This verse underlines Tyre’s fall from power, her eventual restoration, and God’s ultimate authority in orchestrating history.
“Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king; at the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot.” (v.15) This prophetic announcement through Isaiah, who ministered in Judah around 739-681 BC, speaks of a notable period in which Tyre, a significant Phoenician city on the coast of present-day Lebanon, would lose its influence and become almost forgotten. Tyre was known for its prosperous maritime trade and considerable wealth, making this declaration of a seventy-year humbling all the more striking. The reference to “like the days of one king” (v.15) likely indicates the normal span of a monarch’s reign, symbolizing a divinely appointed time of judgment that would last until the city’s appointed season was accomplished.
“Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years” (v.15) also brings to mind similar spans in Scripture, such as the seventy-year exile of Judah (Jeremiah 25:11-12), underscoring how God uses specific periods to bring transformation and renewal. Historically, Tyre faced multiple invasions, including the siege by Nebuchadnezzar II around 586-573 BC, forcing the city to experience the loss of prestige Isaiah pronounces here. After that interval, Tyre would rise again, much like in “the song of the harlot” (v.15), a poetic way to say this once-mighty city would return to trade and influence, but also to face moral challenges reminiscent of its earlier ways.
Furthermore, this passage anticipates the transformative work that accompanies judgment. Although Tyre’s role in the region waned, centuries later Jesus traveled through the region of Tyre (Mark 7:24-30), revealing God’s desire for redemption even among Gentile cities traditionally considered outside the covenant people of Israel. In this Scripture, Tyre’s humbling points to the Lord’s sovereignty over all nations and foreshadows that, in God’s plan, even cities beyond Israel’s borders could be brought low or lifted up according to His will.
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Isaiah 23:15 meaning
“Now in that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king; at the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot.” (v.15) This prophetic announcement through Isaiah, who ministered in Judah around 739-681 BC, speaks of a notable period in which Tyre, a significant Phoenician city on the coast of present-day Lebanon, would lose its influence and become almost forgotten. Tyre was known for its prosperous maritime trade and considerable wealth, making this declaration of a seventy-year humbling all the more striking. The reference to “like the days of one king” (v.15) likely indicates the normal span of a monarch’s reign, symbolizing a divinely appointed time of judgment that would last until the city’s appointed season was accomplished.
“Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years” (v.15) also brings to mind similar spans in Scripture, such as the seventy-year exile of Judah (Jeremiah 25:11-12), underscoring how God uses specific periods to bring transformation and renewal. Historically, Tyre faced multiple invasions, including the siege by Nebuchadnezzar II around 586-573 BC, forcing the city to experience the loss of prestige Isaiah pronounces here. After that interval, Tyre would rise again, much like in “the song of the harlot” (v.15), a poetic way to say this once-mighty city would return to trade and influence, but also to face moral challenges reminiscent of its earlier ways.
Furthermore, this passage anticipates the transformative work that accompanies judgment. Although Tyre’s role in the region waned, centuries later Jesus traveled through the region of Tyre (Mark 7:24-30), revealing God’s desire for redemption even among Gentile cities traditionally considered outside the covenant people of Israel. In this Scripture, Tyre’s humbling points to the Lord’s sovereignty over all nations and foreshadows that, in God’s plan, even cities beyond Israel’s borders could be brought low or lifted up according to His will.