Isaiah 23: Difference between revisions

Isaiah 23
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The Great Isaiah Scroll, the best preserved of the biblical scrolls found at Qumran from the second century BC, contains all the verses in this chapter.
Book	Book of Isaiah
Category	Nevi'im
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	23

Isaiah 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.^[1][2] This book contains the prophecies spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and is a part of the Book of the Prophets.^[3][4] This and the previous chapter form one prophecy on Moab.^[5]

• The original text is written in Hebrew language.
• This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Some most ancient manuscripts containing this chapter in Hebrew language:

• Masoretic Text (10th century)
• Dead Sea Scrolls: (2nd century BC)^[6][7]
  • 1QIsa^a: complete^[6]
  • 1QIsa^b: extant: verses 1‑5^[6]
  • 4QIsa^a (4Q55): extant: verses 1‑12^[6]
  • 4QIsa^c (4Q57): extant: verses 8‑18^[6]

Ancient translations in Koine Greek:

• Septuagint (3rd century BC)
• Theodotion version (~AD 180)

This chapter can be grouped into:

• Isaiah 23:1–18 = Proclamation Against Tyre

The 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.^[8]

• "Tyre" —Hebrew, Tsur, that is, "Rock."^[5]
• "Tarshish": refers to a city or country in Spain (Ταρτησσὸς Tartēssos), and was the most celebrated emporium to which the Phoenicians traded. It is mentioned by Diod. Sic., v. 35-38; Strabo, iii. 148; Pliny, "Nat. Hist." iii. 3. According to Jeremiah 10:9, it exported silver; according to Ezekiel 27:12, Ezekiel 27:25, it exported silver, iron, tin, and lead, to the Tyrian market. In this chapter Isaiah 23:1, Isaiah 23:6, Isaiah 23:10, it is represented as an important Phoenician or Tyrian colony. All the circumstances agree with the supposition that "Tartessus" in Spain is the place "here" referred to. The name 'Tartessus' (Ταρτησσὸς Tartēssos) is derived from the Hebrew תרשׁישׁ tarshiysh by a change simply in the pronunciation (see Bochart, "Geo. Sacra," iii. 7, and John D. Michaelis, "Spicileg. Geo. Heb." i.-82-103).^[9]
• "No entering in" - No harbor; no port; where the ships could remain, and with which they could continue to trade. Tyre was once better situated for commerce, and had greater natural advantages, than any port in the Mediterranean. Those advantages have, however, to a great extent passed away, and natural causes combine to confirm the truth of the divine predictions that it should cease to be a place of commerce. The merchandise of India, which was once conveyed overland through Babylon and Palmyra, and which found its natural outlet at Tyre, is now carried around the Cape of Good Hope, and will never again be restored to its old channel. Besides, Tyre itself, which once had so fine a harbor, has ceased to be a safe haven for large vessels. Robinson (George) says of its harbor, in 1830, 'It is a small circular basin, now quite filled up with sand and broken columns, leaving scarcely space enough for small boats to enter. The few fishing boats that belong to the place are sheltered by some rocks to the westward of the island.' ("Travels in Syria and Palestine," vol. i. p. 269). Shaw, who visited Tyre in 1738, says of the harbor, 'I visited several creeks and inlets, in order to discover what provision there might have been formerly made for the security of their vessels. Yet, notwithstanding that Tyre was the chief maritime power of this country, I could not discover the least token of either "cothon" or harbor that could have been of extraordinary capacity. The coasting ships, indeed, still and a tolerably good shelter from the northern winds, under the southern shore, but are obliged immediately to return when the winds change to the west or south; so that there must have been some better station than this for their security and reception. In the N. N. E. part, likewise, of the city, we see the traces of a safe and commodious basin, lying within the walls; but which, at the same time, is very small, scarce forty yards in diameter. Yet even this port, small as it is at present, is, notwithstanding, so choked up with sand and rubbish, that the boats of those poor fishermen who now and then visit this renowned emporium, can, with great difficulty, only be admitted' ("Travels," pp. 330, 331. Ed. fol. Oxon. 1738). Dr. Robin son says of the port of Tyre, 'The inner port Dr basin on the north was formerly enclosed by a wall, running from the north end of the island in a curve toward the main land. Various pieces and fragments of this wall yet remain, sufficient to mark its course; but the port itself is continually filling up more and more with sand, and now-a-days boats only can enter it. Indeed, our host informed us, that even within his own recollection, the water covered the open place before his own house, which at present is ten or twelve rods from the sea, and is surrounded with buildings; while older people remember, that vessels formerly anchored where the shore now is' ("Bib. Researches," vol. iii. p. 397).^[9]

• Related Bible parts: 1 Kings 5, Jeremiah 47, Joel 3, Amos 1

• Isaiah 23 Original Hebrew with Parallel English

• Isaiah 23 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate