Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. 4 Ways the Parable of the Sower Encourages Spiritual Growth. Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm. " "[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). Tarshish appears to be a wealthy trading community on the extremity of the Mediterranean world. They were stored in Tyre and resold, probably to Mesopotamia. The location Tharsis in Spain is probably so named by the. 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? There is a very close similarity of name between them, Tartessus being merely Tarshish in the Aramaic form. "Ships of Tarshish" is an expression sometimes denoting simply ships intended for a long voyage ( Isaiah 23:1 Isaiah 23:14 ), ships of a large size (sea-going ships), whatever might be the port to which they sailed. Within it, and specifically in the geographical region that was part of Phoenicia, is a concentration of hoards dated between 1200 and 800BC. Tarshish may have settled nearby in today's Lebanon. 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. 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. While this is just a comic series it is based on fact as Encyclopedia Wikipedia states: Britain was not unknown to the Classical world. This may be referenced in Psalm48:7 which records "By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish." James, showing the power of little things, adduces the ships, large though they be, and driven by fierce winds, turned about by a very small "rudder" (pedalion), as "the impulse of the steersman willeth" (James 3:4). In James 3:4 Revelation 8:9; Revelation 18:17;, it is rendered "ship. 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. Ezekiel 38:8, 16 notifies that this is a prophecy that finds fulfillment in the last days. The name Tartessus (sometimes Tartessos) has long been surrounded by myth. 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. "Ships of Kittim" are mentioned in Daniel (11:30). One view locates Tarshish to the East, accessible from Solomon's great seaport at Ezion Geber on the Red Sea. Spain colonized South America but Britain colonized the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many more places. The names Tyre and Sidon were famous in the ancient Near East. Later, the prophet Jonah "fled to Tarshish" to escape God's call to preach to the people of Nineveh (in modern Iraq). Tarshish was said to have exported vast quantities of important metals to Phoenicia and Israel. 1. 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. ", Tarshish is placed on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea by several biblical passages,[18] and more precisely: west of Israel. Today the population of the United States is made up basically of Celto-Saxon . Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning, a Sanscrit or Aryan word, meaning "the sea coast.". 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 . Tin was a very important and valuable raw material for the ancient world. 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. . Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with the young lions of Tarshish, ask Gog why it is invading Israel. (Spain -Thenandnow). In this case, however, the ships are not war ships, but more probably merchant ships, or ships for pleasure, sailing in the Euphrates. What does the phrase "the merchants of Tarshish" mean? Among the Hebrews(1) In Early Times(2) During the Monarchy(3) In Later Times2. Already in the time of David commercial relations had been established between Israel and Tyre (2 Samuel 5:11 f). When God sent Jonah as a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked. If we are in the last daysthen this would point to the UnitedStates since they control the oceanswith the greatest navy in the world. Tyre was a maritime power and she built her own ships to bring merchandise to Tyre. 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). Sir Peter le Page Renouf (18221897)[25] thought that "Tarshish" meant a coast, and, as the word occurs frequently in connection with Tyre, the Phoenician coast is to be understood. 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. Cush is Ethiopia. However, it seems that one of those metals was not plentiful in Spain and that metal was tin. [20] Some modern scholars identify Tarshish with Tartessos, a port in southern Spain, described by classical authors as a source of metals for the Phoenicians, while Josephus' identification of Tarshish with the Cilician city of Tarsus is even more widely accepted. Thus, Jonah flees to Tarshish from the presence of Yhwh (Jonah i. It is also interesting to note that one of Javan's sons Tarshish has become what is today modern day Spain. They are also important cities in the Old and New Testaments. Bible concordance for TARSHISH. 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. Luke has made no note of the name of this or of the previous vessels in which Paul had voyaged. [5] Cross read the inscription to understand that it was referring to Tarshish as Sardinia. They are also associatedwith Sheba and Dedan whosedescendants populated theArabian Peninsula. At the height of its glory in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.E., the ancient city of Babylon was the largest and wealthiest in the world. Ships in the New Testament.1. 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 ). (2010). That Tarshish was situated in the west is evident from . For even not when countries in Europe or on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea where tin is found are very few; and in reference to ancient times, it would be difficult to name any such countries except Iberia or Spain, Lusitania, which was somewhat less in extent than Portugal, and Cornwall in Great Britain. My contention is that Tarshish could possibly be the modern day nation of Great Britain. [22], Rufus Festus Avienus the Latin writer of the 4th century AD, identified Tarshish as Cadiz. Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary - Tarshish, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Tarshish, The name of a place which first comes into notice in the days of Solomon. Thus we read: The southwesternpart of theIberianPeninsulawasenormouslyrich inminerals,andEzekielsreferencereflects a It is also true thatthe mountains of Wales, just north of Cornwall have been a source of all the mineralslisted in Ezekiel 27:12. 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. Where is Tarshish today? The Bible definitely gives the indication that Tarshish was far away from Israel. Jeremiah 10:9 There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skillful men. Isaiah includes them among the great and lofty objects of power and glory which the terror of the Lord would certainly overtake (Isaiah 2:16). 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. Herein, how far is Tarshish from Joppa? It deals with the rivalry between the Tartessians and the evil Arkabala, the high priest of the Temple of Hercules in the Phoenician city of Gadir (Cdiz), for control of the tin route to las islas Casitrides (the British Isles.) Attempts have been made to identify it with Tarsus of Cilicia, but they are not convincing. Genesis 10:2. (Book 3, para 115). Isaiah speaks of "vessels of papyrus upon the waters" of the Upper Nile, on board of which are the messengers of Cush or Ethiopia returning to tell the tidings of the overthrow of Assyria to the inhabitants of those remote lands (18:2 the King James Version has "bulrushes" instead of "papyrus"). For in the first place the name Eridanus is manifestly not a barbarian word at all, but a Greek name, invented by some poet or other; and secondly, though I have taken vast pains, I have never been able to get an assurance from an eye-witness that there is any sea on the further side of Europe. Works on the monuments like Layard, Nineveh, II, 379;; Maspero, Ancient Egypt and Assyria; Ball, Light from the East, and Reissner, Cairo Museum Catalogue, "Models of Ships and Boats," 1913, contain descriptions and figured representations which are instructive. The merchants of Tarshish; the inhabitants of the sea-coast westward, and Magog north. There are three schools of thought where Tarshish is concerned. The location inSpain is doubtful because Bible Mosul is its modern day name. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. The second son of Javan, Genesis 10:4. B.C. 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. Tarshish was a son of Javan, who settled the area of Southern Greece. The question as to the locality of Tarshish has given rise to not a little discussion. 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). (, 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. AUSTRALIA, There is no doubt Cornwall was the source of tin from the earliest times and that, It is possible that copper was mined in Spain but tin from Britain was mixed with it to make bronze. It was a major center of trade and commerce in the ancient world. 3, iv. Ezekiel, in 587BC described all of the commodities sold in the market place of Tyre and stated that. Is It Ok for Christians to Follow Zodiac Signs? When Simon reared his monument over the sepulcher of his father and brothers at Modin, he set up seven pyramids with pillars, upon which were carved figures of ships to be "seen of all that sail on the sea" (1 Maccabees 13:29). (Ezekiel 38:13). (established ). In the Gospels:It is the fishing-boats of the Sea of Galilee which exclusively occupy attention in the Gospels. Isaiah 23:14 Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste! 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. The record states: Coincidentally, there is a town named Tharsis 50 kilometres north of Huelva; the th combination, however, is a linguistic curiosity and alien to the Spanish language. Elle avait une suite fort nombreuse, et des chameaux portant des aromates, de l'or en grande quantit et des pierres prcieuses. 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? Sixth-named of the seven sons of Bilhar, the grandson of Benjamin ( 1Ch 7:10 ). For Gog (the antichrist) to lead Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and a broader coalition of what are currently Arab-dominated nations and Persia, against Israel, Persia must submit to Gog. It was Simon Maccabeus, however, who built its harbor, and the harbor at Joppa was "the first and only harbor of the Jews" (G. A. Smith, HGHL, 136). The articles which Tarshish is stated by the prophet Ezekiel, ( Ezekiel 27:12 ) to have supplied to Tyre are precisely such as we know, through classical writers, to have been productions of the Spanish peninsula. American scholars William F. Albright (18911971) and Frank Moore Cross (19212012) suggested Tarshish was Sardinia because of the discovery of the Nora Stone, whose Phoenician inscription mentions Tarshish. The most important thing to know about Tarshish. There seems to have been a special relation between Tarshish and Tyre, as there was at one time between Tartessus and Phoenicians. 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). The metals were reportedly obtained in partnership with King Hiram of Phoenician Tyre (Isaiah23), and fleets of ships from Tarshish. "For the king (Solomon) had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (1 Kings 10:22).Tarshish is the name of the Phoenician colony on the river Tartessus, called also Baetis, the modern Guadalquivir. The early colonizing nations were the Phonecians and the Greeks. Not only is that name connected with the tribe of Benjamin, but it is the ancient name of a city in southern Spain. If Tarshish is England; I propose the 'young lions thereof' would be Canada, Australia, and the United States. It was the birth pains of a nation being re-born that had not existed in over 2400 years. The Merchants of Tarshish. The word comes from the Greek kassiteros meaning tin. Javan as one of the grandsons of Noah born after the flood. It was mostly inhabited by Greeks (Josephus, BJ, III, ix, 1). Tarshish is also the name of a modern village in the Mount Lebanon District of Lebanon . All rights reserved. Herodotus travelled extensively gathering historical information (and myth)from Greece, Asia, Egypt and Persia but he never travelled to the western end of the Mediterranean or beyond the pillars of Herculeshence he was dependent on reports from others who had. (a) As regards rigging, the Phoenician ships of the time of Ezekiel, as seen in Assyrian representations, had one mast with one yard and carried a square sail. I suspect based on the Apostle Paul wanting to make it to the utter most part to spread the Gospel, it's Spain. Genesis 10:4 1 Chronicles 1:7. Isaiah 23:6 Pass over to Tarshish! Augustus Henry Keane (18331912) believed that Tarshish was Sofala, and that the Biblical land of Havilah was centered on the nearby Great Zimbabwe. The Rio Tinto mine just north of Huelva was first worked by the Phoenicians and still produces copper. 2. More than once Jesus made special use of a boat. Ezekiel regards them as the caravans that bore the merchandise of the mistress of the sea (Ezekiel 27:25). Tarsus, city, south-central Turkey. Of internal navigation, beyond the fishing-boats on the Sea of Galilee which belong exclusively to the New Testament, the ferry boat on the Jordan (2 Samuel 19:18, `abharah) alone receives notice, and even that is not perfectly clear (the Revised Version margin "convoy," but a "ford" is doubtless meant). As a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked 5:11 ). Gives the indication that Tarshish could possibly be the modern day nation of Great Britain Tartessus! Seems to have been made to identify it with Tarsus of Cilicia, but they are also important in. Established between Israel and Tyre, as there was at one time between and! Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, for Your stronghold is waste. One of those metals was not plentiful in Spain is probably so named the. Settled nearby in today & # x27 ; s Lebanon ships from Tarshish. are not convincing been established Israel. 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