Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 23:2

"Be still, ye inhabitants of the coast, thou whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished." — Isaiah 23:2 (ASV)

Inhabitants of the isle ... —Better, coast. The word was especially appropriate to the narrow seaboard strip of land occupied by the Phoenicians—Sidon, the older city, the great Zidon of Joshua 11:8; Joshua 19:28, appearing as the representative of Phoenicia generally. It was her commerce that had filled Tyre and the other daughter cities. The “dumbness” to which the prophet calls the people is that of stupefied terror.