Who is the "prince of Tyre" mentioned in Ezekiel 28:1? Text of the Oracle “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, “This is what the Lord GOD says: Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are a man and not a god, though you have set your heart as the heart of a god…”’ (Ezekiel 28:1-2). Historical Setting of Ezekiel 26–29 • Date: “In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month” (Ezekiel 26:1) = April 23, 587 BC (Ussher: 3414 AM). • Jerusalem has not yet fallen (586 BC). Judah’s exiles hear of Tyre’s self-secure trading empire amid Babylon’s advance. • Tyre: an island-fortress off Phoenicia’s coast, famed for purple dye, cedar exports, and temples of Melqart (Herodotus 2.44). Identity of the Contemporary Ruler 1. Ithobaal III (591–573 BC) – Josephus, Against Apion 1.21, lists him as king during Nebuchadnezzar’s 13-year siege. – Babylonian Siege Tablets (BM 82-7-14, B/2001 = “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, camped against Tyre”). – Likely senior “king,” leaving a son or nephew as co-regent nāgîd addressed by Ezekiel. 2. Baal II (also written “Baal-mazzer”) suggested by the Greek historians Menander of Ephesus (cited in Josephus, Ant. 8.5.3). He may likewise have had a crown-prince functioning as governor of the island citadel. Because Ezekiel later speaks separately to “the king of Tyre” (v. 12), the nīgîd is best identified as the crown-prince or co-regent who publicly claimed divinity while the elder monarch still lived. Distinction Between “Prince” (vv. 1-10) and “King” (vv. 11-19) • The prince oracle condemns a visible, living human ruler (“you will die the death of the uncircumcised,” v. 10). • The king oracle widens into cosmic imagery—Eden, the anointed cherub, the mount of God—unmasking the demonic pride energizing Tyre’s dynasty (compare Isaiah 14:12-15). • Scripture thus recognizes both an earthly office-holder and the spiritual power behind him without contradiction (cf. Daniel 10:13, 20). Content of the Charge • Intellectual pride: “Your heart is proud.” • Theological blasphemy: “I am a god.” In Phoenician liturgy, the king often bore epithets of Melqart. • Commercial arrogance: “By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth” (v. 5). Prophecy and Historical Fulfilment • Nebuchadnezzar’s siege (587–574 BC) exhausted Tyre’s resources (Josephus, Ant. 10.11.1). • Babylonian King List No. 34 records tribute from Tyre dated to Nebuchadnezzar’s 37th year. • The prince “brought down to the pit” (v. 8) parallels Babylonian practice of executing or deporting royal hostages (cf. Jeremiah 52:11). • Later destruction by Alexander the Great (332 BC) completed Ezekiel 26:4-14’s “scraping of dust” and causing it “a bare rock”; archaeologists still see his causeway today. Archaeological Corroboration • The Amarna Letters (EA 147–152, c. 1350 BC) show Tyre’s rulers already calling themselves “servant of the king” (Pharaoh), illustrating the nāgîd/melek distinction. • A Phoenician royal inscription from Byblos (KAI 10) uses mlk and ngd side-by-side. • Underwater excavations by the University of Haifa (2016-2023) reveal fortifications matching Ezekiel’s “heart of the seas” phrase. • Cylinder Seal of Tyrian merchant, Louvre AO 19, depicts king seated as a deity—iconographic support for Ezekiel’s charge of self-deification. New Testament Echoes • Acts 12:21-23: Herod Agrippa accepts divine praise and is struck down—an historical replay of Ezekiel 28’s principle. • Revelation 18:11-19: lament over Babylon the Great echoes the merchants’ wailing over Tyre (Ezekiel 27). • Matthew 11:21-22: Jesus warns Chorazin and Bethsaida that Tyre would have repented—affirming the historicity of Tyre’s judgment. Practical Application • Examine personal and national pride: do we credit ourselves for gifts God provides? • Guard leadership roles: authority is stewardship, not entitlement to divine status. • Proclaim the gospel where affluence tempts self-sufficiency; Tyre’s downfall preaches repentance. Summary The “prince of Tyre” in Ezekiel 28:1 is the contemporary crown-prince or co-regent of the Phoenician city-state—most plausibly a son of Ithobaal III—who arrogantly claimed divinity amid Babylon’s siege. Ezekiel indicts his pride, predicts his humiliating death, and sets forth a typological pattern exposing the satanic root of human self-deification. The prophecy meshes flawlessly with known history, archaeology, and theological doctrine, underscoring Scripture’s reliability and God’s sovereign rule over every earthly ruler. |
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