And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Jump to: Barnes • Benson • BI • Calvin • Cambridge • Clarke • Darby • Ellicott • Expositor's • Exp Dct • Gaebelein • GSB • Gill • Gray • Guzik • Haydock • Hastings • Homiletics • JFB • KD • King • Lange • MacLaren • MHC • MHCW • Parker • Poole • Pulpit • Sermon • SCO • TTB • WES • TSK EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE) 9:1-8 Here are judgements foretold on several nations. While the Macedonians and Alexander's successors were in warfare in these countries, the Lord promised to protect his people. God's house lies in the midst of an enemy's country; his church is as a lily among thorns. God's power and goodness are seen in her special preservation. The Lord encamps about his church, and while armies of proud opposers shall pass by and return, his eyes watch over her, so that they cannot prevail, and shortly the time will come when no exactor shall pass by her any more.And Tyre did build herself a stronghold - She built it for herself, not for God, and trusted to it, not to God, and so its strength brought her the greater fall. The words in Hebrew express yet more. "Tyre" (Zor) literally, "the rock," "built herself mazor, tower," a rock-like fort, as it were, a rock upon exceeding strength, binding her together. . "The walls, 150 feet high and of breadth proportionate, compacted of large stones, embedded in gypsum," seemed to defy an enemy who could only approach her by sea. "In order to make the wall twice as strong they built a second wall ten cubits broad, leaving a space between of five cubits, which they filled with stones and earth." Yet high walls do not fence in only; they also hem in. Mazor is both "a stronghold" and "a siege." Wealth and strength, without God, do but invite and embitter the spoiler and the conqueror."And she heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets - "Though he heap up silver as the dust," Job says, "The King" Job 27:16, Solomon, "made silver in Jerusalem as stones" 2 Chronicles 9:27. Through her manifold commerce she gathered to herself wealth, as abundant as the mire and the dust, and as valueless. "Gold and silver," said a pagan, "are but red and white earth." Its strength was its destruction. Tyre determined to resist Alexander, , "trusting in the strength of the island, and the stores which they had laid up," the strength within and without, of which the prophet speaks. 3. The heathen historian, Diodorus Siculus [17.40], confirms this. "Tyre had the greatest confidence owing to her insular position and fortifications, and the abundant stores she had prepared." New Tyre was on an island seven hundred paces from the shore. As Isaiah's and Ezekiel's (Eze 27:1-36) prophecies were directed against Old Tyre on the mainland and were fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar, so Zechariah's are against New Tyre, which was made seemingly impregnable by a double wall one hundred fifty feet high, as well as the sea on all sides. Tyrus; which was naturally a strong hold, situate on a great rock in the sea.Did build herself a strong hold; fortified herself mightily, and then thought herself impregnable. Heaped up silver; gathered treasure, and laid it up, so that there was no end of it. As the dust: it is a proverbial speech, and speaks the very rich stores of their gold and silver, by which they might buy their peace, or maintain their war. So that here is wisdom, strength, and treasure, the master sinews of war, yet all these cannot profit them in the day of their calamities approaching. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold,.... Tyre was built upon a rock, and was a strong fortress itself, from whence it had its name; and, besides its natural defence, it had a wall one hundred and fifty feet high, and its breadth was answerable to its height (e); but yet, as it could not defend itself against Alexander the great, who took it; so neither against the Gospel of Christ, which found its way into it, and was mighty to pull down strong holds in a spiritual sense: and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets; the riches of these cities, especially Tyre, are often made mention of; they were famous for their wealth, being places of great trade and merchandise; see Isaiah 23:2 all which were to be holiness to the Lord, and for the sufficient feeding and durable clothing of them that dwell before him, Isaiah 23:18 his ministers. (e) Arrian. de Exped. Alex. l. 2. c. 21. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES) 3. a strong hold] There is a paronomasia, or play on the words ‘Tyre’ and ‘stronghold,’ in the Hebrew. The reference is to the strongly fortified position of Tyre, which when Alexander attacked it “was situated on an island, nearly half a mile from the mainland. It was completely surrounded by prodigious walls, the loftiest portion of which on the side fronting the mainland reached a height not less than 150 feet; and notwithstanding his persevering efforts he could not have succeeded in his attempt, if the harbour of Tyre to the north had not been blockaded by the Cyprians, and that to the south by the Phœnicians, thus affording an opportunity to Alexander for uniting the island to the mainland by an enormous artificial mole.” Dict. of Bible, Art. Tyre. “Plurimum fiduciæ Tyro munitionibus insulæ et præparatis rerum copiis.” Diod. Sic. xvii. 40.as the dust] Comp. Job 27:16; 2 Chronicles 9:27. Verse 3. - Tyrus (Zor) did build herself a stronghold (mazor). Wright endeavours to imitate the parouomasia, "Tyre built for herself a tower." It was in her strong fortifications and her amassing of riches that Tyre showed her worldly wisdom. The city was built partly on the mainland, and partly on an island nearly half a mile distant, which rose abruptly out of the water in rocky precipices, and was surrounded with walls a hundred and fifty feet high. The insular portion of the town was that which so long mocked the Macedonian's utmost efforts, which were only successful when he had united the island to the mainland by erecting an enormous mole between them. This causeway has now become an isthmus of some half mile in width, owing to accumulations of sand and debris. As the dust (comp. 2 Chronicles 9:27; Job 27:16). Zechariah 9:3Zechariah 9:2. "And Hamath also, which borders thereon; Tyre and Sidon, because it is very wise. Zechariah 9:3. And Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like dust, and gold like dirt of the streets. Zechariah 9:4. Behold, the Lord will cause it to be taken, and smite its might in the sea, and she will be consumed by fire." Chămâth is appended to Damascus by vegam (and also). Tigbol-bâh is to be taken as a relative clause; and bâh refers to chămâth, and not to 'erets chadrâkh (the land of Hadrach). "Hamath also," i.e., Ἐπιφάνεια on the Orontes, the present Hamah (see at Genesis 10:18), which borders on Damascus, i.e., which has its territory touching the territory of Damascus, sc. will be a resting-place of the burden of Jehovah. The relative clause connects Hamath with Damascus, and separates it from the names which follow. Damascus and Hamath represent Syria. Tyre and Sidon, the two capitals of Phoenicia, are connected again into a pair by the explanatory clause כּי חכמה מאד. For although חכמה is in the singular, it cannot be taken as referring to Sidon only, because Tyre is mentioned again in the very next verse as the subject, and the practical display of its wisdom is described. The singular חכמה cannot be taken distributively in this sense, that being wise applies in just the same manner to both the cities (Koehler); for the cases quoted by Gesenius (146, 4) are of a totally different kind, since there the subject is in the plural, and is construed with a singular verb; but צידון is subordinate to צר, "Tyre with Sidon," Sidon being regarded as an annex of Tyre, answering to the historical relation in which the two cities stood to one another, - namely, that Tyre was indeed originally a colony of Sidon, but that it very soon overshadowed the mother city, and rose to be the capital of all Phoenicia (see the comm. on Isaiah 23), so that even in Isaiah and Ezekiel the prophecies concerning Sidon are attached to those concerning Tyre, and its fate appears interwoven with that of Tyre (cf. Isaiah 23:4, Isaiah 23:12; Ezekiel 28:21.). Hence we find Tyre only spoken of here in Zechariah 9:3, Zechariah 9:4. This city showed its wisdom in the fact that it built itself a fortress, and heaped up silver and gold like dust and dirt of the streets. Zechariah has here in his mind the insular Tyre, which was built about three or four stadia from the mainland, and thirty stadia to the north of Palae-tyrus, and which is called מעוז היּם in Isaiah 23:4, because, although very small in extent, it was surrounded by a wall a hundred and fifty feet high, and was so strong a fortification, that Shalmaneser besieged it for five years without success, and Nebuchadnezzar for thirteen years, and apparently was unable to conquer it (see Delitzsch on Isaiah, at Isaiah 23:18). This fortification is called mâtsōr. Here Tyre had heaped up immense treasures. Chârūts is shining gold (Psalm 68:14, etc.). but the wisdom through which Tyre had acquired such might and such riches (cf. Ezekiel 28:4-5) would be of no help to it. For it was the wisdom of this world (1 Corinthians 1:20), which ascribes to itself the glory due to God, and only nourishes the pride out of which it sprang. The Lord will take the city. Hōrı̄sh does not mean to drive from its possession - namely, the population (Hitzig) - for the next two clauses show that it is not the population of Tyre, but the city itself, which is thought of as the object; nor does it mean to "give as a possession" - namely, their treasures (Calv., Hengst., etc.) - but simply to take possession, to take, to conquer, as in Joshua 8:7; Joshua 17:12; Numbers 14:24 (Maurer, Koehler). And will smite in the sea חילהּ, not "her bulwarks:" for חיל, when used of fortifications, neither denotes the city wall nor earthworks, but the moat, including the small outer wall (2 Samuel 20:15) as distinguished from the true city wall (chōmâh, Isaiah 26:1; Lamentations 2:8), and this does not apply to the insular Tyre; moreover, חיל cannot be taken here in any other sense than in Ezekiel 28:4-5, which Zechariah follows. There it denotes the might which Tyre had acquired through its wisdom, not merely warlike or military power (Koehler), but might consisting in its strong situation and artificial fortification, as well as in the wealth of its resources for defence. This will be smitten in the sea, because Tyre itself stood in the sea. And finally, the city will be destroyed by fire. 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