The ships of Tarshish are alluded to seven times in Holy Scripture, and thrice in connection with Tyre. In Ezekiel it is written: "The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market" (Ezek. xxvii. 25). That the seaport of Tyre was used long after her glory had departed, is evident from subsequent history; for in the Acts of the Apostles it is related that St. Paul and his company "landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unlade her burden" (Acts xxi. 3). Hence, probably due to the suitable position of Tyre, there must have been a revival of commerce, for Jerome in his Commentaries on Ezekiel xxvii. 3 (in which Tyre is called "a merchant of the people for many isles"), says that this trade continued down to his time.1

The prophet Ezekiel compares the city of Tyre to a beautiful ship, of which an elaborate description is given. "Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the sea, thy builders have perfected thy beauty" (Ezek. xxvii. 3-7). And then follow the details of ship-boards, masts, oars, benches and sails; in all, five points are mentioned, which are taken from an ancient ship or galley. The Prophet continues, "They have made all thy ship boards of fir-trees of Senir2 they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; name Tarshish may have applied to countries farther west than Spain, and may have included the coasts of Portugal, of Cornwall, and of the Scilly Isles. In Ezek. xxvii. 12, four metals are associated with Tarshish: silver, iron, tin and lead. The last three are notably found in Britain. Dr. Smith says: "There can be little doubt that the mines of Britain were the chief source of the supply of tin to the ancient world. Though tin existed in Spain, it does not appear to have been produced in sufficient quantities to supply the Phoenician markets. We are therefore driven to conclude that it was from the Cassiterides, or the districts of Britain, that the Phoenicians obtained the great bulk of this commodity."

1 Jerome's Commentaries on Ezekiel are supposed to have been written about the years A.D. 411-414.

2 Senir or Shenir was the Amoritic name for Mount Hermon, as stated by Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy (iii. 8, 9). Its literal import is "Shining," suggested by its being always covered with snow. The Phoenicians called Hermon "Sirion,"

the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail (ensign, R.V.); blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee" (awning, R.V.) (Ezek. xxvii. 5-7).

Omitting, for the moment, the symbolic application of this figure to the city of Tyre; such a description presents a picture of the exceptional luxury and beauty of the Tyrian shipping. Their ship-boards, masts and oars were made of hard and costly woods of trees from the surrounding countries. The benches were made of ivory (A.V.), but according to Boothroyd's rendering, the benches were made of boxwood which came from the isles of Chittim (Cyprus), and other Grecian islands, and were inlaid with ivory. (This is also the rendering of the R.V.) The sails were not of coarse canvas, but were made of fine and embroidered linen from Egypt, and the blue and purple coverings or awnings were from the isles of Elishah, or the Grecian Archipelago.

This rich and pictorial description recalls the account of the barge of Cleopatra on the river Cydnus, near Tarsus, as given by Shakespeare, in his play of Antony and Cleopatra

"The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne

Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold;

Purple the sails, and so perfum'd, that

The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver;
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made

The water, which they beat, to follow faster,

As amorous of their strokes."—Ant. and Cleo., Act ii., sc. I.

The origin of navigation lies beyond all human record; but it is easy to understand how the ancients attributed this marine triumph and invention to the Phoenicians, whose skill as seamen was never matched by any ancient people.

Even in later times, Greek observers noted with admiration, the order which was kept on board the

Phoenician ships. They steered by the pole-star, which the Greeks therefore called "the Phoenician star"; and all their vessels-from the common galley to the great Tarshish ships (the East Indiamen, so to speak, of the ancient world)-had a speed which the Greeks never rivalled. Some idea of these ancient ships of Tyre or Phoenicia may be obtained by looking at those embossed reliefs on the bronze gates of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 859-824 B.C., of which a detailed description

will be found in Chap. vI., which treats of the commerce of Tyre. It must not be forgotten that these bronze gates existed, and are pictorial representations made, at an epoch anterior to the foundation of the city of Rome, 753 B.C.

Professor Boyd Dawkins describes these Tyrian ships as follows: "Between the mainland and the island we see represented the Phoenician vessels plying with the cargoes of offerings. These boats are long and narrow, with high bow and stern, both ends being fashioned

alike, and terminating in rams' heads. These boats, propelled by a sailor at either end with a broad-bladed oar, resemble the Levantine shore boats, or the Turkish kayik." The Tyrians built ships not only for themselves, but also for Egypt, and "their ships-obliged to coast along the inhospitable cliffs of Northern Africa, and to face the open sea-were more strongly and scientifically built than any vessels hitherto constructed."2

I

The following is an account of a Tyrian ship, written by Professor Maspero : "The Egyptian undecked galleys, with stem and stern curving inwards, were discarded as a build ill adapted to resist the attacks of wind or wave. The new Phoenician galley had a long, low, narrow, well-balanced hull, the stern raised and curving inwards above the steersman, as heretofore, but the bows pointed and furnished with a sharp ram projecting from the keel, equally serviceable to cleave the waves or to stave in the side of an enemy's ship. Motive power was supplied by two banks of oars, the upper ones resting in rowlocks on the gunwale, the lower ones in rowlocks pierced in the timbers of the vessel's side. An upper deck, supported by stout posts, ran from stem to stern, above the heads of the rowers, and was reserved for the soldiers and rest of the crew: on a light railing surrounding it were hung the circular shields of the former, forming as it were a rampart on either side. The mast, passing through both decks, was firmly fixed in the keel, and was supported by two stays, made fast to stem and stern. The rectangular sail was attached to a yard which could be hoisted or lowered at will. The wealth which accrued to the Tyrians from their naval expeditions had rendered the superiority of Tyre over the neighbouring cities so manifest that they had nearly all become her vassals." 3

The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the seafaring men of Tyre, of those who navigated, and of those who propelled

Early Man in Britain, p. 453. Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., M.A.

2 The Passing of the Empires, p. 282. Professor Maspero. 3 Ibid., p. 282,

the vessels ("all that handle the oar," Ezek. xxvii. 29); and also of all who were occupied in the fitting out or repairing the ships, and were noted for their age or wisdom.

"The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise" (Ezek. xxvii. 8, 9).

The geography which is referred to in this chapter of Ezekiel, in its connection with the shipping of Tyre, is full of interest. Eleven districts, countries, and places are mentioned as connected with the construction of the ships, viz., Senir, Lebanon, Bashan, the Ashurites, the isles of Chittim, the isles of Elishah, Egypt, Zidon, Arvad, Tyrus, and Gebal.

SENIR, as already observed, is another name for HERMON, which is the great snow-capped mountain in the north of Palestine, and which can be seen on a fine day from the Mount of Olives. Here is a veiled and accurate reference to forestry, for fir-trees are chiefly found on mountains and in high altitudes.

LEBANON is a mountain range to the east of Beyrout and north-east of Tyre, and has, from the time of Solomon, been famous for its large and ancient cedars, a few of which survive to the present day. (See Chap. VIII.)

BASHAN was a pastoral country lying to the east of northern Palestine, and was noted for its oaks. The prophet Zechariah (xi. 1, 2) refers to firs, cedars, and oaks in the same order as Ezekiel. The oaks of Bashan

are also mentioned by the prophet Isaiah.

The ASHURITES were a people of whom little is known, but we read that Abner made Ish-bosheth "king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites. (2 Sam. ii. 9); yet, as other tribes are named and the verse ends up with these words "and over all Israel," it may be that the spelling of Ashurites was an accepted equivalent, descriptive of the tribe of Asher. Further, it must be borne in mind that Zidon and Tyre were among the cities on the coast