Ezekiel 26:4
And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
Original Language Analysis
וְשִׁחֲת֞וּ
And they shall destroy
H7843
וְשִׁחֲת֞וּ
And they shall destroy
Strong's:
H7843
Word #:
1 of 12
to decay, i.e., (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively)
וְהָֽרְסוּ֙
and break down
H2040
וְהָֽרְסוּ֙
and break down
Strong's:
H2040
Word #:
4 of 12
to pull down or in pieces, break, destroy
מִגְדָּלֶ֔יהָ
her towers
H4026
מִגְדָּלֶ֔יהָ
her towers
Strong's:
H4026
Word #:
5 of 12
a tower (from its size or height); by analogy, a rostrum; figuratively, a (pyramidal) bed of flowers
עֲפָרָ֖הּ
her dust
H6083
עֲפָרָ֖הּ
her dust
Strong's:
H6083
Word #:
7 of 12
dust (as powdered or gray); hence, clay, earth, mud
מִמֶּ֑נָּה
H4480
מִמֶּ֑נָּה
Strong's:
H4480
Word #:
8 of 12
properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
וְנָתַתִּ֥י
from her and make
H5414
וְנָתַתִּ֥י
from her and make
Strong's:
H5414
Word #:
9 of 12
to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
אוֹתָ֖הּ
H853
אוֹתָ֖הּ
Strong's:
H853
Word #:
10 of 12
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
Cross References
Isaiah 23:11He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.Amos 1:10But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.Ezekiel 26:9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
Historical Context
When Alexander besieged island Tyre (332 BC), he constructed a massive causeway using rubble from mainland Tyre, which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed. His engineers scraped the mainland site to bedrock gathering material, fulfilling Ezekiel's prophecy given 250+ years earlier. The causeway turned the island into a peninsula, still visible today.
Questions for Reflection
- How does precise prophetic fulfillment authenticate Scripture's divine origin?
- What does it mean that God will leave Tyre like 'bare rock'?
- How should fulfilled prophecy affect our confidence in unfulfilled prophecies?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers predicts military conquest. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock uses striking imagery—God will scrape Tyre clean like scraping barnacles off a rock, leaving bare stone. This prophecy was fulfilled when Alexander used Tyre's mainland rubble to build his causeway to the island, literally scraping the site clean. Archaeological excavations show the mainland site was indeed scraped to bedrock, exactly as prophesied. Prophetic precision demonstrates supernatural foreknowledge—details fulfilled centuries later could only come from God.