Who Were the Merchants of Tarshish? Who are the enigmatical
"merchants of Tarshish" and the "young lions" mentioned by God's
seer, Ezekiel, in his Time of the End vision contained in the
38th chapter of his amazing Book? This question has long been
posed by students of the Bible, with a variety of answers being
given. One of the sources of power and wealth of King Solomon of
Israel was his control of a "navy of Tarshish", which worked in
cooperation with that of Hiram, King of Tyre. This doubtless was
the beginning of the extensive Tarshish trade with the nation of
Israel. The record reads: "For the king had at sea a navy of
Tarshish with the navy of Hiram : once in three years came the
navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes,
and peacocks." Many of these products came from Africa -- and
even from the far East. But we know for certain that Palestinian
produce, of various kinds, was traded, by sea, with the peoples
of Europe, even as far distant as the British Isles. Most
important of thes