Ezekiel — Chapter 27

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1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2“Now you, son of man, take up a lament for Tyre.

3Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders perfected your beauty.

5They constructed all your planking with cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

7Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.

8The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.

9The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.

10Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.

11Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they perfected your beauty.

12Tarshish was your merchant because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.

14The men of Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.

15The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.

17Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

18Because of your many products and your great wealth of goods, Damascus traded with you wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar,

19and casks of wine from Izal for your wares. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were exchanged for your merchandise.

20Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.

21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats.

22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

23Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.

24In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted.

25The ships of Tarshish carried your merchandise. And you were filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.

26Your oarsmen have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind will shatter you in the heart of the sea.

27Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

28The countryside will shake when your sailors cry out.

29All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea will stand on the shore.

30They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

31They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

32As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament for you: ‘Who was ever like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?

33When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and merchandise.

34Now you are shattered by the seas in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and the people among you have gone down with you.

35All the people of the coastlands are appalled over you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted.

36Those who trade among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

1The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

3And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

4Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

5They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.

7Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.

8The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

9The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

10They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

11The 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.

12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

14They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.

15The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.

16Syria 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.

17Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

18Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

19Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.

20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.

22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

23Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

24These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

25The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

27Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

28The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.

29And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;

30And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:

31And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.

32And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?

33When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

34In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

35All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

36The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

1The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying,

2And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;

3and say unto Tyre, O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, that art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou, O Tyre, hast said, I am perfect in beauty.

4Thy borders are in the heart of the seas; thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

5They have made all thy planks of fir-trees from Senir; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for thee.

6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the isles of Kittim.

7Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning.

8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers: thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots.

9The old men of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to deal in thy merchandise.

10Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

11The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and valorous men were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty.

12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for thy wares.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise.

14They of the house of Togarmah traded for thy wares with horses and war-horses and mules.

15The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were the mart of thy hand: they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.

16Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy handiworks: they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.

17Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

18Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

19Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.

20Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding.

21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.

22The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

23Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur [and] Chilmad, were thy traffickers.

24These were thy traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

25The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.

26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.

27Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the dealers in thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

28At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the suburbs shall shake.

29And all that handled the oar, the mariners, [and] all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships; they shall stand upon the land,

30and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:

31and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.

32And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, [saying], Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?

33When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

34In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall in the midst of thee.

35All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid; they are troubled in their countenance.

36The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.

1The Lord’s message came to me:

2“You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre.

3Say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance of the sea, merchant to the peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘O Tyre, you have said, “I am perfectly beautiful.”

4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty.

5They crafted all your planks out of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make your mast.

6They made your oars from oaks of Bashan; they made your deck with cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus.

7Fine linen from Egypt, woven with patterns, was used for your sail to serve as your banner; blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah were used for your deck’s awning.

8The leaders of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were your captains.

9The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.

10Men of Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, men of war. They hung shield and helmet on you; they gave you your splendor.

11The Arvadites joined your army on your walls all around, and the Gammadites were in your towers. They hung their quivers on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.

12“‘Tarshish was your trade partner because of your abundant wealth; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your products.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise.

14Beth Togarmah exchanged horses, chargers, and mules for your products.

15The Dedanites were your clients. Many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16Edom was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your products.

17Judah and the land of Israel were your clients; they traded wheat from Minnith, millet, honey, olive oil, and balm for your merchandise.

18Damascus was your trade partner because of the abundance of your goods and of all your wealth: wine from Helbon, white wool from Zahar,

19and casks of wine from Izal they exchanged for your products. Wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise.

20Dedan was your client in saddlecloths for riding.

21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your trade partners; for lambs, rams, and goats they traded with you.

22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah engaged in trade with you; they traded the best kinds of spices along with precious stones and gold for your products.

23Haran, Kanneh, Eden, merchants from Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad were your clients.

24They traded with you choice garments, purple clothes and embroidered work, and multicolored carpets bound and reinforced with cords; these were among your merchandise.

25The ships of Tarshish were the transports for your merchandise. “‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

26Your rowers have brought you into surging waters. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.

27Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains, your ship’s carpenters, your merchants, and all your fighting men within you, along with all your crew who are in you, will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.

28At the sound of your captains’ cries the waves will surge;

29They will descend from their ships—all who handle the oar, the sailors and all the sea captains—they will stand on the land.

30They will lament loudly over you and cry bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in the ashes;

31they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth, and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning.

32As they wail they will lament over you, chanting: “Who was like Tyre, like a tower in the midst of the sea?”

33When your products went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.

34Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your company have sunk along with you.

35All the inhabitants of the coastlands are shocked at you, and their kings are horribly afraid—their faces are troubled.

36The traders among the peoples hiss at you; you have become a horror, and will be no more.’”

1Yahweh’s word came again to me, saying,

2“You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;

3and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

4Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.

5They have made all your planks of cypress trees from Senir. They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6They have made your oars of the oaks of Bashan. They have made your benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the islands of Kittim.

7Your sail was of fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt, that it might be to you for a banner. Blue and purple from the islands of Elishah was your awning.

8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your wise men, Tyre, were in you. They were your pilots.

9The old men of Gebal and its wise men were your repairers of ship seams in you. All the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.

10“‘“Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you. They showed your beauty.

11The men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, and valient men were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around. They have perfected your beauty.

12“‘“Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. They traded for your wares with silver, iron, tin, and lead.

13“‘“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for your merchandise.

14“‘“They of the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, war horses, and mules.

15“‘“The men of Dedan traded with you. Many islands were the market of your hand. They brought you horns of ivory and ebony in exchange.

16“‘“Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks. They traded for your wares with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies.

17“‘“Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded wheat of Minnith, confections, honey, oil, and balm for your merchandise.

18“‘“Damascus was your merchant for the multitude of your handiworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

19“‘“Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for your wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus were among your merchandise.

20“‘“Dedan was your trafficker in precious cloths for riding.

21“‘“Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, rams, and goats. In these, they were your merchants.

22“‘“The traders of Sheba and Raamah were your traders. They traded for your wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

23“‘“Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were your traders.

24These were your traders in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of rich clothing, bound with cords and made of cedar, among your merchandise.

25“‘“The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise. You were replenished and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.

26Your rowers have brought you into great waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas.

27Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, your pilots, your repairers of ship seams, the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war, who are in you, with all your company which is among you, will fall into the heart of the seas in the day of your ruin.

28At the sound of the cry of your pilots, the suburbs will shake.

29All who handle the oars, the mariners and all the pilots of the sea, will come down from their ships. They will stand on the land,

30and will cause their voice to be heard over you, and will cry bitterly. They will cast up dust on their heads. They will wallow in the ashes.

31They will make themselves bald for you, and clothe themselves with sackcloth. They will weep for you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.

32In their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, ‘Who is there like Tyre, like her who is brought to silence in the middle of the sea?’

33When your wares went out of the seas, you filled many peoples. You enriched the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.

34In the time that you were broken by the seas, in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company fell within you.

35All the inhabitants of the islands are astonished at you, and their kings are horribly afraid. They are troubled in their face.

36The merchants among the peoples hiss at you. You have become a terror, and you will be no more.”’”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

A funeral lament for Tyre pictures the city as a magnificent merchant ship. Ezekiel describes the vessel's construction in detail — planks of fir from Senir, masts of cedar from Lebanon, oars of oak from Bashan, ivory-inlaid decks, and sails of fine embroidered linen from Egypt (vv. 1-11). He then catalogues Tyre's vast trading network, listing the many nations that brought goods to her harbors (vv. 12-25). But an east wind wrecks the great ship in the heart of the sea, and her merchants, sailors, and wealth all sink to the bottom, mourned by onlookers on the shore (vv. 26-36).

Authorship & Background

Author: Ezekiel son of Buzi (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Prophetic Lament / Maritime Poetry
Key Themes: Tyre as a perfect ship, the catalogue of nations and trade goods, beauty and craftsmanship, the east wind destruction, the mourning of merchants, pride sunk in the depths, the fragility of commercial empire
Historical Context: This chapter is one of the most detailed economic documents in the ancient world. Ezekiel provides an extraordinary catalogue of international trade in the 6th century BC — listing trading partners from Tarshish (Spain) to Dedan (Arabia), from Greece to Persia, and naming specific luxury goods: silver, iron, tin, lead, slaves, horses, ivory, ebony, coral, rubies, wheat, honey, oil, wine, wool, and spices. The literary form is a ship-lament: Tyre is depicted not as a city but as a ship — the greatest vessel ever built. Every plank is exotic timber, every sail is royal purple, every sailor is the finest. The point: Tyre's beauty and prosperity were unmatched in the ancient world. And all of it sinks.
The Ship Built Out of the Whole World (vv.1-11): The lament for Tyre is built on a single conceit, and it is carried through with unusual discipline: the city is a ship, and every part of the ship is an import. Fir trees of Senir for the boards, a cedar of Lebanon for the mast, oaks of Bashan for the oars, benches of ivory out of Chittim, fine linen with broidered work from Egypt for the sail, blue and purple from the isles of Elishah for the awning. The crew is foreign in the same way, mariners from Zidon and Arvad, caulkers from Gebal, soldiers from Persia, Lud and Phut, and Gammadims in the towers. Nothing in the vessel comes from Tyre. That is the argument, made structurally before it is made in words: a trading power is an assembly of other people's goods, and the assembly is what can be taken apart.
The Trading List (vv.12-25): Fourteen verses of manifest, and it is the longest commercial inventory in the Bible and a genuinely useful record of Iron Age Mediterranean and Near Eastern trade. Tarshish brings silver, iron, tin and lead. Javan, Tubal and Meshech bring slaves and vessels of brass. Togarmah brings horses and mules, Dedan ivory and ebony, Syria emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, coral and agate. Damascus sends wine and white wool, Arabia and Kedar send lambs, rams and goats, Sheba and Raamah send spices, precious stones and gold. Judah and Israel appear in the list too, and what they supply is worth noticing beside the previous chapter's rivalry: wheat of Minnith, honey, oil and balm, that is, farm produce. The section closes on reputation, the ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market.
The Ship Broken in the East Wind (vv.26-36): Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters, the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. The wreck is itemised in the same manner as the cargo, which is the point of having itemised the cargo: thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy caulkers, and all thy men of war shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. Everything the ship was made of goes down at once. The coastlands hear the cry of the pilots and come out to mourn with dust on their heads and ashes to wallow in, and their lament asks a question a commercial city has no answer to, what city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea. The closing line is deliberately flat, thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

Map & Geography

  • Lebanon (v.5): Region north of Israel known for its cedar forests.
  • Bashan (v.6): Fertile region east of the Sea of Galilee.
  • Egypt (v.7): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
  • Persia (v.10): Empire that conquered Babylon; allowed Israel's return from exile.
  • Tarshish (v.12, v.25): Distant port city (possibly Spain); represents the farthest reaches of the known world.
  • Damascus (v.18): Ancient Syrian city; site of Paul's conversion.

Places on this map

  • LebanonMount Lebanon range, LebanonIn the Bible this is the mountain range, not the modern country: a snow-capped wall rising over 10,000 feet behind the Phoenician coast. Its cedar was the prestige timber of the ancient Near East and both the tabernacle's successors and Solomon's temple were built from it. Wikipedia
  • BashanGolan and Hauran, SyriaThe volcanic tableland north-east of the Sea of Galilee, deep in basalt soil and famous for cattle and oak. The bulls of Bashan in the Psalms are a compliment to the pasture before they are an insult to anyone. Wikipedia
  • Sea of GalileeLake Kinneret, IsraelA freshwater lake 13 miles by 8, sunk 700 feet below sea level in a bowl of hills. Cold air spilling over the rim onto warm water is what produces the sudden violent squalls the Gospels keep describing. Wikipedia
  • EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
  • PersiaFars, IranThe empire's ceremonial center was Persepolis in the Iranian highlands, but it governed from Susa and Babylon and ran roads from the Indus to the Aegean. Its scale is the point of Esther's opening: 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. Wikipedia
  • Babylonnear Hillah, IraqOn the Euphrates about 55 miles south of modern Baghdad. Judah's exiles were marched roughly 900 miles to get here, the long way round the Arabian desert, which is why the journey took months and the return was a genuine undertaking rather than a short trip home. Wikipedia
  • Tarshishprobably southern SpainUsually identified with Tartessos near the mouth of the Guadalquivir in southern Spain, at the far western end of the Phoenician trade routes, though the identification is not certain. Either way it meant the end of the known world, and it lies almost exactly opposite Nineveh from Joppa. Wikipedia
  • DamascusDamascus, SyriaAn oasis city where the Barada river runs out of the Anti-Lebanon into the desert, about 135 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It sat astride the caravan roads to Mesopotamia and Arabia, which made Aram rich and made it Israel's most persistent northern rival. Wikipedia
  • AramSyriaThe Syrian interior north-east of Israel, a set of city-states rather than one kingdom, with Damascus the strongest. Aramaic, its language, became the everyday speech of the whole region including Judea. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Ezekiel 27 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
2BeLikeChrist

Ezekiel 25-28 | God is Our Protector | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Ezekiel -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

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Reflection

  • The Illusion of Perfect Beauty (v.3) — Tyre boasts that she is perfect in beauty, the same confidence prosperity always whispers to those it favors. Where has success made you feel more invulnerable than you actually are?
  • Being Indispensable Isn't Being Safe (v.25) — The entire ancient economy depended on Tyre's trade, and it still could not save her from sinking. Where might you be confusing how needed you are with how secure you actually are before God?
  • Ambition Sails Into Deep Water (v.26) — Tyre's own rowers carry her out into the great waters where the east wind finally breaks her. Has ambition or self-reliance taken you further from safety than you realized while you were sailing?
  • Mourning the Market, Not the Person (v.33) — When Tyre sinks, the merchants wail because their own wealth depended on her, not out of love for who she was. When you fall on hard times, who around you is grieving you, and who is only grieving what you provided them?
  • Never to Be Found Again (v.36) — Tyre's disappearance is total and final, a reminder that permanence belongs to God alone and not to any human enterprise. What are you building your identity on that could someday simply cease to exist?