Tanak Foundations-Concepts in Ezekiel-Chapter 26

Ezek 26.1-21 tells us about a prophecy concerning the destruction of the city of Tyre

v 1…Now it came about in the eleventh year (of Zedekiah’s reign and Yehoiakim’s exile, the same year Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians), on the first of the month (the month is unknown and it would be fruitless to speculate, but it was after the fall of Jerusalem, possibly towards the end of the year) that the word of the Lord (Yehovah) came to me saying,

v 2…”Son of man (Ezekiel is a human being representing the people), because Tyre (Hebrew “Tzor” meaning rock) has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha (hurrah), the gateway of the peoples (Jerusalem was seen as the gateway to heaven and drew the nations there and that is based Gen 28.17); it has opened up to me (the nations would now be drawn to Tyre like they were to Jerusalem). I shall be filled (enriched wealth), now that she is laid waste.’

v 3…Therefore, thus says the Lord God (Adonai Yehovah), ‘Behold (see, take note), I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves (Babylon would destroy it).

v 4…And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock (rock is the Hebrew “tzur” and is a play on words-Nebuchadnezzar destroyed mainland Tyre, and Alexander the Great destroyed it again, and used rubble from the city to make a causeway to reach the island off the coast where the city was rebuilt on an island).

v 5…She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea (to dry), for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations (Babylon and the nations with her).

v 6…Also her daughters who are on the mainland (sister cities around Tyre and dependent on her) will be slain by the sword and they will know that I am the Lord (when it is fulfilled it will be proof that Yehovah has spoken).”

v 7…For thus says the Lord God, “Behold (take note), I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar (in Hebrew it is Nebuchadrezzar, also in Jer 21.2; Ezek 29.18-19, 30.10-Babylonian and Hebrew spellings were different and Yehovah knew that. Nebuchadnezzar occurs 57 times, and Nebuchadrezzar occurs 31 times) king of Babylon, king of kings (because many kings were subject to him), with horses, chariots, cavalry, and many peoples (a great army).

v 8…He will slay your daughters (the cities, towns and villages); and he will make siege walls on the mainland with the sword (first); and he will make siege walls (forts, etc.) against you, cast up a mound against you (so stones can be cast with their siege engines), and raise up a large shield against you (to repel arrows shot from the city).

v 9…And the blow of his battering rams he will direct against your walls, and with his axes (anything made of iron) he will break down your towers.

v 10…Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust of them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached (can no longer hold out).

v 11…With the hoofs of his horses will trample all your streets (breaking up the pavement and destroying them). He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground (some of these were pillars to their gods).

v 12…Also they (Babylon) will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise (after the people are slaughtered and their gods fall, the plundering begins), break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses (magnificent houses and palaces-Isa 23.13), and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water (meaning a complete destruction).

v 13…So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more (no joy).

v 14…And I will make you a bare rock (totally); you will be a place for the spreading of nets (so they can dry). You will be built no more (in the same way it was; everything of value was moved to the island off shore), for I the Lord (Yehovah) have spoken,” declares the Lord God (Adonai Yehovah).

v 15…Thus says the the Lord God to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands (along the shoreline) shake (with terror) at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst?

v 16…Then all the princes of the sea (rulers and merchants who did business with Tyre) will go down from their thrones, remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments (of their office and rank). They will clothe themselves in trembling; they will sit on the ground (in mourning), tremble every moment, and be appalled at you (horrified over what has happened; their economies will suffer also).

v 17…And they will take up a lamentation over you and say to you, ‘How you have perished, O inhabited one, from the seas, O renowned city (this is said in praise), which was mighty on the sea (traded by the seafaring merchants), she and her inhabitants, who imposed her terror on all her inhabitants (because their economies depended on Tyre).

v 18…Now the coast-lands will tremble on the day of your fall (not only because of the loss of their economy, but the same fate could happen to them); yes, the coast-lands which are by the sea will be terrified at your passing (if Tyre can fall, who is safe).”

v 19…For thus says the Lord God, “When I shall make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I shall bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you (descend into the sea, no trace behind-26.12),

v 20…Then I shall bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old (people of the “old world” who were before the flood-2 Pet 2.5), and I shall make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places (like the places destroyed in the flood), with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I shall set (create) glory in the land of the living (by establishing Israel and his kingdom on earth).

v 21…I shall bring terrors on you (on the contrary), and you will be no more, though you will be sought, you will never be found again (Tyre’s glory will pass away and there will be no trace left behind),” declares the Lord God.

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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