[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during April 2026]
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory, and apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
John Masefield (1903)
Does this cargo manifest sound familiar? Those of a certain age may have learnt John Masefield’s poem at school but its inspiration is much earlier. King Solomon had a fleet of trading ships modelled after those built at Tarshish for the equivalent of global trade within the then-known world. They were the container vessels of their day.
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It’s over for another year. The festivities for Christmas and the New Year are once again behind us – now just a memory, except for those less-than-subtle reminders that will be arriving in our letter boxes during the next few weeks. We can at least be grateful that we are not responsible for supplying the provisions for Solomon’s household.