© 26 Colin Melbourne
Myth or Reality?
Ophir is mentioned in the Holy Bible as King Solomon’s source of gold, precious metals, gemstones, merchandise, rare timber, and exotic creatures, for example 1 Kings 9:28; 10:11; 2 Chronicles 8:18; 9:10, 1 Kings 22:48 and is most widely known for supplying the finest gold required to decorate Solomon’s Temple 1 Chronicles 29:4; Job 22:24; 28:16; Psalm 45:9; Isaiah 13:12 KJV
Unbelieving textual scholars long dismissed biblical Ophir as a literary myth, like El Dorado of the Amazon jungle, until a clay pot fragment was discovered at Tell Qasile Palestine in 1946.
The artefact bears an ancient Hebrew script documenting the purchase of 30 shekels of gold of Ophir. It was a receipt of purchase, and exposed the “experts” as deceivers.