Ezekiel 27:11

Eze 27:11 The men of Arvad with thine army [were] upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.

Ver. 11. And the Gammadims.] These were not pigmies, as the Vulgate rendereth it; nor Medes, as Symmachus; nor Cappadocians, as the Chaldee paraphrast; but Syrians of a city called Gamalla, whereof see Pliny. {a}

{a} Nat. Hist., lib. ii. cap. 91.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27:11 Helech is Cilicia, the area around Tarsus on the northeast shore of the Mediterranean. • The location of Gammad is less certain, but it may have been in northern Syria.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, they of Cappadocia, or Pygmies and dwarfs, which were so called, because that out of the high towers they seemed little.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Gammadims--rather, as the Tyrians were Syro-Phœnicians, from a Syriac root, meaning daring, "men of daring" [LUDOVICUS DE DIEU]. It is not likely the keeping of watch "in the towers" would have been entrusted to foreigners. Others take it from a Hebrew root, "a dagger," or short sword (Jdg 3:16), short-swordsmen."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. The Gammadims were in thy towers] Some think these were a people of Phoenicia; others, that tutelar images are meant; others, that the word expresses strong men, who acted as guards. The Vulgate reads Pygmaei, the pygmies, who were fabled to be a little people of a cubit in height, from גמד gomed. a cubit; and are are told that this little people were celebrated for their wars with the cranes; but nothing of this kind can enter into this description. Probably a people inhabiting the promontories of Phoenicia are here intended; and their hanging their shields upon the walls is a proof that soldiers are meant, and persons of skill and prowess too.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) The Gammadims were in thy towers.—No people of this name is known, and it is extremely unlikely that the responsible posts upon the watch-towers would have been entrusted to foreigners. The word occurs only here, and is probably not a proper name, but should be translated brave men.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. with thine army] It is scarcely possible to render: men of Arvad, they were thine army. Some proper name seems required: the men of Arvad and of … Cornill conjectures Hethlon (Eze_47:15, Eze_48:1), others, Cilicia.

the Gammadims] A proper name is certainly to be expected, but no place, Gammad, is known. Some have suggested “they of Gomer,” but an adj. is not formed from Gomer; Corn., Zemarites, Gen_10:18. Others take the word as an appellative: brave warriors.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches,.... Some understand this of the sea, which is sometimes called Tarshish; so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it here: and the Targum,

"from the sea, or they of the sea bring merchandise into the midst of thee:''

that is, those who lived upon the coasts, or on the isles, of the Mediterranean sea. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it the Carthaginians, who were a colony of the Tyrians, and no doubt traded with them; but it seems most likely, with others, to intend Tartessus in Spain, a place not far from that where Cadiz now stands; a country which abounded with riches, and with the following things:

with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs; Pliny (t) says, that almost all Spain abounded in metals of lead, iron, brass, silver, and gold; which takes in the several things here mentioned, excepting tin; and that the Spaniards might have from our Cornwall, which they might import into Tyre: though the Phoenicians carried on a commerce with our isle of Britain themselves, whither they came for tin, and disposed of other goods they brought with them. Gussetius (u) observes, that the word does not signify the place of trade and traffic, as it is commonly rendered; but respects the goods traded in, and the manner of trafficking with them, by way of "exchange", as the word should be rendered; and the sense is, that the things before mentioned were what they gave in exchange, battered, and "left", with the Tyrians, for other goods they took of them; and so it is to be understood in all the following places where the word is used. So Ben Melech says it is expressive of merchandise.

(t) Nat. Hist. l. 3. c. 3. (u) Ebr. Comment. p. 594, 595.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Pygmeans. That is, strong and valiant men. In Hebrew Gammadim. (Challoner) --- He does not speak of those fabulous men hardly a cubit high. Gomed signifying a "cubit," has caused them to be styled so here. Septuagint, "guards;" or Symmachus, "Medes." Ezechiel (xxxviii. 6.) speaks of the Gomerim.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Arvad: see Eze 27:8.

With thine army; mixed with other hired soldiers, made up these military forces.

Upon thy walls round about; kept guard upon the walls.

The Gammadims; some say pigmies or dwarfs, because the Hebrew word is a cubit; but the whole story of such cubit-men is fabulous. Others think it is men bold and courageous, and the word of Syriac origin and sense, and so fitly expressing the temper of Syrian or Syrophoenician soldiers. Or else, the men who name from Gammade, a town of Phoenicia. Or possibly, such as came from Aneon, another town of Phoenice; and this town had its name from its situation on a piece of land that resembles the cubit, Greek, Αγκως, and in the Hebrew, נוסר

In thy towers; which were many, erected for strength and defence.

Hanged their shields upon thy walls: by this it appears these towers were also public armories, whence they fetched arms when needful, and where they laid them up when no further use of them.

Made thy beauty perfect; added much to her beauty, a well-armed state being among states as beautiful as a proper well-armed soldier among men.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Arvad — See Eze_27:8.

The Gammadim — R.V., margin, “valorous men.” No land or city of Gammad is known. Perhaps, as has been suggested, this was a technical term for the select corps of the Tyrian army — like the “Immortals” of the Persians or the “Old Guard” of Napoleon.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(For Arvad, see Ver. 8.) Gammadim. The LXX translates "guards" (fulakev); the Vulgate, Pygmies, probably as connecting the name with Gamad (equivalent to "a cubit"). The Targum gives "watchmen;" Gesenius, "warriors:" Hitzig, "deserters." The name probably indicates that they were the flower of the Tyrian army the life-guards (like the "Immortals" of the Persians) of the merchant-city. On the whole, we must leave the problem as one that we have no data for solving. The grouping with Arvad, however, suggests a Syrian or Phoenician tribe. They hanged their shields. The custom seems to have been specially Phoenician. Solomon introduced it at Jerusalem. (Son_4:4) The sight of the walls thus decorated, the shields being sometimes gilt or painted, must have been sufficiently striking to warrant Ezekiel"s phrase that thus the beauty of the city was "made perfect" by it. The custom reappears in RAPC 1Ma 4:57.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With - Mixed with other hired soldiers. The Gammadim - Probably men of Gammade, a town of Phoenicia.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The children of Arvad and your army [Heb. וְחֵילֵךּ,] the rest of the army of people who dwell within you.

and Gammadim Jonathan rendered: and also Cappadocians. I heard in the name of Rabbi Menachem that because they dive into the sea as far as the deep and estimate (גֹמְדֵי) the cubits of its depth, they are called Gammadim. Others explain that they are dwarfs and fit into the measure of a cubit.

their quivers [Heb. שִּׁלֻטֵיהֶם,] These are the quivers in which they would put arrows, like (Jer. 51:11): “Polish the arrows, fill the quivers (הַשְּׁלָטִים),” cuyvrin[e] in Old French, quivers.

they heaped [Heb. תִּלוּ,] many heaps upon heaps (תִּלֵי תִּלִים).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.