Ezekiel 27:18

“Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, &c.] Of the many things manufactured at Tyre, the inhabitants of Damascus, once the chief city of Syria, took some: for the multitude of all riches: in lieu of the vast quantity of rich things there made, they traded with them for them: in the wine of Helbon, and white wool; Helbon very probably is the same with the Chalybon of Ptolemyf466, which he places in Syria; a place famous for wine, as Strabof467 reports; the kings of Persia, he says, through riches fell into luxury, so that they would have wheat brought from Assos in Aeolia, and Chalybonian wine out of Syria, and water from Eulaeus (the river Ulai in…”

“Helbon--or Chalybon, in Syria, now Aleppo; famed for its wines; the Persian monarchs would drink no other.”

“The thread broken at Ezekiel 27:8 is taken up, and the various nations are enumerated which traded with Tyre. Ezekiel 27:12 Tarshish - Tartessus in Spain (marginal references). Spain was rich in the metals named. Merchant - Especially applied to those who traveled about with caravans to carry on trade (see Genesis 23:16). Fairs - Or, “wares” Ezekiel 27:33. The word occurs only in this chapter. The foreign merchants gave their wares in return for the products delivered to them by Tyre. Ezekiel 27:13 Jaran - Greece (Ion), including the Grecian colonies in Sicily and Italy. Tubal, and Meshech - The Tibareni and Moschi, whose lands were on the Caucasian highlands between the Euxine and Caspian…”

“27:18 Helbon was a town ten miles north of Damascus. Zahar may have been nearby, although its exact location is unknown.”

“Damascus: Gen 15:2; Kg1 11:24, Kg1 11:25; Isa 7:8; Act 9:2 Helbon: The Chalybon of the Greeks and Romans, now called by the natives Haleb, and by us Aleppo, said to have been so celebrated for its wine, that the Persian kings would drink no other. It was a celebrated city of Syria, situated about 90 miles from the Mediterranean by way of Antioch, and 100 from the Euphrates, in lat. 36 degrees 11 minutes 25 seconds north, long. 37 degrees 9 minutes east; and previous to its destruction by an earthquake in 1822, occupied, including its suburbs, eight small hills, with the intermediate valleys, comprehending a circuit of about seven miles; and its inhabitants were variously estimated at from…”