What does Isaiah 23:2 mean?
Isaiah's oracle against the coastal port city of Tyre does not impact that city alone. He has instructed the merchants and sailors on the ships of Tarshish to weep because Tyre has been destroyed (Isaiah 23:1).Now he calls to the people of the coast. The prophet is likely referring to the inhabitants of the region of Phoenicia, or the people of "the island," meaning the inhabitants of the island city of Tyre. He instructs them using the Hebrew root word dà„mam. This most literally refers to silence or stillness, especially in the context of death or mourning. Those wiped out by the destruction of Tyre would, of course, be quite still. Those who had benefitted from the trade which came through Tyre would have mourned the loss of the great city laid low by her enemies.
The cities of Tyre and Sidon are often mentioned together. Sidon was another great coastal port city 25 miles, or 40 kilometers, north of Tyre. Isaiah seems to be saying that, though the merchants of Sidon have been enriched by all that sea trade, the time has come to mourn and be silent. Those prosperous times of trade are over.
