Locating Ophir?!

[✡ Hindu Zionist ॐ]

I have been doing some research on Jewish and Hindu historical accounts, and this is particularly interesting!

According to Hindu Timeline records:

1000: World population is 50 million, doubling every 500 years.

975: King Hiram of Phoenicia, for the sake of King Solomon of Israel, trades with the port of Ophir (Sanskrit: Supara) near modern Bombay, showing the trade between Israel and India. Same trade goes back to Harappan era.

950: Jewish people arrive in India in King Solomon's merchant fleet. Later Jewish colonies find India a tolerant home.

925: Jewish King David forms an empire in what is present-day Israel and Lebanon.

900: Iron Age in India. Early use dates to at least -1500.

ca 900: Earliest records of the holy city of Varanasi (one of the world's oldest living cities) on the sacred river Ganga.

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Ancient Indian port of Sopara could be King Solomon's Ophir (B.C.E. 1000)


Four points may be urged in favour of this view

1) First, the close likeness between the names Sopara and Ophir. The people near Sopara often either change initial s into h or drop it, [In the local pronunciation hona is used for sona gold, hargotala for sirgutala a pomphlet, and hukla for sukla dried.]and, on the other hand, Ophir is written Sophir by Josephus, and, according to several authorities, Sophir is the Coptic or Egyptian word for India.

2)Second, the length of time taken by Solomon's ships, three or at least over two years, from the head of the Red Sea to Ophir and back, is more suited to an Indian than to an Arabian voyage.

3)Third, the articles which the ships brought to Solomon, gold, precious stones, sandalwood, ivory, peacocks, and apes are Indian products.[The gold of Ophir was its most famous export]

4)Fourth, the Hebrew names of several of the articles, sandalwood, ivory, peacocks, and apes are of Sanskrit or of Dravidian origin. [Sandalwood is algum in Hebrew and valgum in Sanskrit; ivory is alien habbim in Hebrew, and an elephant is ibha in Sanskrit; the ape is koph in Hebrew and kapi in Sanskrit; and the peacock is tuki-im in Hebrew and tokei in Tamil.]

[Sentinel For Truth]

Great find, Hindu Zionist!  Jews and Hindus are natural friends and allies with a long historical testament to that fact.

[Zelhar]

4)Fourth, the Hebrew names of several of the articles, sandalwood, ivory, peacocks, and apes are of Sanskrit or of Dravidian origin. [Sandalwood is algum in Hebrew and valgum in Sanskrit; ivory is alien habbim in Hebrew, and an elephant is ibha in Sanskrit; the ape is koph in Hebrew and kapi in Sanskrit; and the peacock is tuki-im in Hebrew and tokei in Tamil.]

ivory in hebrew is Shenhav, Shen means tooth and hav/hab- well I guess it can be alien cause it is not a word on its own. In modern Hebrew peacock is Tavas, and parrot is Tuki but I suppose the meaning could have changed it  has happened with a couple of other biblical animal names.

[✡ Hindu Zionist ॐ]

Great find, Hindu Zionist!  Jews and Hindus are natural friends and allies with a long historical testament to that fact.

yes indeed.

[muman613]

I found the following on this topic.

In the story of Noach the Torah lists the geneology of his descendants.

http://bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displayid&id=265

10:25 Eber had two sons. The name of the first was Peleg, because the world became divided in his days. His brother's name was Yoktan.
10:26 Yoktan was the father of Almodad, Shelef, Chatzarmaveth, Yerach,
10:27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
10:28 Obhal, Abhimael, Sh'bha,
10:29 Ophir, Havilah, and Yovav. All these were the sons of Yoktan.

The footnote regarding the son Ophir is:

Ophir
  The place from which King Solomon brought gold; 1 Kings 9:28, 10:11. Cf. Psalms 45:9, Isaiah 13:12. From the context, it is a place on the Arabian peninsula. Some identify it with El Ophir, a town in Oman. Josephus, however, identifies Ophir with Aurea Chersonesus, belonging to India (Antiquities 8:6:4). The Septuagint translates Ophir as Sophia, which is Coptic for India. There was indeed an ancient city known as Soupara or Ouppara in the vicinity of Goa on the western coast of India. Later authors identified Ophir with the New World (Rabbi Azzaria de Rossi, Meor Eynaim, Imrey Binah 11; David Gans, Nechmad VeNaim 3:75; Tzemach David 2:1533; Seder HaDoroth 5254).

This would confirm your assertion that there was contact between the ancient Israelites and the people living in India. Altought there is some dissenting opinions to this understanding.

Interesting links:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/463983/jewish/King-Solomon.htm

[syyuge]

This trade route kept operating heavily at least till Roman times, who could trade even with Central Indian cities through Narmada River upstream from the Sindhu sagar.

Arabian regions were invariably involved in this route as the brokers.

Any other route to Ophir suffers from the problem that it is either too difficult or too easy and all of them invariably are lacking in Peacocks.