John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 27:13

"Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise." — Ezekiel 27:13 (ASV)

Ver. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they [were] thy merchants. Javan designs Greece, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it; especially that part of it called Ionia, from Javan the son of Japheth, (Genesis 10:2) and Tubal, and Meshech, were also sons of Japheth; the former are the Iberi and Albanians, as Jerom and others, among whom were a city called Thabilaca, by Ptolemy ^F23 ; and the latter the Cappadocians, with whom is a city called Mazaca ^F24 .

They traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy markets; or, "the souls of men" ^F25 ; they bought up men and women in the several countries to which they belonged, or where they traded, and brought them to Tyre, and sold them for slaves; and the Ionian and Grecian slaves were had in great esteem: and the best brass, of which vessels were made, was had from Corinth, Delus, and Aeginetus; according to Pliny ^F26 , Cappadocia was famous for it also:

in the first of these merchandises Tyrus was remarkably a type of antichrist, who is said to deal in such wares, the souls of men, (Revelation 18:13) .

The word here rendered "markets", Gussetius ^F1 also observes, does not design the place of commerce, but the act of negotiation or trade; and so it is rendered by many ^F2 .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F23: Geograph. l. 5. c. 12.
• F24: Joseph. Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1.
• F25: (Mda vpnb) "animabus hominum", Pagninus, Vatablus, Cocceius, Starckius.
• F26: Nat. Hist. l. 34. c. 2.
• F1: Ebr. Comment. p. 642.
• F2: (Kbrem) (thn emporian bou), Sept.; "negotiationem tuam", Tigurine version; "in commercio tuo", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus; "mercaturam tuam", Cocceius.