Isaiah 23

Isaiah 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chapter foretells the destruction of Tyre due to its pride, its rising again, and its conversion to God.

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis.
Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls :

1QIsa^a: complete
1QIsa^b: extant verses 1‑5
4QIsa^a : extant verses 1‑12
4QIsa^c : extant verses 8‑18

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 23 is a part of the Prophecies about the Nations . : open parashah; : closed parashah.

Proclamation against Tyre

Verse 1

"Burden" : the keyword in the superscriptions for a total of nine similar oracles; the others being: Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1.
"Tyre" ; Egyptian ''Da-: famous Phoenician city, which in ancient time was built on a "rock" offshore in the Mediterranean Sea. The city was already prosperous in 14th century BC as a major trading port. It was strongly fortified but at the end was laid waste after it was conquered by Alexander the Great. The modern city is the continuation of ancient extension of the city in the mainland.
"Tarshish" : a faraway port, generally identified as "Tartessos" in Spain, located in the mouth of Guadalquivir river, where the Phoenicians are said to establish the first anchorage grounds and deal in precious metals. Other possibilities include: Tarsus in Cilicia, Tyrseni in Etruscan/Tuscany, or Carthage in North Africa.
"Chittim" : "Citienses", "Cypriotes" or "Cyprians", a Phoenecian colony in Citium (=Kition), Cyprus. The term is also used in general for places beyond Cyprus, as far as Greece.