38 



Before Chrift 588. 



tin, and lead, from Tarfhifli, brought by the Carthaginians * ; {IciveS 

 and brazen veflels from Javan (or Greece), Tubal and Mefech ; horfes, 

 flaves bred to horfemanfhip, and mules", from Togormah ; emeralds, 

 purple, embroidery, fine linen f , corals, agates, from Syria, in exchange 

 for the manufactures of Tyre ; corn, balfam, honey, oil, and gums, from 

 the Ifraelites, who, we thus fee, were farmers, but not manufacturers ; 

 excellent wines, and fine wool, fromDamafcus ; polifhed ironware, pre- 

 ticus oils, and cinnamon, from Dan, Javan, and Mezo ; magnificent car- 

 pets (fuch as are fliU ufed in the eafliern countries for fitting upon) from 

 Dedan ; fheep and goats for flaughter from the paftoral tribes of Ara- 

 bia ; the moll: cofily fpices, fome of them apparently the produce of In- 

 dia t, pretious ftones, and gold, from the merchants of Sheba (or Sa- 

 biea) and Raamah (or Regma), countries in the fouth part of Arabia ; 

 blue cloths, embroidered work, rich apparel, in corded cedar chefi:s 

 (perhaps original Indian packages) and other goods, from Sheba, Afliur, 

 and Chilmad, and from Haran, Canneh, and Eden, apparently trading 

 ports on the fouth coaft of Arabia §. And here it is proper to remind 

 the reader, that the Arabians, who furniflied the greatefl and mofl va- 

 luable part of the articles enumerated ||, appear to have been the only 

 traders from the Wefi:, whofe voyages extended to India in the early 

 ages <^. 



* Tarfhifh appears here to he tlie fouth part of 

 Spain. I have inferted the Cartliagiiiiaiis ou the 

 authority of Jcrom's tranflatlon. 



■f Jerom's tranflation has alfo filk (' ferlcum'). 



J The Greeks beh'eved, that Arabia was the 

 ■only conntiy which produced frankiiictnfe, inyrh, 

 cafia, cinnamon, and ledanum, which were carried 

 to Greece by tlic Phoenicians. \_Herodol. L. iii, 

 .-. IC7.] 



J In the enumeration of places the firll Javan, 

 the name of Greece in the Bible, appears to be 

 difFticnt from the fccond Javan, which was proba- 

 bly in the fouth part of Arabia. And all the 

 places mentioned after it, except the paftoral part 

 of Arabia and Afluir, may be prefumed to have 

 been fituated in the fame commercial country, 

 whofe cxtenfive commerce with India and the 

 other oriental regions is defcribed by Ariftobulus, 

 Agatharchides, and the Ptriphis of the ]''.rythra;an 

 fea, many ages after, in a manner perfectly agree- 

 ing with the prtfcnt account. It is, moreover, 

 woithy of remark, how well Ezckicl's account of 

 the trade corrcfponds with the obftrvation of Aga- 

 tharciiides, that the Sahieans, the chief people of 

 llie fouth coall of Arabia, fupplied the Plucnici- 

 ano with tlie moll profital»c articles of their trade. 



The reader, dilirous of information refpefting 

 tlie fevcral countries mentioned by K/.ckiel, may 

 confult Bochart, with the commentators on this 

 portion of \Svi iJiUle, and «n tlie icntli chapter of 

 Ccncfts. 



II Strabo, [Z. xvi, ;!i. 1128] gives us the route 

 between Arabia and Phccnieia, as it was before the 

 oriental trade was in a great meafure engroffed by 

 the Greeks of Alexandria, viz. from Ltuke kome, 

 (White town), an emporium near the head of the 

 Red fea, to Petra the capital of the Nabatrean 

 tribe, and thenct to Rhinocolura (or Rhinocorura) 

 a port of the Mediterranean fea on the border of 

 Phccnieia adjoining to Egypt. And this appears 

 to have been the route by which the Tyrians re- 

 ceived the goods mentioned in the text, and the 

 greateft part of their India goods, which they 

 bought of the Arabians : for however high our 

 opinion may be of the mercantile and adventurous 

 fpirit of the Phoenicians, it is evident, that they 

 themfelves could not fail to India (nnlefs as paf- 

 fengers or charterers, which tlie Arabs probably 

 did not peimit) as they do not appear, from any 

 fuffieient authority, to have ever poifeifcd a firigle 

 harbour on the coall of the Ocean or any of its 

 gulfs, except tlie tenii)orary conjuntl ufe of one 

 in tlie reigii of Solomon king of Ifiael. 



^ It would by no means be extravagant to fup- 

 po(e that they traded to Ceylon, or even to the 

 countries and illands far beyuiid it (as it feems 

 doubtful If tlie befl: cinnamon has been in all agee 

 a native of Ceylon) as early as the days of Solo- 

 mon ; for no fuch fpices were knowi\ (in Jerufa- 

 lem) as thofe, whieh theipieen of Sheba prclenled 

 to Solomon. [// Chrnti. c. 9.] It was not pof- 

 fible, that a people of fuch comineicial and nauti- 



