Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 23:15

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years it shall be unto Tyre as in the song of the harlot." — Isaiah 23:15 (ASV)

Tyre shall be forgotten - It will cease to be a place of importance in commerce; it will be unheard of in those distant places to which ships formerly sailed.

Seventy years, according to the days of one king - ‘That is, of one kingdom (Daniel 8:20)’ (Lowth). The word ‘king’ may denote a dynasty or kingdom. The duration of the Babylonian monarchy was properly only seventy years. Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest in the first year of his reign, and from that time to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus was seventy years. At that time, the nations that had been conquered and subdued by the Babylonians would be restored to liberty. Tyre was, indeed, taken toward the middle of that period, and its subjugation referred to here was only for the remaining part of it. Jeremiah says, ‘All these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years’ (Jeremiah 25:11). Some of them were conquered sooner, and some later, but the end of this period was the common time of deliverance for them all. Lowth, Newton, Vitringa, Aben Ezra, Rosenmuller, and others understand this in this way. That ‘the days of one king’ may denote a kingdom or dynasty here, and be applied to the duration of the kingdom of Babylon, is apparent from two considerations, namely:

1. The word ‘king’ must be understood in this way in several places in the Scriptures; Daniel 7:17: ‘These great beasts which are four, are four great kings which shall arise out of the earth,’ meaning dynasties, or successions of kings (Daniel 8:20).
2. The expression is especially applicable to the Babylonian monarchy because, during the entire seventy years that kingdom lasted, it was under the dominion of one family or dynasty. Nebuchadnezzar founded the Babylonian empire, or raised it to such great splendor, that he was regarded as its founder. He was succeeded in the kingdom by his son Evil-Merodach, and his grandson Belshazzar, in whose reign the kingdom terminated. Compare Jeremiah 27:7: ‘And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son.’ The period of seventy years is mentioned several times as a period during which the nations subject to Babylon would be oppressed, after which they would be set at liberty (Jeremiah 29:10).

Shall Tyre sing as an harlot - The margin, following the Hebrew, reads: ‘It shall be to Tyre as the song of an harlot.’ This means that Tyre will be restored to its former state of prosperity and opulence; it will be adorned with the rich productions of other regions, and will be happy and joyful again. There are two ideas here: one, that Tyre would be prosperous again, and the other, that it would sustain substantially the same character as before. It was common to compare cities with females, whether virtuous or otherwise (see the note at Isaiah 1:8). The same figure used here occurs in Revelation 17:3-19 (Nahum 3:4; Revelation 18:3, 18:9).