Zechariah 9:3 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And Tyrus did build, &c.— It is very true, that Tyre did build herself a strong-hold, for her situation was very strong in an island; and, besides the sea to defend her, she was fortified by a wall of 150 feet in height, and of a proportionable thickness. She heaped up silver as the dust, being the most celebrated place in the world for trade and riches; the mart of nations, as she is called, conveying the commodities of the east to the west, and of the west to the east; and yet, behold, the Lord will cast her out: accordingly, Alexander besieged, took, and set the city on fire. The author of the Observations thinks that the energy of the image, silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets, is nowhere pointed out with the distinctness in which it is placed by the following quotation from the editor of the Ruins of Balbec, who, speaking of the village of Cara, says, that "it is pleasantly situated on a rising ground: the common mud, formed into the shape of bricks, and dried in the sun, of which its houses are built, has at some distance the appearance of white stone; the short duration of such materials is not the only objection to them; for they make the streets dusty when there is wind, and dirty when there is rain. These inconveniencies are felt at Damascus, which is chiefly built in the same manner." They are felt indeed; for Maundrell says, that, upon a violent rain at Damascus, the whole city becomes by the washing of the houses, as it were, a quagmire. See Observations, p. 96. Instead of, Will cast her out, Zechariah 9:4 we may read, Will dispossess her.