God’s Word for You
2 Chronicles 9:21 Apes and peacocks
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Thursday, October 31, 2024
21 The king’s ships would travel to Tarshish crewed by Hiram’s men. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and exotic birds.
Tarshish is a tricky word in the Bible. The same Hebrew word is used for a gemstone and a man’s name, but mostly it has something to do with sailing or a destination while sailing. In Jonah, for example, the ship that the prophet boarded was a “ship of Tarshish,” which we take to mean a ship bound for the port of Tarshish, which was the most distant location known to the people of Israel in Jonah’s day. I believe it to have been a coastal city of Spain, probably Cadiz, which is on the southern shore touching the Atlantic ocean (Jonah 1:3). This is supported by Jonah’s claim that he was running away from the Lord to Tarshish as a distant location (Jonah 4:2). It was also visited by the sailors of Tyre and Sidon (Isaiah 23:6). Jeremiah mentions Tarshish as exporting silver (Jeremiah 10:9), which is also consistent with the famed and excellent silver produced in southern Spain.
But “Tarshish” or “ship of Tarshish” also seems to be used in a more general sense, for robust seagoing ships that could travel rough seas for an extended period, as opposed to the more common boats that hugged the coastline. Isaiah talks about these big, sturdy vessels: “Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor” (Isaiah 23:1). Again Isaiah says: “Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God” (Isaiah 60:9).
Taking the text precisely as we have it, I think that we have both definitions of Tarshish here. At the beginning of the verse, the king’s ships travel “to Tarshish.” The words “ships” and “to Tarshish” are separated by two other words—in other words, they are not the usual phrase, “Ships of (or bound for) Tarshish,” but rather they are ships “going to” (holecoth, qal participle) the land of Tarshish. Then, in the second sentence or clause, the fleet of “Tarshish ships” would return every three years with their exotic cargoes. Since a three-year round trip is implied, minus a couple of months for the usual repairs and refitting, a voyage to Spain is not out of the question, at least for some of Solomon’s ships. And other ships, robust “Tarshish-ships” may have sailed to other destinations to gather such things as apes. They are not necessarily the same ships or the same voyages in the first and second parts of the verse.
One of the exotic things brought to Solomon from far away was a regular supply of qophim, “apes, monkeys.” The ancient world did not differentiate between apes and monkeys (whether or not they had tails). The word qophe “ape, monkey” is not really Hebrew, and comes from the Egyptian word gofe. The only mentions of monkeys in the Bible are here in 2 Chronicles and in the parallel passage 1 Kings 10:22. The Jewish Mishnah mentions monkeys twice, once in a list of animals categorized as “wild animals” rather than “domestic animals” (Kilayim 8:6) and again in a theoretical case, speculating that if a monkey rather than a servant poured water over a man’s hands he would still be considered to be ceremonially clean (Yadayim 1:5). Such things are the subject matter of the Mishnah. When one does not know Christ, one agonizes over how to tithe “mint, dill, and cummin” (Matthew 23:23). That is my entire summary and opinion of the Mishnah.
The final word in the verse is tukiyim, the plural of tuki. This, too, is not a Hebrew word. Some think it means “baboons” (as opposed to monkeys), making the final phrase “apes and baboons.” But there is a word in the Malabar (southwestern India) language, tôghai, which means “peacocks.” This is also the meaning of the word in the Latin translation, pavos. The verse would then refer to both monkeys and fabulous, exotic birds. Peacocks were especially renowned for their long tailfeathers, which were used for decorations and as fans in hot weather.
What is the application of this verse? Our author is describing the fabulous wealth of King Solomon, and this leads us to consider the fabulous glory of God. Like Solomon’s exotic imports, God’s glory surprises us at every turn. I would not have needed any mention of additional gold and silver to understand Solomon’s wealth. I wouldn’t need any mentions of apes or peacocks. But maybe somebody in the world would have their head turned by such things. And whenever anyone is attracted to the Gospel, God is glorified. Sometimes it takes a King’s court filled with peacock feather-fans, jumping monkeys, and a golden throne with six steps and a dozen golden lions. Sometimes it takes a gentle voice asking, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? Then I don’t condemn you, either” (John 8:10-11). I can ask a thousand “What about…?” questions of God, but what he wants me to know is the one question: “Am I forgiven?” And his glorious answer is: “Yes, you are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ.” This is God’s holy word, God’s comforting word, God’s compassionate word for me. And for you.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.