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1. Question: Where was Tarshish?

Answer: (a)
In Biblical terms the name "Tarshish" can refer to one of two places:
a. Tarsis in Cilicia (Southeast Turkey)
b. Tarshish (or Tartessus) in Spain.
 There are however other candidates:

 (1. The Septuagent, the Greek version of the Old Testament, translated Tarshish as "Carthage" though at that time "Carthage" (in Tunis, North Africa) also ruled over the former areas of Tarshish in Spain;

(2 Julius Africanus thought "Tarshish" was another name for the islands of Rhodes or for Cyprus;

(3 There is a city in Sicily named Tarsus.

(4. A Phoenician inscription in Sardinia mentions Tarshish but exactly in what context is not clear.

(5. The name "Tarshish" was once explained as connoting "furnace" in Akkadian and Phoenician and therefore as possibly applicable to nearly any Phoenician colony specializing in metallurgy. Similarly William F.  Albright and several others with him, suggested that it referred to mines for precious ores and was applied to certain countries which produced them.

(6. Cyrus Gordon related the name "Tarshish" to a Semitic root also found in the Greek "Thalasos" meaning sea. This explanation is close to that of the Talmud which however seems to connect Tarshish to the Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean in particular.
"C. Gordon attempts to interpret the name Tarshish with the wine-dark sea of Homer" Journal of Near-Eastern Studies 37 (1978), pp. 51-52. "
"Attic thalatta, meaning sea, becomes thalassa in Doric".
Cyris Gordon has also been quoted as identifying Tarshish with America.

(7. The Biblical expression "Ships of Tarshish" is often explained as a general term for ships sailing on long-distance voyages. There is however no proof for this supposition. In our opinion "Ships of Tarshish" means "Ships from (the Place) Tarshish" or from the direction of Tarshish. This is the simple meaning of the Hebrew text.

(8. Immanuel Velikovsky thought Tarshish was Crete, or its chief city Knossos.
Ages in Chaos, vol. I, section Troglodytes or Carians?, n. 17
 
(9. Some former British-Israel writings identified Tarshish with the British Isles. They claimed (without providing any references as far as we are aware) that the name "Tarshish" is to be found applied to Britain on "old maps". D'Arbois de Jubainville, a foremost French scholar, believed that at one time Tarshish had ruled over all of Spain and most of Gaul.  There could be something to this. Tarshish was a trading emporium with imperial pretensions dealing with metals mined in both Spain and the British Isles. It was later taken over by the Phoenicians who also had outposts in Britain. It may be that this whole complex was included under the term "Tarshish".
 
10. In Assyrian Terms Tarshish was somewhere towards the Western Mediterranean.
The annals of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (681-669 BCE):
"All the kingdoms from (the islands) amidst the sea from the country of Iadanan and Jaman as far as Tarshishi bowed to my feet and I received heavy tribute."
Iadanan  ("Isle of Dan") is Cyprus and Iaman is the Ionian coast of Asia Minor;
"Tarshishi" has the determinative "m" for country in front of it, as do Idanana, or Cyprus and Iaman, or Ionia.
The accepted impression is Tarshishi as described was
"a kingdom amidst the sea, apparently somewhat farther removed from Assyria than either Cyprus or Ionia."

The Assyrian inscriptions are compatible with our belief that Tarshish referred to Tartessos on the Southern Spanish coast by the straits of Gibraltar.

11. We idenitify Tarshish as Tartessos but some believe Tartessos to have been a mere remnant of a much lareger entity known as "Atlantis". The decription of Atlantis given by Plato does fit a possible region near Tartessos that was submerged under the sea.
See more on this subject below.

12. Some claim Tarshish to have been somewhere to the east in the Indian Ocean or beyond it. Alternately there is the notion that two places named "Tarshish" existed both reached by ship, one in the east, the other in the west. The names of products brought back by the Ships of Tarshish are said to be derived from the Tamil language of Southern India and Ceylon. See more on this below under the heading: The Eastern Solution?.

1.(b) Answer: Tarshish in the Bible

(13. Tarshish (sometimes spelt as "Tharshish") as a thing: The term "Tarshish" in the Bible is also:
The name of a precious stone in the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:20 translated in the King James as "Beryl"). This stone is usually considered to be that of the Tribe of Asher. It has been identified as aquamarine though other candidates exist. The identification of "Tarshish" as the Stone of the Tribe of Asher is interesting since out of all the Israelite Tribes Asher was probably the most "Phoenician" in character and environment.
The Tribe of Asher received its territory in the Phoenician-Cananaite area including the regions of Sidon ("Zidon") and Tyre (Joshua 19:28-29) which were the major Phoenician cities.
See our Commentary to Joshua 19:28.
The Tribe of Asher settled amongst the Phoenicians and intermixed with them.

[Judges 1:31] NEITHER DID ASHER DRIVE OUT THE INHABITANTS OF ACCHO, NOR THE INHABITANTS OF ZIDON, NOR OF AHLAB, NOR OF ACHZIB, NOR OF HELBAH, NOR OF APHIK, NOR OF REHOB:
[Judges 1:32] BUT THE ASHERITES DWELT AMONG THE CANAANITES, THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND: FOR THEY DID NOT DRIVE THEM OUT.
The Phoenicians were destined to conquer Tarshish in Spain and establish settlements in its domain including the forced resettlement of Israelite Exiles. It may not be coincidence that one of the symbols of the Tribe of Asher was the "Tarshish" stone.

Tarshish in Spain

The Bible and Tarshish

From the above we see that "Tarshish" could be applied to either "Tarsis" or "Tartessos" according to the context.

<<A NAVY OF THARSHISH>>: In the Hebrew Bible it says "Oni-Tarshish" meaning "Ships of Tarshish".
This is repeated in Chronicles:
[2-Chronicles 9:21] 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, AND APES, AND PEACOCKS.
The word translated as "peacocks" in "Tuciim" which in Modern Hebrew would be understood to mean "Parrots".

Why did the ships of Solomon and Huram (i.e. the ships of Tarshish) need to take three years to make the trip?

The Greek historian Herodotus (484 - ca . 425 BCE) supplies an answer.
Herodotus explains that Phoenician ships would leave from a Red Sea port, sail down the east coast of Africa circumvent Africa and return to the eastern Mediterranean via the Straits of Gibraltar. On the way they would stop, sow corn, reap it, and continue. Archaeological findings (discussed below) indicate the presence of Phoenicians in both East and Western Africa.

4;42: "As for Libya [in Classical terms "Libya" meant the entire Continent of Africa] we know it to be washed on all sides by the sea, except where it is attached to Asia. This discovery was first made by Necos, the Egyptian king, who on desisting from the canal which he had between the Nile and the Arabian Gulf, sent to sea a number of ships manned by Phoenicians, with orders to make for the Pillars of Hercules [Straits of Gibraltar], and to return to Egypt through them, and by the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians took their departure from Egypt by way of the Erythraean Sea [Red Sea], and so sailed into the southern ocean. When autumn came, they went ashore, wherever they might be, and having sown a tract of land with corn, waited until the grain fit to cut. Having reaped it, they again set sail; and thus it came to pass that two whole years went by, and it was not until the third year that they doubled the Pillars of Hercules, and made good their voyage home. On their return they declared - I for my part do not believe them - that in sailing round Libya they had the sun upon their right hand. In this way was the extent of Libya first discovered.
4;43. "Next to these Phoenicians the Carthaginians, according to their own accounts made the voyage..."

It is often claimed that "Ships of Tarshish" were a type of ship this has not been proven we have additional evidence must be considered as mere speculation.
"Ships of Tarshish" means ships sailing to Tarshish.
"Ophir" probably means Darkest Africa since the root "Afer" in Hebrew means "ash". Other solutions have also been proposed.

Here the "Ships of Tarshish" are parties to a general worldwide destruction. There is nothing to give a specific identification but see our Commentary to Isaiah and how the US dollar sign represents the two pillars of Hercules at Gibraltar and thus by extension "Tarshish".
 
Isaiah in Chapter 23 describes the coming fall of Tyre and how refugees from Tyre would flee overseas eventually reaching Tarshish and attempting to re-establish themselves there. Archaeological findings show that in the south of Spain in the late 700s BCE (just after the fall of Tyre) there was an influx of colonist of Phoenician culture. They were however overtaken by Assyria as predicted by Isaiah, forced to work for Assyria, and participated in the transportation of and resettlement of Exiles from Israel as predicted by Amos (1:9 4:1-3). Not only the Phoenicians but also the Philistines participated in the forced relocation of Israelites (Amos 1:6). The political and economic rationale underlying the Phoenicians and Philistines being co-opted as agents by Assyria is given in part by Mitch Allen ("POWER IS IN THE DETAILS. Administrative Technology and the Growth of Ancient Near Eastern Cores", USA, 2002) who discusses the importance of silver mining in Spain and luxury goods imported by sea but however neglects to discuss Phoenician control of tin mining in Galatia (Northwest Spain) and Britain.

Here Isaiah is addressing the Phoenician rulers of Tyre as well as those of Sidon. For a description of Tyre see our Commentary to Isaiah 23:18.

Tarshish will be overwhelmed with refugees from Phoenicia like the waters of a river overflowing its banks.

The refugees from Tyre were to move to Italy (Chittim) but to continue onwards from there to Tarshish in Spain.

The Ships of Tarshish were connected with Phoenicia and received their livelihood through Phoenician enterprise. The fall of Phoenician Tyre would have spelt economic disaster for the Ships of Tarshish.

THE SHIPS OF TARSHISH FIRST: Ships that plough the Atlantic Ocean bringing people back from America, Britain, and Western Europe.
See the Brit-Am Commentary to this verse for more details.

See the Brit-Am Commentary where it is explained that it refers to descendants of Israel in the End Times.
 
Ezekiel predicts the fall of Phoenician Tyre. He describes the greatness and riches of Tyre and recalls Tarshish that supplied Tyre with silver, iron, tin, lead. Tin was needed in the production of Bronze and Bronze was the chief metal in use in that era which in History is even named "The Bronze Age".

Later Ezekiel speaks of Tarshish in a future time with the Merchants of Tarshish apparently anxious to partake of the future spoliation of Israel in the time of Gog and Magog.

Silver from Tarshish in Spain.  The Phoenicians had great silver mines there. It was once fabulously rich in silver production.                
  
Jonah sought to flee from before the Almighty taking a ship from the port of Joppa headed for Tarshish.

"Tarshish" in this case could mean either "Tarsis" in Cilicia or Tartessos in Spain but Spain was probably the desired destination here intended.

We identify Tarshish primarily with Tartessos in Spain since:
The names are similar and in the light of Phoenician contact apparently identical.
The sea trip to Tarshish is the same as that of the Phoenicians around Africa and returning via Tartessos in Spain.
The Products obtained by the Ships of Tarshish are those that would be obtainable from Tartessos and probably nowhere else.
Isaiah 23 describes the people of Tyre fleeing to Tarshish and attempting to re-establish themselves there. This is what the Phoenicians did in Tartessos.

Africa (Uganda) was also a source of tin:
"Central Africa as a Source of Tin" by  John E. Dayton item #163
"Recent lead isotope analysis of lead ingots found in Haifa in 1982 have thrown new light on possible sources of Bronze Age tin. The analyses of Bergernanli show that some of the Haifa tin came from the extensive tin fields of Central Africa".
cf. also:
"From the Red to the Med" by Harry Bourne, 2003:
" John Taylor (Oxford Journal of Archaeology 1988) noted the closeness of dates for the Voyage of Hanno and that for the oldest workings for Nigerian tin. Both Dayton and Taylor attribute this tin-trade to Phoenicians. "

Bourne gives additional evidence for the presence of Phoenicians in East Africa. This includes Phoenician shipwrecks reportedly found in Mozambique and Tanzania. Phoenician type dogs and cats are found in Madagascar. Phoenician jewellery was depicted by Egyptians on the leg of the African King of Punt. Phoenician shipbuilders and sailors were in Egyptian service along the African coast. The Old-Egyptian word for sea ("ym") is of Phoenician origin. The Egyptian contacts with East Africa were dependent on Phoenician seafaring. The originally-Phoenician trident-symbol of Poseidon is noted in East and West Africa and other signs of Phoenician influence exist. The Carthaginians who were of Phoenician descent also maintained contacts with West Africa.

Craig White says:
There are a number of things to consider:

Firstly, it appears that 'Tarshish' refers to a geographical location and a type of ship (cp, Isaiah 2:16, the primary interpretation of the latter case); A nineteenth century example is the "East Indiaman...<a>...large sailing vessel built for the trade between Europe and southern Asia" (Encyclopedia Britannica, CD '99, East Indiaman).

Secondly, Tarshish appears to be a place of gold and silver;

Thirdly, it would seem to be impractical and uneconomical to sail from Ezion-Geber, around Africa to a 'western' Tarshish close to the Mediterranean and return by the same route. It would be more expedient to make the around trip and dock in Tyre, if it indeed followed this route;

Fourthly, the Hebrew for 'apes' and 'peacocks' are foreign loan words. Bullinger noted that 'the Hebrew for these are Indian words (Tamil)'. [E.W. Bullinger, Companion Bible, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), p.466]. It may have been more likely to obtain apes and peacocks from India than via Africa or Spain, though not necessarily;

Fifthly, if Tarshish was one of the 'remotest nations', and that the ships had to be specially commissioned for the journey, it would seem to imply that Tarshish was not necessarily on a regular sea/trade route. When Jonah departed for 'western' Tarshish it seems that he did not have too much difficulty in procuring a passage on a merchant vessel; and

Sixthly, it appears that the specific ships of and for Tarshish were large merchant vessels designed to carry ore and other types of cargo and capable of travelling very long distances.

And who are the Japanese?

The Jesuit and Spanish writer Colin, one of the pioneers in the Philippine missions, considered that:

"...the principle settler of these archipelagoes was Tharsis, son of Japheth together with his brothers, as were Ophir and Hevilath of India.17 Colin, "Native races & their customs", E. H. Blair & J.A. Robertson editors, The Philippines 1493-1898.

The Spaniard Fray Gasper de San Agustin, who had spent forty years among the Filipinos, in a letter to a friend in Espana, who had asked him about the nature and characteristics of the Indian natives of the Philippine Islands, noted as an aside that 'the Japanese (who are, as Gracian learnedly remarked, the Spaniards of Asia').18 Colin, "Native races & their customs", E. H. Blair & J.A. Robertson editors, The Philippines 1493-1898.

Brit-Am Replies to the "Eastern Solution"

The Tarsis (Anatolian) Suggestion?

"Tarshish (Josephus' Tarsus Reconsidered)", 2002,
by Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld y de la Torre, M.A. Ed.

<<The location of biblical Tarshish remains a mystery. Various proposals from the 1st century CE to modern times still have not settled the question. Some scholars favor Josephus' understanding that Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey) is Tarshish while others favor a more remote location preserved in Greek sources as Tartessos in Spain (on the west coast, above ancient Gades/Gadir, modern Cadiz).

<<Josephus, a Jewish historian of the 1st century CE  made the Tarsus-Tarshish association on the basis of etymology, that is, the words possess the same consonants, ancient Hebrew not using vowels, rendering "t-r-s-s." 

"...Tharsus to the Tharsians, for so was Cilicia of old called; the sign of which is this, that the nobelest city they have, and a metropolis also is Tarsus..."(Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews.  6.1.127)

<<Josephus, citing from the Hebrew Bible, notes that Tarshish is a descendant of Japheth (Greek Iapetos/Japetus) and Javan (Hebrew Iawan), associated with the Greek Ionia, a province in modern western Turkey. The ancient Greek historian Athendorus, a citizen of Tarsus, gives a descent from Japetus, the ancestor of Javan, for Tarsus:

<<"Athendorus, the Tarsian, said that the city was originally called Parthenia, from Parthenius, son of Cydnus, the grandson of Anchiale, daughter of Japetus..." (p.686, Vol.4, "Tarsus," James hastings. A Dictionary of the Bible. Peabody, Mass. Hendrickson Publications [1898] 1988 reprint)

<<Against Tartessos, etymologically speaking, is the second "t" and third "s", in "t-r-t-s-s-s."

Walter Mattfield is saying that Tartessos in Spain cannot be Tarshish since the name "Tartessos" is spelt differently from the name "Tarshish".
We would answer that "Tartessos" is a Greek or Anatolian name and that the Hebrews (and presumably also the Phoenicians who spoke a dialect of Hebrew) were accustomed to Hebraicize foreign names.
We also have a good deal of evidence placing Tarshish in the Tartessos area.

Mattfield goes on adducing "evidence" that tin and silver were available in the region of Tarsis in Cilicia. He quotes from Hodges who assumed that the Assyrians wanted the tin of Anatolia but apparently there is no proof that such tin was still available in Neo-Assyrian times which is the period we are dealing with.

Notice the date given above "between 2300-2000 BC".
The Phoenicians only became important from around 1200 BCE.
This is an important point. It is now claimed that the tin reserves of Anatolia had been worked out long before the Phoenicians appeared on the scene.

Reply to Walter Mattfield: Tartessos could just as feasibly be rendered Tarshish in Hebrew.
We only have "Tartessos" through a Greek source and cannot even be sure that the original was not "Tarshish". Tartessos or an area near it does seem to have been named "Tarshish".

"Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs" (Ezekiel 27:12).
Regarding Tarsis of Cilicia (Anatolia) there were no rich deposits of iron, tin, and lead there (Moshe Elat p.149 ff).
The silver of Assyria DID come from Spain whether secondary sources existed in Anatolia or not.
In a footnote Mattfield himself appears to concede this possibility:

<<Archaeological excavations in Southwestern Spain on the Rio Tinto River have revealed Silver Mines in use in the course of the 8th-6th centuries BCE. Phoenician wares have been found in this area and it is speculated by some scholars that this is Tartessos, fabled land of Silver, mentioned by Classical authors. >>

The only equation that accords with both Biblical and secular sources regarding the idenitiy of Tarshish in those Bible passages recalling the ships of Tarshish and Phoenician-Israelite interaction with Tarshish is the equation of Tarshish with that region of Spain otherwise known as Tartessos.

2. Question: Was Atlantis Tarshish?

Answer: Atlantis does seem to have existed and does appear to have been somewhere in the Atlantic coastal area. Tarshish is a good candidate or at the least would have had had some contact with Atlantis.

Satellite photos indicate former Islands of the coast of Cadiz (Gades) similar to those described by Plato concerning Atlantis. "This is the only place that seems to fit [Plato's] description," "Plato also wrote that Atlantis is rich in copper and other metals. Copper is found in abundance in the mines of the Sierra Morena," Dr Kuehne explained. This dating would equate the city and society of Atlantis with either the Iron Age Tartessos culture of southern Spain or another, unknown, Bronze Age culture. A link between Atlantis and Tartessos was first proposed in the early 20th Century. Plato's depiction of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural beauty has spurred many adventurers to seek out its location.
See also:
http://www.atlantisresearch.com/proving_existence.html

"Brit-Am Now"-628
#6. Atlantis and Tarshish

3. Question: What do archaeological Finds tell us about Tarshish?

Answer: They confirm what we know from other sources, i.e. Tarshish originally was a settlement in Southern Spain of people related to the Ancient Greeks. Tarshish was close connected with the Phoenicians and Ancient Israelites. At some stage (probably ca. 700 BCE) it was taken over by a Phoenician group and Phoenician influence became dominant.

"a mysterious structure at Cancho Roano, deep in the heart of south-central Spain. The structure at Cancho Roano is sometimes called a palace-sanctuary because of its monumentality. But it was not a palace at all; it was simply a Tartessian sanctuary, which over time became influenced by Phoenician culture"

"Recent archaeological work suggests that Tartessos included a number of small proto-urban settlements largely dependent on agricultural and mineral (particularly silver) exploitation. This is probably what attracted the Phoenicians and formed the basis of Tartessian wealth.

"Exactly when the Phoenicians arrived remains in question. According to ancient sources, such as Strabo (c. 60 B.C.-21 A.D.) and Pliny (23-79 A.D.), they arrived in the late 12th century B.C. and laid the foundations of sites such as Cadiz (Gadir) and Utica. But archaeological excavations at these sites have not uncovered remains earlier than the eighth century B.C. The first-century B.C. historian Diodorus Siculus (Diodorus of Sicily) writes that the Phoenicians arrived on the peninsula while searching for silver but only settled there much later (Library of History 5.35.1-5, 5.20.1-2).

"Some scholars identify biblical Tarshish with Iberian Tartessos. The prophet Isaiah, who lived in the latter part of the eighth century B.C., may refer to the Phoenicians sailing to the Iberian peninsula and reaching Tartessos/Tarshish":

The Lord poised his arm over the sea And made kingdoms quake; It was he decreed destruction for Phoenicias strongholds ... Howl, O ships of Tarshish, For your stronghold is destroyed. (Isaiah 23:11-15)

"Although the location of biblical Tarshish is much debated, an inscription of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680-669 B.C.) suggests that it was located on the Mediterranean coast: All the kings from (the islands) amidst the sea from the country Iadanana [Cyprus], as far as Tarsisi [Tarshish], bowed to my feet and I received heavy tribute (from them). Many scholars have connected Tarshish to Iberian Tartessos".

"The core area of Tartessian civilization comprised the modern Spanish provinces of Cadiz, Seville, Huelva and the Algarve in modern Portugal. After the seventh century B.C., Tartessian influence expanded, reaching the Guadiana Valley (where Cancho Roano is located) and a considerable portion of the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula".

"Surprisingly, we have also found skeletons of what at first appeared to be horses or donkeys. Later analysis showed that these were the bones of a now-extinct equid not known anywhere else in the world one smaller than a horse but taller than a donkey or a pony. Study of the bones revealed that the animals had not been used for hard labor or transportation. Stranger still, they were all beheaded and buried in the western moat the bones of their bodies at one end of the moat and their skulls at the other. We have found nearly 30 of these creatures".

"One especially intriguing find from a perimeter room on the west side is an 8-inch-long bronze horse (opposite) of Tartessian type, showing a mixture of indigenous and eastern Mediterranean elements (probably transported to the western Mediterranean by the Phoenicians). Although the horse was very likely manufactured locally, some of its features such as the way in which its parts were assembled and the decoration of the harness resemble Cypriot bronzes".

4. Question: What Connection did the "Iberians" have with Tarshish?

Answer: "Iberi" means Hebrew. Israelite exiles were taken to the Tarshish area. They moved northwards through Spain and eventually emigrated to Gaul and the British Isles. Due to their presence all early inhabitants of Spain came to be mistkaenly referred to as "Iberians" by foreigners.

Quotation:
The Individuality of Portugal by Dan Stanislawski (Chapter 7)
"In the earliest Greek texts the term "Iberian" is found, referring to peoples at the extreme southwest of present Spain, the region of Huelva. (12) Yet in later texts of the Greeks the term is applied to all peoples of the Mediterranean area of present [92] Spain. (13) Still later all non-Celtic peoples of the interior and north were called Iberians, and ultimately the name became generalized for the peninsula. (14) Originally the term had cultural and perhaps ethnic meaning, but this was lost in its later use."

12. Garciy Bellido, La Pen?ula Ib?ca, pp. 45-47.
13. Ibid., p. 51. Mart?z Santa-Olalla and Almagro have been inclined to deny the existence of an ethnically distinct group to be called Iberians (Pericot, Las Raices de Espa??p. 54), but as time goes on this anti-Iberian position is becoming more and more difficult to maintain. Almagro himself in his later publications has altered his earlier view (Ibid., p. 56).
14. Bosch Gimpera, "Los Iberos," Cuadernos de Historia de Espa?? name="n_15_">, IX, 6.

The term "Iberi" means "HEBREW". This name or variations of it (e.g. Ebero) in Spain derived originally from the people driven out by the Carthaginians and North Africans. The original "Iberi" (or Hiberi) had from Spain passed into Gaul and the British Isles and the root "Eber" (or "Iber" or "Heber") is frequently found in the "Celtic" nomenclature of those areas. The overwhelming majority of places bearing the name IBER and its cognates are Celtic (FREDERIC DE ROUGEMONT, "L'Age de Bronze, ou Les Semites en Occident", Paris, 1866, p.102) and everywhere the name is found was due to Celtic presence at some time or other.
A group known as "Iberians" in earlier times were also to be found in South-East Gaul (Provence).

5. Question: Is Britain Tarshish?

Answer: Britain in Ancient Times was connected with Tarshish in Spainand may have been considered part of it. Britain also faces the Atlantic Ocean with which "Tarshish" was identified.

Historically Tarshish was a polity based on southwest Spain that had connections with France and Britain and possibly ruled over areas in those countries. Ezekiel 27 mentions mineral ores supplied by Tarshish to Tyre in Phoenicia. The metals concerned were available from Britain.

6. Question: Is America Tarshish?

Answer: Tarshish in future Prophecy could indicate North America.

Sources on Tarshish and Spain

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