Chapter 27 of Yechezkel is a lamentation over Tyre, and the passage before us is the heart of the lament: a detailed description of the global commercial network that flowed into Tyre, followed by the description of its downfall. The prophet continues with the same metaphor with which he began - Tyre as a magnificent ship - showing how both its wealth and its beauty were not its own, but gathered from all the inhabitants of the earth.
To understand this entire passage, one must be familiar with four recurring concepts: wholesale trade (mischar), retail merchandise (markolet), consignment (izavon), and collateral (eiravon). The major merchants - the wholesalers, who buy in bulk - would bring their goods to Tyre. There, they would deposit them in storehouses in the hands of the people of Tyre. This is the meaning of "izavon": not an inheritance as in modern Hebrew, but from the root of leaving (azivah) - leaving their merchandise in the care of others. Then the retailers (rochlim) would arrive and take from this consignment to sell to individuals at retail. It is just like our own day: an importer brings merchandise into a large warehouse, and from there store owners come and purchase it to sell to individual consumers. And since the retailer takes a large quantity and does not have the cash on hand to pay immediately, he would give an "eiravon" (collateral) - goods of his own - to guarantee that he would eventually pay. What is done today with a check was done back then with barter goods.
תַּרְשִׁישׁ סֹחַרְתֵּךְ מֵרֹב כָּל הוֹן, בְּכֶסֶף בַּרְזֶל בְּדִיל וְעוֹפֶרֶת נָתְנוּ עִזְבוֹנָיִךְ. - "Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the abundance of all wealth; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they deposited your consignments."
Tarshish was the great wholesale merchant. She brought silver, iron, tin, and lead - metals that were abundant in Tarshish, which is Aspamia, namely Spain. "They deposited your consignments" - they placed their merchandise with you, so that retailers could take it from there and sell it onward.
יָוָן תֻּבַל וָמֶשֶׁךְ הֵמָּה רֹכְלָיִךְ, בְּנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם וּכְלֵי נְחֹשֶׁת נָתְנוּ מַעֲרָבֵךְ. - "Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your retailers; with human lives and copper vessels they provided your collateral."
Javan (Greece), Tubal, and Meshech are the nations that came and took the merchandise Tarshish had left on consignment, in order to sell it at retail - and this is "they were your retailers." And "they provided your collateral" (ma'aravech) - they provided collateral, merchandise of their own: human slaves and copper vessels, as security ensuring they would pay for the goods they took.
מִבֵּית תּוֹגַרְמָה סוּסִים וּפָרָשִׁים וּפְרָדִים נָתְנוּ עִזְבוֹנָיִךְ. - "From the house of Togarmah, they gave horses, steeds, and mules for your consignments."
Togarmah - Targum Yonatan translates this as "the province of Germamia," which is Germany. From there they brought horses and mules, which is readily understood. But what is meant by "parashim" (steeds/horsemen)? A horseman is not an item to be sold! The Radak explains that this refers to a superior, agile breed of horses, called "parashim" because just as a mounted horseman is superior to an infantryman in battle, so too these horses are superior to ordinary horses. Nevertheless, it can also be interpreted literally - actual human beings who ride horses. In those regions people were sold as slaves; some were suited for manual labor, while others were skilled horsemen. All these "gave your consignments" - they deposited this merchandise with you, so that smaller merchants would come, buy, and sell in their own localities.
בְּנֵי דְדָן רֹכְלַיִךְ, אִיִּים רַבִּים סְחֹרַת יָדֵךְ, קַרְנוֹת שֵׁן וְהָבְנִים הֵשִׁיבוּ אֶשְׁכָּרֵךְ. - "The people of Dedan were your retailers; many islands were your trade; horns of ivory and ebony they rendered as your payment."
The people of Dedan were the retailers who took the horses and steeds left on consignment by the house of Togarmah, and sold them to individuals in the many surrounding islands. "Your trade" (sechorat yadech) - in addition to what the surrounding nations brought, there were also goods manufactured in Tyre itself, the handiwork of its craftsmen. And what did they render in return? "Horns of ivory and ebony." "Eshkarech" - the Malbim explains this as related to sechar, profit or wages, as in "they shall bring tribute (eshkar)"; whereas the Radak explains it as a tribute or gift, as in "and they brought tribute to the king." According to the Radak, "they shall bring eshkar" means they shall bring a tribute, and according to the Malbim, it means they shall bring what they earned as profit. And "hovnim" (ebony) - some say these are types of animal horns, while others say they are species of wood.
אֲרָם סֹחַרְתֵּךְ מֵרֹב מַעֲשָׂיִךְ, בְּנֹפֶךְ אַרְגָּמָן וְרִקְמָה וּבוּץ וְרָאמֹת וְכַדְכֹּד נָתְנוּ בְּעִזְבוֹנָיִךְ. - "Aram was your merchant because of the multitude of your products; with turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, corals, and rubies they paid for your consignments."
Aram were your merchants, and in exchange for your abundance of wares - what you manufactured - they brought and placed their merchandise in your marketplace, for the peddlers who would come, purchase it, and sell to individuals. Nofech is the name of a precious stone. Argaman refers to garments dyed purple, a prestigious color. Rikmah refers to garments embroidered with multiple colors. Butz is fine linen. Ramot and kadkod are precious, esteemed gems, as Scripture says, "And I will make your window frames of rubies [kadkod] and your gates of carbuncles."
יְהוּדָה וְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה רֹכְלָיִךְ, בְּחִטֵּי מִנִּית וּפַנַּג וּדְבַשׁ וָשֶׁמֶן וָצֹרִי נָתְנוּ מַעֲרָבֵךְ. - "Judah and the land of Israel were your peddlers; with wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, they traded for your merchandise."
Judah and the land of Israel were also peddlers: they came and took from the warehouses to sell in their own towns. Since they did not have cash to pay on the spot, they provided collateral - goods of their own to secure the payment. And what was the collateral? Wheat of Minnith, pannag, honey, oil, and balm.
"Wheat of Minnith" - Rashi explains that Minnith is the name of a place, as it says in Shoftim, "as far as Minnith," meaning wheat originating from a place called Minnith. Chazal expound: beautiful, large wheat grains that were sold by number (minyan). That is, while we buy wheat by weight, there they would say: give me four grains of wheat - and from them one could bake bread for the entire week. They were massive grains, as the Gemara notes that they were the size of kidneys. Rashi also brings another interpretation, from the word manot (portions) - something designated and prepared for food, as in "the portions of the Levi."
"And pannag" - Rashi cites the book of Yosef HaKohen, who is Josephus Flavius, that this is balsam (afarsemon). The afarsemon of Chazal is not the persimmon fruit we know today, but a species that emitted an extraordinary fragrance. It was found in Jericho, and it is after this sweet scent that Jericho (Yericho) was named; it is known in foreign tongue as balsam. Thus, these commodities were abundant in the Land of Israel, and from them Israel provided their collateral - wheat of Minnith, pannag, honey, oil, and balm, similar to "balm and onycha."
דַּמֶּשֶׂק סֹחַרְתֵּךְ בְּרֹב מַעֲשַׂיִךְ מֵרֹב כָּל הוֹן, בְּיֵין חֶלְבּוֹן וְצֶמֶר צָחַר. - "Damascus was your merchant in the multitude of your works, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool."
Damascus is the royal capital of Aram, and it too was among your merchants. "In the multitude of your works" - they brought white wool for the textiles that Tyre produced, for from that pure, radiant wool they manufactured garments; and "for the multitude of all riches" - they brought wine of Helbon for drinking. Note the Malbim's keen observation: here it does not say "they placed in your marketplaces," because the people of Tyre consumed and kept these fine items for themselves, rather than depositing them for resale to small traders.
What is "wine of Helbon"? Rashi explains: boiled white wine. He also cites Menachem, who associates the word helbon with "the fat of wheat" (chelev chittim) - that is, exquisite wine, the choicest of all wines. And what is tzemer tzachar? Literally, radiant white, pristine wool. The Gemara reveals how they achieved this: "Amar meilat kevina" - on the day the lamb was born, as soon as it emerged from its mother's womb and the mother licked and cleaned it, they would take a cloth and sew it over its body. As the lamb grew, the cloth stretched with it, and when the time came to shear it, they removed the cloth and the wool was completely spotless. Since sheep normally rub against mud and lie on the ground, soiling their wool, this method ensured that it remained brilliant white and clean, in the sense of "white donkeys."
וְדָן וְיָוָן מְאוּזָּל בְּעִזְבוֹנַיִךְ נָתָנּוּ, בַּרְזֶל עָשׁוֹת קִדָּה וְקָנֶה בְּמַעֲרָבֵךְ הָיָה. - "Vedan and Javan from Uzal traded in your markets; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were among your merchandise."
דְּדָן רֹכַלְתֵּךְ בְּבִגְדֵי חֹפֶשׁ לְרִכְבָּה. - "Dedan was your peddler in saddle-cloths for riding."
"Me'uzal" - Radak interprets this as related to going or travel, a root common in Aramaic: azil, azal ve'ata ("went and came"). We find this in Tanach as well: "water is gone from the sea." Even in modern Hebrew, when we say something has "run out" (azal), we mean it has departed and is finished. Targum Yonatan renders it similarly: "Vedan and Javan in caravans" - meaning they were constantly traveling back and forth to you in caravans to deliver merchandise.
However, the Malbim explains that me'uzal is not an expression of travel, but rather refers to spun yarn - the spinning of silk, as Rashi explains (shira'in being silk). Silk is drawn from the silkworm, which is why it is called uzal, as something that flows out (azil minei) from its body. Accordingly, "Vedan and Javan placed me'uzal in your markets" means they deposited spun and woven silk fabrics in your storehouses. They also brought goods as collateral for the wares they took: wrought iron, cassia, and calamus. Javan, together with Tuval and Meshech, were peddlers who provided human souls and copper vessels as collateral, while Dan provided wrought iron. Radak explains "ashot" as pure, refined iron, as in "an ivory plate" (eshet shen), which is the variety known as Indian iron; and Targum Yonatan translates it as "bars of iron."
And Dedan also took from the merchandise of Tyre itself: "with clothes of freedom for riding" - special, expensive garments fitting for distinguished people, garments of free men. These were used for outfitting chariots, lining the interior with precious fabrics. And those clothes of freedom were made from the spun yarn brought by the people of Dedan, and they took them as merchandise to sell to others.
עֲרַב וְכָל נְשִׂיאֵי קֵדָר הֵמָּה סֹחֲרֵי יָדֵךְ, בְּכָרִים וְאֵילִם וְעַתּוּדִים בָּם סֹחֲרָיִךְ. - Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were the traders at your service; with lambs, rams, and he-goats, with these were they your merchants.
Arabia and Kedar are the Arabs, and they engaged in direct trade with you. In what? In lambs, rams, and he-goats, which you would purchase for yourself at full price for food. "Carim" - Rashi explains this as sheep, and cites Targum Yonatan who translated it as oxen, as he also translated in "one hundred thousand carim" stated concerning Mesha, king of Moab. Yet Rashi concludes that carim are sheep, as in the phrase "the meadows are clothed with flocks."
רֹכְלֵי שְׁבָא וְרַעְמָה הֵמָּה רֹכְלָיִךְ, בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל בֹּשֶׂם וּבְכָל אֶבֶן יְקָרָה וְזָהָב נָתְנוּ עִזְבוֹנָיִךְ. - The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were your merchants; with the finest of all spices and with all precious stones and gold they paid for your wares.
After speaking of Dedan, he now moves on to Sheba and Raamah - Raamah being the parent, as it is written, "And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan." And they are your merchants: the merchandise that everyone initially bought in Sheba itself was now being bought through you. And what was it? "With the finest of all spices and with all precious stones and gold" - all those treasures that we saw the Queen of Sheba bring to Solomon. All these they gave for your wares, so that through them you could sell further. Sheba, instead of acting as a direct marketer, began marketing through a distributor - and that distributor was Tyre. For Tyre demonstrated its prowess in aggressive marketing, and since everyone came to it anyway, anyone who wished to sell his merchandise knew that the central marketplace was there.
חָרָן וְכַנֵּה וָעֶדֶן רֹכְלֵי שְׁבָא, אַשּׁוּר כִּלְמַד רֹכַלְתֵּךְ. - Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba; Assyria, Chilmad were your merchants.
Notice that there is an overview here of all the surrounding nations, not a single one missing. Haran, Canneh, and Eden were also merchants of Sheba. "Assyria, Chilmad was your merchant" - related to the word melumad, accustomed or trained: once Assyria learned and became accustomed to taking your merchandise, it no longer went to Sheba, but brought everything from Tyre alone. What previously arrived through Sheba was now, after Tyre took over the market, marketed by Sheba itself through Tyre.
הֵמָּה רֹכְלַיִךְ בְּמַכְלֻלִים, בִּגְלוֹמֵי תְּכֵלֶת וְרִקְמָה, וּבְגִנְזֵי בְּרֹמִים, בַּחֲבָלִים חֲבֻשִׁים וַאֲרֻזִים בְּמַרְכֻלְתֵּךְ. - These were your merchants in choice garments, in cloaks of blue and embroidered work, and in chests of multi-colored fabrics, bound with cords and packed among your wares.
They would take goods from you to sell to individuals, which is the definition of a peddler (rochel). And what were these goods? "In choice garments, in cloaks of blue." "Gelomei" - the Malbim explains this from the word gelima (cloak). The Gemara states that a cloak presents a person like a golma, an unformed lump - something that has not yet been fashioned into a finished vessel. Because a cloak is not fitted to the contours of the body, but is draped loosely over it like a tunic, its wearer appears as a single unformed shape, as in the verses "Your eyes saw my unformed mass [golmi]" and "He took his mantle and wrapped it together [vayiglom]." That is, a garment that envelops the entire body into a single form. "And in chests of beromim" - special garments called baromiyya in Arabic. And these goods were bound "with cords, bound and packed" - chavush means bound shut, wrapped tightly with ropes just as someone wraps a wound with a bandage. Thus, this is seemingly the earliest recorded instance of goods being sold in packaged sets: merchandise did not arrive loose, but came carefully packaged.
אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ שָׁרוֹתַיִךְ מַעֲרָבֵךְ, וַתִּמָּלְאִי וַתִּכְבְּדִי מְאֹד בְּלֵב יַמִּים. - The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your trade; and you were filled and became very heavy in the heart of the seas.
Three explanations are offered here. The Malbim explains "sharotayich" as serving you, and "ma'aravech" - they were guarantors for you, they were all yours; and through this you were filled with merchandise, "and you became very heavy in the heart of the seas," laden with an abundance of goods. The Radak explains "sharotayich" as denoting caravans (sheyara) - caravans journeying with your merchandise, for the ships of Tarshish carried convoys of cargo from Tyre; and "in the heart of the seas" - as though you were situated in the midst of the oceans, with ships arriving to you from all the seas, making you the central hub where everyone converges to deposit merchandise and take merchandise from you. And Rashi explains "sharotayich" from the root of plain or flat land (mishor): the ships of Tarshish were like an open plain and smooth path for you, for just as a plain is a paved road to transport goods without mountains and valleys, so too the ships transported your merchandise smoothly, flowing effortlessly without uphill climbs, downhill drops, or hardships - as in the phrases "my foot stands on level ground" and "it goes down smoothly."
בְּמַיִם רַבִּים הֱבִאוּךְ הַשָּׁטִים אֹתָךְ, רוּחַ הַקָּדִים שְׁבָרֵךְ בְּלֵב יַמִּים. - Your oarsmen brought you into great waters; the east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas.
"Those who row you" (hashatim otach) - the Malbim explains: those who harass and distress you. They brought you into deep waters. Sidon and Arvad were involved in Tyre's downfall, as it is written, "Be silent, you inhabitants of the isle, merchant of Sidon," and "Be ashamed, O Sidon" - Sidon envied the greatness of Tyre, which was a world trade center, and on the contrary, even assisted in its fall. Therefore it is said, "The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas": when a ship is close to shore and an east wind strikes, there is still someone who can dispatch boats and rescue it; but when a ship sinks in the heart of the seas, there is no one to save it. So too, those who hated you and sought your ruin brought you into the heart of the deep waters, so that your downfall would be absolute, a fall from which there is no recovery.
And the Radak explains "those who row you" (hashatim otach) in the sense of pillage and plunder, like "and Esau despised the birthright" (vayivez Esav), which the Targum renders as ushach Esav, meaning those who come and seize your spoil. And "the east wind" is a metaphor for Nevuchadnezzar, as Targum Yonatan translates: a king who is mighty like the east wind, a king coming with a fierce wind to conquer you.
הוֹנֵךְ וְעִזְבוֹנַיִךְ מַעֲרָבֵךְ מַלָּחַיִךְ וְחֹבְלָיִךְ, מַחֲזִיקֵי בִדְקֵךְ וְעֹרְבֵי מַעֲרָבֵךְ וְכָל אַנְשֵׁי מִלְחַמְתֵּךְ אֲשֶׁר בָּךְ, וּבְכָל קְהָלֵךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכֵךְ, יִפְּלוּ בְּלֵב יַמִּים בְּיוֹם מַפַּלְתֵּךְ. - Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, your sailors and your pilots, the caulkers of your seams and the traders of your merchandise, and all your men of war who are within you, with all your assembly in your midst, shall fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.
The verse enumerates everything: "Your wealth" - your own capital; "and your wares" - that which merchants left with you for sale; "your merchandise" - that which others gave as collateral to guarantee payment. This covers all the property. And not only the property, but also the people, as the prophet continues with the ship metaphor: "Your sailors" - those steering the ship; "and your pilots" - the captains, meaning the people and the ministers; "the caulkers of your seams" - the leaders; "the traders of your merchandise" - the wealthy; "all your men of war" - the warriors; "and all your assembly" - all the people within you. All of them will fall into deep waters. For Tyre sank and nothing remained of it: the sea rose and swept everything away, leaving nothing behind but a bare rock, upon which fishermen spread their nets to dry - just as we began.
לְקוֹל זַעֲקַת חֹבְלָיִךְ יִרְעֲשׁוּ מִגְרֹשׁוֹת. - At the sound of the cry of your pilots, the open districts shall shake.
When the pilots cry out - who are the ministers - at the sound of their outcry, the open districts will shake. And what are the migrashot? The Malbim explains that in the language of Chazal, the open area surrounding a city is called a migrash. This is a poetic expression: not only will the city itself shake, but even the territories surrounding it will tremble and be terrified by the cries of the leaders on the day that disaster strikes Tyre and it sinks.
וְיָרְדוּ מֵאֳנִיּוֹתֵיהֶם כֹּל תֹּפְשֵׂי מָשׁוֹט, מַלָּחִים כֹּל חֹבְלֵי הַיָּם, אֶל הָאָרֶץ יַעֲמֹדוּ. - All who handle the oar, the sailors, and all the pilots of the sea, shall step down from their ships; they shall stand upon the land.
Since there is no longer a commercial hub, the shipmasters disembark from their ships - they will undergo a career change. Until now, their livelihood was on ships, transporting merchandise; once Tyre sank and there was nothing left to engage in, they decommission their ships and go down to dry land. "They shall stand upon the land" - they will seek their livelihood in overland trade rather than maritime trade.
וְהִשְׁמִיעוּ עָלַיִךְ בְּקוֹלָם וְיִזְעֲקוּ מָרָה, וְיַעֲלוּ עָפָר עַל רָאשֵׁיהֶם בָּאֵפֶר יִתְפַּלָּשׁוּ. - They shall cause their voice to be heard over you and cry bitterly, and cast up dust upon their heads; they shall roll themselves in the ashes.
They will raise a bitter cry over your downfall and cast dust upon their heads - for such was the practice of mourners, just as we saw with the companions of Iyov, who cast dust upon their heads and sat in ashes. And as we already saw earlier, "all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones" - it will be an extraordinarily immense downfall.
וְהִקְרִיחוּ אֵלַיִךְ קָרְחָה וְחָגְרוּ שַׂקִּים, וּבָכוּ אֵלַיִךְ בְּמַר נֶפֶשׁ מִסְפֵּד מָר. - They shall make themselves utterly bald for you, and gird themselves with sackcloth; they shall weep for you with bitterness of soul, a bitter lamentation.
This too was among the mourning practices of the nations: when mourning the death of a relative, they would make a bald patch on their head. The Torah warned against this: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead" and "They shall not make baldness upon their head." The Ramban writes that it was the custom of the nations to tear their flesh and make gashes upon themselves, but the Torah does not want Israel to conduct themselves this way. For a person does this out of a sense of absolute loss; but one who knows that everything is from Hashem, and that the Holy One, Blessed is He, took the departed and transferred him from one realm to another, understands that death is not annihilation, but rather a transition from a temporary world to an eternal world. If so, there is no place for such extreme expressions of grief, where a person gashes himself or shaves his head bald. Incidentally, to this day, the Lebanese follow this practice in their mourning: gashing themselves and performing all that the Gemara describes as the ways of the nations, as related by those who have witnessed their funerals. "And gird themselves with sackcloth" - for such was the custom of a mourner to gird himself with sackcloth; "and weep for you with bitterness of soul" - with bitterness of soul they will deliver a lamentation over you.
וְנָשְׂאוּ אֵלַיִךְ בְּנִיהֶם קִינָה וְקוֹנְנוּ עָלָיִךְ, מִי כְצוֹר כְּדֻמָה בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם - "And in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you and lament over you: 'Who is like Tzor, like the silenced one in the midst of the sea?'"
"In their wailing" (b'nihem) is not from the word banim (children), but from nehi (wailing) - they will raise a voice of wailing and lamentation over you. And why is it phrased this way? The Malbim explains that the customary practice was for one person to chant the lament, and the listeners would respond after him with cries of "nehi" and "hoy" (woe). This has been the custom from earliest times: one person recites and the rest respond after him. To this day, this practice remains widespread among Yemenite Jews, not only in kinot (lamentations) but also in Shabbat songs and elsewhere - one leads and the rest respond. We also find in Chazal that this was a common custom, as the Gemara phrases it: "When men sing and women respond, or women sing and men respond" - where the men recite and the women respond or vice versa, which is like "fire in flax," as the Gemara cites regarding kol b'ishah.
And what will they lament? "Who is like Tzor, like the silenced one in the midst of the sea" - who was equal to Tzor in its tranquility, and who is like it when it is silenced and still in the midst of the sea in its ruin? "Dumah" is related to silence and stillness, like an inanimate object. That is: who compares to it in its greatness, and who compares to it in its degradation? There was no one who attained its immense stature, and there was no one who plunged to such a great downfall. Tzor was extreme both in its heights and in its ruin.
בְּצֵאת עִזְבוֹנַיִךְ מִיַּמִּים הִשְׂבַּעַתְּ עַמִּים רַבִּים, בְּרֹב הוֹנַיִךְ וּמַעֲרָבַיִךְ הֶעֱשַׁרְתְּ מַלְכֵי אָרֶץ - "When your wares went out from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with the multitude of your wealth and your merchandise, you enriched the kings of the earth."
"Your wares" (izvonayich) - the goods of others that were left with you on deposit, and from there passed to the merchants and through them to all ends of the earth. When they went forth from the seas, you would satisfy many nations, for the peoples were sated by what you sold them. "With the multitude of your wealth and your merchandise" - here it refers to her own wealth and the goods given to her in trade and pledge, and with these she enriched the kings of the earth.
עֵת נִשְׁבֶּרֶת מִיַּמִּים בְּמַעֲמַקֵּי מָיִם, מַעֲרָבֵךְ וְכָל קְהָלֵךְ בְּתוֹכֵךְ נָפָלוּ - "Now that you are broken from the seas in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and your entire assembly have fallen within you."
Now the prophet returns to explain "Who is like the silenced one in the midst of the sea": who has suffered such a horrific ruin as Tzor, sunken into the heart of the sea? Just as your greatness came from the seas - with ships arriving from all the seas of the world to bring you merchandise - so too your destruction came from the seas: the sea rose and covered you, and you sank into it, and there your merchandise and your entire assembly fell, every person who was within you, with nothing left of them. The Malbim notes that the word "broken" (nishberet) is a term frequently used for a ship - "and the ship threatened to break." Just as the prophet compared Tzor throughout the chapter to a ship steered by a captain and carrying goods, so too he compares it here to a ship that was shipwrecked on the seas and sank into the depths.
כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאִיִּים שָׁמְמוּ עָלַיִךְ, וּמַלְכֵיהֶם שָׂעֲרוּ שַׂעַר רָעֲמוּ פָּנִים - "All the inhabitants of the islands were appalled over you, and their kings shuddered in horror, their faces agitated."
At first, "you satisfied many peoples" and provided food to the nations around you, since they acquired merchandise from your hands; now the island dwellers are desolate over your fate - there is no one left to provide them with goods. As we saw earlier: "Now the islands will tremble on the day of your fall" - when they heard that Tzor fell, panic set in: from where will we eat, and how will we survive? At first you enriched the kings of the earth, but now "their kings shuddered in horror" (sa'aru sa'ar) - an internal storm, as they were shaken by this downfall. In addition, there was external anguish: "their faces agitated" (ra'amu fanim), for bitterness and distress were visible on their countenances, showing that they were panicked and terrified lest the very ruin that struck you fall upon them as well. Rashi explains "ra'amu fanim" as wrathful, sullen faces, as in "And her rival provoked her sore, to make her fret" (ba'avur har'imah), meaning her face was darkened with distress; and every grievance, Rashi notes, is called a tur'amta, from the root of complaint and bitterness.
סֹחֲרִים בָּעַמִּים שָׁרְקוּ עָלָיִךְ, בַּלָּהוֹת הָיִית וְאֵינֵךְ עַד עוֹלָם - "The merchants among the peoples hissed at you; you have become a terror, and you shall be no more forever."
Even the merchants among the nations hissed over you. Hissing expresses pain, astonishment, and shock, as we find in the verses: "everyone who passes by it shall be astonished and hiss" - anyone passing by will be shocked and hiss, with the hissing conveying panic and distress at the terrible state of affairs. They hissed because their livelihood and trade were lost. "You have become a terror" (ballahot) - the Malbim explains this from the root of phantom spirits or demons, for an apparition is something that exists only in the imagination; and as we saw above, some explain ballahot from behalot (alarms), something terrifying that induces dread. "And you shall be no more forever" - as if you were a phantom that appeared for a brief moment and vanished; so you existed for a moment, and then passed away from the world eternally. So may all the enemies of Hashem perish.
In this part of the lamentation, Yechezkel spreads out the map of Tyre's global trade: Tarshish, Yavan, Tuval and Meshech, Togarmah, Dedan, Aram, Yehudah and the Land of Israel, Damascus, Arabia and Kedar, Sheba and Raamah, Charan, Canneh, Eden, and Ashur - all of them merchants, traders, merchandise, and exchanged goods. Tyre was not a producer but a central hub: everyone deposited their wares with her and everyone took from her, to the point that even Sheba, which had been a direct distributor, began trading through her. And just as all her greatness came to her from the seas, so too her ruin came to her from the seas: an east wind shattered her in the heart of the seas, her enemies contributed to her downfall, and her wealth, her wares, her mariners, her pilots, her leaders, and her warriors - all fell together. The merchants hiss, the kings shudder with troubled faces, and the coastlands are desolate. And from the summit of "I am of perfect beauty," Tyre was left like an apparition seen for a fleeting moment and gone: "You have become a terror, and you shall be no more forever."