"Howl, You Ships of Tarshish!"

"Under the title,  "The pronouncement of Tyre,"  Isaiah  declares:  "Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it has been despoiled from being a port, from being a  place to enter in."  (Isaiah 23:1a)  Tarshish is believed  to have been a part of Spain, far from Tyre in the eastern Mediterranean.  Still, the Phoenicians were  expert seamen, and their ships were large and seaworthy.  Some historians believe that the Phoenicians were the first to notice the link between the moon and the tides and to use astronomy as a navigational aid.  So the long distance from Tyre to Tarshish was not obstacle to them. 

In Isaiah's day, distant Tarshish is  a market for Tyre, perhaps the main source of her wealth during par of her history.  Spain has mines rich with deposits of silver, iron, tin, and other metals.  (Compare Jeremiah 10:9; Ezekiel 27:12)  "Ships of Tarshish," likely ships from Tyre trading with Tarshish, will have good reason  to "howl," lamenting the destruction of their home port.

How will mariners at sea learn of the downfall of Tyre?  Isaiah answers:  "From the land  of Kittim it has been revealed to them."  (Isaiah 23:1b)   "The land of Kittim" likely refers to the island of Cyprus, about 60 miles west of the Phoenician coast.  This is the last stop for the eastbound ships from Tarshish before they arrive at Tyre. Hence, the sailors  will receive news of the overthrow of their beloved home port when they make a stopover in Cyprus.  What a shock for them!  Grief-stricken, they will "howl" in dismay. 

Dismay will also be felt by the people of the Phoenician seacoast. The prophet says:  "Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast land.  The merchants from Sidon, the ones crossing over the sea-they have filled you.  And on many waters has been the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, her revenue; and it cam to be the profit of the nations."  (Isaiah 23:2, 3)  The "inhabitants of the coast land"-Tyre's neighbors-will be silent in utter amazement at the calamitous fall of Tyre.  Who are "the merchants from Sidon" who "have filled " these  inhabitants, making them rich? Tyre was originally a colony of the seaport city of Sidon, just 22 miles to the north.  On her coins, Sidon describes herself as the mother of Tyre.  Although Tyre has eclipsed Sidon in wealthy, she is still a "daughter of Sidon," and her inhabitants still call themselves Sidonians.  (Isaiah 23:12)  Hence, the expression "the merchants from Sidon" probably refers to the commercial inhabitants of Tyre.

Next time: Conclusion of  "Howl, Your Ships of Tarshish!"

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000