The Meaning of Isaiah 23:1 Explained

Isaiah 23:1

KJV: The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

YLT: The Burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, For it hath been destroyed, Without house, without entrance, From the land of Chittim it was revealed to them.

Darby: The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish! for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, none entering in. From the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

ASV: The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.

Discover Isaiah 23:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 23:1?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 23:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 23:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 23:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The burden  of Tyre.  Howl,  ye ships  of Tarshish;  for it is laid waste,  so that there is no house,  no entering in:  from the land  of Chittim  it is revealed  to them. 

What does Isaiah 23:1 Mean?

Study Notes

burden See note 1;
.
Babylon
The city, Babylon is not in view here, as the immediate context shows. It is important to note the significance of the name when used symbolically. "Babylon" is the Greek form: invariably in the O.T. Hebrew the word is simply Babel, the meaning of which is confusion, and in this sense the word is used symbolically.
(1) In the prophets, when the actual city is not meant, the reference is to the "confusion" into which the whole social order of the world has fallen under Gentile world-domination. (See "Times of the Gentiles," Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 ; Revelation 19:19-21 gives the divine view of the welter of warring Gentile powers. The divine order is given in Isaiah 11. Israel in her own land, the centre of the divine government of the world and channel of the divine blessing; and the Gentiles blessed in association with Israel. Anything else is, politically, mere "babel."
(2) In Revelation 14:8-11 ; Revelation 16:19 the Gentile world-system is in view in connection with Armageddon; Revelation 16:14 ; Revelation 19:21 while in Revelation 17. the reference is to apostate Christianity, destroyed by the nations Revelation 17:16 headed up under the Beast; Daniel 7:8 ; Revelation 19:20 and false prophet. In Isaiah the political Babylon is in view, literally as to the then existing city, and symbolically as to the times of the Gentiles. In the Revelation both the symbolical- political and symbolical-religious Babylon are in view, for there both are alike under the tyranny of the Beast. Religious Babylon is destroyed by political Babylon Revelation 17:16 political Babylon by the appearing of the Lord Revelation 19:19-21 . That Babylon the city is not to be rebuilt is clear from; Isaiah 13:19-22 ; Jeremiah 51:24-26 ; Jeremiah 51:62-64 . By political Babylon is meant the Gentile world-system. (See "World,"; John 7:7 ; Revelation 13:8 ) It may be added that, in Scripture symbolism, Egypt stands for the world as such; Babylon for the world of corrupt power and corrupted religion; Nineveh for the pride, the haughty glory of the world.
burden
A "burden," Heb. massa= a heavy, weighty thing, is a message, or oracle concerning Babylon, Assyria, Jerusalem, etc. It is "heavy" because the wrath of God is in it, and grievous for the prophet to declare.
Babylon
The city, Babylon is not in view here, as the immediate context shows. It is important to note the significance of the name when used symbolically. "Babylon" is the Greek form: invariably in the O.T. Hebrew the word is simply Babel, the meaning of which is confusion, and in this sense the word is used symbolically.
(1) In the prophets, when the actual city is not meant, the reference is to the "confusion" into which the whole social order of the world has fallen under Gentile world-domination. (See "Times of the Gentiles," Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 ; Isaiah 13:4 gives the divine view of the welter of warring Gentile powers. The divine order is given in Isaiah 11. Israel in her own land, the centre of the divine government of the world and channel of the divine blessing; and the Gentiles blessed in association with Israel. Anything else is, politically, mere "babel."
(2) In Revelation 14:8-11 ; Revelation 16:19 the Gentile world-system is in view in connection with Armageddon; Revelation 16:14 ; Revelation 19:21 while in Revelation 17. the reference is to apostate Christianity, destroyed by the nations Revelation 17:16 headed up under the Beast; Daniel 7:8 ; Revelation 19:20 and false prophet. In Isaiah the political Babylon is in view, literally as to the then existing city, and symbolically as to the times of the Gentiles. In the Revelation both the symbolical- political and symbolical-religious Babylon are in view, for there both are alike under the tyranny of the Beast. Religious Babylon is destroyed by political Babylon Revelation 17:16 political Babylon by the appearing of the Lord Isaiah 13:4 . That Babylon the city is not to be rebuilt is clear from; Isaiah 13:19-22 ; Jeremiah 51:24-26 ; Jeremiah 51:62-64 . By political Babylon is meant the Gentile world-system. (See "World,"; John 7:7 ; Revelation 13:8 ) It may be added that, in Scripture symbolism, Egypt stands for the world as such; Babylon for the world of corrupt power and corrupted religion; Nineveh for the pride, the haughty glory of the world.

Verse Meaning

The prophet described news of Tyre"s total destruction reaching sailors on ships of Tarshish moored in Cyprus. The Tarshish (lit. refinery) in view here was probably in Spain, but "ships of Tarshish" was a term that described the largest ships of the day capable of the longest voyages (cf. Isaiah 2:16). Tyre was a very important Mediterranean seaport north of Israel, and its destruction would impact maritime trade everywhere.
"It is not improbable that the whole of the Mediterranean may have been called "the sea of Tarshish;" and hence the rendering adopted by the Targum, Jerome, Luther, and others, naves maris..." [1]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 23

1  The miserable overthrow of Tyre
15  Her restoration and unfaithfulness

What do the individual words in Isaiah 23:1 mean?

The burden against Tyre Wail you ships of Tarshish for it is laid waste so that there is no house no harbor from the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them
מַשָּׂ֖א צֹ֑ר הֵילִ֣ילוּ ׀ אֳנִיּ֣וֹת תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ כִּֽי־ שֻׁדַּ֤ד מִבַּ֙יִת֙ מִבּ֔וֹא מֵאֶ֥רֶץ כִּתִּ֖ים נִגְלָה־ לָֽמוֹ

מַשָּׂ֖א  The  burden  against 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַשָּׂא 
Sense: load, bearing, tribute, burden, lifting.
צֹ֑ר  Tyre 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צֹור 
Sense: the Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast.
הֵילִ֣ילוּ ׀  Wail 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָלַל  
Sense: (Hiphil) to howl, wail, make a howling.
אֳנִיּ֣וֹת  you  ships 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֳנִיָּה  
Sense: ship.
תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ  of  Tarshish 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: תַּרְשִׁישׁ 
Sense: son of Javan. 2 a Benjamite, son of Bilhan. 3 one of the wise men close to king Ahasuerus of Persia. 4 a city of the Phoenicians in a distant part of the Mediterranean Sea to which the prophet Jonah was trying to flee.
שֻׁדַּ֤ד  it  is  laid  waste 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
מִבַּ֙יִת֙  so  that  there  is  no  house 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
מִבּ֔וֹא  no  harbor 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֵאֶ֥רֶץ  from  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כִּתִּ֖ים  of  Cyprus 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כִּתִּיִּים  
Sense: a general term for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea.
נִגְלָה־  it  is  revealed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּלָה  
Sense: to uncover, remove.
לָֽמוֹ  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 23:1?

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