Isaiah 23:3
in Isaiah 23On 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And on great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the mart of nations.
KJV
And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Vers. 3.) Those crossing the sea fill you, in many waters, with the seed of the Nile, and the harvest of its river. Tyre rejoices in trade, and is the market of the whole world, and the present times prove it, as described by Ezekiel in his lengthy discourse. That merchants cross the seas in transporting goods is not doubted by anyone; nor does the city itself have such great wealth from the land of its region, which is very narrow, and is pressed by the borders of Galilee and Damascus, as it has from the transportation of ships.
This site's exposition
The burden of Tyre
on Isaiah 23:1-5
The last of the burdens against the nations falls on Tyre, and the news travels the way Tyre's wealth did, by sea: the ships of Tarshish hear it at Chittim, Cyprus on the homeward run, and howl for a harbor that no longer exists. The commercial geography is exact and the bench maps it: Zidon her elder sister, the seed of Sihor, grain of the Nile, carried as her revenue, a mart of nations fed by Egypt's harvest. Even the sea is made to speak as a mother bereaved, I travail not, nor bring forth children, commerce's whole nursery gone silent.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he sets out their stupor: be silent, adding three things in which they gloried, namely, in the fortification of their position: you that dwell in the island; in the abundance of their merchandise: trade, that is, in which they trade; have filled you, with …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And by great waters the seed of Sihor,....
Sihor was the river of Egypt: by that river, and the ocean into which it ran, the Egyptians traded with Tyre; and the harvest of that river was her revenue.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And by great waters - That is, by the abundant-waters, or the overflowing of the Nile. Tyre was the mart to which the superabundant productions of Egypt were borne (see Ezek. 27) The seed of Sihor - There can be no doubt that by ‘Sihor’ here is meant the river Nile in Egypt (see Jos 13:3; 1Ch 13:5; Jer 2:18). The word שׁחר shichor is derived from שׁחר shachar, “to be black” Job 30:30, and is given to the Nile from its color when it brings down the slime or mud by which Egypt is rendered so fertile.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Sihor--literally, "dark-colored"; applied to the Nile, as the Egyptian Jeor, and the Greek Melas, to express the "dark, turbid" colors given to its waters by the fertilizing soil which it deposits at its yearly overflow (Jer 2:18). harvest of the river--the growth of the Delta; the produce due to the overflow of the Nile: Egypt was the great granary of corn in the ancient world (Ge 41:1-57;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The seed of Sihor “The seed of the Nile” - The Nile is called here Shichor, as it is Jer 2:18, and 1Ch 13:5. It had this name from the blackness of its waters, charged with the mud which it brings down from Ethiopia when it overflows, Et viridem Aegyptum nigra fecundat arena; as it was called by the Greeks Melas, and by the Latins Melo, for the same reason. See Servius on the above line of Virgil, Georg. 4:291. It was called Siris by the Ethiopians, by some supposed to be the same with Shichor. Egypt by its extraordinary fertility, caused by the overflowing of the Nile supplied the neighboring nations with corn, by which branch of trade the Tyrians gained great wealth.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְמַ֤יִם | uvemayim | and on waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּים֙ | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| זֶ֣רַע | zera' | [was] [the] seed of | H2233 → | 229 times |
| שִׁחֹ֔ר | shichor | Shihor | H7883 → | |
| קְצִ֥יר | ketzir | [the] harvest of | H7105 → | 54 times |
| יְא֖וֹר | yeor | [the] River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| תְּבֽוּאָתָ֑הּ | tevuatah | revenue her | H8393 → | |
| וַתְּהִ֖י | vatehi | and it became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| סְחַ֥ר | sechar | [the] traffic of | H5504 → | 7 times |
| גּוֹיִֽם׃ | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
וּבְמַ֤יִםand on waters
uvemayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּים֙many
rabimH7227 →454 times
זֶ֣רַע[was] [the] seed of
zera'H2233 →229 times
שִׁחֹ֔רShihor
shichorH7883 →
קְצִ֥יר[the] harvest of
ketzirH7105 →54 times
יְא֖וֹר[the] River
yeorH2975 →65 times
תְּבֽוּאָתָ֑הּrevenue her
tevuatahH8393 →
וַתְּהִ֖יand it became
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
סְחַ֥ר[the] traffic of
secharH5504 →7 times
גּוֹיִֽם׃nations
goyimH1471 →561 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
1 Chronicles 13:5So David assembled all Israel, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 6:21
So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
- 2 Samuel 6:1
David again assembled the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all.
- 1 Kings 8:65
So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more…
- 1 Samuel 6:21
Through
Joel 3:5For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 21:16–17
Then the LORD stirred against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and Arabs who lived near the Cushites.
- 2 Kings 24:13
As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king…
- 2 Chronicles 21:16–17
Through
Jeremiah 2:18Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
it leads to
- Joshua 13:3
All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of…
- Joshua 13:3
Through
Ezekiel 28:4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:4–5
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
- Proverbs 18:11
A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
- Proverbs 23:4–5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.