June3] PROCEEDINGS. [1890.
TYRE,By G. A. Simcox, M.A.Isaiah xxiii, 17, 18.
"And it shall come to pass afterthe end of seventy years,
thatthe Lord will visit Tyre,and she shall turnto her hire, and
shallcommitfornicationwithall the kingdoms of the world upon
the face of the earth. Andher merchandise and her hire shall
be holiness to the Lord : it shall not be treasured nor laid up ;
for her merchandise shallbe for those that dwell beforethe Lord,
to eat sufficiently, and for stately clothing."
Theseversessuggest manyquestions. Are they by the author
of 15 and 16? Are they an alternative? Are they an addition?
Does the prophet thinkof the recovery of Tyre afterafflictionby
the Assyrians or the Chaldees? If Isaiah prophesiedagainstTyre,
his prophecy would acquire newmeaning, and might lead later
and lesser prophets to repeat it with additions and alterations
(e.g., a prophet who had threatened Tyre with the fate of the
Chaldeesin the days of Sargon or Sennacherib, mightbe understood
to threaten her with the wrath of the Chaldees in the days of
Nebuchadrezzar,Isaiahxxiii, 13) both in the days of Ezekiel and
in the days whenthe curse pronouncedby Ezekiel had manifestly
run its course. The prosperity of Tyre depended,apartfromits
natural monopolyof purple dye, uponthe enterprise whichhad
createda great entrepot for the overland trade of Asia and the
maritime trade of the Levant. The overland trade was always
at the mercy of continental powers, whocouldstop it, starve it,
or concentrate it on some staple town of their own choice. It
would not be strange if both Assyrians and Chaldees fostered
Carchemishat the expense of Tyre.
Be this as it may, the prophet contemplates a time when
Jerusalemwill have some of the pretention and noneof the re
sources of a capital, and is to be supplied by the ministry of
Tyre. Whenthe trade of Tyre is permitted to revive, Jerusalem
will supply her own needs by taxing it heavily. One puzzle is
how this could be possible ; another how it could be necessary.
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