“The inhabitants
Of Sidon
With the inhabitants
Of Arvad
Were your rowers.
The skilled men
Of Zemer
Were within you.
They were your pilots.
The elders
Of Gebal
With its artisans
Were within you.
They were caulking
Your seams.
All the ships
Of the sea
With their mariners
Were within you,
To barter
For your wares.”
Ezekiel showed a great knowledge about ships and travel in Tyre. The rowers in the boats of Tyre were from Sidon and Arvad. Sidon was often mentioned together with Tyre. Sidon itself, now part of Lebanon, was a seacoast town about 25 miles north of Tyre, supposedly named after the son of Canaan, the grandson of Noah. Arvad was another island city about 120 miles north of Tyre that is now part of Syria. The pilots on the boats were from Zemer, an inland town that is now part of Israel. The artistic caulkers on the ships were the old people from Gebal, later known as Byblos, about 70 miles north of Tyre. The sailors and the merchants were all from Tyre itself.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 