Merchants

Traders who bought and sold goods and articles of value, often transporting their wares from one country to another according to the demands in different localities.

Some merchants transported their goods by caravan

Genesis 37:25–28 See also Job 6:15–21

And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

Some merchants traded by sea

Proverbs 31:14 See also 1 Kings 9:26–28 parallel 2 Chronicles 8:17–18; 1 Kings 10:11–12 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:10–11; 1 Kings 22:48 parallel 2 Chronicles 20:35–37; Psalm 107:23; Isaiah 23:2–3; Ezekiel 27:25

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

Merchants often lived close to one another

Zephaniah 1:11 See also Nehemiah 3:31–32; Ezekiel 17:4

Wail, O dwellers of the Hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off.

Merchants set the standards for weights and measures

Genesis 23:16 See also Hosea 12:7; Amos 8:4–6

Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard of the merchants.

Ordinary citizens sold goods to merchants

Proverbs 31:24 See also Genesis 37:28; Proverbs 31:18–19

She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchants.

Merchants were credited with wisdom and shrewdness

Matthew 13:44–46

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

Goods traded by merchants

Revelation 18:11–13 See also Song of Solomon 3:6; Ezekiel 27:12–24

And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo — cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

Merchants flourished during Solomon's reign

1 Kings 10:14–15 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:13–14 See also 1 Kings 10:21–22 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:20–21; 1 Kings 10:26–29 parallel 2 Chronicles 1:14–17

The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents, not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.

Foreign merchants in Jerusalem

Nehemiah 13:15–22

In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day. Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem. Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing— profaning the Sabbath day? Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!” When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day. Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem, but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath. Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according to Your abundant loving devotion.

Cities famed for their merchants

Tyre

See also Ezekiel 27:1–36

Tarshish

Ezekiel 38:13; Jonah 1:3

Babylon the Great

Revelation 18:2–24