Ezekiel 27:13, commentary and pictures

Javan is Greece and the fourth son of Japheth, and with Tubal and Meshech from the coasts of the Black and Caspian Seas he traded enslaved people and vessels of brass or copper, also called bronze, in the market of Tyre as part of the broad international commerce that enriched that merchant city of the world. The verse stands in the lamentation over Tyre in Ezekiel 26-28, among the prophecies concerning the nations in Ezekiel 25-31, foretelling the utter ruin of Tyre and Sidon. Tyre was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and utterly destroyed until its former site became a place for spreading nets in the sea, a fulfillment evident today that warns proud cities that forget and defy God that wickedness brings inescapable judgment. The chapter reveals a spirit of merchandise that dealt everywhere in every commodity even to the bodies and souls of men, overriding honor to possess all nations while forgetting God and making gold its god until God humbled her, and the same traffic will be found in great Babylon, the modern Tyre that is not one city but a federation taking in all the earth whose merchants will lament when in one hour so great riches is made desolate. The phrase persons of men translates the Hebrew nephesh, usually rendered soul, meaning living human persons, so that souls preserves the sense and shows that soul can refer to a person.

Trade and Literary Context

Javan is the Hebrew name for Greece, and Javan was also the fourth son of Japheth. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech came from the coasts of the Black and Caspian Seas and traded enslaved people and vessels of brass or copper, also described as bronze, in Tyre's market. That traffic was part of the broad international commerce that enriched Tyre, whose merchants included Javan, Tubal, and Meshech bringing enslaved people and vessels of brass. Tyre was the merchant city of the world at that time, an ancient commercial metropolis and great trading city carrying on wide trade in merchandise. Its wide trade is why men of Tyre brought in fish and all manner of ware and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem, and its seaborne commerce and role as a central market illustrate the picture of a great trading city. The verse stands in the lamentation over Tyre in Ezekiel 26-28, which predicts the utter ruin of Tyre. It belongs also to the prophecy concerning other nations and to the prophecies of other nations in Ezekiel 25-31, in which Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt pass under the prophet's vision.

Prophesied Doom and Fulfillment

The verse stands in the prophecy foretelling the destruction of Tyre and Sidon. It belongs to the lamentation over Tyre in Ezekiel 26-28, which predicts the utter ruin of Tyre. Tyre, the ancient commercial metropolis and great commercial city, would be captured by Nebuchadnezzar and utterly destroyed. Its former site would be left as a place for spreading nets in the sea, a prophesied fate illustrated by its ruins.

Tyre's prophesied ruin is set forth as an example of fulfilled prophecy. It stands among the prophecies concerning other nations in Ezekiel 25-31, in which Ammon, Moab, Tyre, and Egypt pass under the prophet's vision, remarkable prophecies whose fulfillment is evident today. The setting carries moral instruction about the judgment of cities that forget and defy God. Proud cities cannot escape the consequences of their wickedness, and warnings of their coming doom may be ignored until judgment falls.

The chapter reveals the spirit of merchandise that possessed ancient Tyre, whose traffickers were found everywhere dealing in every commodity in which men may deal, even to the bodies and souls of men. That commercialism overrides honor and integrity, seeks to possess all nations and gather all commodities to itself, forgets God and makes gold its god. It made Tyre so corrupt and exalted that God humbled her. The same traffic will be found in great Babylon, the modern Tyre, which is not one city but a federation taking in all the earth. When that great combination falls its individual merchants will lament that in one hour so great riches is made desolate.

Doctrine and Present Application

The Hebrew word behind persons of men is nephesh, which is usually rendered soul. Here it is rendered persons, and it denotes living human persons or human beings traded alongside vessels of bronze. To read souls of men in its place preserves the sense, establishing that soul can mean a person.

Tyre was the merchant city of the world in its day, carrying on wide trade in merchandise of every kind. That breadth of commerce accounts for men of Tyre bringing in fish and all manner of ware and selling on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem. The same portrait of Tyre as a great trading city fits San Francisco, whose seaborne commerce and standing as a central market for the West mirror the trade and wealth of Tyre.