Ezekiel 27:15

15 The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment.

Ezekiel 27:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 27:15

The men of Dedan were thy merchants
Not Dedan in Idumea or Edom, but in Arabia, from Dedan the son of Raamah, ( Genesis 10:7 ) : many isles were the merchandise of thine hands;
that is, many isles took off their manufactures from them, in lieu of what they brought them, which were as follow: they brought thee for a present;
that they might have the liberty of trading in their fairs and markets; or rather for a reward, or as a price, for the goods they had of them: horns of ivory and ebony;
Kimchi reads them as separate things; and which the Targum confirms, "horns, ivory, and ebony"; elks' horns, or horns of goats, as the Targum; and "ivory", or the teeth of elephants; and "ebony", which is a wood of a very black colour, hard and heavy, and of which many things are made. The Targum takes it for the name of a fowl, and renders it peacocks; so Jarchi; see ( 2 Chronicles 9:21 ) , but Ben Melech much better interprets it of a tree, called in Arabia "ebenus". Solinus makes it peculiar to India ^F4; and so Virgil ^F5.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Polyhistor. c. 65.
F5 "----Sola India nigrum fert ebenum.----" Virgil. Georgic. 1. 2.

Ezekiel 27:15 In-Context

13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.

14 Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules.

15 The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment.

16 Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies.

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