Bible Location

Tarshish

Tarshish was a distant maritime location or region associated in the Bible with seaborne trade, valuable metals, and the far reaches of the known world. Tyrian merchants traded with Tarshish, and Jonah attempted to sail there from Joppa when fleeing from the Lord.

Tarshish has traditionally and frequently been identified with Tartessos in southwestern Spain, an area associated with extensive mineral resources and Phoenician trade.

The identification remains debated. Proposals have also included Sardinia, Carthage, Tarsus in Cilicia, and other Mediterranean locations. The biblical evidence does not presently permit a completely certain identification.

Biblical Significance

Tarshish appears repeatedly in biblical descriptions of maritime commerce. Ships of Tarshish became proverbial for long-distance seafaring and valuable cargo.

Ezekiel describes Tarshish trading silver, iron, tin, and lead with Tyre, evidence that has played an important role in attempts to identify the region.

Jonah went to Joppa and boarded a ship bound for Tarshish in an attempt to flee from the command to preach at Nineveh. In the narrative, Tarshish functions as a distant destination in the opposite direction from Jonah's assigned mission.

Isaiah and the Psalms also use Tarshish as an image of distant maritime peoples and commercial power.

Historical Background

Phoenician sailors established extensive commercial networks throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, seeking metals and other valuable commodities.

Southern Iberia became an important zone of Phoenician settlement and trade and possessed substantial deposits of silver and other metals. These facts contributed to the longstanding identification of biblical Tarshish with Tartessos.

However, linguistic, inscriptional, and geographical arguments have also been advanced for other locations. Some scholars have connected Tarshish with Tarsus or another eastern Mediterranean locality, while Sardinia and Carthage have also been proposed.

The possibility also exists that references to Tarshish did not always function with exactly the same geographical precision in every biblical period.

Modern Identification

The location of biblical Tarshish remains unresolved.

A major traditional and modern proposal identifies it with Tartessos or the surrounding mineral-rich region of southwestern Spain. The association with Phoenician maritime trade and metals provides significant support for this view.

Alternative proposals include Sardinia, Carthage, Tarsus in Cilicia, and other Mediterranean locations. No archaeological inscription has yet established one candidate beyond reasonable dispute.

AVWJ should therefore present southwestern Spain as an important proposed identification while clearly marking Tarshish itself as uncertain.

Scripture References

Genesis 10:4 1 Kings 10:22 2 Chronicles 9:21 Psalms 72:10 Isaiah 23:6 Jeremiah 10:9 Ezekiel 27:12 Jonah 1:3

Related Resources

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Sources

Bible: Genesis 10:4, 1 Kings 10:22, 1 Kings 22:48, 2 Chronicles 9:21, Psalms 48:7, Psalms 72:10, Isaiah 23, Isaiah 66:19, Jeremiah 10:9, Ezekiel 27:12-25, Jonah 1:3; Phoenician archaeology and inscriptions; classical sources concerning Tartessos; Assyrian geographical inscriptions; modern studies of the identification of Tarshish