For the king’s ships went to Tarshish. — 1 Kings 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 2 Chronicles 9:10 is not evident. Solomon may have had a fleet in the Mediterranean (“the sea” of 1 Kings 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 2 Chronicles 20:36.)
Related Commentaries of 2 Chronicles 9:21
2 Chronicles 9:21
21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory,h and apes, and peacocks.