Arvad, an island city whose inhabitants served as sailors and soldiers for Tyre.
Arvad, also known as Arwad or Arados, was an island city located off the coast of Syria, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Tripolis. It is mentioned in Ezekiel 27 as one of the cities that provided skilled mariners and soldiers for the maritime trade and defense of Tyre, a prominent Phoenician city.
In Ezekiel's lamentation over Tyre, he describes the city's vast trading network and the various nations that contributed to its wealth and power. Arvad is noted for its role in supplying sailors to navigate Tyre's ships (Ezk.27.8) and soldiers to guard its walls (Ezk.27.11). This indicates that Arvad had a reputation for producing experienced seafarers and well-trained warriors.
Arvad was part of the Phoenician civilization and had a long history of maritime trade and cultural exchange with other Mediterranean nations. The city was situated on a small, rocky island with limited natural resources, which likely contributed to its focus on seafaring and commerce.
The biblical mention of Arvad in the context of Tyre's trade and military alliances highlights the interconnected nature of the Phoenician city-states and their shared expertise in navigation and maritime affairs. It also underscores the significance of Arvad as a valuable partner in Tyre's economic and defensive network.
Apart from its appearance in Ezekiel's prophecy, Arvad is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. However, its inclusion in this passage provides insight into the geopolitical and commercial landscape of the ancient Near East during the time of Ezekiel's ministry.
Approximate location: 34.856, 35.858 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Wandering, (Ezek. 27:8), a small island and city on the coast of Syria, mentioned as furnishing mariners and soldiers for Tyre. The inhabitants were called Arvadites. The name is written Aruada or Arada in the Tell-el-Amarna tablets.
(wandering) (Ezekiel 27:8,11) The island of Ruad, which lies off Tortosa (Tartus), two or three miles from the Phoenician coast. In agreement with this is the mention of “the Arvadite, in (Genesis 10:18) and 1Chr 1:16 As a son of Canaan, with Zidon, Hamath an other northern localities.
AR'VAD (wandering), a small island 2 or 3 miles off the coast of Phoenicia, related closely to Tyre. Eze 27:8, Rev 1:11. See also Gen 10:18; 1 Chr 1:16. Ruins of a huge wall are still found, and Greek inscriptions graven on black basaltic columns. The stones are so immense as to puzzle the best engineers how to move them. The place is now called Ruad, and has about 3000 population. It appears to have been a city since the time of Arvad, son of Canaan, and is probably the same as Arpad and Arphad.
AR'VAD (wandering), a small island 2 or 3 miles off the coast of Phoenicia, related closely to Tyre. Eze 27:8, Rev 1:11. See also Gen 10:18; 1 Chr 1:16. Ruins of a huge wall are still found, and Greek inscriptions graven on black basaltic columns. The stones are so immense as to puzzle the best engineers how to move them. The place is now called Ruad, and has about 3000 population. It appears to have been a city since the time of Arvad, son of Canaan, and is probably the same as Arpad and Arphad.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0719
The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains.
Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they perfected your beauty.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.