Isaiah 23:3 · Bible study
Isaiah 23:3 Commentary: Tyre's Wealth from the Nile and Its Fall
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Isaiah 23:3 reveals Tyre's wealth from Egyptian grain as the backdrop for divine judgment.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Tyre's wealth derived from shipping Egyptian grain across the Mediterranean, making it a commercial centre, but this same wealth would not save it from divine judgment.
- Key words: Shihor (the Nile, “dark river”), seed/harvest (Egyptian produce), revenue (tevuah), mart/gain (sachar).
- Main debate: Whether sachar means “mart” (place of trade) or “gain” (profit); the lexical evidence favours “gain” (H5504), but many English versions opt for “mart” based on context.
- Theological theme: The fragility of human prosperity and God's sovereignty over nations and economies.
- Best use: A warning against trusting in material security; a call to examine where we place our confidence.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations.
WEB World English Bible 2000
On great waters, the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue. She was the market of nations.
KJV King James Version 1769
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And in many waters is the seed of Sihor, The harvest of the brook is her increase, And she is a mart of nations.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And on great waters, the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of the nations.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
The seed of the Nile in many waters, the harvest of the river is her revenue: and she is become the mart of the nations.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Su provisión era de las sementeras que crecen con las muchas aguas del Nilo, de la mies del río. Fué también feria de gentes.
E sua renda era os grãos de Sior, a colheita do Nilo, que vinha por muitas águas. Ela era o centro de comércio das nações.
A travers les vastes eaux, le blé du Nil,
und was von Früchten am Sihor und Getreide am Nil wuchs, brachte man zu ihr hinein durch große Wasser; und du warst der Heiden Markt geworden.
En wiens inkomst was het zaad van Sichor over de grote wateren, de oogst der rivier; en zij was de markt der heidenen.
Attraverso le grandi acque, i grani del Nilo, la mèsse del fiume, eran la sua entrata; ell’era il mercato delle nazioni.
A którego dochody na wielkich wodach, nasienie Sychor, żniwo jego dochód z rzeki, a w którym był skład narodów.
По великим водам привозились в него семена Сихора, жатва большой реки, и был он торжищем народов.
在大 水之上，西曷 的糧食、尼羅河 的莊稼 是泰爾的進項；她作 列國 的大碼頭。
Who get in the seed of Shihor, whose wealth is the trade of the nations.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 23:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Isaiah 23:3 describes Tyre's prosperity flowing from trade with Egypt, especially in grain. The phrase “seed of Shihor” refers to the Nile River (Sihor), named for the dark, fertile mud it deposits (Barnes, Gill, Clarke). This produce, both “seed” (crops) and “harvest”, was Tyre's revenue (the Hebrew tevuah means yield or income). Calvin highlights how Isaiah extols Tyre's wealth to make God's judgment more striking: a city so rich is suddenly destroyed. The Cambridge Bible notes that Tyre functioned as a grain hub for many nations, yet Keil and Delitzsch argue the Hebrew sachar means “gain” or “profit” rather than “mart” (emporium), a view supported by lexical evidence (H5504, sachar: traffic, gain). Regardless of the precise nuance, all agree the verse sets up the contrast between Tyre's apparent security in commerce and the coming catastrophe.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Tyre's revenue came from Egyptian grain transported by sea, and this description sets up the oracle of judgment against the city.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of Shihor | All commentators identify Shihor with the Nile River (or a branch of it), based on Jeremiah 2:18 and 1 Chronicles 13:5. | Some (Barnes, Gill) emphasize the name's link to dark, fertile mud; others simply note it as a synonym for the Nile. No substantive division. |
| Tyre's economic role | Tyre was a hub for Egyptian grain, which was shipped across the Mediterranean and brought wealth to the city. | The exact nuance of 'mart' vs. 'gain' for Hebrew sachar. Most older translations (KJV, ASV) use 'mart'; Keil and Delitzsch argue it means 'gain' (profit). This affects whether Tyre is seen as a marketplace or as a source of profit for others. |
| Purpose of describing Tyre's wealth | The description of Tyre's wealth serves to magnify the severity of its coming judgment, God destroys even the most prosperous city. | Calvin emphasizes that the wealth shows the extraordinary nature of the calamity. Others (Matthew Henry) focus on the pride that leads to downfall. Both are complementary. |
| Connection to Egypt | Egypt was the source of Tyre's grain and a major trading partner. | The Cambridge Bible questions whether the grain trade was Tyre's principal source of wealth, but this is not a major debate; most accept it as significant. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 23 is an oracle against Tyre, the great Phoenician port city on the Mediterranean coast (present-day Lebanon). Tyre had no significant agriculture of its own; its wealth came from maritime trade. Egypt was the breadbasket of the ancient world, regularly exporting grain across the Mediterranean. The river Shihor (or Nile) was the source of Egypt's fertility, as its annual floods deposited rich silt. The term “Sihor” comes from a root meaning “black,” referring to the dark water laden with soil (Gill, Barnes). Tyrian ships carried Egyptian grain to other nations, making Tyre a hub, or, as some read it, a source of profit for many peoples.
Cross-references such as Jeremiah 2:18 (“the waters of the Shihor”) and 1 Chronicles 13:5 confirm Sihor as the Nile. Ezekiel 27 elaborates on Tyre's vast trade network, listing Egypt among its partners. In this oracle, Isaiah uses Tyre's dependence on Egyptian grain to underscore the city's vulnerability: its wealth is not from its own land but from a distant source that can be cut off. The wider passage (Isaiah 23:1, 14) calls the ships of Tarshish to wail and commands the inhabitants to flee, depicting a total collapse that leaves no house standing. The verse's mention of “great waters” (the sea) highlights how Tyre's strength came from the sea, the same sea that would later witness its ruin (Calvin).
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Isaiah 23:3. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the meaning is clear in context.
Reception History
Isaiah 23:3 has been consistently read across Christian tradition as part of the prophecy against Tyre, illustrating the transience of worldly wealth. Early church fathers such as Jerome saw Tyre as a type of prideful humanity that God humbles. In the Reformation, Calvin and Matthew Henry emphasized the sovereignty of God over trade and nations. The verse has also been used in sermons addressing economic dependency and the danger of trusting in commerce rather than in God. While not a central proof text for any major doctrine, it has served as a warning against the illusion of self-sufficiency, especially in communities reliant on shipping and trade.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Prosperity Built on the Nile: Tyre's economy depends on Egyptian grain, a trade that gave it global influence. This reminds us that all human wealth is contingent on resources and systems we do not control.
- The Boast of Self-Sufficiency: Tyre acted as if its wealth were permanent, yet Isaiah exposes the illusion. The city's pride is the target of God's judgment (see verse 9).
- Judgment That Strips False Security: The same waters that brought abundance now carry news of destruction. God's sovereignty extends over trade routes, harvests, and empires.
Five-point outline
- The Source of Tyre's Revenue: “Seed of Shihor, harvest of the Nile”, Egyptian grain, shipped across the sea.
- The Means of Transport: “On great waters” (the Mediterranean) shows Tyre's reach.
- The Role of Tyre: She was a mart (or source of gain) for nations, a commercial centre that enriched many.
- The Irony of Judgment: The city that supplied grain will itself starve; the merchant hub becomes desolate.
- The Divine Purpose: God humbles the proud, as Isaiah 23:9 declares: “to stain the pride of all glory.”
Illustration hooks
- A single-industry town whose factory closes: sudden loss of everything built on one resource.
- A modern port city like Rotterdam or Singapore, where global trade creates immense wealth but also vulnerability to shifts in the economy or conflict.
- The grain trade today: a drought in one breadbasket region causes price spikes worldwide, reminding us of our interconnected fragility.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God oppose wealth itself, or just the pride that comes with it?
- How can we enjoy God's provision without trusting in it as our ultimate security?
- What does this oracle say about God's involvement in the economics of nations?
Leading a Discussion
Isaiah 23:3 sits at the heart of a prophecy against Tyre, describing the city's wealth from Egyptian grain. As you study this verse together, notice how the prophet highlights the very resources that made Tyre proud, the same resources that will not save it. This passage invites us to examine where we place our trust.
Discussion questions
- What does “the seed of Shihor” refer to, and why is it important that this is Egyptian grain? (See Jeremiah 2:18 and 1 Chronicles 13:5 for help.)
- How do commentators explain the name “Shihor” in relation to the Nile? What does the name reveal about the river's character?
- The verse says Tyre's revenue came from “great waters.” What does this phrase suggest about how Tyre obtained its wealth?
- Why would the prophet describe Tyre's prosperity in such detail before announcing its destruction? What effect does this have on the reader?
- The Hebrew word sachar can be translated either “mart” or “gain.” How does the meaning of this word affect your understanding of Tyre's relationship to other nations?
- In what ways do we, like Tyre, build our lives on resources that are fragile or distant? What might God be saying to us through this judgment?
- Read Isaiah 23:8, 9. How does God's purpose for Tyre (humbling pride) shape how you view your own achievements and possessions?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 11:10 | For the land, where you go in to possess isn’t like the land of Egypt that you came out of, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs; |
| I Chronicles 13:5 | So David assembled all Israel together, from the Shihor River of Egypt even to the entrance of Hamath, to bring God’s ark from Kiriath Jearim. |
| Isaiah 19:7 | The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. |
| Isaiah 23:8 | Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth? |
| Isaiah 32:20 | Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out the feet of the ox and the donkey. |
| Jeremiah 2:18 | Now what do you gain by going to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or why do you go on the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? |
| Ezekiel 27:3 | and tell Tyre, ‘You who dwell at the entry of the sea, who are the merchant of the peoples to many islands, the Lord Yahweh says: “You, Tyre, have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ |
| Ezekiel 27:23 | “‘“Haran, Canneh, Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were your traders. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies Sihor as the Nile, naming its black waters from the Ethiopian mud that fertilizes Egypt. The river's overflow made Egypt so productive that Tyre grew wealthy trading in its grain.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes identifies Sihor as the Nile, noting the river's name comes from the Hebrew word for black, referring to the dark mud that makes Egypt fertile. He emphasizes that Tyre depended on this Egyptian grain trade, pointing to a whole district of Memphis once inhabited by Tyrian merchants.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin underscores the irony that Tyre’s very wealth, drawn from the Nile like Venice’s harvest from the sea, will only magnify God’s judgment when it fails. The more startling the calamity, the clearer it becomes as God’s work, exposing all their boasting as empty.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible rejects the common reading that Tyre's wealth came from Egyptian grain, calling that interpretation unworthy of Isaiah and inconsistent with the poem's quality. It dismisses the idea that a grain trade with Egypt was a principal source of Tyrian revenue as contrary to known history, and questions the translation "mart" for "gain" or "merchandise."
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note observes that Egypt's entire economy and international trade position rested on the Nile's natural fertility. The river's annual flood produced a harvest that became the nation's revenue and made it a commercial center for surrounding peoples.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the river Sihor as the Nile and its seed as the crops grown along its banks, especially grain and flax. The great waters refer to both the Nile that nourished the harvest and the Mediterranean that carried it to Tyre. Tyre grew wealthy by trading this Egyptian produce, functioning as a market for many nations.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB traces Tyre's commercial wealth directly to the Nile's annual overflow, which made Egypt the ancient world's granary. Tyrian ships carried Egyptian grain to other lands, exchanging it for wine, oil, and glass, and profited from Tyre's unmatched position as a trading hub.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch insists the verse is not a simile comparing Tyre's sea trade to an Egyptian harvest. Instead, it literally describes Phoenician merchants shipping actual Egyptian grain across the Mediterranean, storing it on the Phoenician coast, which became a supply depot for many nations.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Tyre's fall as a deliberate divine judgment against human pride. The Lord of hosts purposed the city's destruction specifically to stain the pride of all glory and bring the honorable of the earth into contempt. No human power or wealth can stand when God acts to humble the proud.