Sail On-
Part one
By
Dewey Maggard
In recent years seafaring men have removed all doubt proving that men could have come to this western hemisphere by ships from as far away as Egypt. Perhaps David was referring to places outside the Mediterranean when he said “they that go down to the sea in ships that do business in the greeat waters”. Ps: 107″23 This tells us the importance of sea trade had not escaped his notice. Nor did it escape Solomon’s notice for he built a navy of ships at Ezion-Geber for Solomon.((1 Kings 9:26)
The Phoenicians tell us 8000 camels were used in the transporting of wood and fittings for the building of Solomon’s navy. (Gaza to Ezion-Geber) . Isn’t it amazing how secular history continues to confirm the Bible? The men who sailed Solomon’s ships were masters of the sea. They were the Phoenicians from Tyre sent by their King Huram (( 1 Chron. 8:18).carry out sea trade for Solomon
Now considering from where they deported, (Ezion-Geber0., andd that once every three years may they returned (11 Chron, 9:21) . It is therefore not difficult to imagine they were circumnavigating the globe (Magellan was a late-comer). This seems more evident when you consider that they would have to go in opposite directions to obtain silver and peacocks, or Ivory and peacocks (11 Chron 9:21). In all probability, on their return voyages they could use the canal that was dug by Pharoah Senusret from the north end of the Nile to the Red Sea. This was done in the twenthieth Century B.C. Occasionally, this canal was re-dug or dredged. Pharaoh Necho re-dug it between 610 and 594 B.C. Then as late as 98 to 117 A.D. Emperor Trajan of Rome dredged it — (Whoever thought of the Suez canal?)
In the cargos of these Phoenician masters , there were other raw nateruaks mentioned, such as tin, which solomon certainluy obtained from Hiram, for that great artificer in metal who did all the brass work on the temple. Two items alone for the temple would have required apprimoxitely 50 tons of pure tin (the two pillars of brass) Boaz and Jochin..
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Jan 1981
