Ezekiel 27:4

Eze 27:4 Thy borders [are] in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

Ver. 4. Thy borders are in the midst of the sea.] Wherewith thou art compassed and crowned, as it were, {Isa 23:8} being half a mile distant from the continent, till first Nebuchadnezzar, and then Alexander the Great, by casting earth, wood, and stones into the sea, made of it an island, a peninsula, &c.

Thy builders.] The Sidonians, saith Justin; {a} 240 years before Solomon’s temple was built, saith Josephus. {b}

{a} Lib. xviii., lib. viii.

{b} Ant., cap. 2.

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.

27:4-7 Tyre’s past greatness is described in great detail under the metaphor of a mighty sailing ship created out of the very best resources from the surrounding nations.

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

Hebrew, heart.

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

Tyre, in consonance with her seagirt position, separated by a strait of half a mile from the mainland, is described as a ship built of the best material, and manned with the best mariners and skilful pilots, but at last wrecked in tempestuous seas (Eze 27:26).

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 4. Thy builders have perfected thy beauty.] Under the allegory of a beautiful ship, the prophet, here and in the following verses, paints the glory of this ancient city. Horace describes the commonwealth of Rome by the same allegory, and is as minute in his description, Carm. lib. i. Od. xiv: -

O navis, referent in mare te novi

Fluctus? O quid agis? Fortiter occupa

Portum. Nonne video, ut

Nudum remigio latus,

Et malus celeri saucius Africo,

Antennaeque gemant? ac sine funibus

Vix durare carinae

Possint imperiosius

AEquor! non tibi sunt integra lintea;

Non Di, quos iterum pressa votes malo:

Quamvis Pontica pinus,

Sylvae filia nobilis,

Jactes et genus, et nomen inutile

Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus

Fidit. Tu, nisi, ventis

Debes ludibrium, cave.

Unhappy vessel, shall the waves again

Tumultuous bear thee to the faithless main?

What, would thy madness thus with storms to sport?

Cast firm your anchor in the friendly port.

Behold thy naked decks, the wounded mast,

And sail-yards groan beneath the southern blast.

Nor, without ropes, thy keel can longer brave

The rushing fury of the imperious wave:

Torn are thy sails; thy guardian gods are lost,

Whom you might call, in future tempests tost.

What, though majestic in your pride you stood,

A noble daughter of the Pontic wood,

You now may vainly boast an empty name,

Of birth conspicuous in the rolls of fame.

The mariner, when storms around him rise,

No longer on a painted stern relies.

Ah! yet take heed, lest these new tempests sweep,

In sportive rage, thy glories to the deep.

FRANCIS.

I give this as a striking parallel to many passages in this chapter.

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

4. borders … midst of the seas] lit. heart of the seas, a phrase which appears to mean not “far out at sea,” but, in the deep waters of the sea, ch. Eze_28:2; Eze_28:8; Exo_15:8; Jon_2:3; Psa_46:2. The term “borders” seems to mean station, moorings (Eze_27:25). The proud ship was conscious of her beauty. The ship is a figure for the maritime city, the mistress of trade, built upon an ocean rock, as if moored in the sea. The city was without doubt beautiful (ch. Eze_28:12); a similar phrase is used of Jerusalem, Psa_50:2 (Psa_48:2); Lam_2:15.

Eze_27:5-6 the ship’s timbers.

made thy ship boards] built thy planks. The word is dual, referring to the two ribs of the ship, corresponding to one another.

fir trees of Senir] Or, cypresses. The tree is mentioned as furnishing, along with the cedar, the principal material for building the Temple, 1Ki_5:8. Senir was the Amorite name of Hermon, which the Sidonians called Sirion (Deu_3:9). According to Schrader (KAT. on Deu_3:9; 1Ki_5:13) both names were used by the Assyrians. The name Hermon possibly signifies “sacred” mountain, being due to its ancient sanctuary. Senir, and Sirion, is supposed to mean “coat of mail.”

On “mast” cf. Isa_33:23. Whether an actual cedar was ever used to be the mast of “some great ammiral” may be uncertain; the prophet, though more exact than most prophets, is also a poet.

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.

They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir,.... The same with Sion and Hermon, which the Sidonians called Sirion, and the Amorites Shenir, Deu 3:9 here, it seems, grew the best of fir trees, of which the Tyrians made boards and planks for shipping; of these the two sides of the ship, as the word (r) here used in the dual number is thought to signify, or the fore and hind decks, were made. The Targum is,

"with fir trees of Senir they built for thee all thy bridges;''

the planks from which they went from one ship to another; but these are of too small consequence to be mentioned; rather the main of the ship is intended, which was built of fir planks; but ours made of oak are much preferable:

they have taken cedars from Lebanon, to make masts for thee; large poles for the yards and sails to be fastened to, for receiving the wind necessary in navigation; called the main mast, the foremast, the mizzenmast, and the boltsprit; all these are only in large vessels; whether the Tyrians had all of these is not certain; some they had, and which were made of the cedars of Lebanon; which, being large tall trees, were fit for this purpose. The Tyrians (s) are said to be the first inventors of navigation.

(r) "tabulata duplicia", Munster; "duas tabulas", Vatablus. (s) "Prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyros." Catullus.

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

Neighbours of Sidon, Josue xix. 29. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "thy children." Protestants, "thy builders." (Haydock) --- The description of the Tyrian grandeur, shews their more woeful ruin. (Worthington)

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).

Weak borders, which an enemy easily breaks through, are a great defect in a state; well, Tyre, thou art well secured here, thine are in the sea that surrounds and secureth thee.

Thy builders; thy first founders, whoever they were; Agenor king of Phoenice chose wisely to build a city in safety: or by builders may be meant those who in aftertimes did add to the first foundation: these were masters of their art, and added this to the natural strength and beauty of the place; thus thou art perfected at home.

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

4. Thy borders — Cornill reads, by a little change, the anchorage.

Thy builders have perfected thy beauty — Here begins a most beautiful picture of Tyre as a ship. Compare a very ancient description of a ship, written in Akkadian, which comes from Babylon: —

Its helm is of cedar (?) wood,

Its serpentlike oar has a handle of gold,

Its mast is pointed with turquoise,

Its side is of cedar from its forest,

Its awning is the palm (?) wood of Delvan, etc.

— Sayce, Hibbert Lectures.

Compare also Iliad, 2:484-770, and Horace, Lib. I, Ode 14.

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

In the midst of the seas; literally, in the heart (Revised Version). The words were true of the island-city, but Ezekiel has already present to his thoughts the idealized picture of the city under the figure of its stateliest ship. The builders are ship-builders, and in the verses that follow we have a picture of the Bucentaur of the Venice of the ancient world.

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

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues giving Ezekiel his message to Tyre.

General Information:

"Your" and "you" in these verses refer to Tyre.

General Information:

The city of Tyre is described here and in the following verses as if it were a beautiful ship. (See: Metaphor)

Your borders

"Your boundaries"

heart of the seas

"middle of the seas"

planks

long, flat pieces of wood; thick boards

a mast

a large pole on a ship that holds up the sails of the ship

translationWords

fir

Mount Hermon

cypress

cedar

Lebanon

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

your builders [Heb. בֹּנַיִךּ,] your architects, from the word בִּנְיָן, building.

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.