Ezekiel 27:12
“Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse doesn't just list metals; it reveals that even the world's most valuable raw materials were considered "wares" offered to Tyre, framing the mighty city not as a buyer, but as the ultimate recipient and center of global commerce. This emphasizes Tyre's immense power and influence, positioning it as the hub to which all these rich resources flowed.
Ezekiel is detailing the extensive reach of Tyre's trade and the vast array of goods it imported and exported. This verse focuses on Tarshish, likely an ancient trading center in Spain, known for its abundant mineral wealth. The prophet lists the metals Tarshish provided, highlighting the global network Tyre relied on for its prosperity, a network that will soon face divine judgment.
We read about Tarshish trading with Tyre, but what does this tell us about Tyre's vast influence and the world God sees?
Ezekiel 27:12 names Tarshish as a key trading partner, bringing valuable metals like silver, iron, tin, and lead to Tyre. While many scholars pinpoint Tarshish to a region in ancient Spain (Tartessus), the ancient commentators also suggest connections to Britain for tin, highlighting Tyre's extensive trade network.
A World of Exchange
This verse isn't just about raw materials. It paints a picture of a globalized economy long before our modern era. Tyre, a major maritime power, was the hub. Nations like Tarshish, with their rich mineral resources, weren't just customers; they were essential links in Tyre's supply chain. This incredible wealth and reach underscore Tyre's prominence but also set the stage for God's judgment on its pride.
Ezekiel describes nations trading with Tyre, but is it really a two-way street of equal exchange?
The language in Ezekiel 27 can be a bit tricky. While verse 12 says Tarshish 'traded' with Tyre, other parts of the chapter, and the scholarly context, suggest a different dynamic. The imagery often portrays nations bringing their 'wares' to Tyre, not as equal partners in a barter, but more like subjects paying tribute or dependents offering gifts.
God's Perspective on Commerce
Scholars point out that the Hebrew word often translated as 'fairs' or 'wares' in this chapter can also imply something 'left with another in place of something else given in exchange.' This suggests that Tyre, in God's eyes, was not simply engaging in fair trade. She was accumulating wealth and power, and the 'trade' was a mechanism through which nations enriched her, often to their own detriment or her own inflated sense of self-sufficiency. God sees beyond the surface of economic transactions to the underlying motives and power dynamics.
Understand the original words
Tarshish · Hebrew Noun
A term used to describe a location at the edge of the known world, often associated with maritime trade, distant resources, and, in prophetic literature, the reach of God's judgment or the spread of the Gospel.
hon · Hebrew Noun
In a biblical context, wealth (or riches) often refers to material possessions or abundance, which are recognized as gifts from God but can serve as a temptation toward self-reliance and idolatry.
Ezekiel's prophecy highlights Tyre's vast trading network, with Tarshish (in ancient Spain) being a key partner supplying essential metals, demonstrating how even in its later years, Tyre's economic influence stretched across the known world.
c. 1100 BC
Phoenician Trade Routes Expand
Phoenicians, including Tyrians, establish extensive maritime trade networks across the Mediterranean, reaching as far as Spain.
c. 800-600 BC
Tartessus Flourishes in Spain
The city of Tartessus in southern Spain becomes a major hub for metal trade, particularly silver, iron, tin, and lead, in exchange for other goods.
c. 585 BC
Siege of Tyre Begins
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon begins a long siege of the island city of Tyre, a period that severely impacted its trade and power.
c. 573 BC
Fall of Tyre
After a 13-year siege, Tyre falls to the Babylonians. This marks a significant blow to its independence and dominance in trade.
c. 550 BC
This passage speaks of silver and gold being brought from Tarshish, directly paralleling the metals mentioned in Ezekiel's description of Tyre's trade.
1 Kings 10:22This verse mentions ships of Tarshish bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks, highlighting Tarshish as a major trade hub for precious commodities, much like in Ezekiel's lament.
Isaiah 23:1-14This chapter also prophesies against Tyre, detailing its vast trade networks and eventual downfall, providing a broader context for the specific trade relationships Ezekiel describes, including those with distant lands like Tarshish.
Jonah 1:1-3Jonah attempts to flee to Tarshish by ship, indicating its status as a distant, possibly well-known port, and the sea routes used for extensive trade that would have connected it to regions like Phoenicia.
bensonEzekiel 27:12: "Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs."
Ezekiel 27:12-15 . Tarshish was thy merchant — Trafficked with thee. Of Tarshish, see note on Isaiah 2:16 ; Isaiah 23:1 . Javan, Tubal, and Meshech — By Javan is to be understood Greece, in which sense Alexander is styled king of Javan, or Greece, Daniel 8:21 . So the LXX. translate it here, and in that place of Daniel. And all Greece, except P…
barnesEzekiel 27:12: "Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs."
The thread broken at Ezekiel 27:8 is taken up, and the various nations are enumerated which traded with Tyre. Ezekiel 27:12 Tarshish - Tartessus in Spain (marginal references). Spain was rich in the metals named. Merchant - Especially applied to those who traveled about with caravans to carry on trade (see Genesis 23:16). Fairs - Or, "wares" Ez…
The verse doesn't just list metals; it reveals that even the world's most valuable raw materials were considered "wares" offered to Tyre, framing the mighty city not as a buyer, but as the ultimate recipient and center of global commerce. This emphasizes Tyre's immense power and influence, positioning it as the hub to which all these rich resources flowed.
Ezekiel is detailing the extensive reach of Tyre's trade and the vast array of goods it imported and exported. This verse focuses on Tarshish, likely an ancient trading center in Spain, known for its abundant mineral wealth. The prophet lists the metals Tarshish provided, highlighting the global network Tyre relied on for its prosperity, a network that will soon face divine judgment.
Ezekiel is detailing the extensive reach of Tyre's trade and the vast array of goods it imported and exported. This verse focuses on Tarshish, likely an ancient trading center in Spain, known for its abundant mineral wealth. The prophet lists the metals Tarshish provided, highlighting the global network Tyre relied on for its prosperity, a network that will soon face divine judgment.
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Persian Hegemony over Phoenicia
Following Babylon's decline, Phoenicia, including Tyre, comes under the dominion of the Persian Empire, continuing its role as a trading center.
c. 500 BC— this verse
Tyre's Continued Commercial Reach
Despite political shifts, Tyre maintains its vast commercial network, trading with distant lands like Tarshish (likely Tartessus in Spain) for valuable metals.
332 BC
Alexander the Great Captures Tyre
Alexander the Great besieges and captures Tyre after a determined resistance, marking the end of its independence and a shift in regional power.
"“Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares." — The verse doesn't just list metals; it reveals that even the world's most valuable raw materials were considered "wares" offered to Tyre, framing the mighty city not as a buyer, but as the ultimate…
