Ezekiel 27:16

16. For Syria (Aram) the Syr. reads Edom, and so in effect LXX. (interchange of d and r as Eze_27:15). If Edom be read the line pursued would be from S. to N., Edom, Eze_27:16, Judah, Eze_27:17, Damascus, Eze_27:18. The verse is otherwise peculiar in beginning with a precious stone, then passing on to stuffs and ending with precious stones.

wares of thy making] Rather; by reason of the multitude of thy works, i.e. not those wrought by Tyre, but those which the nations wrought and brought to her, all of which are considered hers.

occupied in thy fairs] Rather: emeralds … they brought as thy wares. The “emerald” according to others is the carbuncle. “Coral” may be “pearls.” The two things may have been confused; both were fished in the Persian Gulf. The “agate” may be the ruby. The precious stones might seem in favour of Edom, but the fine linen is more naturally the Syrian byssus. LXX. omits all the textile fabrics with the exception of broidered work; and the text must be held uncertain.

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.

Eze 27:16 Syria [was] thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.

Ver. 16. The wares of thy making.] Heb., Works. The Tyrians were ingenious workmen, as Hiram, whom Solomon therefore so admired that he called him his father.

And agate.] Or, Chrysoprasus, or crystal, or carbuncle, or onyx. Jerome confesseth that he knoweth not what to call it.

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.

Eze 27:16-20. Syria was thy merchant, &c. — From what is said here, we may conclude that the inhabitants of Tyre were exceedingly industrious, skilful in arts, and politic; for here almost all nations are described as bringing their respective commodities to Tyre, to give in exchange for the wares or manufactures of that place; which shows to what a vast height they carried their manufactures, and what immense profits they must have gained, since, it seems, they were able to purchase all kinds of precious stones, and the richest commodities of the world, with their own manufactures. Judah and Israel were thy merchants — Both the kingdom of the two tribes, and that of the ten. They traded in thy market wheat of Minnith — Minnith was a place belonging to the Ammonites, Jdg 11:33, and was noted for excellent wheat, great quantities of which the Jews brought to Tyre, the Tyrians having none of their own growth, but being supplied therewith by the Jews and Israelites, from the growth of their own or the neighbouring countries: see 1Ki 5:9-11; Ezr 3:7; Act 12:20. And Pannag — This is a word not elsewhere to be found, supposed by some to be the name of a place; by others, more probably, taken for some rich ointment, or gum. The Vulgate translates it balsam. In the wine of Helbon — Helbon is supposed to be that part of Syria which is called Chalybonitis by Ptolemy; and white wool — Bochart understands this to be wool of a bright purple colour. The LXX. and Chaldee render it, wool from Miletus, a place famous for that commodity. Dan also, &c. — Grotius thinks that Dan in the kingdom of Israel can scarcely be meant here; and finds that a city called Dana is placed by Ptolemy in the island of Ceylon. Dedan, &c., in precious clothes for chariots — Either these were rich coverings which were flung over the horses when harnessed to chariots, or else coverings for the seats of the chariots.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, silk.

Or, works.

Or, carbuncle.

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

"Syria was thy mart for the multitude," &c. For "Syria" the Septuagint reads "Edom." But the Syrians were famed as merchants.

occupied--old English for "traded"; so in Luk 19:13.

agate--Others translate, "ruby," "chalcedony," or "pearls."

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 16. Syria] These were always a mercantile people. For the precious stones mentioned here See Clarke on Ex 28:17.

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

(16) Emeralds.—The precious stone intended here, and in Exo_28:18, is now generally understood to be the carbuncle. The word for “fine linen” is not that of Eze_27:7, but a Phœnician word, occurring only in the books written in the time of the captivity. It is thought to mean cotton, for the woven fabrics of which Babylon was famous. Agate (marg., chrysoprase) is probably the ruby, or certainly some stone of brilliancy (Isa_54:12)

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

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants,.... The inhabitants of Judah and Israel; the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the other ten tribes of Israel, they all merchandised with the Tyrians, being near unto them:

they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith; the name of a place, Jdg 11:33, where probably the best wheat grew; so the Targum renders it; the Tyrians were supplied with wheat from the land of Israel, in the times of Solomon, long before this, Kg1 5:11 as they were in the times of Herod, long after, Act 12:20, it was four miles from Esbus or Heshbon, in the way to Philadelphia, according to Eusebius:

and Pannag; which some take to be the name of a place, where the best wheat also was; which some say was Phoenicia, or the land of Canaan. The Septuagint render it "ointments": and the Latin interpreter of the Targum "balsam"; with which agrees Josephus ben Gorion (k), who says that at Jericho grew the balsam tree, from whence came a precious oil, which oil is "pannag": and Hillerus (l) translates it balsam: it follows,

and honey, and oil: with which the land of Canaan abounded; for it was a land of oil olive and honey, a land that flowed with milk and honey, Deu 8:8 so that they had enough for themselves, and to spare for their neighbours, and which they carried to the market of Tyre:

and balm; or balsam, of which there was plenty at Gilead, and near Jericho, however at the latter; we read of the balm of Gilead, Jer 8:22. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it "rosin"; and so the Targum; and this the Tyrians might make use of in their ships (m). The balm, or balsam plant, was peculiar to Judea, as Pliny (n); at least it was the place of it until transplanted into other countries; and so says Solinus (o).

(k) Hist. 1. 4. c. 22. p. 379. (l) Onomastic. Sacr. p. 903. (m) Vid. Scheffer. de Militia Navali, p. 43. 319. (n) Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 25. (o) Polyhistor. c. 48.

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

Syrian: always much addicted to commerce. (St. Jerome) --- Septuagint read Adam for Aram, as if the traffic in men was meant: (Calmet) "ivory, and to those who brought, thou gavest thy rewards. (16) Men of thy traffic," &c. (Haydock) --- Linen. Hebrew buts, "silk" extracted from the pinna fish, 1 Paralipomenon xv. 27. Silk. Hebrew ramoth, may rather denote unicorns, Job xxviii. 18. (Calmet) --- Chodchod. It is the Hebrew name for some precious stone, but of what kind in particular, interpreters are not agreed. (Challoner) --- Some say the carbuncle, &c. St. Jerome renders it the jasper, Isaias liv. 12. (Worthington) --- Here he confesses he knows not the meaning. (Calmet)

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).

The multitude of the wares of thy making; the abundance of the Tyrian manufacture for all uses, which the Syrians could have no where else.

With emeralds; rather, for emeralds, a rich and lovely stone; or carbuncles, as others have it.

Purple, or violet-coloured, clothes. Broidered work: see Eze 27:7.

Fine linen: see Eze 27:7.

Coral; men guess this may be rubies, carbuncles, or chalcedonies; or crystal, with which they made looking-glasses.

Agate; a stone well known to us, but not so well known whether it exactly translate the Hebrew כדכד here used; some say it is the chrysoprase, a stone mixed with gold colour and green, and some such mixture may be seen in some agates.

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

16. Syria — Hebrews, Aram. Many expositors follow the Peshito, “Edom;” but there is no good reason for leaving the Hebrew.

Aram-Naharim was the ancient name for a very wide region, embracing at least western Mesopotamia and northern Syria, and is constantly mentioned in the Assyrian texts. The Aramaeans are now known to have been the controlling element in Syria and Arabia as well as Mesopotamia, though the Assyrians did not call the populations west of the Euphrates Aramaeans, but Hittites or Amorites. Certainly the products named were widely scattered. Emeralds (or, carbuncles), coral (perhaps, pearls), and agate (or, ruby), would naturally be Edomite (compare Job_28:16; Job_28:19); the purple, and broidered work might be the wrought garments for which Babylon was famous (Eze_23:6; Jos_7:21), while the fine linen might be the Syrian byssus. The Syrians probably learned how to make this fine gauze from the Greeks. The Greeks called it καρπασος (Est_1:6), and probably from its manufacture one town in Cyprus was called Karpaseia. (Compare Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1.)

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

Syria; Hebrew, Aram. The LXX which gives ajnqrwpouv, seems to have read Adam (equivalent to "man"), another instance of the fact just referred to. And this has led many commentators (Michaelis, Ewald, Hitzig, Furst) to conjecture, following the Peshito Version, that Edom must have been the true reading. As regards the products named, we know too little of the commerce of Edom to say whether it included them in its exports, and the fact that the broidered work of Babylon had been famous from of old, (Jos_7:21) and that it was also the oldest emporium for precious stones, may be urged in favor of the present reading, and of taking Aram in its widest sense as including Mesopotamia. On the other hand, the mention of onyx, sapphire, coral, pearls, topaz, in Job_28:16-19, the local coloring of which is essentially Idumaean, supports the conjectural emendation. Emeralds. (comp. Exo_28:18) Some writers identify it with the carbuncle. It meets us again in Eze_28:13. The fine linen (butz) is different from that of Ver. 7 (shesh) and appears only in the later books of the Old Testament (2Ch_3:14; Est_1:6, etal.) It was probably the byssus of the Greeks, made of cotton, while the Egyptian fabric was of flax. Coral. The Hebrew (ramoth) occurs only here and in Job_28:18."coral" is the traditional Jewish interpretation, but the LXX transliterates, and the Vulgate gives secure. Agate is found here and in Isa_54:12, and has been identified with the ruby or carbuncle. in Exo_28:19 and Exo_39:12 the English represents a different Hebrew word.

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

The multitude - The abundance of the Tyrian manufactures.

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

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to Tyre.

General Information:

The words "you" and "your" in these verses refer to Tyre.

Aram was a dealer

Here "Aram" refers to the people of Aram. AT: "The people of Aram were dealers" (See: Metonymy)

dealer

"trader"

emeralds

An emerald is a type of green precious stone.

purple

Here purple cloth or yarn is referred to by just its color. AT: "purple cloth" or "purple yarn" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

pearls

beautiful beads of hard white material that come from creatures in the sea

rubies

A ruby is a type of red precious stone.

Judah and the land of Israel were trading with you

Here "Judah and the land of Israel" refers to the people of those places. AT: "The people of Judah and Israel were trading with you" (See: Metonymy)

Minnith ... Helbon ... Zahar

These were names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)

cakes

The meaning of the Hebrew word translated here as "cakes" is uncertain. Other versions may translate it as another type of food.

balsam

a sweet-smelling gum or resin that comes from a tree

enormous wealth

"abundant wealth" or "great wealth"

translationWords

Aram

kingdom of Judah

kingdom of Israel

wheat

honey

oil

Damascus

wine

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Aram was your merchant [dealing] with the precious stones mentioned in the verse, and “purple cloth, embroidery, and fine linen.”

because of the multitude of your works because they knew that your princes and dignitaries accumulate many works of beauty and glory for [use as] ornaments

with carbuncle [Heb. שְּׁנֹפֶךּ,] e c(h)arbuncle in Old French.

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.