Walter Kaiser notes that the legendary wealth of King Solomon came, in part, from the fact that his ships were supposed to sail to “Ophir,” from which they “brought back 420 talents of gold” (1 Kings 9:28)--equivalent to a whopping sixteen tons, or 14.5 metric tons, of gold. Solomon’s ships supposedly sailed from the Red Sea port of Elath (Ezion Geber), but where was Ophir? Although no one knows for sure, the fact that it was indeed a real place is supported from archaeological finds. In 1956, at the coastal site of Tell Qasile (just north of Tel Aviv in Israel), a small ostracon was found with a shipment notice written on it saying, “gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon, thirty shekels.” Thus not only was the site shown to be a real location known from the world of commerce of the day, rather than the imaginary site it was alleged to have been, but it also was a source of gold as well. [Water C. Kaiser Jr., The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable & Relevant?, pp. 105-106]
“Ophir”
The country from which fine gold was imported to Judah (2 Chronicles 8:18; Job 22;24; 28:16; Psalms 45:9; Isaiah 13:12), sometimes in large quantities (1 Chronicles 29:4), and with valuable wood (1 Kings 10:11), silver, ivories, apes and peacocks (1 Kings 10:22), and precious stones (2 Chronicles 9:10). It was reached by Solomon’s fleet from Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqabah (1 Kings 22:48). These voyages took “three years,” that is perhaps one entire year and parts of two others… . In Isaiah 13:12 Ophir is paralleled with oqir, “I will make precious.” Various theories have been put forward for the site of Ophir: Southern Arabia (Yemen), Southeastern Arabia (Oman), the east African coast (Somaliland), India (north of Bombay), and others. Josephus (Ant. 8. 164), LXX and Vulgate (Job 28:16) interpreted Ophir as India. In favor of this interpretation are the facts that all the commodities named are familiar in ancient India, and it is known that from the 2nd millennium B.C. there was a lively sea-trade between the Persian Gulf and India. [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, p. 1119]
“Ophir”
According to George Hourani, from the first Book of Kings we find: “And King Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom; and Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipment that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon.” (1 Kings 9:26-28)
Ezion-geber can now be identified with confidence as the site at Tall al-Khulayfah, west of al-Aqabah, which was excavated by an American expedition in 1938-1940. It is quite likely that Solomon himself (c. 974-932) built the town and the large copper refinery which has been unearthed there, after the subjection of the Edomites by his father David.
The “Ophir” to which Solomon’s ships sailed may well have been in India, for the voyage was made only once every three years. The merchandise brought from Ophir--gold, silver, jewels, almug wood, ivory, apes and peacocks--smacks of India, etymologically and economically.
Yet in a footnote, Hourani writes that Ophir is probably not India but southern Arabia. The main evidence is philological: the Hebrew words for ape, ivory, and peacock are loans from Sanskrit and Tamil. (George F. Hourani, Arab Seafaring, pp. 9, 130)
With this in mind, it is interesting that the Jewish scholar, Raphael Patai writes:
In the biblical account, the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Jerusalem is bracketed between two references to Solomon’s Ophir expedition (1 Kings 9:26-10:13; 2 Chron. 8:17-9:12). This makes it appear, without it ever being stated explicitly, that the country of Sheba was believed to be either identical with or a close neighbor of Ophir. (The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times, 1998, p. 13.)
Concerning the Queen of Sheba and the location of Sheba we find the following:
An unnamed Sabaean (*Sheba) monarch who journeyed to Jerusalem to test Solomon’s wisdom (1 Ki. 10:1-10, 13; 2 Ch. 9:1-9, 12). A major purpose of her costly (1 Ki. 10:10) yet successful (1 Ki. 10:13) visit may have been to negotiate a trade agreement with Solomon, whose control of the trade routes jeopardized the income which the Sabaeans were accustomed to receive from the caravans which crossed their territory … The spices, gold and precious stones with which she sought Solomon’s favour (1 Ki. 10:3, 10) would have been typical of the luxurious cargoes of these caravans, which linked the resources of E Africa, India and S Arabia to the markets of Damascus and Gaza by way of oases like Mecca, Medina and Tema. (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, vol. 3, p. )
2 Nephi 23:12 Ophir ([Illustration] The Land of Sheba [The University and Colleges Christian Fellowship, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, vol. 3, p. 1431]
If the country of Sheba was known from the times of Solomon, and if Sheba was located in the general region of Sana’a (Nahom), and if Ophir was associated with a sea port beyond this location, then it is possible that Ophir was not only linked to Nephi’s Bountiful, but Lehi and Nephi might have been purposefully aiming in that direction in order to take advantage of seafaring knowledge that might help them in their journey to the promised land. One of the leading candidates for Bountiful is the region of Salalah, Oman. This fertile “wedge” was the head of the incense trade. The “golden” incense of Salalah was worth it’s weight in gold. It very easily could have been exchanged for expensive items brought in on ships from India such as gold, apes, peacocks, etc. If Salalah was the land Bountiful and the place where Nephi launched his ship, then his voyage was truly more valuable than any merchant ship laden with gold and other trade items from that area. They were the covenant children of “one man”--Christ. Thus, Isaiah’s prophecy--“I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” could have been interpreted with significance to the lives of Lehi and Nephi. The context was the destruction, scattering and gathering of Israel. The Book of Mormon reader should note Nephi’s comments regarding these Isaiah chapters (see 2 Nephi 25) in far away places. From them he makes “his prophecy” :
Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand. (2 Nephi 25:21)
Nephi could only keep his part of that promise by leaving the “golden wedge” of Ophir to follow “one man”--Christ. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes. Expanded from an idea originally passed to me by George Potter] [See the Potter commentary on 1 Nephi 17:1] [See the commentary on Tarshish--2 Nephi 12:16]
2 Nephi 23:14 As the chased roe and as a sheep that no man taketh up ([Illustration] A “chased roe” is a hunted deer, and “sheep that no man taketh up” are vulnerable because their shepherds are absent. The imagery implies that the wicked will be like hunted deer. They will flee for their lives during a time of wars.
Gazelles, Biblical Zoo, Jerusalem. According to Mosaic law, the roe deer was a clean animal that could be eaten. It may have been a delicacy as King Solomon made it part of the royal table (1 Kings 4:22-23). Many species of deer and antelope still inhabit Israel and may be seen in the upper Galilee region or Judean hills. Photograph by Tana and Mac Graham. [Donald W. Parry, Visualizing Isaiah, p. 48]