Tarshish must have been established prior to the 10th century BC. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, one of the great corn fleet carrying grain from Egypt for the multitudes of Rome. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! ], William Parkin - 1837 "Festus Avinus says expressly that Cadiz was Tarshish. In the 14th century, in the northern highlands of the Horn of Africapresent-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djiboutithe story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba took on a new meaning. Ships of Tarshish made a deep impression upon the imagination of the Hebrew people. 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 book notes it as a striking example of the case of a divine and beneficent Providence that "men entrust their lives to a little piece of wood, and passing through the surge on a raft are brought safe to land" (Wisd 14:1-5). Isaiah 23:1 The burden of Tyre. Thus, since there was such substantial trade with the continent known today as America, "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof" must include the "young lions" of the United States, along with those of Britain and kindred folk in northern Europe. Another clue comes from Ezekiel in the Lamentation for Tyre: Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. This chapter is an end time prophecy concerning the re-birth of Israel:Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from afar, their gold and silver with them, to the name of the Lord your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you (Isaiah 60:9). [20], The context in Isaiah23:6 and 66:19 seems to indicate that it is an island, and from Israel it could be reached by ship, as attempted by Jonah (Jonah1:3) and performed by Solomon's fleet (2Chronicles9:21). In this feature, unless otherwise indicated, we use the term "Tarshish" as synonymous with Tartessos in Spain. (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 USA, Western Europe (Tarshish) and Saudi Arabia (Sheba and Dedan) are allied today, just as portrayed in . "[4] One possible identification for many centuries preceding the French scholar Bochart (d.1667), and following the Roman historian Flavius Josephus (d.100AD), had been with inland town of Tarsus in Cilicia (south-central Turkey). It prospered from trade with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians but was probably destroyed by the latter about 500 bc. (2) Assyria and Babylonia.The Assyrians and Babylonians were mainly an inland people, but their rivers gave them considerable scope for navigation. Gonzalez de Canales, F.; Serrano, L.; & Llompart, J. The location of Tarshish is uncertain, since the biblical references to it are vague and apparently contradictory. T. K. Cheyne (18411915) thought that "Tarshish" of Genesis 10:4[26] and "Tiras" of Genesis 10:2[27] are really two names of one nation derived from two different sources, and might indicate the Tyrsenians or Etruscans.[28]. It took three whole years to make the trip, and the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys (2 Chronicles 9:21 NKJV). Tarshish, a port trading in precious metals. The same place-name occurs in the Akkadian inscriptions of Esarhaddon (the Assyrian king, d.669BC) and also on the Phoenician inscription of the Nora Stone in Sardinia; its precise location was never commonly known, and was eventually lost in antiquity. Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with the young lions of Tarshish, ask Gog why it is invading Israel. Already in the time of David commercial relations had been established between Israel and Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11 f). If we can locate Tarshish in the ancient world we can identify Tarshish in the last- days prophecies. The season for navigation in those seas in ancient times was from April to October. Tarsus is an ancient city on the alluvial plain of ancient Cilicia, the birthplace of St. Paul (Acts of the Apostles 22:3). The early colonizing nations were the Phonecians and the Greeks. Tarshish was a nation that was rich in minerals and supplied the known world in the 6th century BC through the markets at the coastal city of Tyre. 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. Unique Circular Format - see more in less space. According to historians, Nineveh is an ancient city in present day Iraq. Here, Tarshish is certainly a large island, and cannot be confused with Tarsus (Thompson and Skaggs 2013). Herein, how far is Tarshish from Joppa? Tarshish is also the name of a modern village in the Mount Lebanon District of Lebanon, and Tharsis is a modern village in Southern Spain. All rights reserved. This seemingly rules out Spain as Tarshish and the Latin American countries as the young lions. Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? SHIPS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT1. Meshech (whose name means "long, tall, or drawn out by force") is the sixth son of Japheth. Luke has made no note of the name of this or of the previous vessels in which Paul had voyaged. Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. Elle avait une suite fort nombreuse, et des chameaux portant des aromates, de l'or en grande quantit et des pierres prcieuses. (1) Eponym of a Benjamite family (1Chronicles 7:10); Rhamessai, A and Lucian, Tharseis. Ezekiel 38:13 imparts several important clues to the reader. It was the farthest limit of the western world as known to the Hebrews. Proud member Daniel 8:21. It is conceived of in Hebrew literature as remote (Isaiah 66:19 Jonah 1:3; Jonah 4:2), as rich (Psalm 72:10 Jeremiah 10:9), as powerful in commerce (Ezekiel 38:13). In his day all of Africa west of Egypt was called Libya and south of Egypt was called Ethiopia. 1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they didn't go; for the ships were broken at Ezion Geber. This name is spelled (Tarshishah) in 1 Chronicles 1:7, but the -ah ending may in fact stem from a locative suffix that means toward or unto, so that it could refer to the range of the sons of Javan . The prophecy of Psalms 48 was fulfilled in 1948. : Southern Phoenician hacksilber hoards and the location of Tarshish', "Chabad Tanakh: Rashi's Commentary on Daniel 10:6", "Chapter 9: The Sermon | Moby Dick | Herman Melville | Lit2Go ETC", "Tarshish in the mountains of Lebanon: Attestations of a Biblical place name", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tarshish&oldid=1140310495, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. TARSHISH tr' shsh ().KJV alternately THARSHISH thr' shsh. That Tarshish was situated in the west is evident from . This Corpus dates between 1200 and 586BC, and the hoards in it are all silver-dominant. It is not to be supposed that the author of these passages in the Chronicles contemplated a voyage to Tarshish in the south of Spain by going round what has since been called the Cape of Good Hope. "Ships of Kittim" are mentioned in Daniel (11:30). The Assyrian monuments contain representations of naval engagements and of operations on the seacoast. 3rd. Esther 1:14 mentions in passing a Persian prince named Tarshish among the seven princes of Persia. Ezekiel 27:25 The ships of Tarshish were your caravans for your merchandise: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas. . Herodotus indicated that he had no evidence of the North Sea on the north of Europe. As with all these names, Tarshish denotes a country; in several instances, indeed, it is mentioned as a maritime country lying in the remotest region of the earth. In addition, Tarshish and the young lions must be connected to Sheba and Dedan (Arabia) in the last days. One work states: Wail, you inhabitants of the coast! [3] The Jewish-Portuguese scholar, politician, statesman and financier Isaac Abarbanel (14371508AD) described Tarshish as "the city known in earlier times as Carthage and today called Tunis. For, it was the ships of Great Britain who brought the first of the Jewish refuges from a war torn Europe, to their promised land in Palestine. Itineraria Phoenicia. Sheba: see Ezekiel 27:22: this Sheba was southward, and contains all of that coast which assisted Gog. (2) One of the "seven princes" at the court of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:14 Massoretic Text). Its importance stems in part from the fact that Hebrew biblical passages tend to understand Tarshish as a source of King Solomon's great wealth in metals especially silver, but also gold, tin, and iron (Ezekiel27). Bethsaida at the northern end of the Lake and Tarichea at the southern end were great centers of the trade. Tarshish. 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.. Jeremiah 46:9 Go up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and . 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? The storm not abating, they were driven past the Pillars of Hercules, and at last, by some special guiding providence, reached Tartessus. Javan listed as the fourth son of Japheth. 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. Nevertheless, different sources have referred to it as a city, a mountain, even a river the Guadalquivir. Isaiah 2:16 For all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery. Legends grew up around it over time so that its identity has been the subject of scholarly research and commentary for more than two thousand years. }. A son of Javan, great-grandson of Noah (Gen 10:4ff. Others say Tarshish was on the Iberian Peninsula, like the Southern Coast of Spain. The question as to the locality of Tarshish has given rise to not a little discussion. As a Persian name the word stands in relation with Teresh (2,221; 6:2), and with Tirshatha; all probably from the . All of the minerals marketed by the merchants of Tarshish could have come from Britain but. In the Oracle against Tyre, the prophet Ezekiel (27:12) mentions that silver, iron, lead, and tin came to Tyre from Tarshish (Trsys). This new version melded a wealth of literary and Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions . Tarshish (Phoenician: .mw-parser-output .script-phoenician{font-family:"ALPHABETUM Unicode","MPH 2B Damase",Aegean,Code2001,"Noto Sans Phoenician",FreeSans,"Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif} 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 Phoenicia and Israel. In the Book of Proverbs the ideal woman who brings her food from far is like "the merchant ships" (31:14). In recent years the Spanish people have shown increased interest in their roots and a comic series made reference to Tertessus: Probably more appealing to readers is the recent and highly successful comic series Tartessos. In his great series of Nature-pictures in Psalm 104, the Psalmist finds a place for the sea and ships (104:25;), and in Psalm 107 there is a picture of the storm overtaking them that go down to the sea in ships, and of the deliverance that comes to them when God "bringeth" them into their desired haven" (107:23;). It was one of the most important, and at times the dominant, city of Phoenicia, whose citizens claimed it had been founded by the great god Melqart. This seemingly rules out Spain as Tarshish and the Latin American countries as the young lions. Usually reference is madeto the ships of Tarshish or themerchants of Tarshish. of A variation on the name, Tarshishi, is found among Arabs of Lebanese descent, and likely indicates a family connection to the Lebanese village Tarshish. It is located on the Tarsus River, about 12 miles (20 km) from the Mediterranean Sea coast. Beth-Togarmah is Turkey. However, it seems that one of those metals was not plentiful in Spain and that metal was tin. Among the Hebrews(1) In Early Times(2) During the Monarchy(3) In Later Times2. "Tarshish is ancient Tartessus in the present-day nation of Spain. . 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? Tarshish is the name of the Phoenician colony on the river Tartessus, called also Baetis, the modern Guadalquivir. [1], The existence of Tarshish in the western Mediterranean, along with any Phoenician presence in the western Mediterranean before c. 800BC, has been questioned by some scholars in modern times, because there is no direct evidence. They gave it an English name! Today each is just a shadow of their former selves. When God sent Jonah as a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked. 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. No other nation in history has created an empire of colonies like the British Empire. Tarshish is also the name of a modern village in the Mount Lebanon District of Lebanon . B.C. ), "seems not to have been used in ancient navigation; its purpose was served by the sail, as for example at the battle of Actium the ship of Antony was distinguished by its purple sail. About this period we hear of ships in naval warfare. 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). Tarshish occupied the uttermost parts of the west. Tarshish in Scripture has "young lions" or offshoot nations such as colonies. You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas. Isaiah 60:9 Surely the islands shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. Tarshish here is a reference to the mercantile power of Britain which is inextricably linked with the Emirs of Arabia. Magog settled in today's Turkey. It appears that this name also is used without reference to any locality. 2). [5] Cross read the inscription to understand that it was referring to Tarshish as Sardinia. It seems as though today, Britain, as Tarshish, is now playing a subservient role behind the young lions of America in important geo . 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. 9 La reine de Sba apprit la renomme de Salomon, et elle vint Jrusalem pour l'prouver par des nigmes. Under the ruthless and ambitious King Nebuchadnezzar II, the sprawling settlement in modern-day Iraq grew into a major city as large as Chicago, and boasted towering temples, ornately tiled palaces and imposing city walls thick enough for two chariots to pass . Evident from ancient Tartessus in the Book of Proverbs the ideal woman who her! 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