Thus far all the passages cited agree, with more or less of evidence, in fixing Tarshish somewhere in or near Spain. But in 2 Chron. xx. 36 it is recorded that Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber,' that is, on the Elanitic gulf on the eastern arm of the Red Sea. If then these vessels, built at Ezion-geber, were to go to Tarshish, that place must lie on the eastern side of Palestine instead of the western ; for we cannot suppose they circumnavigated Africa ; not because such a voyage was impossible, but because it was long and tedious, and not likely to be taken when a nearer and safer way to Tarshish lay from the ports of the Pales tinian coast. I3ut in the parallel passage, found in Kings xxii. 48, these vessels are described as ships of Tarshish' (merchant vessels), which were intended to go to Ophir, not to Tarshish. This removes the difficulty at once, for Ophir was in the east, and accounts for the fact that the fleet was built on the Red Sea, since it was an east ern not a western voyage which was intended. The reference appears to be to the same eastern trade of which mention is made in r Kings x. 22, where we find Hiram and Solomon importing from the East in ships of Tarshish, or merchantmen, gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. We have not space to enter into the critical questions which this contrariety between the books of Kings and Chronicles suggests for consideration ; but we may remark that in a case in which a diversity appears in the statements of these two authorities, no competently-informed theologian could hesitate to give the preference to the former.
It appears then clear from this minute review of the Scriptural accounts and allusions, that Tarshish was an old, celebrated, opulent, cultivated, com mercial city, which carried on trade in the Mediter ranean, and with the seaports of Syria, especially Tyre and Joppa, and that it most probably lay on the extreme west of that sea. Was there then in ancient times any city in these parts which corre sponded with these clearly ascertained facts ? There was. Such was Tartessus in Spain, said to have been a Phcenician colony (Arrian, Alex. iii. 86), a fact which of itself would account for its intimate connection with Palestine and the Biblical narra tives. As to the exact spot where Tartessis (so written originally) lay, authorities are not agreed, as the city had ceased to exist when geography began to receive attention ; but it Ivas not far from the Straits of Gibraltar, and near the mouth of the Guadalquivir, consequently at no great distance from the famous Gmnada of later days. The reader, however, must enlarge his notion beyond that of a mere city, which, how great soever, would scarcely correspond with the ideas of magnitude, affluence, and power that the Scriptures suggest. The name, which is of Phcenician origin, seems to denote the district of south-western Spain, com prising the several colonies which Tyre planted in that country, and so being equivalent to what we might designate Phcenician Spain. We are not however convinced that the opposite coast of Africa was not included, so that the word would denote to an inhabitant of Palestine the extreme western parts of the world. We seem, however, authorised by considerations, besides those which have been already elicited, in identifying the He brew Tarshish with the Spanish Tartessus, what ever may have been the extent of the neighbouring country over which the latter held dominion, or possessed immediate influence. Among these con siderations we mention—tst, That the two names are similar, if they are not the same ; the Greek Taprncra6s, with the Aramaic pronunciation, would be te+nin, a fact which would of itself seem to settle the question, in the absence of conflicting evidence and claims ; 2d, Spain was one of the chief seats of Phoenician colonisation ; and if we unite therewith the north-west of Africa, we shall have some idea of the greatness of the power of Tyre in these parts, for Tyre is reported to have founded not fewer than three hundred cities on the western coast of Africa, and two hundred in south western Spain (Strabo, 82). Here, then, was
found the chief object of the Phoenician sea trade. These countries were to Tyre what Peru was to Spain. Confining our remarks to Spain, we learn from Heeren that the Phcenician colonies on the European side of the sea were situated in the south of the present Andalusia. Here, with other im portant places, lay Tartessus, a name which is borne by a river, an island, a town, and a region. Heeren distinctly says that to Orientalists the word indicated the farthest west generally, comprising, of course, many places. In the commercial geo graphy of the Phoenicians, he adds, the word obviously meant the entire of their colonial de pendencies in southem Spain. In the same general way we use the term West Indies ; and thus arose the river, the town, the district of Tartessus, since the country included them all (Heeren, Ideen, 44, seg.) 3d, It does much to confirm our view that all the articles reported in Jeremiah and Ezekiel to have been brought from Tarshish, might have come from south-western Spain. Here there were mines of gold and silver, and Tartessus is expressly named as affording the latter mineral (Strabo, p. 147 ; Diod. Sic. v. 35). Tin was biought by the Phoenicians from Britain into Spain, and thence carried to the Oriental markets. Ac cording to Diodorus Siculus (v. 38) tin NVIIS pro cured in Spain also, as well as lead, according to Pliny (114rt. Nat. iii. 4). Pliny's words are forcible : Nearly all Spain abounds in the metals—lead, iron, copper, silver, gold.' The view which has been taken in these obser vations was suggested to our mind by Winer's excellent article on the subject (Real-worterb. 7oo), and on his authority some of our statements , rest ; but we should not do justice to it did we not add, that though suggested by Winer, it is the 1 unprejudiced result of our own investigation of the I several Scriptural passages which bear on the sub- I ject. We add one or two corroborations, Heeren (Ideen, 64) translates Ezek. xxvii. 25, • The ships of Tarshish,' etc., by ` Spanish ships were the chief object of thy merchandise ; thou (Tyre) wast a full city, and wast honoured on the seas.' The Phoenicians were as eager in their quest of gold and gold countries as were the alchemists and the Europeans of the t6th century. The lust for gold urged them over the deserts of Arabia, and the cliffs of the Red Sea, as far as Yemen and Ethiopia ; and the same passion carried them westwardly to the coasts of Spain and the Pillars of Hercules. Spain,' says Heeren, was once the richest land in the world for silver ; gold was found there in great abundance, and the baser metals as well. The silver mountains were in those parts which the Phoenicians comprised under the general name of Tartessus or Tarshish. The im measurable affluence of precious metals which OD their first arrival they found here, so astounded them, and the sight thereof so wrought on the imagination of the people, that fact called fable to its aid, and the story gained currency that tbe first Phoenician colonists not only filled their ships with gold, but made thereof their various implements, anchors not excepted.'—J. R. B.