What is the context?
The Lord now addresses the ruler of Tyre. The city’s wealth and splendor have become part of its leader’s claim to be a god seated in the heart of the seas.
The reply begins with the limit he has forgotten: he is a man. His wisdom and skill in trade have indeed gained riches, but those riches have made his heart proud.
The reference to being wiser than Daniel exposes the height of the claim. The passage moves from an impressive treasury to the condition of the person who possesses it. Commercial ability cannot settle the question of who he is before God.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley reads the comparison with Daniel as the ruler’s inflated estimate of his own wisdom. Cambridge also understands it as irony, while the USCCB notes describe the confusion of commercial success with divinity.
Henry emphasizes pride’s power to make a person imagine that wealth and ability put him on a level with heaven. The reading recognizes genuine skills while exposing the false conclusion drawn from them.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.