Tarshish
“Possibly 'yellow jasper' or related to smelting”
Summary
Tarshish was a distant maritime trading center, almost certainly Tartessus in southern Spain, famous for its wealth in silver, iron, tin, and lead, and for its merchant ships.
☩Location and Identification
Tarshish is almost certainly identified with Tartessus, an ancient Phoenician trading colony in southern Spain near the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. The similarity of names is close, Tartessus being merely the Aramaic form of Tarshish. In the Table of Nations, Tarshish appears among the sons of Javan, pointing to the northwestern Mediterranean. The phrase 'in the midst of the seas' aptly describes the southwestern coast of Spain as viewed from Palestine. From its location at the western extremity of the known world, Jonah sought to flee there to escape God's call to Nineveh in the opposite direction.
☩Commerce and Wealth
Tarshish was renowned as a source of silver, iron, tin, and lead, precisely the metals that classical writers confirm were produced in the Spanish peninsula. Ezekiel describes it as Tyre's merchant, trading in 'all riches.' The silver was elaborately worked, indicating the connection between commerce, wealth, and art found in prosperous trading centers. Solomon's ships went to Tarshish with Hiram's servants, returning every three years with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
☩Ships of Tarshish
The 'ships of Tarshish' became a proverbial expression for large merchant vessels capable of long voyages, similar to how 'East Indiaman' denoted a class of ship rather than a specific destination. These vessels were celebrated throughout Scripture as symbols of maritime commerce and power. The psalmist speaks of God breaking 'the ships of Tarshish with an east wind,' and Isaiah's prophecy of Tyre's destruction calls on the ships of Tarshish to howl at losing their commercial haven.
Related Verses25 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Tarshish," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Tarshish," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Tarshish," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).