Ezekiel 27:17 - Exposition

Judah and the land of Israel. The narrow strip of land occupied by the Phoenicians was unable to supply its crowded population. It was dependent on Israel for its corn and oil and the like in the days of Solomon ( 1 Kings 5:9-11 ) and continued to be so to those of Herod Agrippa ( Acts 12:20 ). Minnith appears in 11:33 as a city of the Ammonites near Heshbon, and the region of Ammon was famous for its wheat ( 2 Chronicles 27:5 ). Minnith wheat probably fetched the highest price in the Tyrian markets. Pannag is found here only. The versions, Targum, LXX ; give "ointments" ( μύροι ), Vulgate, balsam . Most modern commentators take it as meaning sweetmeats, the syrup of grape-juice, possibly something like the modern rahat-la-koum of Turkish commerce. Possibly, like Minnith, it may have been a proper name the significance of which is lost to us. Honey was at all times one of the famous products of Palestine ( 14:8 ; 1 Samuel 14:27 ; Psalms 19:10 ; Exodus 33:3 ).