“...every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”  Ezekiel 28: 13

THE LIE 

Satan was created the most beautiful archangel in Heaven, covered with every precious stone one can think of. Other interpretations state that Satan was made from stones. 

THE TRUTH 

When Prophet Ezekiel wrote, ‘every precious stone was your covering’, he was referring to the King of Tyre and the beautiful city he had built. Remember the prophecy was addressed to Tyre as a city, as well as to the King of Tyre. 

“Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea…” Ezekiel 27:1-3 

“Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him…” Ezekiel28:12 

The King was so wealthy he could afford to lavish himself with jewellery and garments made out of every precious stone. However, contextually reading the verse, and studying the direct Hebrew to English translation, this verse is referring more to Tyre as a city, and not to the King. The initial phrase of this Scripture is referring to the King being in the most beautiful garden that looked like Paradise. 

‘Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God…’ Ezekiel 28:13

Already, Prophet Ezekiel was setting the scene for us, by giving us a visual image of Tyre’s beautiful gardens. The next phrase goes on to speak of being covered by every precious stone. Glass and stone decorated the city walls. 

‘…every precious stone was thy covering…’ 

In this phrase, the original Hebrew word for covering is, ‘mskth/mesûkkâh’, pronounced as ‘mes-ook-kaw’ which means a covering or awning that is in the shape of a booth-like pavilion. A pavilion is a type of entertainment area built in a garden. This verse can therefore be read as: 

‘…every precious stone was your pavilion…’ 

Which would literally mean: ‘Your pavilion was made of every precious stone’. 

This goes to show that Prophet Ezekiel was referring to the walls of the pavilions of Tyre, when he referred to Tyre being built with every precious stone. Tyre received these precious stones from Sheba and Raamah. 

“And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.”  Ezekiel 27:3

THE LIE 

While Satan was an archangel, he was the praise and worship leader in Heaven because God created him with every kind of musical creativity and instrument within him. After he sinned and was cast out of Heaven, he became responsible for all the worldly music’s success and fame as the gift was not taken from him when he was cast down because God giveth gifts without repentance. 

THE TRUTH 

As we already know, the prophetic word was directed towards Tyre as a city, as well as its King. With this in mind, when Prophet Ezekiel referred to its ‘pipes’, ‘… The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes…’,the original Hebrew word for ‘pipes’, that is, ‘nqbi/neqeb’(pronounced ‘nekeb’),refers to a ‘bezel’ which is a hollow setting specifically designed to hold precious stones. That means this verse can be read as follows: 

‘…the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy bezels/hollow settings designed to hold precious stones; were prepared in thee in the day you were created…’, Ezekiel 28:13

Tyre was famous for having the best workmen in carvings of precious stones, remember that when King Solomon, the richest and wisest man to have lived in the Old Testament, needed the most skilled craftsmen in precious stones, he sought for men from Tyre. 

One can imagine the exquisite splendour in which this city was built with. That means within the beautiful pavilion walls of Tyre, were several alcoves, that is, hollow portions that were encased with precious jewels. 

Furthermore, within the city walls was a celebratory atmosphere of dancing, singing and the playing of every musical instrument. When the King built the city, he made sure that the best musical equipment was erected in Tyre and if it was to be compared to this era, it would be likened to the huge concerts musicians host in our generation.

Hence the referral to tambourines or tabrets in Ezekiel 28:13, as well as songs and harps in Ezekiel 26:13…

This text is an extract from the book “WAS SATAN REALLY AN ARCHANGEL?” written by JOHN ANOSIKE. 
We invite you to read the following article “THE PURPOSE OF THE SOUL“.