From decenso@exis.net (Frank DeCenso)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: The Problem Of TYRE (solved)
Date: Sun Jun 15 23:31:28 EDT 1997
Message-Id: 5o2c2g$37b@geneva.rutgers.edu
The Problem of Tyre
Some believe that Ezekiel's prophecies re:Tyre in Ezekiel 26-28 never
fully came to pass; and if they did, it didn't last because Tyre was
rebuilt.
My contention is that the Tyre that is described by the LORD (through
the human agency of Ezekiel) was never rebuilt - IMHO, Tyre never
regained it's former affluence, independence, strength, trade,
influence, or glory that it had prior to Neb's and Al's attacks;
consequently, it was never rebuilt, as such. After all, Ezek 26-28
describe Tyre not just as any old city but the LORD spent a lot of
time describing the city's prosperity and proud character. (esp. 27
and 28). Did it ever regain/rebuild that which Ezek described?
These are questions that hopefully my research will uncover.
Here are some results that lead me to believe that it was never
rebuilt as the city described by Ezekiel:
Tyre's Trading Partners
Ezekiel 27:12-25
NAME LOCATION MERCHANDISE
1. Tarshish Spain (?) Silver, iron, tin, lead
2. Greece Modern Greece Slaves, bronze implements
3. Tubal Eastern Turkey Slaves, bronze implements
4. Meshech Central Turkey Slaves, bronze implements
5. Beth Togarmah Eastern Turkey Work horses, war horses, mules
6. Rhodes Modern Rhodes Ivory tusks, ebony
7. Aram (or Edom) Syria (or Jordan) Turquoise, purple fabric,
embroidered work, fine linen,
coral, rubies
8. Judah Palestine Wheat, olive oil, balm,
confections, honey
9. Israel Palestine Wheat, olive oil, balm,
confections, honey
10. Damascus Syria Wine, wool
11. Danites Aden (?) Wrought iron, cassia (a bark
for perfume), calamus (an herb)
12. Greeks from Yemen (or south- Wrought iron, cassia, calamus
Uzal eastern Turkey)
13. Dedan Arabia Saddle blankets
14. Arabia Arabia Lambs, rams, goats
15. Kedar Arabia Lambs, rams, goats
16. Sheba Southern Arabia Spices, precious stones, gold
17. Raamah Southern Arabia Spices, precious stones, gold,
18-23. Haran, Mesopotamia Blue fabric, embroidered work,
Canneh, Eden, multicolored rugs
Sheba, Asshur,
Kilmad
[Taken from: Charles H. Dyer, "Ezekiel", _The Bible Knowledge Commentary_,
John Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, eds., (Victor Books, 1987), pg. 1281]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below, ^^^ are mine.
Only Tyre, currently queen of the coast and once
the defier of Shalmaneser and Nebuchadnezzar,
dared shut it's gates in the face of an invader.
Was not its past experience enough to give its
people a feeling of invincibility vis-a-vis a
hitherto unknown foe from Macedon?....At last it
succumbed....Proudly the conqueror marched into
the city with his soldiers in full armour....
Thus ended Tyre's historical role as an island
fortress.
[Phillip Hitti, _Lebanon in History_,
(London: MacMillan and Co. LTD, 1957),
pgs. 160-162]
There has been much question whether the island
city was ultimately captured by Nebuchadnezzar
or no; but even writers who take the negative
view admit that it must have submitted and owned
the suzerainty of its assailant. The date of
the submission was B.C. 585.
Thus Tyre, in B.C. 585, `fell from her high
estate.' Ezekiel's prophecies were fulfilled.
Ithobal III, the `prince of Tyrus' of those
prophecies, whose `head had been lifted up,' and
who had said in his heart, `I am a God, I sit in
the seat of God, in the midst of the waters,'
who deemed himself `wiser than Daniel,' and
thought that no secret was hid from him, was
`brought down to the pit,' `cast to the ground,'
`brought to ashes upon the earth in the sight of
all them that beheld him.' Tyre herself was
`broken in the midst of the seas.' A blight
fell upon her.
[George Rawlinson, _History of Phoenicia_,
(London: Longmans, Green, and CO., 1889),
pgs. 473-474]
Tyre, though no more than eighteen years had
elapsed since its desolation by Alexander, had,
like the fabled phoenix, risen again from its
ruins, and through the recuperative energy of
commerce had attained almost to its previous
wealth and prosperity.
[George Rawlinson, _History of Phoenicia_,
(London: Longmans, Green, and CO., 1889),
pg. 531]
The profits of Tyre's trade in the west seem to
have been enormous. It is recorded that even
the anchors of the ships returning from Spain
were made of silver. The Tyrian merchants are
represented as "princes of the sea" upon their
thrones, with robes and broidered garments. Her
merchants were princes, her traffickers were the
honorable of the earth.
The most important of the ancient documents
regarding the commerce of Tyre is the twenty-
seventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel....such
was the world-wide commerce of Tyre in the days
of her glory....A blow was struck, more serious
to the commerce of Tyre than any of the fearful
sieges through which she passed, when Alexandria
was founded and trade diverted to it. Later she
suffered still further when Rome made herself
the center of the world's affairs. However,
Tyre continued to flourish as a commercial
center....The present petty trade of Tyre, dim
shadow of a mighty past, is described on page
132....
[Wallace B. Fleming, _History of Tyre_,
(New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1966), pgs.
138, 141-142]
The commerce of the modern town is very
small;...The rich trade of the orient via
Damascus no longer comes by caravan to Tyre....
The marine trade routes have shifted so that
they can never again be controlled from Tyre.
She carries on a small trade with Egypt and
Beirut in tobacco, charcoal and wood from the
neighboring territory, and in wheat, straw and
millstones from the Hauran. A sorry shadow of
the days when Tyre was the mart of the nation
and the mistress of the seas.
[Wallace B. Fleming, _History of Tyre_,
(New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1966), pgs.
131-132]
Other factors contribute to our lack of knowledge
about the Phoenicians. For example, most of the
early archaeological explorers of the Levant were
preoccupied with Jerusalem and other biblical
sites. Their ships might land at Tripoli or
Beirut, but they usually made a quick trip down
the coast to get to their real goal. Some
visited Tyre on their way, but it was usually
just to gloat on that city's pitiful state. In
1841, for example, Edward Robinson recalled the
prophet Ezekiel's curses of Tyre when he wrote,
"I continued my walk...musing upon the pomp and
glory, the pride and fall, of ancient
Tyre...[which] has indeed become `like the top of
a rock, a place to spread nets upon!'...and the
hovels which now nestle upon a portion of her
site, present no contradiction of [Ezekiel's]
dread decree: `Thou shalt be built no more!'"
[Patricia M. Bikai, "The Phoenicians: Rich
and Glorious Traders of the Levant",
_Archeology_, March/April 1990, pg. 23]
With the taking of Tyre by the Macedonians, the
history of Phoenicia came to an end. The boldest
and finest creation of the Semite seafarers, the
city in the sea, the man-made island, was joined
to the land by a dam for evermore and thus robbed
of its uniqueness. It blossomed once again under
the Romans, and today boasts mighty ruins from
Imperial times, but these columns and triumphal
arches reflect nothing of that older glory, of
which Ezekiel once sang: `Thou has been in Eden
the garden of God; every precious stone was thy
covering...and gold; the workmanship of thy
tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in
the day that thou wast created.' Alexander had
silenced these instruments forever.
[Gerhard Herm, _The Phoenicians: The Purple
Empire of the Ancient World_, (New York:
William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1975),
pg. 230]
The fall of Tyre to the Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar in 573 bore out the prophecy of
Ezekiel; and the glory of Phoenicia was at an
end.
["The Phoenicians: Seafarers and
Craftsman", _Reader's Digest Atlas of the
Bible_, (Pleasantville, New York: The
Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1987),
pg. 116]
In examining the prophecies of Ezekiel against Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28),
I have come to two preliminary possible conclusions.
(1) As I mentioned earlier, I believe it's highly probable that Ezekiel
was accurate in describing the utter destruction of Tyre as an influential,
affluent, proud city. In Ezekiel 27, Ezekiel described numerous trading
partners, and several historians books that I found at a local `secular'
university library concurred that the Tyre of Post-Neb/Al times was not
as glorious or as influential economically as Pre-Neb/Al Tyre times.
An examination of all the prophecies that has Ezekiel describing Tyre
`never being rebuilt', etc., include the context of economy and trade...
(a) EZE 26:14 'I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall
be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt,
for I the LORD have spoken,' says the Lord GOD.
Includes the context of Tyre's economy and riches...
EZE 26:12-13 'They will plunder your riches and pillage your
merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your
pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and
your soil in the midst of the water. I will put an end to the
sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be
heard no more.
(b) EZE 26:21 'I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more;
though you are sought for, you will never be found again,'
says the Lord GOD."
Includes the context of economy and trade...
EZE 26:17-20 'And they will take up a lamentation for you,
and say to you: "How you have perished, O one inhabited by
seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She
and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all
her inhabitants! Now the coastlands tremble on the day of
your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at
your departure. For thus says the Lord GOD: 'When I make you
a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I
bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, then I
will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to
the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest
part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with
those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be
inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the
living.
(c) EZE 27:36 The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you;
You will become a horror, and be no more forever.'"'"
Same context...
EZE 27:33-35 'When your wares went out by sea, You satisfied
many people; You enriched the kings of the earth With your
many luxury goods and your merchandise. But you are broken by
the seas in the depths of the waters; Your merchandise and
the entire company will fall in your midst. All the inhabitants
of the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be
greatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled.
(d) EZE 28:19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished
at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever."'"
Same context...
EZE 28:18 "You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of
your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore
I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned
you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.
Some historians I quoted previously concur:
Tyre, though no more than eighteen years had elapsed since its
desolation by Alexander, had, like the fabled phoenix, risen
again from its ruins, and through the recuperative energy of
commerce had attained almost to its previous wealth and
prosperity. [George Rawlinson, _History of Phoenicia_,
(London: Longmans, Green, and CO., 1889),
pg. 531]
The profits of Tyre's trade in the west seem to have been
enormous. It is recorded that even the anchors of the ships
returning from Spain were made of silver. The Tyrian merchants
are represented as "princes of the sea" upon their thrones,
with robes and broidered garments. Her merchants were princes,
her traffickers were the honorable of the earth.
The most important of the ancient documents regarding the
commerce of Tyre is the twenty-seventh chapter of the Book of
Ezekiel....such was the world-wide commerce of Tyre in the days
of her glory....
[Wallace B. Fleming, _History of Tyre_, (New York:
AMS Press, Inc., 1966), pgs. 138, 141-142]
With the taking of Tyre by the Macedonians, the history of
Phoenicia came to an end. The boldest and finest creation of
the Semite seafarers, the city in the sea, the man-made island,
was joined to the land by a dam for evermore and thus robbed of
its uniqueness. It blossomed once again under the Romans, and
today boasts mighty ruins from Imperial times, but these columns
and triumphal arches reflect nothing of that older glory, of
which Ezekiel once sang: `Thou has been in Eden the garden of
God; every precious stone was thy covering...and gold; the
workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.' Alexander had silenced these
instruments forever.
[Gerhard Herm, _The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the
Ancient World_, (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.,
1975), pg. 230]
These historians seem to believe that at the time of Ezekiel, Tyre enjoyed
the most glory she was to ever have. The second possible explanation falls
into this realm as well.
(2) A review of Ezekiel's prophecies against Tyre, IMHO, do not reflect an
exegetical absolute in attributing all of Tyre's prophesied destructions
to Neb (or Al, who is alluded to).
EZE 26:3-6 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I am against you,
O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea
causes its waves to come up. 'And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre
and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and
make her like the top of a rock. 'It shall be a place for spreading
nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,' says the Lord GOD;
'it shall become plunder for the nations. 'Also her daughter villages
which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall
know that I am the LORD.'
Here we have Ezekiel prophesying that "many nations" will come against Tyre,
to the ultimate conclusion that "it shall become plunder for the nations".
This is exactly what has happened throughout the centuries, from Neb all
the way until today. In fact, a `critic' some time back gave this info on
Internet:
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
OK, here's the info about Tyre (from Grolier's encyclopedia):
Tyre was a great trading port of ancient PHOENICIA, located on
the Mediterranean Sea about 40 km (25 mi) south of Sidon. The
city gave its name to the dye known as Tyrian purple. Today
Tyre survives as the small southern Lebanese town of Sur (1974
est. pop., 14,000).
Founded on an island, perhaps as a colony of Sidon, Tyre
possessed one of the best harbors on the coast. Until the 4th
century BC the city was almost impregnable against siege, but
Alexander the Great reduced Tyre in 332 BC by building a
causeway that joined the island to the mainland.
Already long established, Tyre entered history as a vassal of
the 18th dynasty of Egypt (1570-1320 BC). Following the
disruption of Egypt and other Near Eastern powers in the age
of the Sea Peoples, the city not only had attained an independent
position but seems to have dominated Sidon. During the 10th century
BC, Tyre supplied cedars, carpenters, masons, and bronzesmiths for
King David (r. c.1000-c.960 BC) and King Solomon (r. c.960-c.921 BC),
and Tyrian sailors were available for Solomon's Red Sea fleet. In
the Mediterranean, under Hiram (r. 969-936 BC) and earlier rulers
Tyre developed trade with Cyprus and Spain and founded such colonies
as Utica and Carthage.
Subject to Assyria during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Tyre
was dominated by the Persians from 538 to 332 BC. After its
capture by Alexander the Great, Tyre was ruled by the
Ptolemies, Seleucids, Romans, and Muslim Arabs (AD 638-1124).
It was part of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th and
13th centuries but fell to the Mamelukes and was destroyed in
1291. LOUIS L. ORLIN
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Clearly, this critic's quote substantiates the fact the throughout the
centuries, "[a]fter it's capture by Alexander the Great", it became
"plunder for the nations", just as Ezekiel prophesied.
Next, notice the contrast here.
EZE 26:3 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I am against you,
O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea
causes its waves to come up.
Here, Ezekiel mentions "many nations".
Then, in verse 7...
EZE 26:7 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I will bring against
Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings,
with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many
people. Another critic stated...
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
....the FAQ discusses the fact that Tyre has always been around since the
time of Ezekiel, rather than discussing differing aspects of the prophesy,
eg: why it seems very clear to me that the prophesy referred specifically to
Nebuchadnezzar's army and not Alexander's (ie: yes the prophesy discusses
attacks by many nations, but it also *specifically* talks of Nebuchadnezzar
having an empire and calls him "a king of kings," and thus a leader of many
nations. So his attack would indeed constitute attacks by many nations).
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
It seems clear to me that the critic is reading into the text his particular
interpretation to make his assertions more valid. However, there is nothing
in the two texts I presented above to conclusively and/or exegetically
conclude that Neb is the ONLY one mentioned with the phrase "many nations".
In fact, Alexander's strategic exploits against the city are clearly
predicted by Ezekiel later...
EZE 26:12 'They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise;
they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they
will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the
water. This is exactly what Alexander the Great did in constructing a
"mole" to get to the island of Tyre.
Now, let's look at these passages a little closer.
I believe we may have 3 separate phases of Tyre's destruction mentioned
here in Ezekiel 26; by (1) Neb, (2) Al, (3) God, through other nations.
Below, caps and * are mine.
___
NEB
---
EZE 26:7-11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I will bring against Tyre
from the north *Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon*, king of kings, with horses,
with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. *HE* will
slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; *HE* will heap up
a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense
against you.
*HE* will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes
*HE* will break down your towers. 'Because of the abundance of *HIS* horses,
their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the
horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when *HE* enters your gates, as
men enter a city that has been breached. 'With the hooves of his horses
*HE* will trample all your streets; *HE* will slay your people by the sword,
and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
"He" in these passages I believe clearly refers to Nebuchadnezzar.
__
AL
--
EZE 26:12 '*THEY* will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise;
*THEY* will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses;
*THEY* will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of
the water.
I believe the change from "he" to "they" indicates a change from the
first phase of "many nations" - Nebuchadnezzar - to the second phase of
"many nations" - Alexander the Great. Verse 12 was clearly fulfilled
by Al the Great in his siege of the island of Tyre.
___
GOD
---
EZE 26:3 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, *I* am against you,
O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea
causes its waves to come up.
EZE 26:13-14 *I* will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the
sound of your harps shall be heard no more. *I* will make you like the
top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall
never be rebuilt, for *I* the LORD have spoken,' says the Lord GOD.
EZE 26:19-21 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'When *I* make you a desolate
city, like cities that are not inhabited, when *I* bring the deep upon
you, and great waters cover you, 'then *I* will bring you down with
those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and *I* will make
you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from
antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be
inhabited; and *I* shall establish glory in the land of the living.
*I* will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are
sought for, you will never be found again,' says the Lord GOD."
Here we have God apparently finishing the task, which took centuries
to come to fruition. Historian Wallace B. Fleming concurs that today,
Tyre is a mere shadow of what it once was...
The most important of the ancient documents
regarding the commerce of Tyre is the twenty-
seventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel....such
was the world-wide commerce of Tyre in the days
of her glory....A blow was struck, more serious
to the commerce of Tyre than any of the fearful
sieges through which she passed, when Alexandria
was founded and trade diverted to it. Later she
suffered still further when Rome made herself
the center of the world's affairs. However,
Tyre continued to flourish as a commercial
center....The present petty trade of Tyre, dim
shadow of a mighty past, is described on page
132....
[[Wallace B. Fleming, _History of Tyre_,
(New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1966), pgs.
138, 141-142]
The commerce of the modern town is very
small;...The rich trade of the orient via
Damascus no longer comes by caravan to Tyre....
The marine trade routes have shifted so that
they can never again be controlled from Tyre.
She carries on a small trade with Egypt and
Beirut in tobacco, charcoal and wood from the
neighboring territory, and in wheat, straw and
millstones from the Hauran. A sorry shadow of
the days when Tyre was the mart of the nation
and the mistress of the seas.
[Wallace B. Fleming, _History of Tyre_,
(New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1966), pgs.
131-132]
Jesus also noted that Tyre was to be judged by God...
MAT 11:21-22 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. "But I say
to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of
judgment than for you.
LUK 10:13-14 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the
mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
"But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment
than for you.
Apparently, God isn't done with Tyre yet!
Another point I wanted to share regarding God finishing the task over
the course of centuries is this...
EZE 26:3 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I am against you,
O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea
causes its waves to come up.
Here God likens the "nations" that are to "come up against" Tyre like
the sea that causes its waves to arise.
Later, in the prophecy that I believe God reveals He'll finish the
desolation of Tyre and it's greatness..
EZE 26:19 "For thus says the Lord GOD: 'When I make you a desolate
city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep
upon you, and great waters cover you.
I believe the symbolism is clear...the nations that will come against
Tyre after Neb and Al are like "the deep" and "great waters" that
will continue to come, as we saw the critic's quote from Grolier's
Encyclopedia substantiate.
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