Bible Strands
Ezekiel 27:7
Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel addresses the maritime city of Tyre in a commercial catalog that precedes his description of its naval crew and captains.
The words — The text specifies שֵׁשׁ־ (shesh-), meaning fine linen, and תְּכֵ֧לֶת (te.Khe.let), meaning blue, to identify the exact materials fashioned into Tyre’s sail and awning.
The thread — This pairing of blue dye and fine linen reappears in Exodus 25:4 as tabernacle furnishings, while the geographic name Elishah is listed among the sons of Javan in Genesis 10:4 without additional location data.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe how Tyre’s material wealth depends on imported textiles and dyes, establishing the commercial foundation before the oracle shifts to its human operators and impending collapse.
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
Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair;
- Jeremiah 10:9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
- Genesis 10:4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
- Isaiah 19:9 The workers in flax will be dismayed, and the weavers of fine linen will turn pale.
- 1 Kings 10:28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue.
- 1 Chronicles 1:7 And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.
- Proverbs 7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.