Bible Encyclopedia: Ophir

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International Standard Bible 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 continent 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

Strong's Hebrew

211. Ophir -- a son of Joktan, also his desc., also a region from ...
... Ophir. 212 . a son of Joktan, also his desc., also a region from which gold comes.
Transliteration: Ophir Phonetic Spelling: (o-feer') Short Definition: Ophir ...
/hebrew/211.htm - 6k

Library

Book 9 Footnotes
... B. VIII. ch.6. sect.6. [3] What are here Pontus and Thrace, as the places whither
Jehoshaphat's fleet sailed, are in our other copies Ophir and Tarshish, and ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 9 footnotes.htm

A Royal Seeker after Wisdom
... And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from
Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.12. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/a royal seeker after wisdom.htm

Ahaziah
... Some think that the forty-fifth Psalm had reference to her, which speaks of the
daughter of Tyre coming with gold of Ophir, splendidly arrayed, and bringing a ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/milligan/men of the bible some lesser-known/ahaziah.htm

Solomon
... and show"would talk and dream of the lost glories of Solomon's court; of his gilded
and jewelled temple, with its pillars of sandal-wood from Ophir, and its ...
/.../kingsley/the water of life and other sermons/sermon xi solomon.htm

Trust in God --True Wisdom
... weighted for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/trust in godtrue wisdom.htm

Isaiah's
... haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more rare than fine gold,
even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I will ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/x isaiahs.htm

The Seven Seas According to the Talmudists, and the Four Rivers ...
... and they probably not such, who had never yet adventured themselves into the Red
sea, but had experience of it before, and were not ignorant of the Ophir voyage ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 4 the seven seas.htm

Of the Divine Providence in General.
... and magistrates, and the soldiers whom he intended to appoint, and resolved to send
to Hiram for fit timber, to begin commerce with Peru [61] and Ophir, and to ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iii of the divine.htm

Psalm 45
... 9And in thy glorious train. kings' daughters waiting stand; And thy fair queen,
in Ophir gold,. doth stand at thy right hand. ^10O daughter, take good heed,. ...
/.../anonymous/scottish psalter and paraphrases/psalm 45 2.htm

Psalm 45
... kings' daughters were at hand: Upon thy right hand did the queen. in gold of Ophir
stand. ^10O daughter, hearken and regard,. and do thine ear incline; ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/scottish psalter and paraphrases/psalm 45.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Ophir

fruitful region

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ophir

(abundane).

The eleventh in order of the sons of Joktan. (Genesis 10:29; 1 Chronicles 1:23) (B.C. after 2450.)
A seaport or region from which the Hebrews in the time of Solomon obtained gold. The gold was proverbial for its fineness, so that "gold of Ophir" is several times used as an expression for fine gold, (1 Chronicles 29:4; Job 28:16; Psalms 45:9; Isaiah 13:12) and in one passage (Job 22:24) the word "Ophir" by itself is used for gold of Ophir, and for gold generally. In addition to gold, the vessels brought from Ophir almug wood and precious stones. The precise geographical situation of Ophir has long been a subject of doubt and discussion. The two countries which have divided the opinions of the learned have been Arabia and India, while some have placed it in Africa. In five passages Ophir is mentioned by name - (1 Kings 9:28; 10:11; 22:18; 2 Chronicles 8:18; 9:10) If the three passages of the book of Kings are carefully examined, it will be seen that all the information given respecting Ophir is that it was a place or region accessible by sea from Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, from which imports of gold, almug trees and precious stones were brought back by the Tyrian and Hebrew sailors. The author of the tenth chapter of Genesis certainly regarded Ophir as the name of some city, region or tribe in Arabia. It is almost certain that the Ophir of Genesis is the Ophir of the book of Kings. There is no mention, either in the Bible or elsewhere, of any other Ophir; and the idea of there having been two Ophirs evidently arose from a perception of the obvious meaning of the tenth chapter of Genesis on the one hand, coupled with the erroneous opinion, on the other that the Ophir of the book of Kings could not have been in Arabia. (Hence we conclude that Ophir was in southern Arabia, upon the border of the Indian Ocean; for even if all the things brought over in Solomon's ships are not now found in Arabia, but are found in India, yet, there is evidence that they once were known in Arabia and, moreover, Ophir may not have been the original place of production of some of them, but the great market for traffic in them.)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Ophir

1. One of the sons of Joktan, who settled in southern Arabia, Genesis 10:26-29.

2. A country to which the ships of Solomon traded, and which had for a long time been celebrated for the purity and abundance of its gold, Job 22:24 28:16. "Gold of Ophir" was proverbially the best gold, Psalm 45:9 Isaiah 13:12. The only passages which give us any information as to the location of Ophir are 1 Kings 9:26-28 10:11,22 22:48, with the parallel passages in 2 Chronicles 8:18 9:10,21 20:36,37; from which it appears that the so called "ships of Tarshish" went to Ophir; that these ships sailed from Ezion-geber, a port of the Red Sea; that a voyage was made once in three years; that the fleet returned freighted with gold, peacocks, apes, spices, ivory, algumwood, and ebony. Upon these data interpreters have undertaken to determine the situation of Ophir; but they have arrived at different conclusions. Josephus places it in the peninsula of Malacca. Others have placed it at Sofala, in South Africa, three mines of God and silver have been found, which appear to have been anciently and extensively worked. Others still suppose it to have been Southern Arabia.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) One of the sons of Joktan (Genesis 10:29).

(2.) Some region famous for its gold (1 Kings 9:28; 10:11; 22:48; Job 22:24; 28:16; Isaiah 13:12). In the LXX. this word is rendered "Sophir," and "Sofir" is the Coptic name for India, which is the rendering of the Arabic version, as also of the Vulgate. Josephus has identified it with the Golden Chersonese, i.e., the Malay peninsula. It is now generally identified with Abhira, at the mouth of the Indus. Much may be said, however, in favour of the opinion that it was somewhere in Arabia.

Thesaurus

Ophir (12 Occurrences)
... Arabia. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. OPHIR. o'-fer ... There is a clear
reference also to a tribe Ophir (Genesis 10:30). Ophir is the ...
/o/ophir.htm - 16k

Almug (2 Occurrences)
... 8; 9:10, 11), in the Hebrew occurring only in the plural almuggim (indicating that
the wood was brought in planks), the name of a wood brought from Ophir to be ...
/a/almug.htm - 10k

Gold (429 Occurrences)
... Chronicles 1:15). It was found in Arabia, Sheba, and Ophir (1 Kings 9:28;
10:1; Job 28:16), but not in Palestine. In Dan. 2:38, the ...
/g/gold.htm - 57k

Fleet (7 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 10:11 (And the fleet also of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought
from Ophir sandal-wood in very great abundance, and precious stones. ...
/f/fleet.htm - 9k

Algum (3 Occurrences)
... 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 ...
/a/algum.htm - 9k

Sandal-wood (5 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 10:11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought
in from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones. ...
/s/sandal-wood.htm - 8k

Talents (36 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 9:28 They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred
and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. (WEB ...
/t/talents.htm - 19k

Hiram (21 Occurrences)
... Hiram's servants, "shipmen that had knowledge of the sea," taught the sailors of
Solomon the route from Ezion-geber and Eloth to Ophir, whence large stores of ...
/h/hiram.htm - 18k

Navy (4 Occurrences)
... 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. ...
/n/navy.htm - 8k

Uphaz (2 Occurrences)
... Probably another name for Ophir (Jeremiah 10:9). Some, however, regard it as the
name of an Indian colony in Yemen, southern Arabia; others as a place on or ...
/u/uphaz.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Ophir (12 Occurrences)

Genesis 10:29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 9:28 They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 1:23 and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

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;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 22:24 Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Job 28:16 It can't be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 45:9 Kings' daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 13:12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Ophir

Ophir: A Country Celebrated for Its Gold and Other Valuable Merchandise: Gold of, Proverbial for Its Fineness

Ophir: A Country Celebrated for Its Gold and Other Valuable Merchandise: Products of, Used by Solomon and Hiram

Ophir: Jehoshaphat Sends Ships To, Which are Wrecked at Sea

Ophir: Son of Joktan

Related Terms

Almug (2 Occurrences)

Gold (429 Occurrences)

Fleet (7 Occurrences)

Algum (3 Occurrences)