The Bible - Why Trust It

[nPeace]

Don't be rude. You claimed that verse was not there. You were wrong. Then you claimed it was Tyre that was used to build the causeway. You really should have thought that one out. You were wrong again. That was the on land settlements. Not Tyre.

Don't lie.
I claimed that verse was not there, is a lie.
Please read the post carefully, and see that I pointed out the difference between the verse, and the statement made by the skeptic.

Where did I claim that it was Tyre that was used to build the causeway? Nowhere. You can't show me either, can you?
Of course some of the rubble was used, by Alexander. So what's the problem?

 

[Subduction Zone]

Don't lie.
I claimed that verse was not there, is a lie.
Please read the post carefully, and see that I pointed out the difference between the verse, and the statement made by the skeptic.

Where did I claim that it was Tyre that was used to build the causeway? Nowhere. You can't show me either, can you?
Of course some of the rubble was used, by Alexander. So what's the problem?

It was there. It was a different translation, that's all. Try again.

And you appear to have trouble understanding your own posts:

"The ruined city, is indeed still in the waters - a drying yard for dragnets."

 

[shunyadragon]

(Ezekiel 26:14) And I will make you a shining, bare rock, and you will become a drying yard for dragnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I myself, Jehovah, have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. . .

That's different to... "Tyre's land would never be built upon again:"

The ruined city, is indeed still in the waters - a drying yard for dragnets.

No the ancient city of Tyre is still on the land, an island, as it was then, and the ancient temple is in the middle. The causeway to the Island was added by the Romans.

 

[nPeace]

It was there. It was a different translation, that's all. Try again.

A different translation? What translation is that please?

And you appear to have trouble understanding your own posts:

"The ruined city, is indeed still in the waters - a drying yard for dragnets."

Sorry about that. That was an error on my part. Silly me. How could one throw a city into the sea... I meant the rubble.

This is one very detailed prophecy - one of the most. So detailed, it should cause one to wonder why. Why would someone make a prediction, and give such specific details (throwing stone, and woodwork and dust into the sea... etc.)? Unless... they were making a point.
Just as it was, with Daniel's prophecies, this is the point being made...
“‘For I myself have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ...and people will have to know that I am Jehovah (Ezekiel 26:5, 6)

What better way to give adequate proof of the reliability and trustworthiness, of his divine word, so that sincere people of honest heart will know, "I myself have spoken". Jehovah has spoken it, not man.
So just as Joshua said, over 3000 years ago... "Not one word Jehovah has spoken, has failed!", honest hearted people today, reading his word, and accepting it as it truly is, rather than living in denial, can say the same... Contrary to deniers that never seem to learn, not one prophecy has failed. They have all come true. (Joshua 23:14)

Was the prophecy in Ezekiel 26 fulfilled?
(Ezekiel 26:3)
...this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, just as the sea brings up its waves.
Beginning with Babylon, followed by Greece with allies Cyprus, and Ionia.
Alexander the Great used ships from many nations, against the island city of Tyre.

(Ezekiel 26:7-9)
‘Here I am bringing King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre from the north . . . He will destroy your settlements in the countryside with the sword, and he will build a siege wall and throw up a siege rampart against you and raise up a great shield against you. He will pound your walls with his battering ram, and with his axes he will pull down your towers.
Yes. He did.
Babylon did destroy the mainland Tyre.
Siege of Tyre (586–573 BC) by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II

(Ezekiel 26:12)
They will loot your resources, plunder your merchandise, tear down your walls, and pull down your fine houses; then they will throw your stones and your woodwork and your soil into the water.’
Siege of Tyre (332 BC) by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great
Rubble (Pillars, stone, woodwork, soil, and dust) from the old city ruins of mainland Tyre, were used to build a causeway to the island city Tyre.

(Ezekiel 26:14)
I will make you a shining, bare rock, and you will become a drying yard for dragnets.
“The port has become a haven today for fishing boats and a place for spreading nets“ - Tyre Through the Ages (1969) by Nina Jidejian

(Ezekiel 26:14)
You will never be rebuilt, for I myself, Jehovah, have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Spoiler: Ruins

From these shots, we can see that the city was never rebuilt. Buildings have been erected on the land to form a city.
That is not against the prophecy, which said that Tyre will not be rebuilt.
The island (actually more than half of it, if not all) also broke away, and sank. The land built on, is likely the causeway that nature expanded.

So what remained, and was built on, is far from a city being rebuilt.
One historian wrote, "Alexander did far more against Tyre than Shalmaneser or Nebuchadnezzar had done. Not content with crushing her, he took care that she never should revive; for he founded Alexandria as her substitute, and changed forever the track of the commerce of the world." (Edward Creasy, Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, ch. 4).

This is probably why the author of the RationalWiki article, used the phrase "Tyre's land would never be built upon again", because he knows the land was built on, but the city was never rebuilt.
That phrase is nowhere to be found in the Bible, nor any Bible translation. I checked.
They all say, "The city will never be rebuilt", r "You will never be rebuilt", or the like. Never "Your land will never be built upon". This guy is not honest, imo.

Yes the prophecy was fulfilled.
Non-believers misinterpret this prophecy to make Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the sole nation prophesied to destroy Tyre. This is a mistaken view, and misunderstanding of the texts.

The prophecy stated that "many nations" were to come up against the city, like waves of the sea, eventually destroying the city of Tyre, Thus the prophecy was given in detail, and fulfilled in detail.

I will select the next (final) prophecy, later.

 

[nPeace]

No the ancient city of Tyre is still on the land, an island, as it was then, and the ancient temple is in the middle. The causeway to the Island was added by the Romans.

It's not a city. They are ruins - a tourist attraction.

 

[shunyadragon]

It's not a city. They are ruins - a tourist attraction.

You are referring to the temple as with many cities in the Middle East there are ancient ruins that are preserved. The city remains occupied on the island today and it was never underwater.

Tyre, Lebanon - Wikipedia

Tyre (Arabic: صور‎ Ṣūr), is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa). The city has a number of ancient sites, including its Roman Hippodrome, which was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.[1][2]

Today Tyre is the fifth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, Aley and Sidon,[3] It is a district capital in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees.

 

[nPeace]

You are referring to the temple. The city remains on the island and it was never underwater.

The city was destroyed. It's no longer a city.

 

[shunyadragon]

The city was destroyed. It's no longer a city.

Again . . .

You are referring to the temple as with many cities in the Middle East there are ancient ruins that are preserved. The city remains occupied on the island today and it was never underwater.

Tyre, Lebanon - Wikipedia

Tyre (Arabic: صور‎ Ṣūr), is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa). The city has a number of ancient sites, including its Roman Hippodrome, which was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.[1][2]

Today Tyre is the fifth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, Aley and Sidon,[3] It is a district capital in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees.

 

[nPeace]

You are referring to the temple. The city remains on the island and it was never underwater.

Tyre, Lebanon - Wikipedia

Tyre (Arabic: صور‎ Ṣūr), is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa). The city has a number of ancient sites, including its Roman Hippodrome, which was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.[1][2]

Today Tyre is the fifth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, Aley and Sidon,[3] It is a district capital in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees.

This is not referring to the buildings, of ancient Tyre - which were torn down.

Are you referring to the mainland - Old Tyre?

 

[shunyadragon]

This is not referring to the buildings, of ancient Tyre - which were torn down.

Are you referring to the mainland - Old Tyre?

No, the old city is the island and remained occupied the whole history as the reference described, Yes the ruins of the old temple were preserved, and like most cities in the Middle East. the cities were commonly destroyed and rebuilt through their whole history. Note the island of Tyre on the map now connected to the mainland.

Following includes a mao the present island Tyre now connected to the mainland.
Biblical Errancy: Ezekiel's Prophecy of Tyre: a failed prophecy
Ezekiel's Prophecy of Tyre: a failed prophecy

Bible-believers are full of clever (and some not so clever) rationalizations. The crucial question, however, is not whether “answers” can be generated in response to Bible difficulties but whether credible answers can be produced. What is the best explanation? Bible-believers seem to think that any loophole, however improbable, that gets the Bible off the hook has solved the problem. Thus, it is not surprising that different, conflicting answers are often presented side by side. It never seems to occur to these people that such logic will also support the story of Goldilocks and the three bears! Or the Koran. Or, anything else. Once we abandon the probable in favor of the improbable—or even the less probable—we have abandoned objectivity. Without objectivity, there is not much hope of finding the truth; we only succeed in confirming our own prejudiced views—even as a group of flat-Earth folks in California did for years in their newsletters.

My main source is: Tyre Through the Ages by Nina Jordanian (1969), a scholar who lived in Lebanon. At 264 pages, with illustrations, maps and notes, not to mention a serious bibliography, it may well be the standard work on the long history of Tyre. The forward was written by Emir Maurice Chehab, Director General of Antiquities of Lebanon. Jordanian makes one thing very clear: Tyre proper always referred to the island and not to a mainland site.

The Mainland Settlement Was Not Tyre
Both the Hebrew name (Zor) and the Arabic name (Sour) of Tyre mean “rock,” and the only rock around is the island. The surrounding mainland is rather flat, and it is hard to see how one could make a “rock” out of flat land, even if the land had been rocky. Relief from the Bronze gates of Balawat of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC) show Tyre paying tribute. This tribute is brought from an ISLAND by boat; Tyre proper is identified as an island city—not a mainland settlement. Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) of Assyria boasts of conquering Tyre, which is identified as an island. “I conquered Tyre, which is (an island) amidst the sea.” (ANET, p.290)

“(Baʼlu, King of Tyre, living (on an island amidst the sea)…threw off my yoke…” (ANET p. 291)

In Ashurbanipalʼs third campaign, directed against Tyre, he said: “In my third campaign I marched against Baʼil (Baʼlu), King of Tyre, who lives (on an island) amidst the sea…;” (ANET, p.295-296)
Needless to say, the king would have lived in his palace in Tyre proper—not in some unprotected suburb! Tyre proper is clearly the fortress island with walls that were said to be 150 feet tall (Rufus, 4.2.7-9; Arrian, 2.21.4). Joshua 19:29 refers to Tyre as “the fortified city.” Nobody is talking about TWO fortified cities! This island city was certainly no appendage of the mainland settlement! The Encyclopaedia of the Orient, in an Internet account written by Tore Kjeilen, had this to say: “Tyre was originally built on an island right off the coast, providing for natural defense. Many functions were established on the mainland as well, but all important institutions remained on the island.” Two of those institutions were the temple of Baʼal Melqart (the patron deity of Tyre) and the temple of Astarte (Asherah), which were built on the island by Hiram I. (Originally, there were two main islands, but they were joined with fill early on.)

Put on your thinking cap. Why would the main settlement be on the coast, which lacked a harbor and a ready defense, when the island (with two excellent harbors) could hold 30,000 people? Donʼt you think it rather preposterous to argue that, once the Phoenicians utilized those two, wonderful ports afforded by the island, they would choose to live on an unprotected beach? How silly and stupid it would be to transport tons of goods from around the Mediterranean to a poorly defended beach without a harbor, a beach subject to a constant battering of waves by a strong, south-westerly wind (Bradshaw, p.8)—when goods could be conveniently and safely unloaded on an island city! Obviously, the mainland settlements—at best—were later colonies of Tyre proper. Food and water on the island would not initially have been much of a problem for a small settlement. However, once Tyre became an important city, food and water would have to be obtained from the mainland. In fact, the original mainland settlement was an independent city called Ushu, which later became a suburb of the island city of Tyre (Liverani, 1988: 933).

Isaac Asimov speculated that the very first settlement in the area might well have been on the mainland. However, our job is to identify the Tyre proper of Ezekielʼs prophecy. Where the first settlement may (or may not) have been is irrelevant to that purpose. By Ezekielʼs time, Tyre proper was, and had long been, the island city.

 

[nPeace]

Tyre | town and historical site, Lebanon
For much of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE the town was subject to Assyria, and in 585–573 it successfully withstood a prolonged siege by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II. Between 538 and 332 it was ruled by the Achaemenian kings of Persia. In this period it lost its hegemony in Phoenicia but continued to flourish. Probably the best-known episode in the history of Tyre was its resistance to the army of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, who took it after a seven-month siege in 332. He completely destroyed the mainland portion of the town and used its rubble to build an immense causeway (some 2,600 feet [800 metres] long and 600–900 feet [180–270 metres] wide) to gain access to the island section. After the town’s capture, 10,000 inhabitants were put to death, and 30,000 were sold into slavery. Alexander’s causeway, which was never removed, converted the island into a peninsula.

 

[nPeace]

The land was built on. The city was not rebuilt.

 

[nPeace]

No, the old city is the island and remained occupied the whole history as the reference described, Yes the ruins of the old temple were preserved, and like most cities in the Middle East. the cities were commonly destroyed and rebuilt through there whole history.

Following includes a mao the present island Tyre now connected to the mainland.
Biblical Errancy: Ezekiel's Prophecy of Tyre: a failed prophecy
Ezekiel's Prophecy of Tyre: a failed prophecy

Bible-believers are full of clever (and some not so clever) rationalizations. The crucial question, however, is not whether “answers” can be generated in response to Bible difficulties but whether credible answers can be produced. What is the best explanation? Bible-believers seem to think that any loophole, however improbable, that gets the Bible off the hook has solved the problem. Thus, it is not surprising that different, conflicting answers are often presented side by side. It never seems to occur to these people that such logic will also support the story of Goldilocks and the three bears! Or the Koran. Or, anything else. Once we abandon the probable in favor of the improbable—or even the less probable—we have abandoned objectivity. Without objectivity, there is not much hope of finding the truth; we only succeed in confirming our own prejudiced views—even as a group of flat-Earth folks in California did for years in their newsletters.

My main source is: Tyre Through the Ages by Nina Jordanian (1969), a scholar who lived in Lebanon. At 264 pages, with illustrations, maps and notes, not to mention a serious bibliography, it may well be the standard work on the long history of Tyre. The forward was written by Emir Maurice Chehab, Director General of Antiquities of Lebanon. Jordanian makes one thing very clear: Tyre proper always referred to the island and not to a mainland site.

The Mainland Settlement Was Not Tyre
Both the Hebrew name (Zor) and the Arabic name (Sour) of Tyre mean “rock,” and the only rock around is the island. The surrounding mainland is rather flat, and it is hard to see how one could make a “rock” out of flat land, even if the land had been rocky. Relief from the Bronze gates of Balawat of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC) show Tyre paying tribute. This tribute is brought from an ISLAND by boat; Tyre proper is identified as an island city—not a mainland settlement. Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) of Assyria boasts of conquering Tyre, which is identified as an island. “I conquered Tyre, which is (an island) amidst the sea.” (ANET, p.290)

“(Baʼlu, King of Tyre, living (on an island amidst the sea)…threw off my yoke…” (ANET p. 291)

In Ashurbanipalʼs third campaign, directed against Tyre, he said: “In my third campaign I marched against Baʼil (Baʼlu), King of Tyre, who lives (on an island) amidst the sea…;” (ANET, p.295-296)
Needless to say, the king would have lived in his palace in Tyre proper—not in some unprotected suburb! Tyre proper is clearly the fortress island with walls that were said to be 150 feet tall (Rufus, 4.2.7-9; Arrian, 2.21.4). Joshua 19:29 refers to Tyre as “the fortified city.” Nobody is talking about TWO fortified cities! This island city was certainly no appendage of the mainland settlement! The Encyclopaedia of the Orient, in an Internet account written by Tore Kjeilen, had this to say: “Tyre was originally built on an island right off the coast, providing for natural defense. Many functions were established on the mainland as well, but all important institutions remained on the island.” Two of those institutions were the temple of Baʼal Melqart (the patron deity of Tyre) and the temple of Astarte (Asherah), which were built on the island by Hiram I. (Originally, there were two main islands, but they were joined with fill early on.)

Put on your thinking cap. Why would the main settlement be on the coast, which lacked a harbor and a ready defense, when the island (with two excellent harbors) could hold 30,000 people? Donʼt you think it rather preposterous to argue that, once the Phoenicians utilized those two, wonderful ports afforded by the island, they would choose to live on an unprotected beach? How silly and stupid it would be to transport tons of goods from around the Mediterranean to a poorly defended beach without a harbor, a beach subject to a constant battering of waves by a strong, south-westerly wind (Bradshaw, p.8)—when goods could be conveniently and safely unloaded on an island city! Obviously, the mainland settlements—at best—were later colonies of Tyre proper. Food and water on the island would not initially have been much of a problem for a small settlement. However, once Tyre became an important city, food and water would have to be obtained from the mainland. In fact, the original mainland settlement was an independent city called Ushu, which later became a suburb of the island city of Tyre (Liverani, 1988: 933).

Isaac Asimov speculated that the very first settlement in the area might well have been on the mainland. However, our job is to identify the Tyre proper of Ezekielʼs prophecy. Where the first settlement may (or may not) have been is irrelevant to that purpose. By Ezekielʼs time, Tyre proper was, and had long been, the island city.

The Bible - Why Trust It

 

[shunyadragon]

The Bible - Why Trust It

In terms of factual history no. Like all ancient writings 'some' historical facts' does not translate to being historically factual and reliable.

 

[Subduction Zone]

A different translation? What translation is that please?


Sorry about that. That was an error on my part. Silly me. How could one throw a city into the sea... I meant the rubble.

This is one very detailed prophecy - one of the most. So detailed, it should cause one to wonder why. Why would someone make a prediction, and give such specific details (throwing stone, and woodwork and dust into the sea... etc.)? Unless... they were making a point.
Just as it was, with Daniel's prophecies, this is the point being made...
“‘For I myself have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ...and people will have to know that I am Jehovah (Ezekiel 26:5, 6)

What better way to give adequate proof of the reliability and trustworthiness, of his divine word, so that sincere people of honest heart will know, "I myself have spoken". Jehovah has spoken it, not man.
So just as Joshua said, over 3000 years ago... "Not one word Jehovah has spoken, has failed!", honest hearted people today, reading his word, and accepting it as it truly is, rather than living in denial, can say the same... Contrary to deniers that never seem to learn, not one prophecy has failed. They have all come true. (Joshua 23:14)

Was the prophecy in Ezekiel 26 fulfilled?
(Ezekiel 26:3)
...this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, just as the sea brings up its waves.
Beginning with Babylon, followed by Greece with allies Cyprus, and Ionia.
Alexander the Great used ships from many nations, against the island city of Tyre.

(Ezekiel 26:7-9)
‘Here I am bringing King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre from the north . . . He will destroy your settlements in the countryside with the sword, and he will build a siege wall and throw up a siege rampart against you and raise up a great shield against you. He will pound your walls with his battering ram, and with his axes he will pull down your towers.
Yes. He did.
Babylon did destroy the mainland Tyre.
Siege of Tyre (586–573 BC) by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II

(Ezekiel 26:12)
They will loot your resources, plunder your merchandise, tear down your walls, and pull down your fine houses; then they will throw your stones and your woodwork and your soil into the water.’
Siege of Tyre (332 BC) by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great
Rubble (Pillars, stone, woodwork, soil, and dust) from the old city ruins of mainland Tyre, were used to build a causeway to the island city Tyre.

(Ezekiel 26:14)
I will make you a shining, bare rock, and you will become a drying yard for dragnets.
“The port has become a haven today for fishing boats and a place for spreading nets“ - Tyre Through the Ages (1969) by Nina Jidejian

(Ezekiel 26:14)
You will never be rebuilt, for I myself, Jehovah, have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Spoiler: Ruins

From these shots, we can see that the city was never rebuilt. Buildings have been erected on the land to form a city.
That is not against the prophecy, which said that Tyre will not be rebuilt.
The island (actually more than half of it, if not all) also broke away, and sank. The land built on, is likely the causeway that nature expanded.

So what remained, and was built on, is far from a city being rebuilt.
One historian wrote, "Alexander did far more against Tyre than Shalmaneser or Nebuchadnezzar had done. Not content with crushing her, he took care that she never should revive; for he founded Alexandria as her substitute, and changed forever the track of the commerce of the world." (Edward Creasy, Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, ch. 4).

This is probably why the author of the RationalWiki article, used the phrase "Tyre's land would never be built upon again", because he knows the land was built on, but the city was never rebuilt.
That phrase is nowhere to be found in the Bible, nor any Bible translation. I checked.
They all say, "The city will never be rebuilt", r "You will never be rebuilt", or the like. Never "Your land will never be built upon". This guy is not honest, imo.

Yes the prophecy was fulfilled.
Non-believers misinterpret this prophecy to make Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the sole nation prophesied to destroy Tyre. This is a mistaken view, and misunderstanding of the texts.

The prophecy stated that "many nations" were to come up against the city, like waves of the sea, eventually destroying the city of Tyre, Thus the prophecy was given in detail, and fulfilled in detail.

I will select the next (final) prophecy, later.

So much wrong. Where do you want to start?

 

[Subduction Zone]

The land was built on. The city was not rebuilt.

That is only a small part of the city. Look in the background. You are clutching at straws and your own pictures refute you.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Tyre | town and historical site, Lebanon
For much of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE the town was subject to Assyria, and in 585–573 it successfully withstood a prolonged siege by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II. Between 538 and 332 it was ruled by the Achaemenian kings of Persia. In this period it lost its hegemony in Phoenicia but continued to flourish. Probably the best-known episode in the history of Tyre was its resistance to the army of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, who took it after a seven-month siege in 332. He completely destroyed the mainland portion of the town and used its rubble to build an immense causeway (some 2,600 feet [800 metres] long and 600–900 feet [180–270 metres] wide) to gain access to the island section. After the town’s capture, 10,000 inhabitants were put to death, and 30,000 were sold into slavery. Alexander’s causeway, which was never removed, converted the island into a peninsula.

Correct, and the prophesy was about Nebuchadnezzar defeating Tyre. He was the head of the "many armies". Or are you claiming that your God is evil and unjust?

 

[shunyadragon]

The land was built on. The city was not rebuilt.

Again, again and again as referenced these represent the preserved ruins in Tyre, and not the city of Tyre as referenced.

 

[shunyadragon]

That is only a small part of the city. Look in the background. You are clutching at straws and your own pictures refute you.

Again, these are pictures of the historical temple and preserved ruins and not the city of Tyre as referenced.

 

[Subduction Zone]

This is not referring to the buildings, of ancient Tyre - which were torn down.

Are you referring to the mainland - Old Tyre?

"Old Tyre" was a bogus phrase started by Christian historians that could see that the prophecy failed. Tyre's etymology comes out as "rock". The one "rock" in the area was the island. The island was the source of wealth. The island had a natural port. The cities on the land were "its settlements". Read the prophecy in context. It is clear that they are referring to the island. Still grasping at straws.