For the king had the ships of Tarshish
The term "ships of Tarshish" refers to large, sea-going vessels capable of long voyages. Tarshish is often associated with a distant, wealthy region, possibly in the western Mediterranean, such as Tartessos in Spain. These ships symbolize the extensive trade networks and wealth during King Solomon's reign, highlighting his wisdom and ability to expand Israel's influence.

that went with Hiram’s servants
Hiram, the king of Tyre, was an ally of Solomon. This partnership underscores the political and economic alliances Solomon formed, which were crucial for his building projects, including the Temple. The collaboration with Hiram's skilled sailors and craftsmen reflects the mutual benefits of international cooperation in the ancient Near East.

and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive
The three-year cycle suggests long-distance trade routes that required significant time for travel and trade. This period indicates the extensive reach of Solomon's commercial enterprises and the logistical challenges of ancient maritime trade. It also reflects the patience and planning involved in maintaining such a vast network.

bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks
These items represent the wealth and exotic nature of the goods imported into Israel. Gold and silver were symbols of wealth and power, while ivory was a luxury item. Apes and peacocks, likely imported from regions like Africa or India, indicate the diversity and opulence of Solomon's court. This abundance fulfills the promises of prosperity found in earlier scriptures and foreshadows the wealth of the Messianic kingdom.

1. King Solomon
The ruler of Israel known for his wisdom, wealth, and extensive building projects, including the Temple in Jerusalem.

2. Tarshish
A distant port or region, often associated with wealth and trade, possibly located in the western Mediterranean.

3. Huram (Hiram)
The king of Tyre, an ally of Solomon, who provided materials and skilled labor for the construction of the Temple.

4. Ships of Tarshish
A fleet used for long voyages, symbolizing international trade and the wealth it brought to Solomon's kingdom.

5. Trade Goods
Gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks, representing the wealth and exotic nature of Solomon's trade endeavors.The Blessings of Wisdom and Obedience
Solomon's wealth and success in trade were a result of his God-given wisdom. When we seek God's wisdom and obey His commands, we can experience His blessings in our lives.

The Dangers of Materialism
While Solomon's wealth was a sign of God's blessing, it also serves as a cautionary tale about the potential for material wealth to lead us away from God. We must guard our hearts against the love of money.

God's Sovereignty in Provision
The international trade and wealth of Solomon's kingdom demonstrate God's ability to provide abundantly for His people. We can trust in God's provision for our needs.

The Importance of Alliances
Solomon's partnership with Huram of Tyre shows the value of forming alliances that honor God and contribute to His purposes. We should seek relationships that encourage our faith and service to God.Top 10 Lessons from 2 Chronicles 9

Does the mention of Tarshish and other distant lands in Ezekiel 27 align with known ancient geography and historical records?

Psalm 48:7: How do we reconcile the claim that God breaks “the ships of Tarshish with an east wind” with natural explanations for maritime disasters?

In 2 Chronicles 8:2, Solomon rebuilds cities given by Hiram, yet 1 Kings 9:11-13 implies those cities were unacceptable to him; how can both accounts be accurate?

How many fighting men were in Israel? (2 Samuel 24:9 vs. 1 Chronicles 21:5)(21) For the king's ships went to Tarshish.--1Kings 10:22, "For the king had a Tarshish fleet on the sea, with the fleet of Hiram." It is generally assumed that the words of the chronicler are an erroneous paraphrase of the expression, "Tarshish fleet," i.e., a fleet of ships fitted for long voyages. (Comp. Isaiah 2:16.) The identity of the present fleet with that mentioned above in 2Chronicles 9:10 is not evident. Solomon may have had a fleet in the Mediterranean ("the sea" of 1Kings 10:22) trading westward, as well as in the Red Sea, trading south and east. Some have identified Tarshish with Cape Tarsis in the Persian Gulf. (See Note on 2Chronicles 20:36.)

Verse 21. - To Tarshish. The parallel has, in both clauses of its verse (1 Kings 10:22), "ships of Tarshish." The order of the words in the former clause of our present verse, that compels us to read, "going to Tarshish," certifies the correct meaning. The word "Tarshish" (the subsequent Tartessus) covered a district in South Spain, as well as named a town and river, and stretched opposite the coast of Africa. Both coasts were beneath Phoenician rule, and a voyage to Tarshish would most naturally mean calling at many a port, and many an African port, from one and another of which all the imports here spoken of would be obtainable. The meaning of the Hebrew root of Tarshish is "to subjugate." The town lay between the two mouths of the river Baetis, now Guadal-quiver. Gesenius thinks that the writer of Chronicles says, in ignorance, "to Tarshish." and that the ships went to Ophir! These passages do not say that the voyage, whatever it was, took three years; much less that that length of time was necessary. Whether voyages were in Solomon's time made from the Red Sea, circumnavigating Africa, into the Mediterranean, is not certain. If they were such voyages, taken at a sauntering pace, with calls at many ports and easygoing delays, they may easily have consumed as long a space of time as three years! The theory that Tarshish was Tarsus in Cilicia is easily and conclusively negatived. The names in Hebrew of "ivory, apes, and peacocks" have been said to be of Indian origin. This is far from proved, and, as regards the first two, may be said to be sufficiently disproved. But if it all were so, still the fact that the Hebrew names were of an Indian language derivation would go very short way to prove that the Hebrew people got the things represented by them direct, or at all, from India. Ivory; Hebrew, שֶׁנְחַבִּים. The Authorized Version rendering "ivory" occurs ten times in the Old Testament, having for its original the Hebrew שֵׁן (1 Kings 10:18; 1 Kings 22:39; 2 Chronicles 9:17; Psalm 45:8; Song of Solomon 5:14; Song of Solomon 7:4; Ezekiel 27:6, 15; Amos 3:15; Amos 6:4). In all these cases, two of them being in closest juxtaposition with the present and its parallel occasion, the word speaks of ivory that is being used, i.e. as though it were manufactured material or ready for manufacture. But in our passage and its parallel, where the different word given above is found, it is manifest that it speaks of the material, so to say, in the rough, as just "tooth or tusk of ?;" but, further, what the חַבִּים is is not yet ascertained. It is not a word known in the Hebrew vocabulary. Gesenius finds the Sanscrit ibhas, which signifies an "elephant;" Canon Rawlinsen finds in some Assyrian inscriptions a word habba, used of both elephant and camel, but probably having for its generic signification "a great animal;" Keil (on the parallel) finds a Coptic word, eboy, the Latin elephas, to which he prefixes the Hebrew article ה. The Targum Jonathan shows at once שְֵׁןאּדּפִיל. Gesenius, in his 'Thesaurus,' calls also timely attention to Ezekiel 27:15, where we read, "They brought thee a present, horns of ivory and ebony" (Hebrew, Chethiv, וְהָובְנִים; Keri, קַרְנות שֵׁן וְהָבְנִים). But no use of "ebony" happens to be mentioned in the connection of our present passages or subject. Thus it will be seen that no little ingenuity has been employed to hunt down this little word, though as yet not quite successfully. More may be seen in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible,' 1:906. Apes; Hebrew, קופִים. Conder ('Handbook to the Bible,' 2nd edit., p. 390) says, "This word is identical with the name of the monkey in Tamil." Keil connects it with the Sanscrit kapi, but does not believe, with Gesenius, that the animal came from India, but Ethiopia. In a valuable note in the' Speaker's Commentary' we read, "It is found" (not stated where) "that the word was an Egyptian word, signifying a kind of monkey, in use in the time of Thothmes II., i.e. about the time of the Israelites' exodus." (For Herodotus's testimony respecting ivory and apes in North Africa, see his 'Hist.,' 4:91.) Peacocks; Hebrew, תֻּכִּיִּים. Conder ('Handbook to the Bible,' p. 393') says a Tamil word, tokei, means "peacock." Keil proposes to consider it one of the later Romans' luxurious delicacies, aves Numidicae, from Tuoca, a town in Mauretania or Numi-alia. Some translate it "guinea-fowl," and some "parrots." The peacock did not belong to Africa, yet still it may have been purchaseable at some port there.

Parallel Commentaries ...


For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the king had
לַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ (lam·me·leḵ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

the ships
אֳנִיּ֤וֹת (’o·nî·yō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 591: A ship

of Tarshish
תַּרְשִׁ֔ישׁ (tar·šîš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8659: Tarshish -- a son of Javan, also a port on the Mediterranean, also a Benjamite

that went
הֹלְכ֣וֹת (hō·lə·ḵō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

with
עִ֖ם (‘im)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Hiram’ s
חוּרָ֑ם (ḥū·rām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2361: Huram -- a Benjamite, also two Arameans (Syrians)

servants,
עַבְדֵ֣י (‘aḇ·ḏê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

and once
אַחַת֩ (’a·ḥaṯ)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

every three
לְשָׁל֨וֹשׁ (lə·šā·lō·wōš)
Preposition-l | Number - feminine singular
Strong's 7969: Three, third, thrice

years
שָׁנִ֜ים (šā·nîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8141: A year

the ships
אֳנִיּ֣וֹת (’o·nî·yō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 591: A ship

of Tarshish
תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ (tar·šîš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8659: Tarshish -- a son of Javan, also a port on the Mediterranean, also a Benjamite

would arrive
תָּב֣וֹאנָה ׀ (tā·ḇō·w·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

bearing
נֹֽשְׂאוֹת֙ (nō·śə·’ō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

gold,
זָהָ֣ב (zā·hāḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky

silver,
וָכֶ֔סֶף (wā·ḵe·sep̄)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

ivory,
שֶׁנְהַבִּ֥ים (šen·hab·bîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8143: Probably, tooth of elephants, ivory tusk

apes,
וְקוֹפִ֖ים (wə·qō·w·p̄îm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6971: A monkey

and peacocks.
וְתוּכִּיִּֽים׃ (wə·ṯū·kî·yîm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8500: Of foreign derivation, some imported creature, a peacock


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OT History: 2 Chronicles 9:21 For the king had ships that went (2 Chron. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr)