1 Kings 10:22

10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships ¹  that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet ²  came into port with cargoes of ³  gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ⁴ 

Psalms 48:7

48:7 With an east wind

you shatter ⁵  the large ships. ⁶ 

Isaiah 2:16

2:16 for all the large ships, ⁷ 

for all the impressive ⁸  ships. ⁹ 

Isaiah 23:14

23:14 Wail, you large ships, ¹⁰ 

for your fortress is destroyed!

Isaiah 60:9

60:9 Indeed, the coastlands ¹¹  look eagerly for me,

the large ships ¹²  are in the lead,

bringing your sons from far away,

along with their silver and gold,

to honor the Lord your God, ¹³ 

the Holy One of Israel, ¹⁴  for he has bestowed honor on you.

¹ tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

² tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”

³ tn Heb “came carrying.”

⁴ tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Some suggest “baboons.”

⁵ tn The switch to the imperfect, as well as the introduction of the ship metaphor, perhaps signals a change to a generalizing tone; the Lord typically shatters these large ships, symbolic of the human strength of hostile armies (see the following note on “large ships”). The verb שָׁבַר (shavar, “break”) appears in the Piel here (see Pss 29:5; 46:9). In the OT it occurs thirty-six times in the Piel, always with multiple objects (the object is either a collective singular or grammatically plural or dual form). The Piel may highlight the repetition of the pluralative action, or it may suggest an intensification of action, indicating repeated action comprising a whole, perhaps with the nuance “break again and again, break in pieces.” Another option is to understand the form as resultative: “make broken” (see IBHS 404-7 §24.3).

⁶ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to and from the distant western port of Tarshish. These ships, which were the best of their class, here symbolize the mere human strength of hostile armies, which are incapable of withstanding the Lord’s divine power (see Isa 2:16).

⁷ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

⁸ tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

⁹ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.

¹⁰ tn Heb “ships of Tarshish.” See the note at v. 1.

¹¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”

¹² tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.

¹³ tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”

¹⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.