Although Spain is by no means as important of a nation as many others are, it is one of the countries that is mentioned in the Bible, and as such it is worth examining the patterns of how it is that Spain is mentioned and in what contexts. In doing so, we find an interesting connection with Spain being viewed as at the end of the Mediterranean world and as a place that God was disinclined to let people get to very easily. Why this is the case is not plain, but before we can examine why it is that we find certain biblical patterns, it is vital that we note the existence of these patterns first. This is all the more notable in cases like this one where the pattern of Spain as a destination is not a commonly known one.

If we look at the name of Spain, it only occurs twice in the Bible, both of them in the same chapter, in a passage that Paul makes about his desire to spread the Gospel of Christianity there in Romans 15:22-33. Romans 15:22-33 reads: “For this reason I also have been much hindered from coming to you.  But now no longer having a place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you, whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.  But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.  For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.  It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.  Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain.  But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.  Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.”

This particular passage indicates a possible reality that Paul wanted as a missionary journey. Paul figured that he had introduced Christianity to a large amount of space in what is now Greece and Turkey and thought that he would be able to swing down to Jerusalem and give the Jewish brethren there the donations from their Gentile brethren and then take a quick trip to Rome and Spain. Like a modern traveler exploring the Mediterranean he thought he could look at ship tables and schedule an ambitious travel plan along some grain ships that would get him where he needed to go to be able to spread the Gospel message to a yet untouched land.

Reality did not quite work out the way that Paul had planned. It is unclear that Paul ever managed to get to Spain because his travels were rudely interrupted by a lengthy prison stay. He did manage to get to Jerusalem, after having been warned repeatedly that it would not go very well. He was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple, and was jailed for years while seeking unsuccessfully to get his case dismissed by corrupt Roman governors who enjoyed talking with him but who wanted bribes for freeing him, which he was unwilling to pay. His attempts to land in Rome ended up successful after he was held up on the island of Malta or Melita (it is unclear which one, about which more at a future time) thanks to a shipwreck that stranded him for months, after which he was able to get to Rome and another two years or so of imprisonment before his case was heard and he was freed. After that there is no mention in the Bible about whether Paul was able to enjoy his travels to Spain.

It is interesting to note, as an interlude, that there is one place we might expect to find Spain mentioned as a place where it is not, and that is in the long list of nations where people came to Jerusalem and first saw the miracle of the Holy Spirit being given to the early Church. In Acts 2:5-13, we read: “And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.  And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.  Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?  And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?  Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”  So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.””

In this list of areas we find nations extending from the peoples of Iran, labeled here as the Parthians and Medes and Elamites, but not specifically the Persians, interestingly enough, all the way to the Romans as well as the peoples of North Africa up to Libya, but not the Carthaginians or Spaniards, as we might expect. This list also includes people from Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Egypt, Iraq, and Arabia, but no further than that. This gives us an idea of the sorts of places where it was common for believers to travel to Jerusalem to the temple for worship, and where it was not. Spain was not part of the normal travel route for believers at that time, it must be admitted.

If we look at another name for Spain, though, that of Tarshish, which refers to the ports of Southern Spain where silver was found and where the people of Phoenicia and later Carthage settled their own people as well as Israelite refugees, we find that Spain is mentioned indirectly several more times in the Bible. Let us briefly explore and catalogue these mentions so that we may see what patterns Spain was viewed according to in the Bible.

First, we have a couple of references to the people of Spain as belonging to the children of Javan among the sons of Japheth, son of Noah, which is referred to both in Genesis 10:4 and 2 Chronicles 1:7. The reference in 2 Chronicles 1:7 is more clear, and it reads: “The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshishah, Kittim, and Rodanim.” Three of these sons may be confidently placed in various locations within the Mediterranean world, and all are people known for being merchants who traveled the seven seas for wealth: Tarshisha refers to southern Spain, Kittim to Cyprus, and Rodanim to Rhodes.

The Bible pays a great deal of attention to the ships of Tarshish as being involved in trade. 2 Chronicles 9:21 says about Solomon’s trading efforts: “For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.” This indicates that Solomon’s trading efforts with the people of Phoenicia also included trade in the further parts of Africa where ivory and apes could be found in abundance, which was some serious long-term trading indeed. Later kings of Judah were interested in this business as well, but at least one such effort recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:35-37, did not go as well: “After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.  And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.  But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.” Here again we see, as we saw with Paul, that Tarshish was a place that travel to was frequently denied passage to for one reason or another, for reasons that are not necessarily obvious.

Twice in Psalms Tarshish is mentioned offhand as being a place of trade, and once ships are mentioned from the area being smashed, a fate that has occasionally befallen the Spanish fleet in places as diverse as the straits of Florida and the English Channel. Psalm 48:6-8 talks about the destruction of ships from the area as follows: “Fear took hold of them there, and pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, as when You break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah.” Later on, in Psalm 72:9-11, Spain is mentioned along with the area of Yemen as being included in the group of all nations that will come to serve God: “Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust.  The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.”

The prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel largely build on the models that we have seen so far in talking about Tarshish as a merchant people whose trade will be harmed by God’s hand and who will eventually come to believe in God. There is one more reference, though, to the area that I would like to examine that helps to seal a particular pattern, and that is the example of Jonah. As we read in Jonah 1:3: “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah recounts this later on in Jonah 4:2: “So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” Here we see that when Jonah had been commanded to go to Assyria, based out of what is now northern Iraq in the area near Kurdistan, he chose to go the other way, to cross the Mediterranean to Spain, and of course the ship he was on was threatened with shipwreck and he was tossed overboard and eventually, miraculously rode in a submarine animal to be vomited on the shores of what is now Turkey to make the rest of the way to Ninevah by foot to preach a message of divine judgment that led to mercy after the people repented of their wicked ways.

So what patterns do we see in all of this? Underlying all of the mentions of Spain is its peripheral status as being on the edge of the recognized world, and also the vulnerability of its economy to the fate of having its long-distance trade destroyed by hostile winds. Additionally, whether for purposes of trade, escaping divine commands to preach in other places, or to seek to spread the Gospel there, travel to Spain was denied surprisingly often to a diverse group of people. Yet ultimately, the Bible also records that the people of the region will follow God, even if their efforts at trade dominance will not succeed for them or for others who work for them in the meantime. Let us ponder Spain’s place in the Bible, and the patterns it brings out.