Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 27:7

"Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning." — Ezekiel 27:7 (ASV)

Fine linen with embroidered work.— To a modern sailor, “fine linen” may seem both an extravagant and an insufficient material for a ship’s sails, but the state ships of antiquity were often fitted out in this way, and the sails embroidered in colors in place of a pennant. The clause literally is, Linen with embroidery from Egypt was for your spreading out (sail), to be to you for a sign.

Isles of Elishah.— In Genesis 10:4 and 1 Chronicles 1:7, Elishah is mentioned among the sons of Javan, or Ionia. The regions referred to here are the coasts of Asia Minor, where an abundant supply of the murex (from which the famous purple dye came) was obtained when the quantity on the Tyrian coast was insufficient for its manufacturing. That which covered you is the awning spread over the ship’s deck.