mariners. Arvad or Aradus was the name of a Phenician city upon an island of the same name, not far from the coast, founded, according to Strabo, (xvi. 2, §§ 13, 14,) by Sidonian deserters. Its name now is Ruad, and the island is about two hundred paces from the continent. Compare Gen. x. 17. Among the places which are mentioned as trading with Tyre, besides the above, were Gebal, Persia, Lud, Tarshish, Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, Togarmah, Dedan, Syria, Judah, Damascus, Dan, Arabia, Sheba, and Raamah, Haran, Canneh, Eden, Asshur, and Chilmad. Ezek. xxvii. 9-25. The whole object. of the enumeration of these places is, to show the countries to which Tyre traded; that is, to nearly all the known parts of the world. Most of these places are well known; and little would be contributed to the design of this article, were we to designate the others. A remark or two is all that is necessary. Tarshish here is probably the same as Tartessus, in Spain; but we shall advert to it again when we speak of the commerce of the Jews. Javan is used to denote Greece in general, perhaps Ionia in particular. Tubal and Meshech probably denote countries situated near the Black and Caspian Seas. Dedan is supposed to have been on the southern coast of Arabia; or, as Michaelis thinks, it may have been an island, or commercial town in the Persian Gulf, established by the Tyrians to secure the trade of the Indies.

3. In regard to the articles of commerce in which the Tyrians were engaged, much light may be derived from the chapter in Ezekiel above referred to. Silver, iron, tin, and lead were brought from Tarshish.-From Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they obtained "the persons of men-i. e. slaves— and vessels of brass." Tubal and Mesech are supposed to be Caucasian regions, and slaves from thence have always been in the highest repute in the countries which now constitute the Turkish Empire. The inhabitants have always been distinguished for personal comeliness. The rich Turks and

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Persians have always filled their harems with female slaves from Georgia and Circassia. The passage before us proves that when Tyre was at the height of its splendour, this kind of traffic was common.-Horses and horsemen from Togarmah are mentioned. Formerly, the country of Armenia-supposed to be the same as Togarmah-was celebrated for producing horses for the Kings of Persia; and in later times, the people have paid their tribute in horses.-Ivory and ebony are mentioned as obtained from Dedan. If Dedan here means a part of the country adjacent to the Persian Gulf, then these articles were probably obtained from India. That ebony is intended by the word ', seems to be indubitable. The Hebrew word has passed into the ßevos of the Greeks, the ebenum of the Latins, and our ebony. It occurs only in the plural, probably, according to Gesenius, because the wood was obtained only in planks, or split into pieces for exportation. Ebony is the heart-wood of a tree called, in botanical language, diospyros ebenum, or the ebony-tree-a native of India. Its great hardness made it an article of value.Emeralds, purple, broidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate" are mentioned as obtained from Syria. Probably they were brought by land from the Gulf of Persia, through Syria. It is not known that they are productions of this country; but they are procured in abundance in India. The word rendered "coral," 7, more probably means a ruby. It is “coral,”?, enumerated among precious stones, and was undoubtedly one of them.—“Wheat, honey, oil, and balm" are enumerated as articles obtained from Judah. These are well-known productions of ancient Palestine; and Tyre derived no small part of its importance from its vicinity to this rich agricultural region.-"Wine of Helbon and white wool" are mentioned as obtained from Damascus. Wool was procured in the fleece, and dyed and manufactured at Tyre. The wine of Helbon

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—was celebrated in ancient times. Helbon was a Syrian city-the Xalußw of the Greeks. The table of the Persian kings was supplied with this wine, and they drank no other. Strabo xv., p. 1068. The city was famous in Arabian history in the Middle Ages, under the name of Haleb. It is now Aleppo. See Bochart's Hieroz., i. 543.-Bright iron, cassia, and calamus" are mentioned as obtained from Dan and Javan. Cassia and calamus are supposed, by Dr. Vincent, to have been undoubted productions of India; and this passage is regarded by him as an important historical proof that the intercourse with India was carried on through Arabia. Cassia --was a species of aromatic bark resembling cinnamon, but less fragrant and less valuable. Like cinnamon, it was obtained from India. Calamus- -was a sweet cane, or an aromatic reed, growing in marshes-the xávva, xávvy, or κάνη of the Greeks. It was used as an article of perfume, and the Hebrews employed it in public worship. According to Pliny, (xii. 22,) it grew in Arabia, Syria, and India; according to Theophrastus, (Hist. Plant. ix. 7,) it grew in the vales of Lebanon.-"Precious clothes for chariots" are mentioned as procured from Dedan. Dedan here referred to was probably in Arabia. But this verse is very obscure. The word rendered "chariots" may mean "riding;" and the "clothes," or garments, may have been for horsemen, for chariots or for charioteers. Whether they were manufactured in Dedan or not, it is impossible now to determine.—“Lambs, rams, and goats" are mentioned as procured from Arabia.— "Spices, precious stones, and gold" are mentioned as procured from Sheba and Raamah; and "blue clothes, and broidered work," from Haran, Cannah, Eden, &c.

This enumeration shows that a large part of the commerce of Tyre was in articles of luxury; though it was the grand mart for all the trade of the Eastern and Western world.

In the consideration of this subject, it is natural to inquire to what extent the Jews embarked in the commercial enterprises of ancient times. With a somewhat extended sea-coast, and such a location that some part of the traffic between India and Europe must of necessity pass through their territory, it was to be expected, perhaps, that they would seek to share in the immense profits which had made Tyre so splendid an emporium. Yet the idea of engaging in foreign commerce seems never to have occurred to them until the time of Solomon; and the plan was never extensively prosecuted after his reign. They were essentially an agricultural people. Till the time of David, they were extensively occupied in wars, and had little leisure for more peaceful employments. They shrunk from all communication with foreign nations-even from that temporary intercourse which was needful in commercial pursuits. They were a peculiar people-designed to have within themselves all that was necessary for their welfare, and intended to be kept distinct from all the nations of the earth. Indeed, the commercial enterprises of Solomon were a decided departure from the spirit of the national institutions. They were a part of that system of luxury, and splendour, and extravagance in which, unhappily, he indulged; and which was so much the object of the divine displeasure.

The accounts of the Scriptures respecting the commerce of Solomon are brief; and perhaps no other part of the Bible has given rise to so many speculations. 1 Kings ix. 26-28; 2 Chron. ix. 21. The amount of the statement is, that the port of Ezion-geber was selected; that a traffic was carried on with Ophir and with Tarshish, consisting in gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

1. The port selected was Ezion-geber. This was a city of Arabia Deserta, on the Elanitic Gulf of the Red Sea. It was selected by Solomon with a view to his securing the India trade, and as a part of the enterprise for which he had built

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Tadmor. The idea seems to have occurred to him, that by passing to the sea, and thence departing by vessels, it would be easier to reach the East than by overland journeys through Babylon and Persia. According to this plan, it was necessary to pass through Petra; and probably Petra derived some of its importance from this enterprise. There is now, at the head of the Red Sea, a castle or fortress, called the fortress of Akaba, which is the usual stopping-place for pilgrims on their way to Mecca; though it is entirely undistinguished as a place of commerce. "In the region of Akaba," says Rüppell, who visited it in 1822, "there is not a single boat or water-craft of any kind; the Arabs in fishing use only rafts made of the trunks of palm-trees tied together." It could never have been a very advantageous place for commerce, and seems early to have been abandoned. Its selection was only a part of that great experiment, pursued for ages, to devise the best means of securing the rich commerce of the East. The articles which were brought by vessels to Ezion-geber, or Akaba as it is now called, were conveyed by caravans through the long valley now known as the El Ghor or the El Araba, and which is a continuance of the valley of the Jordan, and thence to Hebron and Jerusalem.*

2. A more important, and much more difficult question is: Where was the Ophir situated to which the vessels of Solomon traded? Few inquiries have been more perplexing, and more unsatisfactory than this.† The places where Ophir bas been sought are the following:

See the Travels of Burckhardt, who was the first among the moderns to discover this valley.

Those who may be disposed to read what has been written on the subject, may consult the following dissertations in Ugolin: Thesaur. Ant. Sac. vii. pp. 276-419; Dan. Huetti Commentarium de navigatione Salomonis; Martini Lipenii Dissertatio de navigatione Salomonis; and Johannis Christophori Wichmanshausen Dissertatio de navigatione Ophiritica.