Place to which ships were sent from Palestine.
It is supposed by some to refer to a Spanish city named Tartessus. This would appear a suitable place from whence to obtain silver, iron, tin, and lead. Jonah taking a ship at Joppa to sail to Tarshish may also indicate a place to the west of Palestine. But other passages refer to apes and peacocks, also being brought by ships of Tarshish, and these are associated with Ezion-geber, on the Gulf of Akaba, a branch of the Red Sea. It is therefore probable that the ships from this port would sail southward to some other place, which has not been identified (1 Kings 10:22; 1 Kings 22:48; 2 Chron. 9:21; 2 Chron. 20:36-37; Psa. 48:7; Psa. 72:10; Isa. 2:16; Isa. 23:1-14; Isa. 60:9; Isa. 66:19; Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 27:12,25; Ezek. 38:13; Jonah 1:3; Jonah 4:2).