In the time of our Lord's ministry in Galilee the shores of the Sea were densely peopled, and there must have been many boats engaged in the fishing industry. For "ship" The Wisdom of Solomon 5:10 has naus. Probably Tartessus, a city and emporium of the Phoenicians in the south of Spain, represented as one of the sons of Javan. The sail had also to serve "for an ensign" (lenes, Ezekiel 27:7). 3, iv. Again we see that the exact alignment of nations predicted in Ezekiel 38 is in place today. [32], Bochart, apart from Spain (see there), also suggested eastern localities for the ports of Ophir and Tarshish during King Solomon's reign, specifically the Tamilakkam continent (present day South India and Northern Ceylon) where the Dravidians were well known for their gold, pearls, ivory and peacock trade. It is from Tyre and Egypt and even Assyria and Babylonia, rather than from their own waters, that the Hebrew prophets and psalmists drew their pictures of seafaring life.II. "Boat" in 2 Maccabees 12:3, 6 is for skaphos, and "navy" in 1 Maccabees 1:17; 2 Maccabees 12:9; 14:1 for stolos. Solomon landed his timber and other materials for the Temple at Joppa, and tradition has handed down what is called "Solomon's Harbor" there. Tarshish (Phoenician: TR, Hebrew: Tar, Greek: , Tharseis) occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings, most frequently as a place (probably a large city or region) far across the sea from Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) and the Land of Israel.Tarshish was said to have exported vast quantities of important metals to . Among Neighboring Nations(1) Egypt(2) Assyria and Babylonia(3) Phoenicia3. 1915. SHIPS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE APOCRYPHA1. Both are now located in Lebanon, with Tyre 20 mi south of Sidon and only 12 mi north of the Israel-Lebanon border. The Spanish-speaking South American nations are also weak and still developing. (2003). There are three schools of thought where Tarshish is concerned. Control of this precious metal which the Tartessians combined with copper to produce bronze, allows the Tartessians to live in great comfort. Tarshish must have been established prior to the 10th century BC. Usually reference is madeto the ships of Tarshish or themerchants of Tarshish. Jonah 4:2 He prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please, Yahweh, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Isaiah 23:6 Pass over to Tarshish! Tarshish can refer to either Tarsis in Cilicia (Southeast Turkey) or to Tarshish (Tartessos to the Greeks) in Southwest Spain. However, it seems that one of those metals was not plentiful in Spain and that metal was tin. (2010). Esther 1:14 mentions in passing a Persian prince named Tarshish among the seven princes of Persia. }. The basis of the trade is a long standing agreement between the Tartessians and the Celts from the British Isles(Spain -Thenandnow). (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). The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Targum of Jonathan render Tarshish as Carthage, but other biblical commentators as early as 1646 (Samuel Bochart) read it as Tartessos in ancient Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula), near Huelva and Sevilla today. Isaiah 2:16 For all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery. Tyre (in modern-day Lebanon) is one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back over 4,000 years, during which it has been inhabited almost continuously. Fourth-named of the seven "princes" of Persia in the time of Artaxerxes ( Es 1:14 ). 1 Chronicles 7:10 forms part of a genealogy mentioning in passing a Jewish man named Tarshish as a son of a certain Bilhan. He found a ship bound for Tarshish as far toward the West as Nineveh to the East. Tarshish was said to have exported vast quantities of important metals to Phoenicia and Israel. "Copper, tin, silver, and iron: The search for metallic ores as an incentive for foreign expansion". Limited Time Offer! The location of Tarshish is uncertain, since the biblical references to it are vague and apparently contradictory. Ships of Tarshish made a deep impression upon the imagination of the Hebrew people. When Isaiah pictures Yahweh as a better defense of Judah than the rivers and streams of Assyria and Egypt are to their people he says, "There Yahweh will be with us in majesty, a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars ('oni shayiT), neither shall gallant ship (tsi 'addir) pass thereby.. Thy tacklings (ropes, cables) are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail" (Isaiah 33:21, 23). Silver and iron were minerals that could be found in many locations in the area of the Mediterranean Sea. The boats were probably of a size and build similar to the few employed on the Lake today, which are between 20 and 30 ft. in length and 7 ft. in breadth. Of the presumably larger vessel, also an Alexandrian corn ship bound for Rome, which had wintered in Melita, and which afterward took on board the shipwrecked party (Acts 28:11), "the sign" (parasemon) is given, and she is called "The Twin Brothers." The Greeks excelled with colonies in the Black Sea, Asia Minor and around the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, tin and amber do certainly come to us from the ends of the earth. It seems as though today, Britain, as Tarshish, is now playing a subservient role behind the young lions of America in important . Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? Hacksilber objects in these Phoenician hoards have lead isotope ratios that match ores in the silver-producing regions of Sardinia and Spain, only one of which is a large island rich in silver. He was followed by others, including Hertz (1936). The names Tyre and Sidon were famous in the ancient Near East. What is Tarshish called today? = commonassociation of the metal withthe western Mediterranean. TARSHISH (Heb. What does the phrase "the merchants of Tarshish" mean? Of theextreme tracts of Europe towards the west I cannot speak with any certainty; for I do not allow that there is any river, to which the barbarians give the name of Eridanus, emptying itself into the northern sea, whence (as the tale goes) amber is procured; nor do I know of any islands called the Cassiterides (Tin Islands), whence the tin comes which we use. Gomer is the people who settled in Germany. Bibliography Information Orr, James, M.A., D.D. have you assembled your company to take the prey? Tarshish and the problem of Phoenician colonization in the western Mediterranean. This boat is said in Luke's narrative to have been Simon's, and it seems from references to it as "the boat" on other occasions to have been generally at the disposal of Jesus.2. Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar. (Tin came primarily from Cornwall in the British Isles, and was brought back by the Phoenicians; it was combined with copper, abundant in south west Spain, to produce bronze. Robbers by land on three sides, pirates by sea on the fourth, in a confederacy . Bochart, the 17thcentury French Protestant pastor, suggested in his Phaleg (1646) that Tarshish was the city of Tartessos in southern Spain. In Ezekiel 38:10-13 God is speaking through the Prophet Ezekiel to Gog of Magog, a confederacy of nations from the north, who would invade a land of "unwalled villages" (Israel). The expression shows that it was in painting or relief; a figurehead, with the Twin Brothers represented, would be given by episemon. It is also interesting to note that one of Javan's sons Tarshish has become what is today modern day Spain. ( Genesis 10:4 ; 1Kings 10:22 ; 1Chronicles 1:7 ; Psalms 48:7 ; Isaiah 2:16 ; Jeremiah 10:9 ; Ezekiel 27:12 Ezekiel 27:25 ; Jonah 1:3 ; 4:2 ) The identity of the two places is rendered highly probable by the following circumstances: 1st. The first century A.D. Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote that it was the same city as Tarsus, in modern day Turkey, which is the Apostle Pauls hometown. Meshech (also spelled Meshek) and Tubal were sons of Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah who survived the flood with him ( Genesis 10:1-2 ). The fact that a British mining company in the 19th century called it Tharsis is more likely to point to Britain being Tarshish. Tarshish was a son of Javan, who settled the area of Southern Greece. "When Jonah, also, arose up to flee unto Tarshish, he sailed from Joppa on the coast of Syria, and the circumstances mentioned (in Jonah 1,) imply that his voyage was of some length, and coupled with the intention which led him to undertake it, makes it probable that the Tarshish he sought was the Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, the most distant and least known colony of Tyre. Bible concordance for TARSHISH. Esarhaddon, Aur Babylon E (AsBbE) (=K18096 and E6262 in the British Museum and Istanbul Archaeological Museum, respectively) preserves "All the kings from the lands surrounded by sea from the country Iadanana (Cyprus) and Iaman, as far as Tarsisi (Tarshish) bowed to my feet." Cush describes present-day Ethiopia and the black nations of Central Africa. When God sent Jonah as a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked. No other nation in history has created an empire of colonies like the British Empire. We have already noted the historical record which assumes that Tartessus was in Spain and that Tarshish was Tartessus however, it also acknowledged that tin was sourced from Cornwall as follows: Tin came primarily from Cornwall in the British Isles, and was brought back by the Phoenicians; it was combined with copper, abundant in south west Spain, to produce bronze. In regard to tin, the trade of Tarshish in this metal is peculiarly significant, and, taken in conjunction with similarity of name and other circumstances already mentioned, is reasonably conclusive as to its identity with Tartessus. I Kings 10:22; Jer. In his day all of Africa west of Egypt was called Libya and south of Egypt was called Ethiopia. Tarshish was also the name of a short-lived political party, The classic short story "Ship of Tarshish" by, Beitzl, B. Tarshish is thought to be located in modern-day Spain or Portugal. I suspect based on the Apostle Paul wanting to make it to the utter most part to spread the Gospel, it's Spain. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (3) The Hebrew name of a precious stone (Ezekiel 10:9 margin, English Versions of the Bible "beryl"; Exodus 28:20; 39:13; Ezekiel 1:16; 28:13; Song of Solomon 5:14; Daniel 10:6). One of these minerals was tin. The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your (Tyre's) merchandise. If we can identify the source of these metals in the ancient world (6th century BC) then we can be certain about which country is Tarshish in the last days. If we can locate Tarshish in the ancient world we can identify Tarshish in the last- days prophecies. There is no restraint any more. My contention is that Tarshish could possibly be the modern day nation of Great Britain. Among the Hebrews:(1) In Early Times.In the early books of the Old Testament there are references connecting certain of the tribes, and these northern tribes, with the activities of the sea. The same evidence from hacksilber is said to fit with what the ancient Greek and Roman authors recorded about the Phoenicians exploiting many sources of silver in the western Mediterranean to feed developing economies back in Israel and Phoenicia soon after the fall of Troy and other palace centers in the eastern Mediterranean around 1200BC. One or two of the particulars of this description may be commented upon. Spain is not connected to Arabia whereas Britain and America have been the great oil-producing and oil marketing merchants. There are more than twenty references in the Old Testament to Tarshish (pronounced as: Tar-ish), but where in the world was the land of Tarshish? It could be used by Ezekiel to represent the nations of western Europe that will join Saudi Arabia in denouncing the invasion. PO Box 4216 Beth Togarmah is Asia Minor. It is the association of Sheba and Dedan with "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions" (Ezek 38:13) which helps to define these powers. It was also a victory of sorts over Britain, for it was her sailing ships that left the coast when the United Nations pronounced the independence of Israel. They were propelled by oars, but no doubt also made use of the sail when the wind was favorable (Luke 8:23), though the pictures which we have in the Gospels are mostly of the boatmen toiling in rowing in the teeth of a gale (Mark 6:48), and struggling with the threatening waves (Matthew 14:24). Thompson, C.M. This seemingly rules out Spain as Tarshish and the Latin American countries as the young lions. Now Caesarea has disappeared; and Joppa has only an open roadstead where vessels lie without shelter, and receive and discharge cargo and passengers by means of boats plying between them and the shore. Jonah 1:3; 4:2. Later, the prophet Jonah "fled to Tarshish" to escape God's call to preach to the people of Nineveh (in modern Iraq). Ezekiel 38:8, 16 notifies that this is a prophecy that finds fulfillment in the last days. Ezekiel 27:12 Tarshish was your merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded for your wares. 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). Javan listed as the fourth son of Japheth. The harbour was on the north side of the Cornwall Peninsula and has now silted up. This is still reputed to be the "Merchants of Tarshish" today by some Christian sects. [4][10], The editors of the New Oxford Annotated Bible, first published in 1962, suggest that Tarshish is either Sardinia or Tartessos. (The word may mean a "refinery . However, tin only came from a select few places. 2 Chronicles 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works. While this is just a comic series it is based on fact as Encyclopedia Wikipedia states: Britain was not unknown to the Classical world. 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