An ancient Phoenician city-state that ruled itself like a small independent country. Tyre is located on the Mediterranean coast 32.2 kilometers (20 miles) south of Sidon and 37 kilometers (23 miles) north of Acre. Tyre had two major areas:
an older port city on the mainland
an island city a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the coast where the majority of the population lived.
History of Tyre
According to Herodotus, Tyre was founded around 2700 BC. The earliest references to Tyre are in a 15th-century Ugaritic document and a similar Egyptian document. Tyre first appears in the Bible in the list of cities in Asher’s inheritance (Joshua 19:29). At that time, it was described as a "strong city" and was evidently never conquered by the Israelites (2 Samuel 24:7). Tyre was most significant as a merchant center. Because of its location, the city had strong trade through sea routes around the Mediterranean region. Overland trade traffic with Mesopotamia and Arabia was also significant.
Tyre's Relationship with Israel
While David and Solomon ruled Israel, Tyre was a strong commercial ally. Both David and Solomon traded with Hiram of Tyre. They traded agricultural produce for timber, building materials, and skilled laborers (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1–11; 1 Chronicles 14:1; 2 Chronicles 2:3–16).
After the division of the kingdom, Tyre was still on friendly terms with Israel for some time. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, was the daughter of "Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians." This king is known elsewhere as Ithobal of Tyre (1 Kings 16:31; the ancient historian Menander also mentions this king). At some point, Assyrian and Babylonian aggression created enough pressure on Tyre to reject the alliance. By the time Samaria fell, Tyre and Israel were no longer allies and became enemies not long after.
Prophecies About Tyre
In the later kingdom, Tyre was strongly criticized by the prophets (Isaiah 23:1–18; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:1–11; Ezekiel 26:1–19; Joel 3:4–8; Amos 1:9–10). Tyre was condemned for several reasons:
Because of its commercial significance, Tyre was the focal point of Assyrian and Egyptian rivalries. Tyre played these rivals against each other while building its own wealth and exploiting its neighbors.
Tyre was a city of greedy merchants.
Tyre was also a center of religious idolatry and sexual immorality.
Tyre was guilty of great pride in its great wealth and strategic location.
Ezekiel’s prophecy against Tyre offers a detailed picture of the city, its commercial empire, its sin, and its eventual fall (Ezekiel 26:1–28; 29:18–20). The final destruction of Tyre took almost 1,900 years. Not until AD 1291 was it totally destroyed. Tyre was surrounded and attacked by Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years, from 587 to 574 BC. Alexander the Great conquered the city in 332 BC after a seven-month siege. Alexander built a raised road across the water out to the island from the mainland. Ezekiel’s description of Tyre’s arrogance compares it to that of Satan’s. Tyre’s words "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea." are the same expression that led to the fall of both Satan and Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2).
Tyre in the New Testament
Alexander conquered and destroyed portions of the city. But the New Testament indicates Tyre had regained some ground. Tyre was equal to or greater than Jerusalem in population and commercial power. Jesus visited the area around Tyre during his early ministry. He healed the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter there (Matthew 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–31). Jesus compared the Galilean towns that had rejected him to Tyre and Sidon. This comparison implied that Galileans had less reason for rejecting Jesus because of the great number of miracles he had done there (Luke 10:13–14).