Isaiah 23:10

10 Pass by as a river from thy land, O daughter of Tarshish; for thou shalt have no more strength.

Isaiah 23:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 23:10

Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish,
&c.] Or, "of the sea", as the Vulgate Latin; meaning Tyre, which was situated in the sea, and did, as it were, spring from it, and was fortified by it, and supported by ships of merchandise on it, from various places; but now, being about to be destroyed, the inhabitants of it are called upon to pass through it, and get out of it as fast as they could, even as swiftly as a river runs, and in great abundance or multitudes. Kimchi thinks the Tyrians are bid to pass to the daughter of Tarshish, that is, to Tarshish itself, to make their escape out of their own land, and flee thither for safety; this the accents will not admit of, there being an "athnach" upon the word "river"; rather the merchants of Tarshish, that were in Tyre, are exhorted to depart to their own land with all possible haste, lest they should be involved in its ruin; though the Targum inclines to the other sense,

``pass out of thy land, as the waters of a river flee to a province of the sea:''

[there is] no more strength;
in Tyre, to defend themselves against the enemy, to protect their trade, and the merchants that traded with them; or, "no more girdle" F5; about it; no more girt about with walls, ramparts, and other fortifications, or with soldiers and shipping, or with the sea, with which it was encompassed, while an island, but now no more, being joined to the continent by the enemy. Some think, because girdles were a part of merchandise, ( Proverbs 31:24 ) , that this is said to express the meanness and poverty of the place, that there was not so much as a girdle left in it; rather that it was stripped of its power and authority, of which the girdle was a sign; see ( Isaiah 22:21 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (dwe xzm Nya) "nulla est zona amplius", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "non est cingulum amplius", Cocceius.

Isaiah 23:10 In-Context

8 Who has decreed this against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honourable of the earth?
9 The LORD of the hosts has purposed it to stain the pride of all glory and to bring down all those who are exalted in the earth.
10 Pass by as a river from thy land, O daughter of Tarshish; for thou shalt have no more strength.
11 He stretched out his hand over the sea; he shook the kingdoms; the LORD commanded upon Canaan that her strength should be weakened.
12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon; arise, pass over to Chittim, and even there thou shalt have no rest.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010