Ezekiel 27:13
in Ezekiel 27Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise.
KJV
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
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This verse in Ezekiel 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseJavan designs Greece, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; especially that part of it called Ionia, from Javan the son of Japheth, Gen 10:2 and Tubal, and Meshech, were also sons of Japheth; the former are the Iberi and Albanians, as Jerom and others, among whom were a city called Thabilaca, by Ptolemy (w); and the latter the Cappadocians, with whom is a city called Mazaca (x).
This site's exposition
Tarshish was thy merchant
on Ezekiel 27:12-15
The trade list opens with Tarshish, likely a distant western port, supplying silver, iron, tin and lead in bulk, and turns next to Javan, Tubal and Meshech, peoples of Asia Minor, who traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market, one of Scripture's plainest references to a trade in human beings run through Tyre's markets. Togarmah in the far north supplies horses and mules, and Dedan in the Arabian south supplies ivory and ebony, the list stretching from one edge of the known world to the other within four verses. Clarke reads the human trafficking named at verse 13 without any softening, the same matter-of-fact list format used for iron and ivory applied to men, letting the weight of it sit in the plainness of the accounting.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 13, 14.) Greece, Tubal, and Meshech themselves brought slaves and bronze vessels to your people. From the house of Togarmah they brought horses and horsemen, and mules to your market. Also, Greece and its surroundings, your merchants brought souls of men and bronze vessels to your market. From the house of Togarmah, they brought horses, horsemen, and mules to your trading post.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), which is designed to make its ruin the more lamentable. A prediction of its fall and ruin, and the confusion and consternation which all its neighbours shall thereby be put into,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech - The Ionians, the Tybarenians, and the Cappadocians, or Muscovites. They traded the persons of men - That is, they trafficked in slaves. The bodies and souls of men were bought and sold in those days, as in our degenerate age. With these also they traded in brazen vessels.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Meshech--the Tibareni and Moschi, in the mountain region between the Black and Caspian Seas. persons of men--that is, as slaves. So the Turkish harems are supplied with female slaves from Circassia and Georgia. vessels--all kinds of articles. Superior weapons are still manufactured in the Caucasus region.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָוָ֤ן | yavan | Javan | H3120 → | |
| תֻּבַל֙ | tuval | Tubal | H8422 → | 8 times |
| וָמֶ֔שֶׁךְ | vameshekh | and Meshech | H4902 → | 9 times |
| הֵ֖מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| רֹֽכְלָ֑יִךְ | rokhelayikh | [were] traders your | H7402 → | 17 times |
| בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁ | benefesh | for [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אָדָם֙ | ʾadam | human[s] | H120 → | 551 times |
| וּכְלֵ֣י | ukhelei | and vessels of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| נְחֹ֔שֶׁת | nechoshet | bronze | H5178 → | 140 times |
| נָתְנ֖וּ | natenu | they exchanged | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מַעֲרָבֵֽךְ׃ | maaravekh | merchandise your | H4627 → | 9 times |
יָוָ֤ןJavan
yavanH3120 →
תֻּבַל֙Tubal
tuvalH8422 →8 times
וָמֶ֔שֶׁךְand Meshech
vameshekhH4902 →9 times
הֵ֖מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
רֹֽכְלָ֑יִךְ[were] traders your
rokhelayikhH7402 →17 times
בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁfor [the] life of
benefeshH5315 →754 times
אָדָם֙human[s]
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וּכְלֵ֣יand vessels of
ukheleiH3627 →325 times
נְחֹ֔שֶׁתbronze
nechoshetH5178 →140 times
נָתְנ֖וּthey exchanged
natenuH5414 →2011 times
מַעֲרָבֵֽךְ׃merchandise your
maaravekhH4627 →9 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who…
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:15
so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.
- Romans 15:21
Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
- Ezekiel 27:10
Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.
- Isaiah 52:15
Through
Genesis 10:2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 38:2
“Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him
- Ezekiel 38:6
as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
- Ezekiel 38:2
Through
Ezekiel 39:1“As for you, O son of man, prophesy against Gog and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 38:2–3
“Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him
- Ezekiel 38:2–3
Through
Revelation 18:13of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots; of slaves and souls of men.
it leads to
- Amos 2:6
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
- Amos 2:6
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.