Isaiah 23

The oracle against Tyre ch. 23

The first cycle of oracles closed by revealing that Egypt, the political oppressor of the Israelites, would come into equal status with Israel in the future (Isaiah 19:25). The second cycle similarly closes by disclosing that Tyre, the materialistic corrupter of God’s people in the past, would come into a relationship of holiness (Isaiah 23:18). Thus the climax of both revelations of judgment was the divine blessing of the Gentiles.

There are also parallels between Babylon, the first oracle in the first series, and Tyre, the last oracle in the second series. Babylon was the great land power of the ancient world, and Tyre was the great sea power. Babylon gained her power through warfare, whereas Tyre gained hers through peaceful trading. The descriptions of both cities meld into the view of future Babylon presented in Revelation 17-18. There the religious and commercial aspects of future Babylon are strongly reminiscent of Tyre. Note also the reference to a prostitute in both passages.

"Babylon’s greatness lay in her glory, the list of her achievements and accomplishments, her sophistication and culture. Tyre did not have all of that, but she did have her wealth and her vast maritime contacts. So between the two of them, Babylon and Tyre summed up from east to west all that the world of that day-and this-thought was significant." [Note: Oswalt, p. 427.]

This oracle consists of two parts: a poem describing Tyre’s fall (Isaiah 23:1-14) and a prediction of Tyre’s ultimate commitment to the Lord and His people. Tyre was the major city of Phoenicia at this time, and undoubtedly represents the other towns allied with it in the region, in some of the references in this chapter. [Note: Watts, p. 305.] Similarly, Jerusalem represented all of Judah when used in a collective sense.