“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”
When King Solomon wrote these words, he wasn’t speaking in riddles. His advice was a comparison about making wise investments and getting a return on those investments. King Solomon of Israel and King Hiram of Tyre had formed an alliance and had also developed a friendship. The Israelites had little knowledge of navigating ship on the open ocean, but the Phoenician sailors of Tyre had a long history of ship building and traveling long distances by ships in search of minerals and other natural resources.