5801. izzabon
Lexical Summary
izzabon: Sorrow, pain, toil

Original Word: עִזָּבוֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `izzabown
Pronunciation: itz-tsaw-bone'
Phonetic Spelling: (iz-zaw-bone')
KJV: fair, ware
NASB: wares
Word Origin: [from H5800 (עָזַב - To leave) in the sense of letting go (for a price, i.e. selling)]

1. trade, i.e. the place (mart) or the payment (revenue)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
fair, ware

From azab in the sense of letting go (for a price, i.e. Selling); trade, i.e. The place (mart) or the payment (revenue) -- fair, ware.

see HEBREW azab

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from azab
Definition
wares
NASB Translation
wares (7).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[עִזָּבוֺן] noun [masculine] only plural wares (as left in the purchaser's hand; compare Assyrian uzub(b)u, a specific payment); — suffix 2 feminine singular עִזְּבוֺנַיִךְ Ezekiel 27:27,33, נָ֑יִךְ- Ezekiel 27:12 4t.; — wares, only Ezekiel 27 (often "" מַעֲרָב q. v. below ערב); ׳בַּרְזֶל בְּדִיל וְעוֺפֶרֶת נָָֽתְנוּ ע Ezekiel 27:12 iron, tin and lead they furnished as thy wares; similarly Ezekiel 27:14; Ezekiel 27:22; also Ezekiel 27:16 (ᵑ0 ׳בְּע, but probably delבְּ); נָָֽתְנוּ ׳בְּע Ezekiel 27:19 at the price of (in exchange for) thy wares they furnished, etc.; ׳הוֺנֵךְ וְע (as subject of sentence) Ezekiel 27:27; בְּצֵאת מִיַּמִּים ׳ע Ezekiel 27:33 when thy wares came forth, etc.

Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Core Idea

עִזָּבוֹן centers on the notion of “wares,” “merchandise,” or “commercial gain.” It denotes finished products or valuable cargo gathered for exchange rather than raw materials. By extension, it can represent the prosperity that flows from skillful trade.

Concentrated Usage in Ezekiel 27

Every occurrence lies in Ezekiel’s lament over Tyre, the maritime superpower of the ancient Near East. In this dirge (Ezekiel 27:1–36) the prophet catalogs dozens of commodities that passed through Tyre’s harbors. Seven times he employs עִזָּבוֹן to portray the accumulated wealth that filled her ships and warehouses:

Ezekiel 27:12 – Silver, iron, tin, and lead are called “your merchandise.”
Ezekiel 27:14 – Horses and mules from Beth-Togarmah arrive “in payment for your wares.”
Ezekiel 27:16 – “Your merchandise” includes turquoise, purple fabrics, rubies, and embroidery.
Ezekiel 27:19 – Cassia, calamus, and wrought iron are “among your merchandise.”
Ezekiel 27:22 – “Your merchandise” is rich in precious stones and gold.
Ezekiel 27:27 – “Your riches, wares, and merchandise… sink into the heart of the seas.”
Ezekiel 27:33 – “When your wares left the seas, you satisfied many peoples.”

Thus עִזָּבוֹן frames the entire poem: initial abundance, flourishing trade networks, and final ruin.

Historical Context: Tyre’s Trade Empire

Situated on an island with two excellent harbors, Tyre commanded east-west commerce. Phoenician sailors ferried Levantine timber, Egyptian papyrus, and Arabian spices to Greece, Africa, and beyond. Ezekiel records at least twenty-five trading partners (Ezekiel 27:12-24). עִזָּבוֹן captures the inventory Tyre amassed—evidence of advanced supply chains long before modern logistics.

Theological and Prophetic Significance

1. Human Glory Versus Divine Sovereignty

Tyre’s prosperity fostered self-exaltation (Ezekiel 28:2). By cataloging her עִזָּבוֹן the prophet magnifies the Lord who judges nations that trust in wealth rather than in Him.

2. Fleeting Nature of Earthly Riches

“Your riches, wares, and merchandise… will fall” (Ezekiel 27:27). The repetition of עִזָּבוֹן intensifies the warning that material abundance cannot avert divine judgment.

3. Typological Glimpse of End-Time Commerce

Revelation describes Babylon the Great as a mercantile city whose “cargo” (Greek phortion, ideationally akin to עִזָּבוֹן) is abruptly destroyed (Revelation 18:11-19). Ezekiel’s lament anticipates that ultimate collapse.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Stewardship: Believers engaged in business should regard wealth as a tool for service, not self-glory (Matthew 6:19-21).
• Missions Funding: Commerce, when surrendered to Christ, can spread the gospel—as shown by Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth (Acts 16:14-15).
• Warning Against Materialism: Churches in affluent cultures must heed Tyre’s fate, guarding hearts against the idolatry of prosperity.

Christological Reflection

While Tyre’s עִזָּבוֹן sank, Isaiah foretells a day when “the wealth of the nations will come to you” (Isaiah 60:5), ultimately fulfilled in the reign of Messiah. The contrast highlights the permanence of treasures gathered under Christ’s lordship versus the perishability of all other gain.

Summary

עִזָּבוֹן spotlights the magnetism and vulnerability of earthly commerce. Ezekiel wields the term to reveal the rise and fall of Tyre, illustrating that God alone grants or removes prosperity. For modern disciples, it summons faithful stewardship, missionary generosity, and vigilance against the temptation to anchor identity in material success.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּעִזְבוֹנַ֖יִךְ בְּעִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃ בעזבוניך בעזבוניך׃ וְעִזְבוֹנַ֔יִךְ ועזבוניך עִזְבוֹנַ֙יִךְ֙ עִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃ עזבוניך עזבוניך׃ ‘iz·ḇō·w·na·yiḵ ‘iz·ḇō·w·nā·yiḵ ‘izḇōwnayiḵ ‘izḇōwnāyiḵ bə‘izḇōwnayiḵ bə‘izḇōwnāyiḵ bə·‘iz·ḇō·w·na·yiḵ bə·‘iz·ḇō·w·nā·yiḵ beizvoNayich izvoNayich veizvoNayich wə‘izḇōwnayiḵ wə·‘iz·ḇō·w·na·yiḵ
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Englishman's Concordance
Ezekiel 27:12
HEB: וְעוֹפֶ֔רֶת נָתְנ֖וּ עִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃
NAS: and lead they paid for your wares.
KJV: and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
INT: and lead paid your wares

Ezekiel 27:14
HEB: וּפְרָדִ֔ים נָתְנ֖וּ עִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃
NAS: and mules for your wares.
KJV: traded in thy fairs with horses
INT: and mules gave your wares

Ezekiel 27:16
HEB: וְכַדְכֹּ֔ד נָתְנ֖וּ בְּעִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃
NAS: they paid for your wares with emeralds,
KJV: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds,
INT: and rubies paid your wares

Ezekiel 27:19
HEB: וְיָוָן֙ מְאוּזָּ֔ל בְּעִזְבוֹנַ֖יִךְ נָתָ֑נּוּ בַּרְזֶ֤ל
NAS: paid for your wares from Uzal;
KJV: occupied in thy fairs: bright
INT: and Javan to and fro your wares paid iron

Ezekiel 27:22
HEB: וְזָהָ֔ב נָתְנ֖וּ עִזְבוֹנָֽיִךְ׃
NAS: with you; they paid for your wares with the best
KJV: they occupied in thy fairs with chief
INT: and gold paid your wares

Ezekiel 27:27
HEB: הוֹנֵךְ֙ וְעִזְבוֹנַ֔יִךְ מַעֲרָבֵ֕ךְ מַלָּחַ֖יִךְ
NAS: Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise,
KJV: Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise,
INT: your wealth your wares your merchandise your sailors

Ezekiel 27:33
HEB: בְּצֵ֤את עִזְבוֹנַ֙יִךְ֙ מִיַּמִּ֔ים הִשְׂבַּ֖עַתְּ
NAS: When your wares went
KJV: When thy wares went forth
INT: went your wares the seas satisfied

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5801
7 Occurrences


bə·‘iz·ḇō·w·nā·yiḵ — 2 Occ.
‘iz·ḇō·w·nā·yiḵ — 4 Occ.
wə·‘iz·ḇō·w·na·yiḵ — 1 Occ.

5800b
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