What is the meaning of Isaiah 23:3? On the great waters Isaiah paints Tyre as a city literally sitting “on the great waters.” The phrase draws our eyes to the Mediterranean Sea, the highway of ancient commerce. Picture harbors buzzing with ships—exactly what Ezekiel 27:3-4 describes: “Your domain was on the high seas; your builders perfected your beauty.” Life, influence, and wealth all flowed to Tyre by water. Psalm 107:23 notes that “others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters,” reminding us that the sea was the lifeline of global exchange. God’s word is underscoring Tyre’s strategic location and dependence on maritime routes. Came the grain of Shihor “Shihor” points to the eastern branch of the Nile near Egypt’s border. Jeremiah 2:18 links the same river with Egypt’s resources, asking Israel, “What have you gained by going to Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor?” Think of barges laden with sacks of grain moving north along the coast. Tyre didn’t farm that grain; it funneled it. The text stresses the literal arrival of Egyptian produce into Tyrian warehouses, fulfilling Joshua 13:3’s mention of “the Shihor on the east of Egypt.” The harvest of the Nile Egypt’s harvest was legendary. Deuteronomy 11:10 contrasts the fertile Nile valley with Israel’s land; Genesis 41:56-57 shows nations flocking to Egypt for food during famine. That same abundance is in view here. God uses the imagery to highlight how much of Tyre’s prosperity rested on someone else’s fields—specifically, the “harvest of the Nile.” Was the revenue of Tyre All that grain translated into cash for Tyre. Ezekiel 27:17 lists “wheat from Minnith and flour” among the goods Tyre sold. The city thrived as a middleman: buying low, selling high, taxing every transfer. Revelation 18:11-15 later echoes this pattern when it speaks of merchants weeping over a fallen commercial power. Isaiah’s line tells us plainly that Tyre’s ledgers were written in Egyptian grain. She was the merchant of the nations Tyre wasn’t satisfied with local trade; she aimed for global reach. Isaiah’s wording recalls Ezekiel 27:33, “When your wares went out to sea, you satisfied many nations.” From Spain’s silver to Arabia’s spices, Tyre brokered it all. In doing so she became the archetype of worldly commerce—so much so that Revelation 18 picks up the same language for the end-times Babylon, whose merchants mourn her fall. summary Isaiah 23:3 pictures Tyre as the bustling hub of Mediterranean trade. Ships bring Egyptian grain (“the grain of Shihor,” “the harvest of the Nile”) straight to her harbors. Tyre converts that incoming produce into massive profit, earning the title “merchant of the nations.” The verse reminds us that earthly prosperity often rests on fragile foundations; God alone controls the seas, the harvest, and the fortunes of every nation. |
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