Tarshish is among the most evocative place names in the Hebrew Bible, conjuring images of the farthest reaches of the known world accessible by sea. Its 28 occurrences span the Table of Nations, royal trade narratives, prophetic oracles, and one famous flight from God. In Genesis 10:4, Tarshish is a grandson of Japheth through Javan, linking it to the maritime peoples of the western Mediterranean. Solomon's fleet of 'ships of Tarshish' brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks on three-year voyages (1 Kgs 10:22; 2 Chr 9:21) — the phrase became shorthand for any large, ocean-going merchant vessel. Jehoshaphat's attempt to replicate this trade ended in shipwreck at Ezion-geber (1 Kgs 22:48; 2 Chr 20:36-37). Jonah famously booked passage to Tarshish to flee 'from the presence of the LORD' (Jon 1:3; 4:2) — its remoteness making it the opposite direction from Nineveh. Isaiah uses 'ships of Tarshish' as symbols of human pride that will be humbled (Isa 2:16; 23:1, 14), while Psalm 72:10 envisions the kings of Tarshish bringing tribute to the Messiah.