Ape

Apes appear in scripture only as imported cargo, listed twice — once in Kings and once in Chronicles — among the exotic goods Solomon's fleet brought back from Tarshish on a three-year cycle.

Among Solomon's Imports

The Kings account ties the apes to a joint naval enterprise with Hiram of Tyre: "For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years the navy of Tarshish came, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (1Ki 10:22). The parallel notice in Chronicles substitutes Huram's slaves for the joint navy but preserves the same cargo manifest and the same triennial schedule: "For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the slaves of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks" (2Ch 9:21). Beyond these two notices the apes have no role — they appear only as a marker of the reach and luxury of Solomon's overseas trade.