Editing Tarshish (section)

==Hebrew Bible==
''Tarshish'' occurs 25&nbsp;times in the [[Masoretic text]] of the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Although, as stated in the previous section, the phrase "ships of Tarshish" may refer only to huge ships fit for ocean journeys and not to a location or nation, possible references to Tarshish as a location or nation include:

* In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|10:4|HE}} Tarshish appears among the [[Sons of Noah]]: "And the sons of [[Javan]] [were:] [[Elishah]], Tarshish, [[Kittim]], and [[Dodanim]]." This is closely restated in [[1 Chronicles 1]]:7. 
* {{bibleverse|1 Kings|10:22|HE}} notes that [[King Solomon]] had "a fleet of ships of Tarshish" at sea with the fleet of his ally [[King Hiram]] of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]: "Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks." This is echoed (with some notable changes) in {{bibleverse|2 Chronicles|9:21|HE}}.
* {{Bibleverse|1 Kings|22:48|HE}} states that "[[Jehoshaphat]] made ships of Tarshish to go to [[Ophir]] for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at [[Ezion-geber]]." This is repeated in {{Bibleverse|2 Chronicles|20:37|HE}}, preceded by the information that the ships were built at [[Ezion-Geber]], and emphasizing the prophecy of [[Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah]] against Jehoshaphat: "Because you have joined with [[Ahaziah]], the Lord will destroy what you have made." And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish. This may be referenced in {{Bibleverse|Psalms|48:7|HE}}: "By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish." From these verses, commentators conclude that "ships of Tarshish" was used to denote any large trading ships intended for long voyages, whatever their destination,<ref name="Jewish"/> and some Bible translations, including the [[NIV]], go as far as to translate the phrase ''ship(s) of Tarshish'' as "trading ship(s)".
* {{bibleverse|Psalms|72:10|HE}}, often interpreted as [[Messiah|Messianic]] in Jewish and Christian tradition, has "May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!" This verse is the source text of the liturgical antiphon ''[[Reges Tharsis]]'' in Christian Cathedral music. In this Psalm, the 'chain of scaled correlates' consisting of 'mountains and hills', 'rain and showers', 'seas and river' leads up to the phrase 'Tarshish and islands', indicating that Tarshish was a large island.<ref name=":02"/> 
* [[Isaiah]] contains three prophecies mentioning Tarshish. First, at 2:16 "against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft", then Tarshish is mentioned at length in Chapter&nbsp;23 against Tyre: "Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!" (23:1 and 23:14) and "Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast!" (23:6). In 23:10, Tyre is identified as a "daughter of Tarshish". These prophecies are reversed in Isaiah 60:9: "For the coastlands shall hope for me, the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from afar"; and 66:19: "and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations."
* [[Jeremiah]] only mentions Tarshish in passing as a source of [[silver]]: "Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from [[Uphaz]]" (10:9).
* [[Ezekiel]] describes [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]]'s trading relations with Tarshish: "Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares" ({{Bibleverse-nb|Ezekiel|27:12|HE}}) and "The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas" ({{Bibleverse-nb|Ezekiel|27:25|HE}}). The metals from Tarshish were stored in Tyre and resold, probably to Mesopotamia. In the prophecy against Gog, Ezekiel predicts: "Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, 'Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?{{'"}} ({{Bibleverse-nb|Ezekiel|38:13|HE}})
* {{bibleverse|Jonah|1:3|HE}} and 4:2 mention Tarshish as a distant place: "But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to [[Jaffa]] and found a ship going to Tarshish." [[Jonah]]'s fleeing to Tarshish may need to be taken as "a place very far away" rather than a precise geographical term. On the [[Mediterranean Sea]], ships that used only sails were often left stranded without wind, while ships with oars could continue their voyage.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientships00torruoft |quote=subject:ships. |title=Ancient Ships |first=Cecil |last=Torr |year=1895 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientships00torruoft/page/n35 1]–3 |access-date=18 February 2010}}</ref>