thus advanced; Shebnah, who is the Nail on which the weight of Government at prefent hangs, fhall be remov'd out of the Place in which he thought himself fecurely fixt by his Mafter's Affection, and all his Train of Favourites and Flatterers fhall fall from their high Expectations of honourable Posts. Chapter XXII. The ARGUMENT of Chapter XXIII. Ifaiah in this Chapter foretels the defolation of Tyre, a rich Sea-Port Town of Phenicia in the neighbourhood of Judea, for the infolent and injurious Carriage of the Tyrians toward the People of God: Of this we have no footsteps in Sacred Hiftory: Grotius thinks it was fulfill'd by Salma- Fofephus Annafar, who block'd up this City five Years by his Forces, tiq. l. 9. and reduced it to great freights, to which, if we add two Years which that Monarch himself spent before it, we have feven Years, the Number prefix'd to its defolation which Number he thinks should be fubftituted in those three places where we read in the Original Seventy by mistake.. Thus that famous Critic. For which I fee no neceffity, fince fometime after the deftruction of Jerufalem, probably before he return'd to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar befieg'd it; it Ezek. 28.2. was then fituated in the Sea at fome diftance from the Continent, fo that he was oblig'd to fill up the intermediate Space with Stones and other folid Materials, which was done with infinite Labour, and took up a great share of those thirteen Years which the Babylonian Army was imploy'd in that Siege. After this it might lye defolate feventy Years, and be rebuilt and flourish many Years before Alexander's Time, there being two hundred and fifty Years difference between thofe two Kings: I think it most (a) natural to understand (a) Moers the Prophet of the Times of Nebuchadnezzar, because toward the end of the Chapter he speaks of its being rebuilt, which it was not, after it was taken and demolish'd by Alexander. Chapter Verfe 1. T CHA P. XXIII. HE burthen of Tyre. Howl ye ships of Tharfhish, for it is laid waste, fo that there is no houfe, no entring in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.] This Verfe is very obfcure in our Translation, which proceeds altogether from a too ftrict adhering to the Original, the fenfe of which may be thus faithfully render'd, Howl ye Ships of Thar fhish, for Tyre shall be laid wafte, fo that there fhall be no Houfe to entertain Strangers, no getting into her Port: From the Land of Chittim ye shall receive this unwelcome News. Nothing is more ufual in the Writings of the Prophets, than an Enallage of the Perfon; fo here the Prophet speaks of the Ships of Tharfhifh in the third Perfon, to whom he had spoke before in the fecond. This is plain and easy, and I think there is no occafion to trouble the Reader with the various Interpretations which are to be met with among Commentators, fince they all come to the fame thing. As Tharfhifh, fo Chittim, was the Name of one of Javan's Sons; who being faid to have the Inles of the Nations divided among them, fome think the lands of the Egean Sea belong'd to them, which feems to be favour'd by the antient Names of fome Cities in thofe Iflands; as Citium, a Town in Cyprus, the Birth-Place of Zeno the. (a) Pliny, 1.4. Stoic; Cyteum in (a) Candia, and the Cereans, (b) a Peo46) Strabo, l. ple fituated between the Cilicians and Pelafgians. C.12. 13. Ver. 2. Be still, ye inhabitants of the ifle, thou whom the merchants of Zidon that pass over the fea, have replenished.] He speaks to the Inhabitants of Tyre, and by commanding them to be still, means that they fhould be so, that the noise of their Mirth fhould be filenced, and the buz of their negotiating Merchants no more heard in their public Exchanges; and to fet forth the greatness of their Mifery, he tells them the Sidonian Merchants, whofe profitable Trade enrich'd them, fhould come there no more. Ver. 3. And by great waters the feed of Sihor, the harvest of the river is her revenue, and she is a mart of nations.] The plentiful Harvest, which the fertile Plains of Egypt yielded, yielded, he calls the Seed of Nilus, as if the Annual In- Chapter undation of that River not only greatly promoted Ve- XXIII. getation, but really brought with it overflowing Waters, fruitful Seeds, and scatter'd them up and down the Land, as Sanctius thinks it actually did, and is no more than is recorded by Tully of the River Indus. The fenfe of the Prophet is this, The Sidonian Merchants have made Thee rich by bringing into thy Granaries all the Product of the Egyptian Fields, improv'd by the overflowing of the River Nile, which may be look'd upon as thy own Revenue, fince thou, O Tyre, by tranfporting them into other Countries, didft reap all the Advantage of the Fertility of that Soil, which made thee the Mart of all Nations. Ver. 4. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the fea hath spoken, even the strength of the fea, faying, I travel not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.] The City of Sidon was in all probability more antient than Tyre, it being the Obfervation of Strabo, that Homer makes mention of Sidon but not of Tyre; and therefore in his Time it was queftion'd which of the two was the chief City of Phenicia. However this be, whether Tyre were a Colony of Sidonians or no, it is probable fhe had got the start of Sidon in the greatnefs of her Riches, and the largehefs of her Trade, and Sidon in a manner depended on her to take off her Commodities; therefore, fays the Prophet, Thou, O Sidon, fhalt be confounded, because of the defolation of Tyre, which is call'd the Sea, and the ftrength of the Sea, because of her Maritime Situation and Fortifications. For fuch fhall be the condition of Tyre, which now reigns Mistress of the Sea, that the fhall bemoan her fad Fate, and fay, I travail not, nor bring forth Children; that is, Would I Grotius had never travail'd, nor brought up Children; would I had never been at the pains to educate my Sons and my Daughters, for it had been better they had died in their Infancy, than to fee them thus flaughter'd before mine Eyes. Others think the Prophet introduces Tyre lament- Gataker, ing her condition, being as one that had never born or Lyranu, brought up any Children, becaufe of the Slaughter of her Inhabitants. Vatablus Chapter Bochart. 3. lib. 18. Ver. 5. As at the report concerning Egypt, fo fhall they be forely pained at the report of Tyre.] That is, as the Port Royal Verfion, I think, more conformably to the Hebrew renders the words, Lorfque le bruit de la deftruction de Tyre fera passe en Egypt on fera faifi de douleur; When this report fhall come to the Ears of the Egyptians, they fhall be very much troubled at the fad Fate of Tyre, as well they might be, being likely to lofe fo advantageous a Trade as that of the Tyrians, who took their fuperfluous Corn off their hands, and fupply'd them with the Product of other Countries. Ver. 6. Pafs ye over to Tharfhish, howl ye inhabitants of the ifle.] He advises the Tyrian Merchants to remove their Effects to Tarteffus, a City in Spain, as fome think. is meant by Tharfhish, or to pafs over the Sea to the neigbouring Islands, where they might expect from their old Correfpondents at least hofpitable Reception, and be far enough out of the reach of their Enemies: And St. Jerom affirms he read in fome antient Hiftories extant in his Times, that they did fo, fome fettling in the Islands of the Ionian and Egean Sea, and others in Carthage: The Chaldee Paraphraft thinks the Prophet is to be understood of their being carried into Captivity; of which he speaks in the next Verfe, in fuch a manner as to let us know he means otherwife in this, because she was to go into Captivity on foot, not to be carried in Ships. Ver. 7. Is this your joyous city, whofe antiquity is of an tient days? her own feet fhall carry her afar off to fojourn. Jofephus informs us that Tyre was built two hundred and Antiq. 1. 8. c. forty Years before Solomon's Temple. Juftin goes higher, and fays it was built by Agenor the Phenecian, Father to Cadmus, which fhould be about the time of fofhaa. Berofus carries it ftill higher, very near the times of the Flood; by which we may fairly infer the great Antiquity of the City, tho' we cannot exactly point out the Year of her Foundation. Her own feet fhall carry her afar off to fojourn: He fpeaks of her as of a Woman who had liv'd in fplendor and at eafe, but fhould be forced to travel into Captivity on foot, undergo the hardships of a long tedious March; tho' Grotius thinks by Ragleha, the Prophet means Cables; and by a Metonymy, Ships, as Pedes ་ in Latin fignify Cables, because the Cables by which the Sails of a Ship are held are of the fame ufe to a Ship as Legs to a Man, make her go forward and move; but it does not follow because there is fuch an Idiom among the Latines that therefore it must be the fame in the Hebrew Language. Ver. 8, 9. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whofe traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts hath purpo fed it, to ftain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.] The Prophet puts a Question in the Mouth of a Tyrian, Who is it that pretends to bring fuch Calamities on Tyre, the Queen of all Cities, whofe Merchants are as rich as the Princes of other Nations,and whofe Traffickers make as great a Figure as the greatest Men in the World? To which he anfwers, the Lord of hosts hath purposed it, and therefore it will certainly come to pass, to which he adds the Reason of this Divine Refolution, because the Tyrians prided themselves in their Riches and Strength of their City. Ver. 10. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tharfhifh: there is no more strength.] That is, fhe fhall be forc'd to pass over her own Land into Captivity like a River, very swiftly, because, tho' fhe fancy'd herfelf impregnable, the fhould not have Strength enough to hold out against that powerful Adverfary he defign'd to bring againft her; he calls Tyre the Daughter of Tharshish, becaufe fhe was fituated near the Sea, to which fhe ow'd all her Greatnefs. Ver. 11. He ftretched out his hand over the fea, he shook the kingdoms; the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.] This Verse may be thus connected with the former: And what Wonder will it be that thou haft not Strength to defend thy -felf, fince God will be then against thee? He shall stretch forth his Hand over the Sea, that is, against Tyre, and give her fuch a Blow as fhall make the neighbouring Kingdoms tremble; for God is he who is refolv'd to humble that proud City, and destroy her strong holds, and will command fuch Inftruments to effect it as fhall not fail of being fuc cefsful. Chapter XXIII. |