Ezekiel 27:4

Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, Fixed by the Lord himself, and which could never be removed.

Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

Weak borders, which an enemy easily breaks through, are a great defect in a state; well, Tyre, thou art well secured here, thine are in the sea that surrounds and secureth thee. Thy builders; thy first founders, whoever they were; Agenor king of Phoenice chose wisely to build a city in safety: or by builders may be meant those who in aftertimes did add to the first foundation: these were masters of their art, and added this to the natural strength and beauty of the place; thus thou art perfected at home.

Ezekiel 27:4 Thy borders [are] in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.Ver. 4. Thy borders are in the midst of the sea.] Wherewith thou art compassed and crowned, as it were, being half a mile distant from the continent, till first Nebuchadnezzar, and then Alexander the Great, by casting earth, wood, and stones into the sea, made of it an island, a peninsula, &c. Thy builders.] The Sidonians, saith Justin; 240 years before Solomon’ s temple was built, saith Josephus. Lib. xviii., lib. viii. Ant., cap. 2.

Verse 4. Thy builders have perfected thy beauty.] Under the allegory of a beautiful ship, the prophet, here and in the following verses, paints the glory of this ancient city. Horace describes the commonwealth of Rome by the same allegory, and is as minute in his description, Carm. lib. i. Od. xiv: - O navis, referent in mare te novi Fluctus? O quid agis? Fortiter occupa Portum. Nonne video, ut Nudum remigio latus, Et malus celeri saucius Africo, Antennaeque gemant? ac sine funibus Vix durare carinae Possint imperiosius AEquor! non tibi sunt integra lintea; Non Di, quos iterum pressa votes malo: Quamvis Pontica pinus, Sylvae filia nobilis, Jactes et genus, et nomen inutile Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus Fidit. Tu, nisi, ventis Debes ludibrium, cave. Unhappy vessel, shall the waves again Tumultuous bear thee to the faithless main? What, would thy madness thus with storms to sport? Cast firm your anchor in the friendly port. Behold thy naked decks, the wounded mast, And sail-yards groan beneath the southern blast. Nor, without ropes, thy keel can longer brave The rushing fury of the imperious wave: Torn are thy sails; thy guardian gods are lost, Whom you might call, in future tempests tost. What, though majestic in your pride you stood, A noble daughter of the Pontic wood, You now may vainly boast an empty name, Of birth conspicuous in the rolls of fame. The mariner, when storms around him rise, No longer on a painted stern relies. Ah! yet take heed, lest these new tempests sweep, In sportive rage, thy glories to the deep. FRANCIS. I give this as a striking parallel to many passages in this chapter.

4. borders … midst of the seas] lit. heart of the seas, a phrase which appears to mean not “far out at sea,” but, in the deep waters of the sea, ch. Ezekiel 28:2; Ezekiel 28:8; Exodus 15:8; Jonah 2:3; Psalms 46:2. The term “borders” seems to mean station, moorings (Ezekiel 27:25). The proud ship was conscious of her beauty. The ship is a figure for the maritime city, the mistress of trade, built upon an ocean rock, as if moored in the sea. The city was without doubt beautiful (ch. Ezekiel 28:12); a similar phrase is used of Jerusalem, Psalms 50:2 (Psalms 48:2); Lamentations 2:15. Ezekiel 27:5-6 the ship’s timbers. made thy ship boards] built thy planks. The word is dual, referring to the two ribs of the ship, corresponding to one another. fir trees of Senir] Or, cypresses. The tree is mentioned as furnishing, along with the cedar, the principal material for building the Temple, 1 Kings 5:8. Senir was the Amorite name of Hermon, which the Sidonians called Sirion (Deuteronomy 3:9). According to Schrader (KAT. on Deuteronomy 3:9; 1 Kings 5:13) both names were used by the Assyrians. The name Hermon possibly signifies “sacred” mountain, being due to its ancient sanctuary. Senir, and Sirion, is supposed to mean “coat of mail.” On “mast” cf. Isaiah 33:23. Whether an actual cedar was ever used to be the mast of “some great ammiral” may be uncertain; the prophet, though more exact than most prophets, is also a poet.

4. Thy borders — Cornill reads, by a little change, the anchorage. Thy builders have perfected thy beauty — Here begins a most beautiful picture of Tyre as a ship.