Re: Tyre

Murphy (gmurphy@imperium.net)
Mon, 03 Mar 1997 21:39:18 -0500

Dick Fischer wrote:
>
> > The oracles against the Prince of Tyre (& they are against him
> >personally as well as the economically powerful city) would totally lose
> >their force if they were really directed against his descendants
> >centuries in the future: "In the long run we are all dead."
> > 29:17-20 states explicitly that N's army besieging Tyre had been
> >working for God. Doing what? The inclusion of these verses serves no
> >purpose on your interpretation.
>
> Perhaps, but Eze. 28:11-19 is directed at the king of Tyre, yet
> universally is regarded as a tirade against the Prince of Darkness.

This (like a similar interpretation of Is.14:12) is an
unfortunate _re_mythologizing of the biblical material. The prophets
used images from pagan myths to describe the hubris of real kings, a
use which Childs called "broken myth". It is a mistake - though a
common one since Jerome & other Fathers - to turn in back into myth
about the fall of Satan.
But anyway - that is only the 4th of the oracles against Tyre.
The argument I presented stands without change if we consider only the
1st, Ch.26.

> I see little difference in regarding the prophesy naming Nebuchadrezar
> fulfilled by Alexander.

An approach to prophecy which says "Nebuchadrezar, Alexander -
what's the difference?" isn't very testable.

George Murphy