1 Kings 9:28 They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents,

and
brought it to king Solomon.

1 Kings 10:11 The navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty
of almug trees and precious stones.

1 Kings 22:48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they didn't go; for the
ships were broken at Ezion Geber.

1 Chronicles 29:4 even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents
of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses;

2 Chronicles 8:18 Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his
servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from there four hundred
fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

2 Chronicles 9:10 The servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from
Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

Job 22:24 Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

Job 28:16 It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

Isaiah 13:12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.

Encyclopedia

OPHIR

o'-fer, o'-fir ('owphiyr (Genesis 10:29), 'owphir (1 Kings 10:11), 'ophir):

1. Scriptural References:

The 11th in order of the sons of Joktan (Genesis 10:29 equals 1 Chronicles 1:23). There is a clear
reference also to a tribe Ophir (Genesis 10:30). Ophir is the name of a land or city somewhere to the
South or Southeast of Palestine for which Solomon's ships along with Phoenician vessels set out from
Ezion-geber at the head of the Gulf of Aqabah, returning with great stores of gold, precious stones and
"almug"-wood (1 Kings 9:28; 1 Kings 10:11 2 Chronicles 9:10 1 Kings 22:48 2 Chronicles 8:18). We get a
fuller list of the wares and also the time taken by the voyage if we assume that the same vessels are
referred to in 1 Kings 10:22, "Once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver,
ivory, and apes, and peacocks." The other products may not have been native to the land of Ophir, but it
is certain that the gold at least was produced there. This gold was proverbial for its purity, as is witnessed
by many references in the Old Testament (Psalm 45:9 Job 28:16 Isaiah 13:12 1 Chronicles 29:4), and, in
Job 22:24, Ophir is used for fine gold itself. In addition to these notices of Ophir, it is urged that the
name. occurs also in two passages under the form "Uphaz" (Jeremiah 10:9 Daniel 10:5).

2. Geographical Position:

At all times the geographical position of Ophir has been a subject of dispute, the claims of three different
regions being principally advanced, namely

(1) India and the Far East,

(2) Africa,

(3) Arabia.

(1) India and the Far East.

All the wares mentioned are more or less appropriate to India, even including the fuller list of 1 Kings
10:22. "Almug"-wood is conjectured to be the Indian sandal-wood. Another argument is based on the
resemblance between the Septuagint form of the word (Sophera) and the Coptic name for India (Sophir).
A closer identification is sought with Abhira, a people dwelling at the mouths of the Indus. Supara, an
ancient city on the west coast of India near the modern Goa, is also suggested. Again, according to
Wildman, the name denotes a vague extension eastward, perhaps as far as China.

(2) Africa.

This country is the greatest gold-producing region of the three. Sofala, a seaport near Mozambique on
the east coast of Africa, has been advanced as the site of Ophir, both on linguistic grounds and from the
nature of its products, for there all the articles of 1 Kings 10:22 could be procured. But Gesenius shows
that Sofala is merely the Arabic form of the Hebrew shephelah. Interest in this region as the land of
Ophir was renewed, however, by Mauch's discovery at Zimbabye of great ruins and signs of old
Phoenician civilization and worked-out gold mines. According to Bruce (I, 440), a voyage from Sofala to
Ezion-geber would have occupied quite three years owing to the monsoons.

(3) Arabia.

The claim of Southeastern Arabia as the land of Ophir has on the whole more to support it than that of
India or of Africa. The Ophir of Genesis 10:29 beyond doubt belonged to this region, and the search for
Ophir in more distant lands can be made only on the precarious assumption that the Ophir of Kings is
not the same as the Ophir of Genesis. Of the various products mentioned, the only one which from the
Old Testament notices can be regarded as clearly native to Ophir is the gold, and according to Pliny and
Strabo the region of Southeastern Arabia bordering on the Persian Gulf was a famous gold-producing
country. The other wares were not necessarily produced in Ophir, but were probably brought there from
more distant lands, and thence conveyed by Solomon's merchantmen to Ezion-geber. If the duration of
the voyage (3 years) be used as evidence, it favors this location of Ophir as much as that on the east
coast of Africa. It seems therefore the least assailable view that Ophir was a district on the Persian Gulf
in Southeastern Arabia and served in old time as an emporium of trade between the East and West.

A. S. Fulton

Ophel (Jerusalem)
OPHIR (Heb. ‫ אופֹפיִר‬,‫)אופֹפר‬, a country in the biblical period, well known for its gold. Trade between
Palestine and Ophir was possible by sea from the port of Ezion-Geber, but only in the time of Solomon
was an attempt made to reach Ophir and take gold, precious stones, and sandalwood from there (I Kings
9:28; 10:11; II Chron. 8:18; 9:10). An attempt made during the reign of Jehoshaphat to reach Ophir did
not succeed, as the ships prepared for this undertaking in Ezion-Geber broke on the rocks (I Kings 22:49).
Sailing to Ophir apparently required much preparation, and could not be accomplished without outside
help. In the days of Solomon the voyage was undertaken with the assistance of Tyrian sailors. Even in the
days of Jehoshaphat, lengthy negotiations had been carried on between Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah king
of Israel for the purpose of preparing the journey to Ophir, and still it did not succeed. The author of II
Chronicles (20:35–37) mistakenly indicates Tarshish as the goal of Jehoshaphat's voyage. However, the
evidence recorded in the book is indeed correct, namely, that the negotiations between Jehoshaphat
and Ahaziah aroused bitter opposition in Judah, no doubt because of the rights Jehoshaphat granted
Ahaziah – as payment for his help in preparing the trip to Ophir – in the region of Ezion-Geber, which
was located within the area of Judah's sovereignty. These negotiations also testify not only that the
region of Ophir was distant from Palestine and that the voyage involved much preparation and special
technical, professional training in navigation, but also that the mining of gold entailed many difficulties
that the Kingdom of Judah could not overcome itself. According to information preserved in the Bible,
Solomon's fleet sailed to Ophir only once. The plentiful information concerning the value of the gold of
Ophir which was found in Palestine corroborates the assumption that this gold reached Palestine by way
of gold markets which existed throughout the world at that time. The fact that the port of Ezion-Geber
served as a point of departure for ships sailing to Ophir indicates that it was also possible to reach Ophir
from the coastal regions of the Red Sea; and consequently, it is reasonable to suppose that Palestine
served as a channel for the transportation of gold from Ophir to Syria, Babylonia, and Asia Minor. The
use of the gold of Ophir in Palestine is attested to in the inscription: ‫"( ]ז[ הב אפר לביִת חרן‬Gold of Ophir for
Beth-Horon") which was found on an earthern vessel discovered in the excavations at Tell Qasile.

There are many assumptions concerning the location of Ophir. Eupolemus was of the opinion that Ophir
is an island in the Red Sea (in Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, 9:30, 7). Josephus (Ant., 1:147; 8:164; cf.
Eusebius, Onom. 176:13) locates Ophir in India – in the regions between one of the tributaries of the
Indus River and China. It has also been suggested that Ophir should be located along the coast of the
Arabian Peninsula, since the location of Ophir the son of Joktan the son of Eber was between Sheba and
Havilah (Gen. 10:28–29), which were also famous in the biblical period for their gold (Gen. 2:11; Isa.
60:6; Ezek. 27:22; Ps. 72:15). The most likely location of Ophir to have been suggested so far is the region
of Somalia on the East African coast, possibly extending to the neighboring coast of South Arabia. The
products of Ophir are characteristically African and are similar to those of Punt, which suggests that
Ophir and Punt were located in the same region. It is certain that Punt was in the area of Somalia, and it
is thus likely that Ophir was situated there as well.
Lakan Dula of Tondo: His True Story and His Descendancy

Lakan Dula of Tondo: His True Story and His Descendancy

Chapter 1.7: The Philippines is Ophir, but what part of the country was the seat of Ophir?

Ophir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the region mentioned in the Bible. For other uses, see Ophir (disambiguation).

Ophir (/ˈoʊfər/;[1] Hebrew: ‫אופֹפיִר‬, Modern Ofir, Tiberian ʼÔpp îr) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible,
famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a cargo of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and
peacocks from Ophir every three years.

Biblical references

Ophir in Genesis 10 (the Table of Nations) is said to be the name of one of the sons of Joktan.[Note 1]
The Books of Kings and Chronicles tell of a joint expedition to Ophir by King Solomon and the Tyrian king
Hiram I from Ezion-Geber, a port on the Red Sea, that brought back large amounts of gold, precious
stones and 'algum wood' and of a later failed expedition by king Jehoshaphat of Judah.[Note 2] The
famous 'gold of Ophir' is referenced in several other books of the Hebrew Bible.[Note 3]

Early Christian traditions[edit

The New Testament apocrypha book Cave of Treasures contains a passage: "And the children of Ophir,
that is, Send, appointed to be their king Lophoron, who built Ophir with stones of gold; now, all the
stones that are in Ophir are of gold."[2]
Archaeology

In 1946 an inscribed pottery shard was found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) dating to the eighth
century BC.[3][4] It bears, in Paleo-Hebrew script the text "gold of Ophir to/for Beth-Horon [...] 30
shekels"[Note 4][5] The find confirms that Ophir was a place where gold was imported from,[6] although
its location remains unknown.

Theorized or conjectural locations[edit]

Asia[edit]

India[edit]

A Dictionary of the Bible by Sir William Smith, published in 1863,[7] notes the Hebrew word for parrot
Thukki, derived from the Classical Tamil for peacock Thogkai and Cingalese "tokei",[8] joins other
Classical Tamil words for ivory, cotton-cloth and apes preserved in the Hebrew Bible. This theory of
Ophir's location in Tamilakkam is further supported by other historians.[9][10][11] Locations on the coast
of Kerala conjectured to be Ophir include Poovar and Beypore. [12][13]

Earlier in the 19th century Max Müller and other scholars identified Ophir with Abhira, near the Indus
River in modern-day state of Gujarat, India. According to Benjamin Walker Ophir is said to have been a
town of the Abhira tribe.[14][15]

Philippines[edit]

In a book found in Spain entitled Colección General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas (General
Collection of Philippine Islands related Documents), the author has described how to locate Ophir.
According to the section "Document No. 98", dated 1519-1522, Ophir can be found by travelling from
the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, to India, to Burma, to Sumatra, to Moluccas, to Borneo, to Sulu, then
finally Ophir facing the Pacific Ocean , occasionally, to Taiwan (China) and some other Polynesian Islands,
and back to Ophir and to Israel using the same route. Ophir was said to be "[...] in front of China towards
the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese, and Lequios met to trade..." this group of
islands could not be Japan because the Moluccans did not get there, nor Taiwan, since it is not
composed of "many islands." Only the present-day Philippines, could fit the description. Spanish records
also mention the presence of Lequios (big, bearded men, probably descendants of the Phoenicians,
whose ships were always laden with gold and silver) in the Islands to gather gold and silver. Some
historians believe that the seat of Ophir in the Philippines is the Pacific Ocean side of the Island of
Samar which was led once upon a time by a Samaritan Hadi Iberein, who was a staunch ally of the
Kingdom of Tondo. The Pacific side of Samar is also recognized by some historians as the ancestral
homeland of the Polynesians.

The Timeline of the Pre - Hispanic Philippines

The Dawn man (Prof. Otley Beyer) and Callao man (recent diggings) existed in the Philippines as
early as 250,000 and 65,000 years ago, but only the following ancient settlements appears in most
Philippine history books:

1800 BC – ancient Lawan pacific settlement: Ophir, the ancestral homeland of the Polynesians and
forebear of Tondo and other Philippine ancient settlements because travel by sea was the fastest and
easiest mode of ancient migration compared to migration by land (some historians believe that the
estimated location of Ophir settlement is in the present - day Northern Samar, the name Samar was
derived from Samaria, the ancestral homeland of Lawan chieftain Hadi Iberein)

1000 BC - Igorot Society (CAR)

601 AD - Chiefdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak (Pampanga and Aparri

800 AD - Namayan (Mandaluyong, Sta. Ana Manila)

900 AD - Tondo (Tondo, Manila)

971 AD - Huangdom of Ma-i

1176 AD - Kingdom of Tondo (Manila)

1200 AD - Rajahnate of Cebu, Madjas-as Confederation, Dapitan, Butuan

1252 AD - Lupah Sug (Sulu)

1376 AD - Bruneian Empire

1408 AD - Caboloan Vassal State of Ming China (Pangasinan)

1430 AD - Sultanate of Sulu

1450 AD - Kingdom of Tondo reached its peak with the largest territory in the archipelago

1470 AD - Namayan became a vassal state of Tondo

1492 AD - Kingdom of Taytay (Palawan)

1499 AD - Brunei conquered Ma-i and Sulu

1500 AD - Brunei conquered Tondo's Manila territory and established the puppet Kingdom of Maynila

1501 AD - Maguindanao established

1502 AD - Brunei totally took-over Tondo which lost its territories up north of Luzon.

1521 AD - Magellan reaches the Philippines & is killed by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan

1522 AD - Maranao established

1532 AD - Lanao established

1564 AD - Sultanate of Ternate established, Spain conquered Cebu

1567 AD - Datu Pagbuaya established

1573 AD - Spain conquered Madjas-As and Tondo

1577 AD - Spain conquered Caboloan

and the rest is history...

Africa[edit]
Biblical scholars, archaeologists and others have tried to determine the exact location of Ophir. Vasco da
Gama's companion Tomé Lopes reasoned that Ophir would have been the ancient name for Great
Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, the main center of sub-African trade in gold in the Renaissance period —
though the ruins at Great Zimbabwe are now dated to the medieval era, long after Solomon is said to
have lived. The identification of Ophir with Sofala in Mozambique was mentioned by Milton in Paradise
Lost (11:399-401), among many other works of literature and science.

Another, more serious, possibility is the African shore of the Red Sea, with the name perhaps being
derived from the Afar people living in the Danakil desert (Ethiopia, Eritrea) between Adulis and Djibouti.

Afri was a Latin name used to refer to the Carthaginians, who dwelt in North Africa, in modern-day
Tunisia. This name, that later gave the rich Roman province of Africa and the subsequent medieval
Ifriqiya, are from which the name of the continent Africa is ultimately derived, seems to have referred to
a native Libyan tribe originally, however, see Terencefor discussion. The name is usually connected with
Phoenician afar, "dust", but a 1981 hypothesis[16] has asserted that it stems from the Berber word ifri
(plural ifran) meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.[17] This is proposed[17] to be the origin of
Ophir as well.[18]

Americas[edit]

The theologian Benito Arias Montano (1571) proposed finding Ophir in the name of Peru, reasoning that
the native Peruvians were thus descendants of Ophir and Shem.[19]

Other assumptions[edit]

In 1568 Alvaro Mendaña the first European to discover the Solomon Islands, and named them as such
because he believed them to be Ophir.[20]

In Jewish tradition, Ophir is often associated with a place in India,[dubious – discuss] named for one of
the sons of Joktan.[21] The 10th-century lexicographer, David ben Abraham al-Fasi, identified Ophir with
Serendip, the old Persian name for Sri Lanka (aka Ceylon).[22]
In literature[edit]

Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65 Aria Gold aus Ophir ist zu
schlecht.

Ophir is the subject of H. Rider Haggard's novel King Solomon's Mines, which places the lost city in South
Africa.

H P Lovecraft mentions Ophir in his short story "The Cats of Ulthar", in the pulp magazine 'The Tryout'
November 1920.

Charles Beadle published a three-part serial, The Land of Ophir, in the pulp magazine Adventure, issues
of March 10, 20, & 30, 1922.

Ophir is also a kingdom in Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series of stories; see Hyborian Age for
more information.

Several of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels happen in and around the lost city of Opar, deep in the
African jungles — with Opar evidently being another name for Ophir. The city appears in The Return of
Tarzan (1913), Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916), Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1923), and Tarzan the
Invincible (1930).

Philip José Farmer took up the theme from the Tarzan books and wrote two books of his own, taking
place in Opar at the height of its glory thousands of years ago: Hadon of Ancient Opar and Flight to Opar.

Wilbur Smith's novel The Sunbird is set in ancient Ophir (called Opet) and its modern ruins, located in
modern Botswana.

Ophir is the name of the Nordic Utopia in M. M. Scherbatov's 1784 novel "Putishestvie v zemliu
ofirskuiu" ("Voyage to Ophir").
Clive Cussler's The Navigator places the mines of Ophir on the eastern seaboard of the United States,
postulating a pre-Columbian voyage by the Phoenicians.

Ophir is also referenced in Alexander Dumas's book The Count of Monte Cristo. "...but these two tears
disappeared almost immediately, God doubtless having sent some angel to gather them as being more
precious in His eyes than the richest pearls of Gujarat or Ophir."

John Masefield's poem "Cargoes" refers to Solomon's trade with Ophir.'Quinquereme of Nineveh from
distant Ophir'

Ophir is the destination of the adventures in the movies The Mistress of the World (1919) and Legend of
the Lost (1957).

Ophir is the name of a board game created by Jason D. Kingsley and Charles Wright in early 2015. It is
published by Terra Nova Games.

Ophir is the suspected location of an archaeological discovery near Aden, in the novel Biggles Forms A
Syndicate (1961), by W. E. Johns

The name appears in two Emily Dickinson poems, "Sister of Ophir" and "Brother of Ophir," written two
years apart.

The name in turn appears in Hart Crane's poem "To Emily Dickinson."[23]

In his novel, "King Solomon's Pilot", Jerold Richert finds Ophir on the Indian mainland, and fictionally
suggests its naming.

See also[edit]
· Tarshish, another Biblical location providing Solomon with riches.

· Ophur, Chicago, IL based rock band circa 1997 - 2004

· Karl Mauch, an explorer who inadvertently discovered Great Zimbabwe when searching for Ophir.

Notes[edit]

1. Jump up^ This is also stated in 1 Chronicles 1:22

2. Jump up^ The first expedition is described in 1 Kings 9:28; 10:11; 1 Chronicles 29:4; 2 Chronicles
8:18; 9:10, the failed expedition of Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22:48

3. Jump up^ Book of Job 22:24; 28:16; Psalms 45:9; Isaiah 13:12

4. Jump up^ Beth-Horon probably refers to the ancient city 35 km south of Tell Qasile; another
interpretation is that Beth-Horon means 'the temple of Horon', (a Canaanite deity also known as
Hauron), see Lipiński, p. 197 [1]

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ "Ophir". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

2. Jump up^ Badge, William (1927). The Book of The Cave of Treasures by Ephrem the Syrian:
Translated from the Syriac Text of The British Museum. London: The Religious Tract Society. p. 32 – via
Google Books.
3. Jump up^ Maisler, B., Two Hebrew Ostraca from Tell Qasîle, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 10,
No. 4 (Oct., 1951), p. 265 [2]

4. Jump up^ Boardman, John, The Prehistory of the Balkans: The Middle East and the Aegean World,
Tenth to Eighth Centuries B.C., Part 1, Cambridge University Press, 1982, p. 480 [3]

5. Jump up^ Kitchen, Kenneth A.; Handy, Lowell K. (ed.), The Age of Solomon: Scholarship at the Turn
of the Millennium, BRILL 1997, p. 144 [4]

6. Jump up^ Lipiński, p. 144

7. Jump up^ Smith, William, A dictionary of the Bible, Hurd and Houghton, 1863 (1870), pp.1441

8. Jump up^ Smith's Bible Dictionary

9. Jump up^ Ramaswami, Sastri, The Tamils and their culture, Annamalai University, 1967, pp.16

10. Jump up^ Gregory, James, Tamil lexicography, M. Niemeyer, 1991, pp.10

11. Jump up^ Fernandes, Edna, The last Jews of Kerala, Portobello, 2008, pp.98

12. Jump up^ https://books.google.com/books?id=FVsw35oEBv4C&pg=PA58

13. Jump up^ https://books.google.com/books?id=htArUg0OMpcC&pg=PA60

14. Jump up^ Benjamin Walker (1968). The Hindu world: an encyclopedic survey of Hinduism. Praeger.
15. Jump up^ The Hindu world: an encyclopedic survey of Hinduism, Volume 2-page-515

16. Jump up^ Names of countries, Decret and Fantar, 1981

17. ^ Jump up to:a b The Berbers, by Geo. Babington Michell, p 161, 1903, Journal of Royal African
people book on ligne

18. Jump up^ Lipiński, p. 200

19. Jump up^ Shalev, Zur (2003). "Sacred Geography, Antiquarianism and Visual Erudition: Benito Arias
Montano and the Maps in the Antwerp Polyglot Bible" (PDF). Imago Mundi. 55: 71.
doi:10.1080/0308569032000097495. Retrieved 2017-01-17.

20. Jump up^ HOGBIN, H. In, Experiments in Civilization: The Effects of European Culture on a Native
Community of the Solomon Islands, New York: Schocken Books, 1970 (1939), pp.7-8

21. Jump up^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (Book 8, chapter 6, §4), s.v. Aurea Chersonesus

22. Jump up^ Solomon Skoss (ed.), The Hebrew-Arabic Dictionary of the Bible, Known as `Kitāb Jāmiʿ al-
Alfāẓ` (Agron) of David ben Abraham al-Fasi, Yale University Press: New Haven 1936, vol. 1, p. 46
(Hebrew)

23. Jump up^ Crane, Hart (2001). The Complete Poems of Hart Crane. New York: Liveright Publishing
Company. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-87140-178-6.

Further reading[edit]
· Edward Lipiński (2004). Itineraria Phoenicia Studia Phoenicia 18. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-
429-1344-8.

External links[edit]

· Onshore explorations at Sopara and Kalyan, India

· Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ophir". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University
Press.

Categories:

· Hebrew Bible places

· Torah people

· Lost mines

Further Proofs that Points to the Philippines as the Ophir

A comparative study of the two most prominent ophirians or Filipino authors claiming that
Philippines is Ophir. Namely they are Isagani datu Aca Tabilog, the author of the article Ang Pilipinas ay
nasa Biblia 2010, (Philippines is in Bible) and Dr. Richard Vincent Narag TH. D Dr. HUM author of the most
controversial books like Rizal Code 2009, Philippines is Ophir “Greatest Ancient Sacred Secrets De Coded"
and The Ophirian.
 The said books are copyrighted in the Philippine National Library Manila. In which the said
controversy that Philippines is the ancient Ophir the place where king Solomon got gold to build the
Temple of Jerusalem as written in I Kings 10:1-15. , this puzzled almost all scholars, historians and
theologians all over the world. What is their basis of writing this? What is the importance of this to
Filipino People and what will be the significance of this?

Isagani Tabilog in his writings emphasized more on the historical evidences on how Philippines became
Ophir while Dr. R V Narag shed light on the Biblical evidence and the Scientific evidence why Philippines
is Ophir. This paper discussed the Biblical, then the historical evidences.

Biblical Evidence that Ophir is Philippines

According to both authors I. Tabilog and Dr. R. Narag that Shem the son of Noah become the father
of Eber ( Hebrew ancestors), which is the father of Peleg the Ancestor of Israel and Joktan the father of
Ophir and Sheba which is the ancestor of Southeast Asian countries including Philippines. Genesis
10:25-30. That is why Filipinos has Hebrew origin. Tabilog stopped right here while Dr. R. Narag gave
more evidences from the start why did Noah blessed Shem so much that is why he gave the three most
sacred places on earth, The Mount Sinia, Zion and Garden of Eden as it is written in Jubilees 8. Dr. Narag
said just using only the Bible with prayer and fasting one may find Ophir and here are they.

Dr. Narag emphasized that according to Antiquities of Jews by Flavius Josephus in Chapter 4. That
Eber is where the Hebrew originated so Philippines have a Hebrew origin.

1. Ophirians live in Sephar.

Sheba, Ophir and Hawilah , Obal and the some of Joktan sons went to Sephar. And their dwelling
was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mountain of the east. Genesis 10:30

According to Dr. Narag , Sephar which is written in Hebrew SPR because according to him there is
no bowels in Hebrew and getting the meaning of this through hermeneutics. Sephar in hermeneutics Se
with the root word para means the place of budding or origin, also sephar means book, scribe and
numbering. In Genesis 10:30 Sephar is the eastern border of earth. This suggest that place in the
eastern borders of Shem are China, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. Using the location we can easily
rule out all countries that do not fall on the Eastern parts of the world like India and Yemen.

The word eastern derived from the Hebrew word Qedem in which in Hebrew it means front of the
rising sun it also means , that which is before, aforetime. front or east, in front, mount of the East
ancient time, aforetime, ancient, from of old, earliest time; anciently, of old (adverb),beginning . So
Sephar is the land where the sun rises, probably Japan or Philippines.

Sephar is linked to In Deuteronomy 33:15 as the ancient mountains that is very rich. in natural resources
as it is written

May Yahweh bless their land with crops, the best gift the sun can give, the best produce of each month,
“And with the best things of the ancient mountains. Deu. 33:15

According to Dr. Narag, Sephar is the old or the ancient mountain where Noah live before the
flood as the word qedem implies, he seems trying to convince us to believe the ancient eden location
perhaps. With best things as stated in Deu 33:15 which includes gold and all natural resources.

Tabilog consider Philippines as Ophir as the ancient land of Gold which is written in the Bible,
while Dr. Narag Consider Philippines not only as the Biblical Land of gold Ophir but he is pointing out to
be the ancient habitat of the ancient humanity, that’s why king Solomon knew it before.

2. Ophir is rich in gold.

The gold used for the building of temple Jerusalem is from Ophir. And they came to Ophir, where
they got four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and took it back to King Solomon.I Kings 9:28

King Solomon built a fleet of ships to Ezion Geber to get gold from Ophir because the gold there is
numerous and high grade which is the best to be offered to the house of YHWH. The question now here
according to Dr. Narag is why they built Fleet of ship as written in I kings 9:26-27.
 Philippines become the No.1 site of Gold during ancient times according to Morga and Pigafetta.
Rare in India and Japan. Also claimed by Tabilog in which he gave more historical explanations.

3. Ophir is Island or group of Islands

King Solomon built a fleet of ships to Ezion Geber to get gold from Ophir because it is an island or group
of island. 26 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. I kings 9:26-27. I Chronicles 9:21

The answer according to the Philippines is Ophir “Greatest Ancient Sacred Secrets De Coded" by
Dr. Narag is that because Ophir is Island in the eastern part of the world. As written in. Psalm 72; 10. This
is the Sheba the brother of Ophir that live in Sephar. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles

Shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Psalm 72:10.

4. Ophir has Almug wood the red sandal wood (Narra).

King Solomon sent to Hiram, king of Tyre, saying, "Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and algum-
trees, out of Lebanon" (2 Chronicles 2:8). In 1 Kings 10:11 it is said that the navy of Hiram "that brought
gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones." In the parallel
passage in 2 Chronicles 9:10 it is said that "algum-trees and precious stones" were brought.

Almug or Narra is the Kopher wood or the wood of Atonement. The wood used by Noah to build
the Ark. According to Dr. Narag The letter G in the word Gopher (Genesis 6:14.) is interchangeable in
Hebrew with letter K making it Kopher the wood of atonement. Like the word Gamel it came along to be
Camel. Narra is endemic in Philippines and the no.1 producer in East during the ancient times but very
rare in Japan.

5. Ophir distance takes Three years round trip from Ezion Geber
And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he
built unto the YHWH, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the YHWH. So he finished the
house. I Kings 9:22

In a round trip travel we will conclude that from Ezion Geber by using a boat 30 miles per day this
will took 3 years round trip. 6 months round trip to India and 4 years round trip to japan. So Only
Philippines fit the description. This is both emphasize by Tabilog and Narag.

6. Ophir is known before by King Solomon

According to Dr. Narag it is not accidentally discovered but planned and the building of the temple
is a command from YHWH that it should be the same or similitude of the things used there. It is
described there as the word Taybit which means same place you got it and same kind which is written in
I Chronicles 28: 13-19 as follows: 13 He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites,
and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its
service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of
service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the
weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for each lampstand and its
lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each
lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for the silver
tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each
gold dish; the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the weight of the refined gold for the altar of
incense. He also gave him the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings
and overshadow the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result
of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details (taybit) of the plan.

The temple of Jerusalem is same as the shape of the Noahs ark because it is Taybit of it. That is
why it is rectangle and the wood used is Narra. The Atonement wood used by Noah in Genesis 6:14.
According to Dr. Narag, Ophir is not accidentally discovered but King Solomon knew it before. Because of
the word Sephar or Origin of Plants and Animals.

7. Ophir is in the place of Middle Earth in a not hot and cold region of the Earth.

Shems land is in the middle Earth as stated by book Jubilees 8:12 and it is neither hot nor cold in
Jubiless 8:30. And that is the temperature of places in Sephar. Philippines is a non - hot and non - cold
country and it is found in the eastern limits of the middle earth. Japan and China is cold while Papua
Guinea is hot. So Only Philippines fits the region.

8. Ophirians clothes are Blue and Purple. Jeremiah 10:9

Ancient Filipinos love to wear Blue and purple.

Historical evidences from the book “According to My Evidences That Philippines is Ophir in the Bible”
2004 by Isagani Tabilog

Isagani Tabilog sparks the truth on the historical evidences why Philippines is Ophir.

1.Magellan and the Search for Ophir

Magellan's contemporary, Duarte Barbosa, wrote that the people of Malacca (in modern Malaysia) had
described to him an island group known as the Lequios whose people were as "rich and more eminent
than the Chins (Chinese)," and that traded "much gold, and sliver in bars, silk, rich cloth, and much very
good wheat, beautiful porcelains and many other merchandises." However, Barbosa was not the only
one to mention the Lequios from the Pacific empire. The quest for spices and precious metals ushered in
what is known as the Age of Exploration. Magellan’s personal documents indicated his desire to find the
golden islands of Tarshish and Ophir. The explorer Sebastian Cabot was appointed as commander of an
expedition “to discover the Moluccas, Tarsis, Ophir, Cipango and Cathay.” The expedition finally reached
Samar, and declared that they had found Ophir and they decided to eventually colonize the Philippine
archipelago after that Samar (Ophir) landing. The Boxer Codex was created on the order of Luis Pérez
Dasmariñas, the 9th Governor-General of the Philippines (1593-1596). The said codex depicts the life of
the Filipinos including their clothing wherein the whole body of both male and female Filipino is adorn
with gold. This suggests that Philippines is rich in gold. The Lakanate of Lawan in the pacific side of Samar
is the seat of Ophir that for many earlier centuries had been the center of intermigration of people to
different Polynesians islands in the pacific and other islands in the Philippine archipelago. The people of
Malacca called them Lequios. Later, the ten datus of Borneo decided to settle in Lawan due to its
prosperity of the Lequios and peace in their land but they only reached Panay (Otley Beyer).
2.Trade Missions to China

The name Lusung (LUZON) first appeared in Chinese History in 1373 AD in the Ming Annals. In
this document, Lusung was one of the first to answer the call for tribute missions to the new Ming
Dynasty [1368 - 1644]. It was Brunei who first responded in 1371 AD, followed by Liuchiu in 1372, and
then by Lusung in 1373 AD*11. Despite the fact that it made its first appearance on Chinese records as
late as 1373 AD, evidences suggests that the Chinese had long known the existence of LUZON as far back
as the Sung Dynasty[960 - 1278 AD]. The presence of thousands of recognizable pieces of Sung and Yuan
Dynasty porcelains found in ancient burial sites in the Provinces of Pampanga, Samar and Manila
suggests an active trade with China long before the Ming period. In the book entitled Collecion General
de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas, the author has described how to locate Ophir. According to
the book, particularly in Documento No. 98, Ophir can be found by travelling from the Cape of Good
Hope in Africa, to India, to Burma, to Sumatra, to Moluccas, to Borneo, to Sulu, then finally Ophir in the
Pacific, then to Taiwan (China), and other Pacific Islands and back to Ophir and then finally to Israel.The
search for Ophir by different expeditions, including that of Magellan, ended up when they found Samar
(name derived from Samaria) island in the Pacific.