2 Chronicles 20:36

2Ch 20:36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongeber.

Ver. 36. And he joined himself.] See 1Ki 22:48-49.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 36. To go to Tarshish] "In the great sea." - Targum. By which expression they always meant the Mediterranean Sea.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(36) And he joined himself with him.—Literally, and he joined him with himself, an expression only occurring here.

To make ships to go to Tarshish.—In 1Ki_22:48-49, we read: “Jehoshaphat made ships (i.e., a fleet) of Tarshish, to go to Ophir for gold; and it went not; for the ships were broken (i.e., wrecked) in Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships; and Jehoshaphat consented not.” There is no mention of a previous alliance and partnership in the ship-building with Ahaziah. Moreover, the expression of our text, “ships to go to Tarshish,” appears to be an erroneous paraphrase of “ships of Tarshish,” or “Tarshish-men,” as we might say; a phrase which really means, vessels built for long sea-voyages. According to Kings, the ships were built “to go to Ophir for gold;” in other words, to renew Solomon’s traffic with India from the port on the Red Sea.

And they made the ships in Ezion-gaber.—The Edomite port at the head of the Gulf of Akaba. If Tarshish means the Phoenician Tartessus in Spain, the fleet could only go thither by doubling the Cape, or crossing the Isthmus of Suez. Therefore some have supposed another Tarshish somewhere in the Persian Gulf or on the north-west coast of India. (See on 2Ch_9:21.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36. ships to go to Tarshish] In Kings, ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir: cp. 2Ch_9:21 (= 1Ki_10:22), note. In both passages the reading of Kings, “ships (or ‘navy’) of Tarshish,” i.e. large sea-going ships (cp. Psa_48:7) is to be preferred, because (1) Ezion-geber was a port for vessels sailing eastward, while Tarshish was in the west, (2) gold, the object of the voyage (cp. 1Ki_22:48), came from Ophir (2Ch_8:18; 1Ki_9:28; 1Ki_10:11; Psa_45:9).

Tarshish] Cp. 1Ch_1:7 (note).

Ezion-geber] Cp. 2Ch_8:17 (note).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah,.... A city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:44.

prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah; an idolatrous prince, with whom he ought to have had no fellowship, even in civil things, it being both a countenancing him, and exposing himself and people to danger:

the Lord hath broken thy works; the ships built at the joint expense of the two kings, that is, the Lord had determined to break them, and now foretold that he would; the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord hath destroyed thy works:"

and the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish; see Gill on Kg1 22:48.

Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 21

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tharsis; probably Cilicia, (C.) or some part of the ocean. --- Asion-gaber was on the Red Sea; and ships would not have been built there, to trade on the Mediterranean, C. ix. 21. T.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

To make ships to go to Tarshish; of which See Poole "1Ki 10:22 22:48".

They made the ships in Ezion-gaber; of which see on 1Ki 9:26.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This verse tells us the object with which Jehoshaphat had joined himself with Ahaziah, and 1Ki_22:49 tells us how at last, by a point-blank refusal to Ahaziah, he withdrew from the very brief commercial alliance after he had not merely been witnessed against by the Prophet Eliezer spoken of in our next verse, but more decisively witnessed against by the shattering of his ships. To go to Tarshish. This clause, even if the text is not corrupt, yet cannot mean what it seems to say; but in the word "to go" (Hebrew, tkll) must mean, of the sort that were wont to go to Tarshish, i.e. that were used for the Tarshish trade. We are guided to some such explanation by 1Ki_22:48, where it is said the ships were "ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir" (1Ki_10:22; 2Ch_8:18) That the ships could not be to go to Tarshish is plain from the fact of the place, Ezion-geber (2Ch_8:17, 2Ch_8:18; 1Ki_9:26) on the Red Sea, where they were built. Some, however, have suggested that some other Tarshish (e.g. in the Gulf of Persia) than that of Spain (Tartessus) may conceivably be meant. The clear statement of the parallel saves the necessity of any such supposition, however.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.