Глава 23

1–14. Destruction of Tyre. 15–18. Restoration of Tyre. Isa.23:1–7. Ships from the distant Tyrian colony of Tartessus are traveling to Tire, but they are told from the islands of the Mediterranean Sea that Tire no longer exists! How great was the significance of this world trading city! Goods were brought here from all over the world, and from here they were sent to various other countries. Therefore, everyone is amazed at the news of his fall, especially the Phoenicians themselves, who now have to seek refuge in foreign lands. Isa.23:1. Prophecy about Tyre. - Howl, O ships of Tarshish, for it is destroyed; there are no houses, and no one to enter the houses. Thus it was told to them from the land of Kitti. "Tire" (in Hebrew: Zor gorge, rock), formerly the main city of Phenicia, is now a small and poor town with a pitiful semblance of a bazaar, where beans, tobacco, dates and lemons are mainly sold. A group of miserable houses, one or two stories high, dirty alleys instead of streets - that’s the whole of today’s Tyre (Geiki. Holy Land, p. 1059). In the rocks running along the seashore to the south, the ancient Tyrians built harbors, marinas, small docks and surrounded the city with a magnificent wall. The remains of this wall are still visible, and the dam that in ancient times connected Tire, built on an island, with Tire, located on the seashore - on the continent, has also been preserved. This dam was built by Alexander the Great in order to take the island of Tire. The Tyrians called both parts of Tire sarra. Old or continental Tire was located on a fertile plain and was a luxurious garden (Hos. 9:13). Here was an ancient royal fortress and a sanctuary of Melqart or Hercules, while the island of Tire was built up with various warehouses and houses for sailors. Old Tire first suffered from enemies during the invasion of Salmonassar in 729, and then the attacks of the Chaldeans, Persians and Greeks (especially Alexander the Great) gradually devastated it more and more, and earthquakes caused Tire no small harm: so in 523 this city was completely destroyed by an earthquake. Tire was founded, according to legend, 2750 years BC. “Ships of Tarshish” - see Isaiah 2:16. “To them,” that is, to the shipmen traveling from Tarshish to Tyre. “No one” - or rather, no shelter! “Land of Citti” - the islands of the Mediterranean Sea in general and, in particular, Cyprus (Gen. 10:4; Num. 24:24), which lay along the sea route from Tire to Tarshish. Condamin translates the entire verse as follows: “Wail, you ships from Tarshish, because your port is destroyed!” - they are informed about this upon returning from the land of Kittim. Isa.23:2. Be silent, inhabitants of the island, which was filled with Sidonian merchants sailing on the sea. "Be silent." Previously, in the busy trading city there was an incessant scream, as the buying and selling of goods took place on the shore, and many visiting sailors made even more noise in the city. “Inhabitants of the island” - more precisely, inhabitants of the seaside, the shore. “Merchants of Sidon” – more correctly: Phoenician. Sidon is here, as in v. 4 and 12. designates all of Phenicia (cf. Deut. 3:9; Josh. 13:4, 6; Judges 10:12; Judges 18:7). Perhaps the Phoenicians are called Sidonians here because Sidon was the most powerful state in the most ancient era of Israeli history: Tire subsequently only took its place in the eyes of the Jews when Sidon lost its power, but the Jews still called the Phoenicians Sidonians, remembering the importance of Sidon in Phenicia. Isa.23:3. The seeds of Sihor, the harvest of the great river, were brought to it along the great waters, and it was a marketplace of nations. “Great Waters” – Mediterranean Sea. "Sikhor" - r. Nile (cf. Is. 19:7). The “Marketplace of Nations” is the central point of the entire grain trade. Isa.23:4. Be ashamed, Sidon; for this is what the sea, the fortress of the sea, says: “no matter how I suffered in childbirth and gave birth, and raised young men, and raised maidens.” "Sidon" is the same as Phenicia. This country, having lost Tire and its harbors, is compared to a mother left without children. "The sea speaks". The sea itself was like a mother who gave birth to Tire and its harbors. “Sea fortress” - that is, the mighty sea, on the shores of which Tire is located. “No matter how much I suffer,” that is, all my offspring died! Tire and its piers no longer exist and as if they never existed! Isa.23:5. When the news reaches the Egyptians, they will tremble when they hear about Tire. “The Egyptians will tremble” - not only because of their commercial ties with Tire, but also because the mighty Tire was, so to speak, a lightning rod for Egypt, diverting the attention of a significant part of the Assyrian troops. Isa.23:6. Move to Tarshish, howl, inhabitants of the island! The Phoenicians now have to seek refuge in their colonies and, of course, first of all in rich Tarshish. Isa.23:7. Is this your jubilant city, which began in the days of old? His feet carry him to wander in a distant land. "Beginning from the days of old". See 1st Art. “His legs carry him” - more precisely: they carried him. Tire had so much strength that he could not live at home and he sent expeditions to establish his colonies in distant countries. Isaiah 23:8–14. Who crushed the power of Tyre? The Lord who punished Tire for his pride. The Assyrians appeared in the hands of Jehovah as a powerful instrument for the punishment of Tire. Isa.23:8. Who determined this for Tire, who distributed crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose merchants were celebrities of the earth? Isa.23:9. The Lord of hosts determined this to disgrace the arrogance of all glory, to humiliate all the famous people of the earth. “He distributed crowns,” that is, he put whoever he wanted as king in his colonies, among which was the famous Carthage. Tire's voice, of course, also played a role in changing dynasties in other states. Isa.23:10. Walk through your land, daughter of Tarshish, like a river; there is no more obstacle. Isa.23:11. He stretched out His hand upon the sea, shook kingdoms; The Lord commanded Canaan to destroy its fortresses "Daughter of Tarshish" - the colonists inhabiting this distant colony. “No more obstacles.” Tarshish now became independent, since Tyre, under whose rule Tarshish was, now no longer exists. “On the sea”, i.e. the Mediterranean Sea, on the shore of which Tire stood. "Shook the Kingdoms". The prophet immediately clarifies that he means the kingdoms of Canaan and mainly those that lay along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the lowlands. The word Canaan (genaan) means low-lying. Isa.23:12. and said: You will rejoice no more, disgraced maiden, daughter of Sidon! Get up and go to Kittim, but you will have no peace there either. "The Shamed Maiden". Tire could still be called a pure maiden, but now, after its conquest by enemies, it seemed to have lost its virgin purity. “Daughter of Sidon”, i.e. the population of Phenicia in general and, in particular, the inhabitants of Tyre. “Kittim” are the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, where, however, the Tyrians could not find peace from their enemies. Isa.23:13. This is the land of the Chaldeans. This people did not exist before; Assur started it from the inhabitants of the deserts. They build their towers, destroy his palaces, turn him into ruins. Isa.23:14. Howl, O ships of Tarshish! For your stronghold is destroyed. "This is the land of the Chaldeans." Most interpreters find the mention of the Chaldeans completely inappropriate and see here a copyist error. They propose to read here either the expression: Canaanites or: like Sodom or: Kittim (in Hebrew the word here is: gasdim). Meanwhile, all the ancient translations, since the LXX, agree with the current Masoretic text, and this evidence forces us to admit the correct reading: the land of the Chaldeans. But how to translate this passage? After all, there could still be no talk of the Babylonian kingdom here. It seems to us that a rather natural meaning will emerge if we recognize the expression used by the prophet as a designation of Phenicia. The origins of the Phoenicians are not exactly known. It may very well be that the prophet in this case wanted to say that Phenicia received its inhabitants from among the ancient settlers of Chaldea. In this case, the entire verse can be translated as “here it is, the Chaldean region! It turned into nothing: Assur (i.e., the Assyrian kings who attacked Tire) provided it to the inhabitants of the deserts (i.e., wild animals - cf. Is. 13:21). They...", etc. 23 “Your stronghold,” that is, Tire, where these ships found a safe haven for themselves. Isaiah 23:15–18. Tire will remain in humiliation and oblivion for a long time, but in the end it will rise to life again. However, the fruits of his trade will not be dedicated to idols and will not be spent on their own pleasures, but on serving the True God and His chosen ones. Isa.23:15. And on that day Tire will be forgotten for seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years the same thing will happen to Tire as they sing about the harlot: Isa.23:16. “Take the zither, walk around the city, forgotten harlot! Play well, sing a lot of songs so that they will remember you.” “In that day” – see Isaiah 2:11. “They will forget” - i.e. Tire will lose its global political and trade significance. “For seventy years” is a round number and a large one at that (7x10). “According to the days,” that is, at the end of the longest reign: hardly any king reigned for more than 70 years. "Walk around the city". Harlots in eastern cities sat in the streets, in front of the city gates, walked around the city (honest women sat at home) singing and music, dressed up, with wreaths on their heads. Isa.23:17. And it shall come to pass, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tire; and he will again begin to receive his profit and will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the earth throughout the whole world. Isa.23:18. But his trade and his profit will be dedicated to the Lord; They will not be locked up and put in storerooms, for the profit of his trade will go to those who live before the Lord, so that they may eat until they are full and have strong clothing. “He will commit fornication,” that is, trade. Trade is equated to fornication, because, just like the latter, it presupposes communication of one with many, and this communication is not free from dirty purposes (profit). “To those who live before the Lord,” that is, to the Jews living in Zion, or, better, to the Church of Christ. Special notes. Critics do not raise any serious objections regarding the authenticity of the prophecy about Tire. Only 15–18 tbsp. is considered an addition, probably made after the Babylonian captivity, because there are some expressions here that are alien to the style of Isaiah (mikez - 17 v. haadmah - world v. 18) and, in addition, it is difficult to establish the division into stanzas. Critics say differently about the time of origin of the prophecy. Some claim that Isaiah uttered this prophecy on the occasion of the invasion of Phenicia by Sennacherib (in 701), others attribute the prophecy to an more ancient time - namely, to the siege of Tire by Salmonassar (727-722), which ended under Sargon, Salmonassar's successor. As for the fulfillment of the prophecy, it is likely that the restoration of Tire, which Isaiah describes from verse 15, took place under Darius Hystaspes. As you know, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Tire - not only the old one, but also the new one, which was built on the island, and this destruction is foreshadowed by Isaiah Tire in the first 14 verses of the 23rd chapter (Is. 23: 1-14), but Darius Hystaspes, who corrected the mistakes of the Babylonian kings, again restored this important trading city. The last words of the prophecy were fulfilled by the conversion of Tire to Christianity, which already became Christian during the time of the apostles (Acts 21:3, 4). The Archbishop of Tire was second after the Patriarch of Jerusalem. During the persecution of Diocletian, Tire gave many martyrs for the name of Christ. The verses are divided in the prophecy in this way; 1 stanza – 1–5 art. – (1, 3, 2, 1) Stanza 2 – 6–10 art. – (1, 2, 3, 1) 3 stanza – 11–14 art. – (2, 2, 2 and repetition of verse 1) The ending, with the exception of the harlot's song, is prosaic. In the Slavic translation of LXX and Isa. 23:13 - “and into the land of the Chaldeans, but that too was desolate from the Assyrians, as its wall fell.” Note ed. You might be interested in: