Ezekiel's Oracles against Tyre. Historical Reality and Motivations

This work is a study of the historical reality and motivations of the Tyrian oracles in Ezekiel 26:1-28:19. It shows that economic and political reasons are the main causes for the condemnation. Judah's economic stagnation was the direct result of Tyre's economic policies and trade practices, which may have included selling Judean slaves after Jerusalem's destruction in 586. Social factors are important as well. Tyrian products were status symbols representing the oppression of a dishonest Tyrian elite. A clear connection between Tyre's religion and her economic activities is also observable. Tyrian colonizing activities were a continuation of her Canaanite religion. The study provides a new interpretation of Ezekiel 26:2, the clue for understanding the oracles, showing that the text describes the situation of desolation that resulted from Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of the Philistine ports at the end of the 7ch century. Tyre anticipated a major trade shift to her own ports that would mean Judah's economic ruin.