Was the place Ophir in the Old Testament a referrence to the modern day Philippines?

Answer 1

It can not be determined with any degree of certainty where Ophir was either from The Bible or any historical or archaeological data. We know that Ophir exported gold to ancient Israel, so it would be highly unlikely for it to be as far as Philippines when you take into account the distance, geography and the modes of transportation available in those days.

AnswerThere is undoubtably gold in the Philippines:-

"Local miners were recovering some gold from the beach sands, but the amount of gold did not appear to create any commercial opportunity for the type of dredge mining that we do."

[from http://www.goldgold.com/gold-prospectinggold-dredging-in-the-philippine-rice-paddies.html ]

"Luzon, the Isle of Gold in the Philippines

Although gold deposits have been found in all parts of the Philippines, Chinese traders in the 3rd century referred to Luzon as the "Isle of Gold". The cities of Manila and Olongapo are located on the island of Luzon. Gold mines in the Philippines yield more than 30 metric tons per year,.... I don't know what the gold value is these days, but that's a whole lot of gold. "

[From http://www.untwistedvortex.com/luzon-isle-gold-philippines/ ]

However, just because gold is found somewhere does not make it Ophir. For example, just because there has been a lot of gold found in Bendigo (Victoria, Australia) and there is a street named "Ophir St" does not mean it actually is Ophir. What does the Bible say? The Bible talks of it but does not say where it is. The actual location is in dispute

"There are many assumptions concerning the location of Ophir.....

... an island in the Red Sea ....

... in India - in the regions between one of the tributaries of the Indus River and China.

... 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."

[From article "Ophir" in "Jewish Virtual Library" @ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_15122.html]

OPHIR

1. Scriptural References:

The 11th in order of the sons of Joktan (Gen 10:29 = 1 Ch 1:23)...... Ophir is the name of a land or city somewhere to the South or Southeast of Israel 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 Ki 9:28; 10:11; 2 Ch 9:10; 1 Ki 22:48; 2 Ch 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 Ki 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 (Ps 45:9; Job 28:16; Isa 13:12; 1 Ch 29:4), and, in Job 22:24, Ophir is used for fine gold itself....

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, ...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,....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 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 "Genenesis". 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. "

Article "Ophir" [From ISBE [International Standard Bible Encylopedia] @ http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/O/OPHIR/]

So it could be -Red Sea island

-India

-Far East

-Arabian Peninsula

-Somalia

The actual exact location of Ophir is unknown: obviously God didn't want us to know, but it is not the Philippines.