2 Chronicles 9:21

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Chronicles 9:21 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
2 Chronicles 9:21 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Chronicles 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
21For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“the king's ships went to Tarshish--rather, "the king's ships of Tarshish went" with the servants of Huram. ships of Tarshish--that is, in burden and construction like the large vessels built for or used at Tarshish [CALMET, Fragments].”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“9:21 Solomon’s fleet of trading ships of Tarshish was used to transport cargo. The peculiar shape of these strong ships allowed them to sail long distances in the open sea. • and peacocks: The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Solomon was so great that he imported fine goods and exotic animals from the farthest reaches of the known world.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Kg1 10:22, Kg1 22:48, Tharshish Tarshish: Bochart thinks this Tarshish was probably the promontory Cory, on the north of the island of Ceylon, which, according to him, was the land of Ophir. That it was name of a place in the East Indies, seems probable from the articles brought thence, and also from the ships sent thither being built at Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea; though Michaelis supposes that the fleet coasted along the shore of Africa, doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and came to Tartessus, in Spain, and thence back again the same way; that this accounts for their three years' voyage out and home; and that Spain and the coasts of Africa furnish all the commodities which they brought…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification