Bible Strands
Ezekiel 27:11
Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they perfected your beauty.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through the prophet Ezekiel to detail the military defenses of the merchant city of Tyre. This oracle catalogs the foreign mercenaries stationed at Tyre’s fortifications during its period of commercial prosperity.
The words — The Hebrew text highlights חוֹמוֹתַיִךְ (cho.mo.Ta.yi/kh) as "your walls" and מִגְדּוֹתַיִךְ (mig.de.lo.Ta.yi/kh) as "your towers." These terms specify the exact defensive structures manned by the listed foreign troops.
The thread — The description of Tyre’s defenses and mercenary forces continues in Ezekiel 27:10 and 27:12. The broader oracle begins in Ezekiel 27:3 with the command to address the city as a merchant of the peoples.
Why it lands — The text records the concrete presence of foreign soldiers securing Tyre’s perimeter. It asks the reader to observe how commercial power relies on external military support rather than inherent strength.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 27:3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the gateway to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coasts, that this is what the Lord GOD says: You have said, O Tyre, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’