Commentary on Prov Ecc SoS Isa Jer Lam Eze Dan, Ezekiel · Chapter 27
CHAP. XXVII.
Ver. 1. THe Word of the Lord] See on chap. 18.1.
Ver. 2. Take up a lamentation for Tyrus] Fitly here compared to a goodly ſhip:Apud Horat. Reſp. navis nomine ſ…gnificatur. Carm. lib. 1. Od. 14. and her deſolation to a diſmal ſhipwrack. Theodorets note on the text is, that when we correct ſinners or threaten them, it ſhould be done with commiſeration and compaſſion. Here we have Gods own example for it: Ille dolet quoties cogitur eſſe ferex.
Ver. 3. O thou that art ſituate as the entry of the ſea] As now the City of Venice is, —Mediâ inſuperabilis undâ. Environed with her embracing Neptune, to whom (as the ceremony of throwing a ring into the ſea implyeth, ſaith one) ſhe marrieth her ſelf with yearly nuptials. But hath ſhe ſo learned Chriſt? and doth not the Nebuchadnezzar of Conſtantinople now threaten her ſore?
Thou haſt ſaid, I am of perfect beauty] So that nothing can be added to me: I am ocellus orbis. But who made thee to differ? is not all thy beauty borrowed? will not this thy bulging wall down ere long?
Ver. 4. Thy borders are in the midſt of the ſea] Wherewith thou art compaſſed and crowned as it were, Iſa. 23.8. 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 it of an Iſland, a Peniland, &c.
Lib. 18. Lib. 8. Ant. cap. 2.Thy builders] The Sidonians, ſaith Juſtin; 240, years before Solomons Temple was built, ſaith Joſephus.
Ver. 5. They have made all thy ſhipboards] Of the moſt precious materials, which with thy rich freight did incite and entice the Archpirate, to ſurprize and make prize of thee.
Ver. 6. Of the oakes of Baſhan] Thoſe very beſt of the beſt. See ver. 5.
Out of the Iſles of Chittim] i. e. Of Greece and the Archipelago, Gen. 10.4. far ſet, and dear-bought. Benches and decks might well have been made of worſe matters: ſed opulentiam fere ſequitur ſuperbia, luxus, libido, &c. wealth breeds ſwelth, which is a dangerous ſymptom (as in the body, ſo) in the mind too.
—Pulcherrima regnaClaudlan.
Luxuries vitiis, odiiſque ſuperbia vertit.
Ver. 7. Fine linnen] When courſe Canvas might have ſerved the turn as well.
From Egypt] Which is held to be the fineſt, whiteſt, and coſtlieſt. O this unneceſſary bravery. Luxus eſt anteambulo ruinae: how many hath it utterly undone? When a man ſhall ſee a cloak embroidered over with Woods and Parkes and Lordſhips, and lined with obligations and bonds and ſtatutes, will not the beggar ſoon catch ſuch a Prodigal by the back?
From the Iſles of Eliſha] i. e. Of Italy, ſaith the Chaldee Paraphraſt: of Greece, ſay others: the Fortunate Iſlands, ſay ſome; which are called the Elyſian Iſlands, for their pleaſure and plenty.
Was that which covered thee] The Poop of thy ſhips. Of Cleopatra's ſumptuous ſhip or barge, the Poop whereof was of gold, the oares ſilver, the ſailes purple, &c. See Plutarch in Anton.
Ver. 8. The inhabitants of Zidon] Famous all the world over for their skill at ſea, and otherwiſe.
Thy wiſe-men—were thy Pilots] Wiſe they had need to be, that ſit at the ſtern of a ſtate. Let them not therefore be ignorant, or idle, or otherwiſe faulty, leſt they mar all: let them be active Argonautes. They have their names here in the Hebrew from the ropes of the ſhip, which they as Pilots, muſt skilfully order: ſhifting ſailes according to the wind. Counſel alſo, in that tongue, hath its name from the ſame root.foreign
Ver, 9. The ancients of Gibael] Great Architects, 1 King. 5.18, but perſecutors of the Church, Pſal. 83.7.
Thy calkers] Or ſtoppers of chinkes, ſtuppa, pice, aliaeque materia, when the ſhip ſpringeth a leak.
Ver. 10. They ſet forth thy comelineſſe] They were to thee both for muniment, and for ornament.
Ver. 11. And the Gammadims] Theſe were not Pygmies, as the Vulgar rendreth it, nor Medes as Symmachus, nor, Cappadocians, as the Chaldee Paraphraſt:Nat. Hiſt. l. 2. c. 91. but Syrians of a City called Gamalla; whereof ſee Pliny.
Ver. 12. Tarſhiſh] i. e. The Carthaginians, ſay ſome: the Citizens of Tarſus another colony of the Tyrians, ſay others.
They traded in thy Faires] Heb. in thy derelictions; becauſe they left their commodities behind them, taking others in exchange: for — Non omnis fert omnia tellus.
Ver. 13. Javan, Tubal, & Meſhec] i. e. Grecians, Spaniards, & Moſcovites or Cappadocians, who were naturally of a ſervile diſpoſition:Lib. 1. cap. 6. they were anciently called Meſchines, ſaith Joſephus, of Meſhech the ſon of Japhet, Gen. 10.2.
They traded the perſons of men] i. e. They bought and ſold ſlaves, as now they do in Turkey.
Ver. 14. They of the houſe of Togarmah] i. e. The Germans, ſaith the Targum, who are ſtill excellent horſemen. The Jews call the Turkes the houſe of Togarmah.
Ver. 15. The men of Dedan] Arabians, Gen. 10.7. The Septuagint render them Rhodians.
Hornes of Ivory] The Elephants two great Tuſhes, crooked as hornes.
And ebeny] Hebenum, which hath affinity with Eben, which ſignifieth a ſtone: for Ebony is a wood hard and heavy as a ſtone. The Chaldee rendreth it, peacocks.
Ver. 16. The wares of thy making] Heb. workes. The Tyrians were ingenious workmen, as Hiram, whom Solomon therefore ſo admired that he called him his Father.
And Agate] Or Chryſopraſe, or Chryſtal, or Carbuncle, or Onyx. Hierom confeſſeth that he knoweth not what to call it.
Deut. 32.14.Ver. 17. Wheat of Minnith] Where the beſt grew, even the kidneyes of wheat, as Moſes hath it. Confer Judg. 11.33. Act. 12.20.
Pannag] Rozin or balſam, whereof Judaea yeelded the beſt in the whole world.
For the wine of Helbon] i. e. Of Aleppe, ſay ſome, famous then for wine, now for milk, whence alſo it hath its name: for the Turkes call milk Alep: and if the Via lactea were on earth, it would be found there, ſaith one.
Graecus vagabundus. Va…ab.Ver. 19. Dan alſo] Anciently called Laiſh, Judg. 18. Javan or the Grecians were great travellers.
Going to and fro] Diſcurſatory. Horat.Impiger extremos currit mercator ad Indos. See Notes on Pſal. 38.11.
Ver. 20. In precious cloaths] Heb. cloaths of freedom: ſuch as are worn by Gallants and Magnifico's.
Ad vehiculum.For charrets] Or ſaddles, or trappings.
Ver. 21. They occupied with thee in lambs] Heb. they were the merchants of thy hand, or at thy hand: for cattle could not be carried far.
In theſe were they thy Merchants] Merchants are as uſeful in a Common-wealth, as Mechanikes, for exporting and importing commodities. Only they muſt obſerve the Goſpel-ſtandard, Whatever ye would that men ſhould do to you, do ye the ſame to them.
Oecol.Ver. 22. The Merchants of Sheba and Raamah] i. e. Ethiopians and Indians. Erat enim Tyrus emporium propemodum totius mundi.
With chief of all ſpices] All aromatical wares. Pliny reports of cinnamon, that in his time a pound of it was worth a thouſand denarii, that is 150. crowns of our mony. Gallen writeth, that it was hard to be found, except in the ſtorehouſes of great Princes.
The tower of Babel was 9164 paces from the ground.Ver. 23. Haran] In Meſopotamia, or Charra in Parthia; where Craſſus was ſlain.
And Channeh] Or Chalne: where the tower of Babel was built nine miles high.
And Eden] Where Paradiſe once was: ſed periit roſae, manſit ſpina.
Chelmad] i. e. Media, ſaith the Paraphraſt.
Ver. 24. In all ſorts of things] In omnibus perfectiſſimis, in the very beſt commodities; whether for worth, or workmanſhip.
Aggravata es.Ver. 25. Thou waſt repleniſhed and made very glorious] Or very heavy: as a ſhip though not top-full, may yet have freight enough to ſink it: ſo had this Metaphorical ſhip Tyrus, enough to ſink it, though not enough to ſatisfie it.
Ver. 26. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters] Narrat Tyri nanfragium. Omnium horū ruinam & rapinam praenunciat.Here beginneth the Prophecy of Tyrus her woful ſhipwrack.
The Eaſt-wind] Called the Mariners miſery. The Chaldees were Eaſt from Tyre, the great wealth whereof ſolicited their poverty to ſet upon them, as the wealth of Cyprus did the Romans.
Ver. 27. Shall fall into the midſt of the ſeas] As a ſhip that ſinketh, and cannot be boyed up again.
Ver. 28. The ſuburbs ſhall ſhake] Or, the waves, or the boats which they throw out of the ſhip. See on chap. 26.10.
Of the cry of thy Pilots] At their Conclamatum eſt: but why did they then ſteer no better? Here we ſee all covet, all looſe.
Ver. 29. And all that handle the …ar] That have eſcaped to land with their lives.
Ver. 30. To be heard againſt thee] Or for thee, or over thee, ver. 31. Rev. 18. 11, 15, 16.
Ver. 31. And they ſhall make] Maerebunt induti ſaccis, inducto calvitio. If this had been for ſin as it is offenſivum Dei, & averſivum à Deo, then it had been right.
Ver. 32. What City] An elegant Mimeſis.
Like the deſtroyed] Quae obmutuit, like her that loſt her voyce and life together.
Ver. 33. When thy wares] Good things are faireſt on the back-ſide: the worth of them is beſt known by the want of them. Our eye ſeeth not things but at a diſtance.
Ver. 34. In the depths of the waters] i. e. In the overflowing of the wars, ver. 26.
Ver. 35. They ſhall be troubled in their countenance] i. e. Appaled and diſpirited.
Ver. 36. The Merchants ſhall hiſſe at thee] Either as aſtonied at thee,A Lapide. or rather as deriding thee: like as he who ſeeth another fall into the dirt, firſt pittieth him, and then jeareth him. See the like Jer. 19.8. & 49.17.
Thou ſhalt be a terrour] Becauſe God hath hanged thee up in gibbets as it were. Or thou waſt a terrour once, but now a ſcorn.
And never ſhalt be any more] See on chap. 26.14.