Ophir
Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC,[2][3] which reads "gold of Ophir to/for Beth-Horon [...] 30 shekels".
[13][14] The 10th-century lexicographer, David ben Abraham al-Fasi, identified Ophir with Serendip, the old Persian name for Sri Lanka (aka Ceylon).
[15] Moreover, as mentioned above, A Dictionary of the Bible by Sir William Smith[16] notes the Hebrew word for parrot Thukki, derived from the Classical Tamil for peacock Thogkai or Sinhalese "tokei".
[citation needed] A Dictionary of the Bible by Sir William Smith, published in 1863,[16] notes the Hebrew word for parrot Thukki, derived from the Classical Tamil for peacock Thogkai and Sinhalese "tokei",[17] joins other Classical Tamil words for ivory, cotton-cloth and apes preserved in the Hebrew Bible.
[22][23] 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.
The navigational guide starts from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to India, Burma, Sumatra, the Maluku Islands, Borneo, Sulu, China, then finally Ophir, which is speculated to be the Philippines.
[30] This speculation was amplified by Lone District of Santa Rosa Representative Danilo Fernandez in 2023, who suggested Ophir as the desirable name for the country.
[34] In 1976, the United States Department of Interior announced that a team formed by the United States Geological Survey together with experts from Saudi Arabia believes it has "a fairly airtight case” that Mahd adh Dhahab, or Cradle of Gold, in Saudi Arabia is the biblical Ophir.
Moreover, Mahd adh Dhahab is "within range of Israel's transport capability," and it "could easily have been known to Solomon or his advisers because it lies on a north‐south trade route that has run to Aqaba for some 4,000 years."
Their conclusion is that "Mand adh Dhahab [sic] could have produced 34 tons of gold in ancient times and was the biblical Ophir.
