Tyre; Tyrus

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(rock). The celebrated commercial city of Phoenicia on the Mediterranean coast. It fell to the lot of Asher, but was never conquered (Josh. 19:29²⁹And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib: (Joshua 19:29)). In intimate commercial relation with Hebrews, and King Hiram furnished the artificers and material for the temple and royal houses at Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5.11; 1 Kings 5.1; 7:13; 9:11-14; 1 Chron. 14:1¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house. (1 Chronicles 14:1); 2 Chron. 2:2-18²And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. ³And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. ⁴Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. ⁵And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. ⁶But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? ⁷Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. ⁸Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, ⁹Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great. ¹⁰And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. ¹¹Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. ¹²Huram said moreover, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom. ¹³And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's, ¹⁴The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. ¹⁵Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: ¹⁶And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. ¹⁷And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. ¹⁸And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work. (2 Chronicles 2:2‑18)). The city was denounced by the prophets (Isa. 23:1-17¹The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. ²Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. ³And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. ⁴Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. ⁵As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. ⁶Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. ⁷Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. ⁸Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose trafficers are the honorable of the earth? ⁹The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. ¹⁰Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. ¹¹He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. ¹²And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. ¹³Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. ¹⁴Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. ¹⁵And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. ¹⁶Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. ¹⁷And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. (Isaiah 23:1‑17); Jer. 27:3³And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; (Jeremiah 27:3); Ezek. 26:3-21³Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. ⁴And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. ⁵It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. ⁶And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord. ⁷For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. ⁸He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. ⁹And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. ¹⁰By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. ¹¹With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. ¹²And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. ¹³And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. ¹⁴And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God. ¹⁵Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? ¹⁶Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee. ¹⁷And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! ¹⁸Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. ¹⁹For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; ²⁰When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; ²¹I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 26:3‑21)). It resisted the five-year siege of Shalmaneser and the thirteen-year siege of Nebuchadnezzar, but fell before that of Alexander. Referred to in N. T. (Matt. 11:21-22; 15:21²¹Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. (Matthew 11:21‑22)
²¹Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. (Matthew 15:21); Mark 7:24²⁴And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid. (Mark 7:24)). Paul visited it (Acts 21:3-4³Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. ⁴And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:3‑4)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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Ruins at Tyre

Seaport in Syria, about midway between Sidon and Accho. It was a place of great commerce, sending to the East by land and to the West by the sea. This is shown to have been the case in several of the prophets. It was not conquered by the Israelites, and is first spoken of when its king Hiram sent to David cedar trees with carpenters and masons to build David a house (2 Sam. 5:11¹¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house. (2 Samuel 5:11); 1 Chron. 14:1¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house. (1 Chronicles 14:1)). He also materially assisted Solomon by sending timber and workmen for the temple (1 Kings 5:1¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. (1 Kings 5:1); 2 Chron. 2:3³And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. (2 Chronicles 2:3)). The seamen of Tyre also aided in navigating the ships of Solomon.

One specific charge brought against Tyre is that “they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant” (Amos 1:9⁹Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant: (Amos 1:9)). God said of them, “Ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My goodly pleasant things;” and they had sold the children of Judah to the Grecians (Joel 3:5-6⁵Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: ⁶The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. (Joel 3:5‑6)).

Ezekiel 26:2²Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: (Ezekiel 26:2) shows that Tyre, the merchant city of the world, was the rival of Jerusalem, the city of God: “I shall be replenished now she is laid waste.” So Babylon (compare Ezekiel 27 with Revelation 18) is the rival of the new Jerusalem. God was known in the palaces of Jerusalem—the god of this world in Tyre, there could be gratified the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Hence the destruction of Tyre (Ezek. 28:12-19¹²Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. ¹³Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. ¹⁴Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁵Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. ¹⁶By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁷Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. ¹⁸Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. ¹⁹All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (Ezekiel 28:12‑19)), shows the king of Tyre to be intimately connected with the abuse of creatorial wisdom and beauty through Satan.

Tyre was to be forgotten seventy years (Isa. 23:15¹⁵And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. (Isaiah 23:15)). It is not clear to what time this refers. When it was prophesied that Jerusalem should be destroyed for seventy years “the nations round about” are also included (Jer. 25:9-11⁹Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. ¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. ¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (Jeremiah 25:9‑11)); and Tyre is mentioned as one of the nations that should serve Nebuchadnezzar, and his son, and his son’s son (Jer. 27:2-7²Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, ³And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; ⁴And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; ⁵I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. ⁶And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. ⁷And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. (Jeremiah 27:2‑7)). So that the seventy years of Jerusalem’s captivity and the seventy years of Tyre may have been concurrent or nearly so. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years. Tyre was built partly on the main land and partly on an island. It is not recorded how far Nebuchadnezzar succeeded, but we read that he “got no wages” for his toil; the riches being removed by ships before the city fell (Ezek. 29:18-19¹⁸Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: ¹⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. (Ezekiel 29:18‑19)). After the seventy years of Tyre being forgotten, we read that “her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord” (Isa. 23:17-18¹⁷And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. ¹⁸And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing. (Isaiah 23:17‑18)). This may possibly refer to the fact that Tyre forwarded cedar trees from Lebanon for the building of the second temple (Ezra 3:7⁷They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. (Ezra 3:7)), but we must look to a day yet future for the fulfillment of the prophecy (compare Psa. 45:12¹²And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor. (Psalm 45:12); see also Isa. 23; Jer. 47:4⁴Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. (Jeremiah 47:4); Ezek. 26-28; Hos. 9:13¹³Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer. (Hosea 9:13); Joel 3:4⁴Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; (Joel 3:4); Zech. 9:2-3²And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. ³And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. (Zechariah 9:2‑3)).

Alexander the Great formed a causeway from the main land to the island, and conquered all.

The borders of Tyre were visited by the Lord, and He declared that if the mighty works which had been done in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented (Matt. 11:21-22²¹Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. (Matthew 11:21‑22)). It is now called es Sur, 33° 16' N, with about 5000 inhabitants; but ancient Tyre has disappeared, and is no more.

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Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

to distress