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TARSHISH

(Heb. taršîš)

(PLACE)

A seaport which exported silver, iron, tin, and lead to Tyre (Ezek. 27:12). Tarshish was located far away from Phoenicia and the land of Israel (Isa. 66:19; Jonah 1:3; Ps. 72:10), but its exact location is vague.

Some scholars place Tarshish in Africa, somewhere on the coast of the Red Sea, which is rich with the precious stone by the same name in Hebrew (Exod. 28:20; 39:13; Ezek. 28:13; cf. Cant. 5:14; Ezek 10:9; Dan. 10:6). According to this view, the designation “ships of Tarshish” refers to their cargo: “stone of Tarshish.” This unique type of ships was distinguished by its strength, large size, and peculiar shape, which allowed the ships to sail long distances in the open sea. Such ships were in the service of Tyre as well as Israel (1 Kgs. 10:22; 22:49; Isa. 2:16; 23:1, 14; Ezek. 27:25; Ps. 48:7[MT 8]). However, there is no evidence that King Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre (cf. 1 Kgs. 10:22) imported this stone from Tarshish. Likewise, 2 Chr. 9:21; 20:36-37, which place Tarshish on the Red Sea coast, to which one sailed from Ezion-geber, are misinterpretations of this expression.

That Tarshish is located on the Mediterranean coast emerges clearly from the inscription of King Esarhaddon of Assyria: “All the kings from (the islands) amidst the sea — from the country Iadanana (Cyprus), as far as Tarsisi, bowed to my feet and I received heavy tribute (from them)” (ANET, 290). This is also the background of the story in Jonah 1:3 which relates that the prophet Jonah fled from God’s mission by a ship which sailed from the port of Joppa to Tarshish, W of the Mediterranean Sea. The Table of Nations in Gen. 10:4-5 (= 1 Chr. 1:7) reckons Tarshish among other “descendants” of Javan (Greece): Elishah (Cyprus), Kittim, and Rodanim are all located in the Mediterranean Sea.

It is reasonable to identify Tarshish with Tharsis in southwestern Spain, in the Guadalquivir Valley. This place, which was colonized by the Phoenicians, is well known for its metals and precious stones. It is called Tartessus in the classical sources (Strabo Geog. 3.2.11; Pliny Nat. hist. 37.43). According to Herodotus (Hist. 4.152) it is placed “beyond the Pillars of Heracles.” The LXX reading of Ezek. 27:12 (Gk. Karchedónioi, “Carthage”) does not necessarily indicate identification with Carthage in North Africa, since there is a “Carthage” also on the west coast of Spain (Strabo Geog. 3.2.10).

The name Tarshish may be derived from Akk. rašašu, “to be smelted,” as suggested by William F. Albright.

Bibliography. W. F. Albright, “The Role of the Canaanites in the History of Civilization,” in The Bible and the Ancient Near East, ed. G. E. Wright (1961, repr. Garden City, 1965), 438-87; M. Elat, “Tarshish and the Problem of Phoenician Colonisation in the Western Mediterranean,” Orientalia lovaniensia periodica 13 (1982): 56-69.

Isaac Kalimi

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TARSHISH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)