1 Kings 10:22

“For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish, with the navy of Hiram, etc.] Tharshish was not the place the navy went from, but whither it went to, as appears from (<140921>2 Chronicles 9:21 20:36) and designs not Tarsus in Cilicia; nor Tartessus in Spain, or Gades, or which was however near it; though it appears from Strabo f246 and Mela f247 that the Phoenicians were acquainted with those parts, and were possessed of them; and particularly, according to Velleius Paterculus f248, the navy of Tyre traded thither before the days of Solomen; and Vitringa f249 is clear in it, that these were ships that traded to Tartessus, with the ships of Tyre; and it is more likely that that place is meant…”

“a navy of Tharshish--Tartessus in Spain. There gold, and especially silver, was obtained, anciently, in so great abundance that it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. But "Tarshish" came to be a general term for the West (Jon 1:3). at sea--on the Mediterranean. once in three years--that is, every third year. Without the mariner's compass they had to coast along the shore. The ivory, apes, and peacocks might have been purchased, on the outward or homeward voyage, on the north coast of Africa, where the animals were to be found. They were particularized, probably as being the rarest articles on board.”

“This is given as the reason of the great plentifulness of silver in the time of Solomon. The “navy of Tharshish” (not the same as the navy of Ophir, 1 Kings 9:26) must therefore have imported very large quantities of that metal. Tharshish, or Tartessus, in Spain, had the richest silver mines known in the ancient world, and had a good deal of gold also; apes and ivory were produced by the opposite coast of Africa; and, if north Africa did not produce “peacocks,” which is uncertain, she may have produced the birds called here “tukkiyim,” which some translate “parrots,” others “guinea-fowl” - the latter being a purely African bird. The etymology of the Hebrew words here rendered “ivory,”…”

“Tharshish - Ships that went to Tharshish. For Tharshish was the name of a place upon the sea, famous for its traffick with merchants, and it was a place very remote from Judea, as appears from the three years usually spent in that voyage. But whether it was Spain, where in those times there was abundance of gold and silver, as Strabo and others affirm; or, some place in the Indies, it is needless to determine. 3 Kings (1 Kings) 10:24”

“10:22 fleet of trading ships of Tarshish: The Hebrew term designates a type of merchant ship. • Phoenician sailors manned Solomon’s fleet, which put out to sea from Ezion-geber (9:26-28; see Isa 23:1). • apes, and peacocks: Archaeology provides ample evidence that kings imported such creatures. Apparently these animals were desired for their novelty and exotic nature and because they reflected conquest of distant lands.”

“Tharshish: Kg1 22:48; Gen 10:4; Ch2 9:21, Ch2 20:36, Ch2 20:37; Psa 48:7, Psa 72:10; Isa 2:16; Isa 23:1, Isa 23:6, Isa 23:10, Isa 60:9, Isa 66:19; Eze 27:12; Jon 1:3, Tarshish ivory: or, elephant's teeth, Kg1 10:18; Amo 3:15 apes: Kophim, rather monkeys, the same as the Syriac )pwq, Greek κηφος, κηπος, or κηβος, and Roman Cephus, which animal both Pliny and Solinus inform us was brought from Ethiopia. The same name appears in the monkeys, called KEIIIEṈ̌Language:English}} in the Prenestine Pavement, and in the French cep or ceb. peacocks: Job 39:13 3 Kings (1 Kings) 10:23”