyrian monarch, Sargon, first conquered the country, and took the title of king.

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Isaiah 23 — OverviewIsaiah 23 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleThis chapter is concerning Tyre, an ancient wealthy city, situated upon the sea, and for many ages one of the most celebrated cities for trade and merchandise in those parts of the world. The lot of the tribe of…Isaiah 23 — OverviewIsaiah 23 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeIsaiah 23:1, The miserable overthrow of Tyre; Isaiah 23:15, Her restoration and whoredoms.Isaiah 23 — OverviewIsaiah 23 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThis chapter gives an account both of the desolation and restoration of Tyre, an ancient city of Phoenicia. Its desolation is described as so complete, that a house was not left in it, Isa 23:1 and by the fewness and…Isaiah 23:1-14Isaiah 23:1-14 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleTyre 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…Isaiah 23:1Isaiah 23:1 · The Pulpit CommentaryHowl (comp. Isaiah 13:6, 31). The expression is common in the prophets (see Jeremiah 4:8; Jeremiah 25:34, etc.: Ezekiel 21:12; Ezekiel 30:2; Joel 1:5, Joel 1:11, Joel 1:13; Zephaniah 1:11; Zechariah 11:2, etc.). Ye…Isaiah 23:1Isaiah 23:1 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe mission of Tyre, the commercial. This is the aspect under which Tyre is best known and remembered. Dean Stanley gives a brief but characteristically suggestive description of it. "The massive remains of the ancient…