The men of Rhodes traded with you: Men is literally “sons,” but here it is better rendered “people” (Good News Translation). Rhodes was an island between Crete and Asia Minor. It was a very important trading power in the Mediterranean, especially with Egypt and the rest of northern Africa. Instead of Rhodes, the Hebrew text actually reads “Dedan” (New Living Translation, King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Jerusalem Bible/New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Dedan was an oasis in the Arabian Desert. Many scholars think that a desert oasis does not fit with the Mediterranean islands at this point in the list, especially since Dedan reappears in verse 20. Therefore most translations choose to follow the Septuagint, which has “Rhodes.” The Hebrew word for Rhodes is “Rodan.” In Hebrew the difference between the letters for “d” and “r” is very small, and the two letters are often confused (compare the comments on 6.14). As a result, translators can have either “the island of Rhodes” or “the [desert] city of Dedan.”
Many coastlands were your own special markets: Many coastlands refers to the people who lived on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and on islands like Rhodes in the Mediterranean (see 26.15). Your own special markets is literally “the trading [or, traders] of your hand.” It is hard to know what this phrase means. It could mean the coastal people traded with Tyre; for example, New American Bible says “traded with you” (similarly Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Moffatt). Or it could mean that the coastal areas were the places where the trading occurred; for example, New American Standard Bible has “your market” (similarly Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation, New King James Version ). Or it could refer to the coastal people as those who bought goods from Tyre; for example, New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible say “your customers” (similarly Jerusalem Bible). The phrase “of your hand” seems to imply that the coastlands were somehow under the power or authority of Tyre. Perhaps they were not politically independent, being controlled by Tyre, or they simply acted as Tyre’s agents.
They brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony: The Hebrew phrase rendered brought you in payment differs from the other expressions used for trading in this subunit. It has the sense of making a payment to a superior, so it may expressed as “rendered you tribute” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “paying their dues to you” (Revised English Bible), “delivered to you by contract” (Anchor Bible), or “fulfilled their obligations to you.” The use of this expression strengthens the suggestion that these island and coastal nations were either trading as Tyre’s agents, or they were doing so only under the authority of, and with the permission of, Tyre. It was probably from Egypt and the rest of northern Africa that the coastal areas got the ivory and ebony as payment to Tyre. Ivory tusks is often rendered “elephant’s teeth” (see Ezek 27.6). Ebony is a hard, black wood, valuable for carving and decoration. In translation it may be helpful to say “ebony wood for making carvings.”
A model for this verse is:
• The people of Rhodes traded with you. Many people who lived on the islands and coastal areas were doing business on behalf of Tyre. To fulfil their obligations to you, they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony wood.
Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .