Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 18:11-13

"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more; merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and [merchandise] of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men." — Revelation 18:11-13 (ASV)

And the merchants of the earth . . .—A better rendering is, The merchants of the earth weep and mourn (not “shall weep; ” the vividness of the description is intensified by the use of the present tense) over her; because no one buys their cargo any longer—the cargo of gold, etc.

The list of cargoes and merchandise is not without arrangement. The various goods are placed in groups. The treasures come first—gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. The soft goods used for clothing are placed next—fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; in the description of Dives, clothed in purple and fine linen (Byssus, the same word as here), we have a suggestive resemblance. Next come materials used for adding splendour to house furnishings: thyine wood, and every article (the word “vessel,” as in the English version, is hardly wide enough in meaning) of ivory, costly wood, brass, iron, and marble.

The thyine wood was probably derived from a kind of citron-tree of African growth. The wood was sweet-scented and was a favourite wood for doors, panels, and ceilings; its rich brown hue was often relieved by inlaid ivory.

After articles used for furniture, aromatics follow: cinnamon, amomum (this is omitted in the English version, but authority favours its insertion), perfumes, ointments, and frankincense. Regarding cinnamon and its use, compare Exodus 30:2-3; it was one of the perfumes employed to enhance the delight of the voluptuary (Proverbs 7:17). It is doubtful whether it is the same as our modern cinnamon. Amomum was a kind of sweet-scented shrub, yielding an ointment much used for the hair. Perfumes were employed in incense.

Next come articles of food—wine, oil, fine meal, wheat, cattle, and sheep. Then come the equipages—horses and chariots. The chariot (rheda) was a vehicle much used in Rome by the wealthy classes.

Lastly, the traffic in human beings closes the list: slaves (literally, bodies) and souls of men. There is perhaps a special allusion to those slaves who were attached to the chariots or litters used by the rich. The traffic in slaves (persons of men) is mentioned as part of the commerce of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:13). The number of slaves in Rome was enormous.

Souls of men. The climax of wicked worldliness is reached in this last item. It gives the finishing touch to the picture of a society wholly engrossed in pleasure, indolence, and selfishness. This society lays every market under tribute to add to its luxuriousness and sacrifices not only the happiness but also the lives and liberties of fellow human beings to its own enjoyment.

It has been said that this general description does not suit Rome, as Rome never was, and never could be, a commercial center. However, the picture is designed to show the corrupt luxury and voluptuousness of society in great Babylon, not necessarily the accumulated merchandise of a great commercial city. The various wares are “for her use and consumption,” not for her to sell.

All the avenues from every distant part of the earth found their focus in Rome. Her existence, her political supremacy, and her luxurious way of living created and sustained all the commercial activity described here. With her fall, the hope of their gains passed from the merchants of the earth.

Compare the language of Gibbon: “The most remote countries of the ancient world were ransacked to supply the pomp and delicacy of Rome. The forests of Scythia afforded some valuable furs; amber was brought from the shores of the Baltic and the Danube; and the barbarians were astonished at the price which they received for so useless a commodity.

“There was a considerable demand for Babylonian carpets and other manufactures of the East; but the most important and unpopular branch of foreign trade was carried on with Arabia and India.

“Every year, about the time of the summer solstice, a fleet of an hundred and twenty vessels sailed from Myos-hormos, a port of Egypt on the Red Sea. The coast of Malabar or the island of Ceylon was the usual term of their navigation, and it was in those markets that the merchants from the more remote countries of Asia expected their arrival. The return of the fleet was fixed to the months of December or January; and as soon as their rich cargo had been transported on the backs of camels, from the Red Sea to the Nile, and had descended that river as far as Alexandria, it was poured without delay into the capital of the Empire. The objects of Oriental traffic were splendid and trifling: silk, a pound of which was esteemed in value not inferior to a pound of gold; precious stones also, among which the pearl claimed the first rank after the diamond, and a variety of aromatics that were consumed in religious worship and the pomp of funerals. The labour and risk of the voyage was rewarded with almost incredible profits; but the profits were made upon Roman subjects, and a few individuals were enriched at the expense of the public” (Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, vol. i., Rev. ii.).