King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men–sailors who knew the sea–to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
1 Kings 9:26-28
We reached the southernmost part of our trip at the modern port city of Eilat. Israel has a few miles of shoreline on this gulf, nestled between Egypt on the west and Jordan on the east. Arriving in town, we hopped on a boat for a ride on the gulf and a peek through the boat’s glass bottom at the coral reefs.
Eilat is mentioned several times in the Bible along with nearby Ezion Geber. Like today, it was an ancient port city. Solomon built a fleet of trading ships there and sent them to the far reaches of the world. It was literally a golden age for Israel during his reign with all the gold the ships brought back. Just as Solomon’s Jerusalem was filled with gold (1 Kings 10), the New Jerusalem will be even more spectacular (Revelation 21).
