Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 27:9

"The old men of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to deal in thy merchandise." — Ezekiel 27:9 (ASV)

The ancients of Gebal. —“The ancients” is a thoroughly Semitic expression for the prominent men of a city. Gebal, the ancient Byblos, the modern Gebeil, and the Gu-ba-lu of the Assyrian inscriptions, was a famous Phoenician town just north of Beirut. Its site is still rich in ruins. Its people were famous builders, and according to the margin of 1 Kings 5:18 (so also the Septuagint and Vulgate) were employed by Solomon on the work of the Temple.

The representation is that the whole widely-dispersed Phoenician race was tributary to the works of Tyre. At this point the figure of the ship gives way for a time to plain language, the better to set forth the military resources and power of this great city.