The Fulfilment of the
Prophecy
Nebuchadnezzar did move against
Tyre as Ezekiel predicted. A tablet from Babylon records provisions for ‘the
king and the soldiers who went with him against the land of Tyre.’ [The tablet
was published by E.A. Unger, ‘Nebukadnezzar II und sein šandabakku
(Oberkommisar) in Tyrus,’ Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
44 (1926): 314-17. The text is quoted from Corral, Ezekiel’s Oracles Against
Tyre: 61] There can be little doubt that Nebuchadnezzar quickly defeated
the mainland villages around Tyre. However, he was not successful in taking
Tyre itself. Josephus describes a siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar that lasted
13 years (c. 585-572 BC).[Josephus, Against Apion: 1.21. Zimmerli
follows W. B. Fleming and E. Unger in suggesting this set of dates rather than
the slightly higher dates of 588/87 to 575/74 suggested by W. F. Albright; see
Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2 (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1983; tr. from German, 1969): 118] The final result of the siege was
inconclusive. Tyre was not defeated, although it became a Babylonian vassal.
Zimmerli suggests the existence ‘in the city [of] a Babylonian chief
commissioner as “keeper of the seal” alongside the king Baal who replaced the
rebel Ithobaal.’[Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2: 24] Some of the royal family moved
to Babylon, and from there several were later recalled to rule as kings over
Tyre.[ These included Baal-ezer III (556 BC), Mahar-baal (555-552 BC), and
Hiram III (551-532 BC); see Katzenstein, History of Tyre: 342-44. A helpful
discussion of the problems involved in calculating precise dates for Tyrian
rulers may be found in Corral, Ezekiel’s Oracles Against Tyre: 59,
n.160. A ‘king of Tyre’ is also listed as receiving a pension from the
Babylonian court in Nebuchadnezzar’s day; see Pritchard, Ancient Near
Eastern Texts: 308a] Josephus recorded that after the siege ended, Baal II
ruled as king of Tyre for another ten years. He was followed by several judges,
and eventually three more kings.[ Josephus, Against Apion: 1.21]
At least two ancient tablets have
been discovered that bear witness to the continued existence of Tyre in the
days immediately following the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege (572 BC). One,
which deals with the sale of sesame, is dated December, 570 BC and merely
mentions Tyre. The other is a contract actually written in Tyre and dated to
the 40th year of Nebuchadnezzar (565 BC).[Katzenstein, History of
Tyre: 339] The fact that both tablets were dated according to the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar shows definite Babylonian influence in the city. Just as
striking is the evidence the tablets provide that the city continued to
function as a centre of trade after Nebuchadnezzar’s siege. The siege damaged
the city and some of her inhabitants were deported, but Tyre was not destroyed.[Corral,
Ezekiel’s Oracles Against Tyre: 61-62, describes evidence of Tyrian
deportees which comes from tablets discovered at the Mesopotamian city of
Surru, located somewhere between Nippur and Uruk. The tablets are dated to
after the siege of Tyre. In addition, Assyrian records show that Tyrian sailors
and more than 100 former inhabitants of Tyre were present at Nebuchadnezzar’s
palace in Nineveh.]
Further evidence of Tyre’s
continued existence comes from the Bible itself. According to Ezra 3:7, the
Jews who returned to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem some fifty years later
hired both Sidonians and Tyrians to bring cedar to Jerusalem. The implication
seems to be that the inhabitants of Tyre not only survived the Babylonian siege
but also continued to export wood, just as their ancestors had done in the days
of Solomon (1 Chr. 22:4). Zechariah, whose prophetic ministry was mainly during
520-518 BC, also prophesied against the city of Tyre, indicating that it still
remained in his day (Zech. 9:3).[Many scholars attribute chapters 9–11 to an
author working around 300 BC, and chapters 12–14 to yet another author around
250 BC. Either way, the point is that Tyre continued to exist as a functioning
city]
But perhaps the most telling
evidence that Nebuchadnezzar was not successful in his attempt to take Tyre is
found in the later testimony of Ezekiel himself. Some sixteen years after
Ezekiel’s initial prophecy against Tyre, he penned a revision (Ezek. 29:17-20).[Zimmerli
follows Parker-Dubberstein in dating this oracle to April 26, 571 BC; Zimmerli,
Ezekiel 2: 118]
Now in the twenty-seventh year,
in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me
saying, ‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard
against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But
he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed
against it.’ Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I shall give the land
of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth,
and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army.
I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he performed, because
they acted for Me,’ declares the Lord GOD.
This time the prophecy was not a
declaration concerning the fate of Tyre, but a statement about Nebuchadnezzar’s
unsuccessful attempt to conquer the city. ‘He and his army had no wages from
Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it’ (v. 18). In those days the
spoil of a city was considered payment for those who conquered it. In this case
payment evaded Nebuchadnezzar and his army, for the city withstood his attack.
Because of this, God promised that Nebuchadnezzar would be given Egypt instead,
as ‘wages for his army … because they acted for Me.’ Nebuchadnezzar moved
against Egypt about three years later, although this campaign likewise appears
to have been less successful than expected.[For a historical overview of
Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign against Egypt, see John Baines and Jaromir Malek, Cultural
Atlas of Ancient Egypt (rev. edn; New York: Facts on File, 2000): 51; see
also Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East: c. 3000-330 BC, vol. 2 (New
York: Routledge, 1995): 644-45; and Moshe Greenberg, Ezekiel 21-37
(Anchor Bible, 22a; New York: Doubleday, 1997): 617. The Egyptian king Apries
(589-570 BC) was ousted by one of his generals, Amasis (570-526 BC) who
proclaimed himself king. Apries fled to Babylon and persuaded Nebuchadnezzar to
join him in an attempt to retake the throne. The Babylonians attacked Egypt c.
567, but they were repulsed and Apries was killed. If Nebuchadnezzar ever
sacked Egypt, evidence of the event has completely eluded both archaeologists
and historians. Egypt retained its independence until the battle of Pelusium in
525 BC, when it was conquered by the Persian army under Cambyses; on the later
periods, see Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1961): 361-63. Nebuchadnezzar’s failure to take Egypt
presents questions similar to those raised here concerning Tyre; cf. Jeremiah’s
prophecy at about the same time that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Egypt (Jer.
43:8-13)]
In all fairness, it should be
noted that before Nebuchadnezzar lifted the siege against Tyre ‘he received the
nominal submission of the city and the surrender of a number of her nobles.’[Nina
Jidejian, Tyre Through the Ages (Beirut: Dar el-Mashreq, 1969): 56]
Furthermore, ‘the end of the long siege of Tyre was also the end of a long and
glorious history of Tyre.’[Katzenstein, History of Tyre: 337] Tyre would never
recover her previous glory, although she would continue to operate as a central
trading hub through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic, and
Crusader periods. It is thus fair to say that Ezekiel’s initial prophecy
against Tyre may have been partially fulfilled, but it fell short of complete
fulfilment.[ Thomas Renz, ‘Proclaiming the Future: History and Theology in
Prophecies against Tyre,’ TynBul 51 (2000): 17-58, shows that a similar
prophecy against Tyre by Isaiah (ch. 23) met with similar problems. If Isaiah’s
prophecy relates to Sennacherib’s campaign in 701 BC, which seems to be the
best fit, it is still the case that the promise ‘seems to exceed the
fulfillment, even when the oracle is not pressed for absolutely literal fulfillment’
(p. 41). Ezekiel’s prophecy against Tyre is thus not alone in its failure to be
fully realized] As Zimmerli notes with regard to the revised prophecy in
chapter 29, ‘the real question in the background is the question of divine
faithfulness and of the validity of the divine word.’[Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2:
119] (Kris J. Udd, Prediction
and Foreknowledge in Ezekiel’s Prophecy Against Tyre, Tyndale Bulletin
56, no. 1 [2005]: 25-41, here, pp. 29-32)