Ezekiel 27:5

5 "They have made all your planks of fir trees from ¹Senir; They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

Ezekiel 27:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 27:5

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, ( Deuteronomy 3:9 ) ( 4:48 ) 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 ^F18 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 ^F19 are said to be the first inventors of navigation.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Mytwxl) "tabulata duplicia", Munster; "duas tabulas", Vatablus.
F19 "Prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyros." Catullus.

Ezekiel 27:5 In-Context

3 and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "O Tyre, you have said, 'I am perfect in beauty.'

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

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

6 "Of oaks from Bashan they have made your oars; With ivory they have inlaid your deck of boxwood from the coastlands of Cyprus.

7 "Your sail was of fine embroidered linen from Egypt So that it became your distinguishing mark; Your awning was blue and purple from the coastlands of Elishah.

Cross References

• 1. Deuteronomy 3:9; 1 Chronicles 5:23; Song of Songs 4:8

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "built"