According to George Potter and Richard Wellington, some scholars have associated Tarshish with Tartessus in Spain. However there was also a Tarshish on the Indian Ocean (see LDS Bible Dictionary). In 2 Chronicles 9:21 we can read of some of the merchandise brought back to Palestine from trips to Tarshish; gold, silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks (hardly products from Spain). While the ivory & gold could equally have come from Africa, the complete list of items indicates dealings with India, an ancient trading partner with southern Arabia. Peacocks live in India and are not found in Africa at all. Moreover, 2 Chronicles 20:36 notes that the ships that went to Tarshish came from the port of Ezion geber, a port on the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. It is possible that Tarshish might have been associated with Moscha on the Indian Ocean. Moscha was located on the eastern part of the Salalah plain in the Dhofar region of what is today Oman. Today, the ruins of what is thought to be Moscha are found at the inlet of khor Rori. From Moscha, in the area known as Dhofar, ships loaded with the precious frankincense embarked into the Indian Ocean.
It is almost certain that Lehi knew of he ocean-going ships of the Indian Ocean, their port-of-call at the Frankincense port of Moscha, and the authorized trail he could take overland to reach Moscha. His contemporaries Ezekiel and Jeremiah, had a knowledge of the Frankincense trail and the oceanic shipping that was taking place in the Indian ocean. Ezekiel wrote of the merchants of Dedan and Sheba, both associated with Arabian empires whose wealth was based ont he incense trade and both of which were situated on trading routes (Ezekiel 27:20, 22). Ezekiel specifically mentioned the ocean going ships of the merchants of Tarshish, as well as their pilots and mariners. [George Potter & Richard Wellington, Discovering Nephi’s Trail, Chapter 4, p. 3, Unpublished] [See the commentary on Ophir--2 Nephi 23:12]
“Ships of Tarshish”
The general Hebrew word for ship, niyya, refers most commonly to seagoing merchant vessels (e.g. Proverbs 31:14) which are often described as “ships of Tarshish” (2 Nephi 12:16; Isaiah 2:16; 1 Kings 22:48). Whether or not Tarshish is to be identified with a geographical location such as Tartessus in southern Spain or Tarsus in Cilicia or is thought to mean something like “ore-carrier,” the ship so described is a Phoenician long-range merchantman.
Phoenician shipping developed during the 2nd millennium B.C. and is known to us from Egyptian tomb paintings and from texts. The paintings reveal that, unlike contemporary Egyptian ships, Canaanite (early Phoenician) vessels were built with a keel and had a fence-like structure along the deck… . A document from Ras Shamra, (about 1200 B.C.), refers to one of these merchantmen as having a cargo of 457,000 kilograms (450 tons) with no indication that it was at all unusual. Such a large vessel had to rely on sail power and could be rowed only for brief periods in an emergency.
The ship that Jonah embarked on at Joppa is called a s pina (Jonah 1:5), which may indicate that it was a large vessel with a deck, possibly similar to a Greek merchantman. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, pp. 1441-1442]
The question as to the locality of Tarshish has given rise to not a little discussion. Some think there was a tarshish in the East, on the Indian coast, seeing that “ships of Tarshish” sailed from Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea (1 Kings 9:26; 22:48; 2 Chronicles 9:21). Some, again, argue that Carthage was the place so named. There can be little doubt, however, that this is the name of a Phoenician port in Spain, between the two mouths of the Guadalquivir (the name given to the river by the Arabs, and meaning “the great wady” or water-course). It was founded by a Carthaginian colony, and was the farthest western harbour of Tyrian sailors. It was to this port Jonah’s ship was about to sail from Joppa. It has well been styled “the Peru of Tyrian adventure;” it abounded in gold and silver mines.
It appears that the name “Tarshish” is also used without reference to any locality. “Ships of Tarshish” is an expression sometimes denoting simply ships intended for a long voyage (Isaiah 23:1, 14), ships of a large size (sea-going ships), whatever might be the port to which they sailed. Solomon’s ships were so styled (1 Kings 10:22; 22;49). (Easton’s Bible Dictionary) [Infobases, LDS Collectors Library ’97 ] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 18:8]
2 Nephi 12:16 Ships of Tarshish ([Illustration] A Phoenician trading vessel carved on the end of a stone sarcophagus from Tyre. 2nd-1st century B.C. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, pp. 1441]
The Lord Shall Come Upon All the Ships of Tarshish
According to Reynolds and Sjodahl, the prophet Isaiah has, in the previous verses of this section, emphasized the fact that humiliation would be the consequence of pride. All that was high and exalted in its own estimation would be debased and humiliated. He enumerates: The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, the mountains and hills, the nations and people, the towers and walls and, finally, the ships of the sea, even the largest, the Tarshish ships, with their proud standards or figure heads… . “Ships of Tarshish” (2 Nephi 12:16) apparently refers to ships capable of long voyages. These ships would have sailed from the major ports of the Mediterranean, one of which was Tyre. This famous city, about 50 miles south of Beirut, was once a mercantile world center, comparable in importance to New York, or London, of today. It was the capital of Phoenicia, the mother country of Carthage, the great rival of Rome, in the Mediterranean. Her sailors and merchants roamed all over the then known world.
But the prophets of the Lord predicted her downfall and destruction. Isaiah foretold that Tyre would fall and be utterly forgotten. (Isaiah 23:5,8,15) Ezekiel has this prediction:
Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 26:1-6)
This has been fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the city. It lasted for thirteen years, until, as Ezekiel says, “every head”--of his vast army--was made bald and every shoulder was peeled“--from carrying burdens--” yet had he no wages, nor his army." (Ezekiel 29:18) The time had not yet come. About 270 years later, Alexander the great accomplished its downfall.
Tyre was built on rocks in the sea, about a mile and a half from the shore. Alexander caused a road to be constructed through the water. This gigantic task completed, he threw the city with its 150 feet high walls into the deep, and swept the rocks on which it had stood. Fishermen did actually spread their nets on these rocks to dry in the sun.
Isaiah has a remarkable prediction that may be noted here. He says: “Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it (Tyre) is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in; from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them… . Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.” (Isaiah 23:1-14) “Ships of Tarshish” were sometimes absent on their voyages for two or three years. Imagine the consternation of the crews, when such ships came back and found no harbor in which to enter, no houses where the city had stood, only naked rocks, connected with the shore by means of a mole!
At the beginning of our era, a new Tyre was visited by the disciples of Christ. It had a temple and some churches. During the 7th century it came into the hands of the Saracenes, and then, in the 12th century, the crusaders. It was then a place of some importance. For 300 years it was ruled by the Turks. In 1834 it was visited by a destructive earthquake. Ten years later a traveler relates that when he and others came to the place and looked for a shop in which to buy some souvenirs, they found none. Fishermen were still spreading their nets on the rocks.
[George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, pp. 294-295,325]
The Lord Shall Come Upon All the Ships of Tarshish
According to Reynolds and Sjodahl, the prophet Isaiah has, in the previous verses of this section, emphasized the fact that humiliation would be the consequence of pride. All that was high and exalted in its own estimation would be debased and humiliated. He enumerates: The cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, the mountains and hills, the nations and people, the towers and walls and, finally, the ships of the sea, even the largest, the Tarshish ships, with their proud standards or figure heads… . “Ships of Tarshish” (2 Nephi 12:16) apparently refers to ships capable of long voyages. These ships would have sailed from the major ports of the Mediterranean, one of which was Tyre. This famous city, about 50 miles south of Beirut, was once a mercantile world center, comparable in importance to New York, or London, of today. It was the capital of Phoenicia, the mother country of Carthage, the great rival of Rome, in the Mediterranean. Her sailors and merchants roamed all over the then known world.
But the prophets of the Lord predicted her downfall and destruction. Isaiah foretold that Tyre would fall and be utterly forgotten. (Isaiah 23:5,8,15) Ezekiel has this prediction:
Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 26:1-6)
This has been fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the city. It lasted for thirteen years, until, as Ezekiel says, “every head”--of his vast army--was made bald and every shoulder was peeled“--from carrying burdens--” yet had he no wages, nor his army." (Ezekiel 29:18) The time had not yet come. About 270 years later, Alexander the great accomplished its downfall.
Tyre was built on rocks in the sea, about a mile and a half from the shore. Alexander caused a road to be constructed through the water. This gigantic task completed, he threw the city with its 150 feet high walls into the deep, and swept the rocks on which it had stood. Fishermen did actually spread their nets on these rocks to dry in the sun.
Isaiah has a remarkable prediction that may be noted here. He says: “Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it (Tyre) is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in; from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them… . Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.” (Isaiah 23:1-14) “Ships of Tarshish” were sometimes absent on their voyages for two or three years. Imagine the consternation of the crews, when such ships came back and found no harbor in which to enter, no houses where the city had stood, only naked rocks, connected with the shore by means of a mole!
At the beginning of our era, a new Tyre was visited by the disciples of Christ. It had a temple and some churches. During the 7th century it came into the hands of the Saracenes, and then, in the 12th century, the crusaders. It was then a place of some importance. For 300 years it was ruled by the Turks. In 1834 it was visited by a destructive earthquake. Ten years later a traveler relates that when he and others came to the place and looked for a shop in which to buy some souvenirs, they found none. Fishermen were still spreading their nets on the rocks.
[George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 1, pp. 294-295,325], Vol. 1, p. 325]