The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wastreplenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas (Ezekiel 27:25). Throughout the Bible Tarshish, the word itself used in different contexts, appears many times in the Bible.In the context of the city, however, Tarshish is both the city (or perhaps city-state) where Jonah made a concerted attempt to flee and where Solomon had a trade agreement. In the "Blessing of Jacob" and in the "Blessing of Moses" Zebulun and Issachar are so connected (Genesis 49:13 Deuteronomy 33:19); and in Deborah's Song, which is acknowledged to be a very early fragment of Hebrew literature, Dan and Asher are also spoken of as connected with the life and work of the sea (Judges 5:17). As early as the 4th century BC, the Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin. Again, cedar trees were brought from Lebanon by sea to Joppa, and thence conveyed to Jerusalem (Ezra 3:7).From Joppa Jonah fled to avoid compliance with God's command to go to Nineveh and preach repentance there (Jonah 1:1). This seemingly rules out Spain as Tarshish and the Latin American countries as the young lions. They were possessed of a considerable seaboard along the Mediterranean, but the character of their coast gave little encouragement to navigation. The Jews like the Egyptians and the Assyrians had a natural shrinking from the sea, and Ecclesiasticus interprets their feeling when he says: "They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel" (43:24).III. "(4) skaphe, "boat" (Acts 27:16, 30, 32, where it means the small boat of the ship in which Paul was being conveyed as a prisoner to Rome).Cognate expressions are: "shipmen," 'anshe 'oniyoth (1 Kings 9:27); nautai (Acts 27:27, 30 the King James Version, "sailors" the Revised Version (British and American)); "mariners," mallachim (Jonah 1:15 Ezekiel 27:9, 27, 29), shaTim (Ezekiel 27:8 the King James Version, "rowers" the Revised Version (British and American); Ezekiel 27:26, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)); "pilot," chobhel (Jonah 1:6 Ezekiel 27:8, 27, 28, 29); "sailing," "voyage," plous (Acts 21:7; Acts 27:9, 10, the Revised Version (British and American) "voyage" in all verses).I. Some 19th-century commentators believed that Tarshish was Britain, including Alfred John Dunkin who claimed "Tarshish demonstrated to be Britain" (1844), George Smith (1850),[29] James Wallis and David King's The British Millennial Harbinger (1861), John Algernon Clarke (1862), and Jonathan Perkins Weethee of Ohio (1887). The size of the vessel is indicated by the fact that there were 276 persons on board, crew and passengers all told (Acts 27:37). In the Acts of the Apostles:It is Paul's voyages which yield us the knowledge that we possess from Biblical sources of ships in New Testament times. In this feature, unless otherwise indicated, we use the term "Tarshish" as synonymous with Tartessos in Spain. Tarshish may have settled nearby in today's Lebanon. ), (1) A distant port from which silver, iron, tin, lead, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks were brought to Palestine (cf. The expression "ships of Tarshish" originally meant ships destined to go to Tarshish; and then probably came to signify large Phoenician ships, of a particular size the description, destined for long voyages, just as in English "East Indiaman" was a general name given to vessels, some of which were not intended to go to India at all. Tarsus, city, south-central Turkey. Tarshish in Scripture has "young lions" or offshoot nations such as colonies. In this case, knowing the location of Tarshish unveils little known prophecies in Psalms and Isaiah that were not fulfilled until the twentieth century.If you look up Tarshish in different biblical commentaries, you will get different answers about its location. The Jewish-Portuguese scholar, politician, statesman and financier Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508 A.D.) described Tarshish as "the city known in earlier times as Carthage and today called Tunis." One possible identification for many centuries preceding the French scholar Bochart (d. (, From the book of Chronicles there would seem to have been a Tarshish accessible from the Red Sea, in addition to the Tarshish of the south of Spain. Instead, the lack of evidence for wealth in Israel and Phoenicia during the reigns of Solomon and Hiram, respectively, prompted a few scholars to opine that the archaeological period in Mediterranean prehistory between 1200 and 800BC was a 'Dark Age'.[2]. The most important thing to know about Tarshish. There is no other known such concentration of silver hoards in contemporary Mediterranean, and its date-range overlaps with the reigns of King Solomon (990931BC) and Hiram of Tyre (980947BC). I Kings 10:22; Jer. Fourth-named of the seven "princes" of Persia in the time of Artaxerxes ( Es 1:14 ). Magma from beneath the Earths crust welled up into these cracks and crystallized, leaving behind many different minerals. As He was by the seashore a great concourse of people from all parts made it desirable that "a small boat" (ploiarion) should be in attendance off the shore to receive Him in case of need, though He does not seem to have required it (Mark 3:9). Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. The Psalmist takes it as a proof of the power of Yahweh that He breaks the ships of Tarshish with an east wind (Psalm 48:7). It may be that the ships of Tarshish brought minerals from Spain but it is unlikely that they brought tin from Spain since its source wasCornwallon the south west of Britain. I. In the Oracle against Tyre, the prophet Ezekiel (27:12) mentions that silver, iron, lead, and tin came to Tyre from Tarshish (Trsys). Unique Circular Format - see more in less space. If Spain were Tarshish then one would expect that she and her colonies would be a major maritime and military power in the last days along with her young lions in South America but the opposite is the case. [20], According to Rashi, a medieval rabbi and commentator of the Bible, quoting Tractate Hullin 9lb, 'tarshish' means the Tarshish Sea of Africa.[21]. General Editor. (1 Chronicles 7:6&10 KJV) Wikipedia is wrong on Benjamin's . [6] Recent research into hacksilver hoards has also suggested Sardinia. Classical sources starting with Homer (8thcenturyBC), and the Greek historians Herodotus (484425BC) and Diodorus Siculus (d.30BC) said the Phoenicians were exploiting the metals of the west for these purposes before they set up the permanent colonies in the metal-rich regions of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. "Tarshish is ancient Tartessus in the present-day nation of Spain. (1) Eponym of a Benjamite family (1Chronicles 7:10); Rhamessai, A and Lucian, Tharseis. Isaiah 66:19 "I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the islands afar off, who have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. In this version of the tale, the queen has a name: Makeda. With such uncertainty surroundingTartessus it would be dangerous toassert that Spain was the Tarshishof Scripture which was a maritimepower in the days of Solomon and which was the source of minerals for the great tradingcity of Tyre when Ezekielwrote in the 6th century BC. The Spanish Empire was a dominant world influence in between the late 15th century until the early 19th century. It is associated with the south west of Spain, and is likely to have been a kingdom. In the Acts of the Apostles3. Tarshish may have settled nearby in today's Lebanon. Javan listed as the fourth son of Japheth. Herodotus indicated that he had no evidence of the North Sea on the north of Europe. In Revelation there is a representation of the fall of Babylon in language reminiscent of the fall of Tyre (Ezekiel 27), in which lamentations arise from the merchants of the earth who can no more buy her varied merchandise (ton gomon, "cargo" the Revised Version margin), and shipmasters and passengers and seafaring people look in terror and grief upon the smoke of her burning (Revelation 18:12-18).LITERATURE.The usual books on Greek and Roman antiquities furnish descriptions and illustrations. Her builders have made her perfect in beauty with planks of fir or cypress, mast of cedar, oars of the oak of Bashan, benches or deck of ivory inlaid with boxwood, sail of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt, and an awning of blue and purple from the coastlands of Elisha (possibly Sicily). Tarsus is an ancient city on the alluvial plain of ancient Cilicia, the birthplace of St. Paul (Acts of the Apostles 22:3). In Other BooksLITERATUREIn the Old Testament the following words are found:(1) The word most commonly used in Hebrew for "a ship" is 'oniyah (Proverbs 30:19 Jonah 1:3, 4), of which the plural 'oniyoth is found most frequently (Judges 5:17 1 Kings 22:48 f, and many other places).The collective term for "a navy of ships" is 'oni (1 Kings 9:26; 1 Kings 10:22, 'oni Tharshish, "a navy (of ships) of Tarshish"; but Isaiah 33:21, 'oni shayit, a "galley with oars"). They will be the first to bring the redeemednation of Israel back to the landwhen Christ returns (Isaiah 60:9). On another occasion, when the crowds were still greater, He went into a boat and sat "in the sea" with the multitude on the sloping beach before Him (Mark 4:1 Luke 5:3). Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. Beth-Togarmah is Turkey. Where did the minerals from Tarshish come from? (2) tsi (Numbers 24:24 Ezekiel 30:9 Isaiah 33:21), tsi 'addir, "gallant ship"; Daniel 11:30, tsiyim Kittim, "ships of Kittim. Usually reference is madeto the ships of Tarshish or themerchants of Tarshish. He wrote: Now these are thefarthest regions ofthe world in Asiaand Libya. Tarshish [N] [H] [S] a Sanscrit or Aryan word, meaning "the sea coast." One of the "sons" of Javan ( Genesis 10:4 ; 1 Chronicles 1:7 ). There are only two species known: both inhabit the mainland and islands of India; so that the mention of the peacock seems to exclude the possibility of the voyage having been to Africa. 2. General ReferencesIII. Ships in the Old Testament and Apocrypha.1. The ships of Tarshish will suffer during the judgments of the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:16; Psalm 48:7). Trade existed from this location in the time of King Solomon (ruled circa 970-931 BC) and the Phoenician king Hiram. The season for navigation in those seas in ancient times was from April to October. (3) ploion, "boat" (Matthew 4:21, 22 and many other places in the Gospels-the ordinary fishingboat of the Sea of Galilee rendered "boat" uniformly in the Revised Version (British and American) instead of "ship" the King James Version), "ship" (Acts 20:13, and all other places where the ship carrying Paul is mentioned, except Acts 27:41, as above). Bethsaida at the northern end of the Lake and Tarichea at the southern end were great centers of the trade. Gomer is Southern Russia, and Germany. Elle se rendit auprs de Salomon, et elle lui dit tout ce qu'elle avait . Jonah Lesson 2 - Part 2 Nineveh/Tarshish/Joppa Watch on Nineveh is located in the north of Iraq and is one of the country's 27 governorates. Tarshish also occurs 25times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible with various meanings: This is repeated in 2Chronicles20:37 preceded by the information that the ships were actually built at Ezion-geber, and emphasizing the prophecy of the otherwise unknown Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah against Jehoshaphat that "Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made." Some think there was a Tarshish in the East, on the Indian coast, seeing that "ships of Tarshish" sailed from Eziongeber, on the Red Sea (, Probably Tartessus, a city and emporium of the Phoenicians in the south of Spain, represented as one of the sons of Javan. It seems as though today, Britain, as Tarshish, is now playing a subservient role behind the young lions of America in important geo . "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". No other nation in history has created an empire of colonies like the British Empire. 3rd. Jonah 1:3; 4:2. They themselves quitted the island; and, anxious to reach Egypt, made sail in that direction, but were carried out of their course by a gale of wind from the east. Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? Spain is not connected to Arabia whereas Britain and America have been the great oil-producing and oil marketing merchants. This agrees perfectly with the statement of Ibn Hankal, who no doubt reports the opinion of the Arabian geographers, that Phoenicia maintained a direct intercourse with Britain in later ", Phoenician presence in the western Mediterranean, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, "King Solomon's silver? (Book 3, para 115). She is freighted with the most varied cargo, the produce of the lands around, her customers, or as they are called, her traffickers, being Tarshish in the far West, Sheba and Arabia in the South, Haran and Asshur in the East, Javan, which is Greece, and Togarmah, which is Armenia, in the North. Tarshish was said to have exported vast quantities of important metals to Phoenicia and Israel. He is placed on the Timeline of the Bible after the Flood, around 2300 BC. Salem Media Group. Its one of those words that we often skip over because it seems insignificant or hard to pronounce. Thecommodities that came Tarshish are listed above and this gives us a clue as to where Tarshish was located. The end of the known world in his day was beyond the Pillars of Hercules which stand on either side of the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic which was described as the ocean. Augustus Henry Keane (18331912) believed that Tarshish was Sofala, and that the Biblical land of Havilah was centered on the nearby Great Zimbabwe. Ezekiel's description (chapter 27, with Davidson's notes) brings together more of the features of the ship of antiquity than any other that has come down to us. 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