Ophir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the region mentioned in
the Bible. For other uses, see Ophir (disambiguation).
Ophir (/ˈoʊfər/;[1] Hebrew: אוֹפִיר, Modern Ofir, Tiberian ʼÔp̄îr) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous
for its wealth. King Solomon received a cargo of gold,
silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes,
and peacocks from
Ophir every three years.
·
Biblical references
Ophir in Genesis 10
(the Table of Nations) is said to be the name of one of the
sons of Joktan.[Note 1] The Books of Kings and Chronicles tell of a joint expedition to Ophir by
King Solomon and the Tyrian king Hiram I from Ezion-Geber,
a port on the Red Sea, that brought back large amounts of gold,
precious stones and 'algum wood'
and of a later failed expedition by king Jehoshaphat of
Judah.[Note 2] The famous 'gold of Ophir' is referenced in several other books of
the Hebrew Bible.[Note 3]
Early Christian traditions[edit
The New Testament apocrypha book Cave of Treasures contains
a passage: "And the children of Ophir, that is, Send, appointed to be
their king Lophoron, who built Ophir with stones of gold; now, all the stones
that are in Ophir are of gold."[2]
Archaeology
In 1946 an inscribed pottery
shard was found at Tell Qasile (in
modern-day Tel Aviv) dating to the eighth century BC.[3][4] It bears, in Paleo-Hebrew script the text "gold of Ophir
to/for Beth-Horon [...] 30 shekels"[Note 4][5] The find confirms that Ophir was a place where gold was imported
from,[6] although its location remains unknown.
A Dictionary of the Bible by Sir William Smith, published in 1863,[7] notes the Hebrew word for parrot Thukki, derived from the
Classical Tamil for peacock Thogkai and Cingalese
"tokei",[8] joins other Classical Tamil words for ivory, cotton-cloth and apes
preserved in the Hebrew Bible. This theory of Ophir's location in Tamilakkam is
further supported by other historians.[9][10][11] Locations on the coast of Kerala conjectured to be Ophir
include Poovar and Beypore. [12][13]
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. According
to Benjamin Walker Ophir is said to have been a town of the Abhira tribe.[14][15]
In a book found in Spain entitled Colección General de
Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas (General Collection
of Philippine Islands related Documents), the author
has described how to locate Ophir. According to the section "Document No.
98", dated 1519-1522, Ophir can be found by travelling from the Cape of Good Hope in
Africa, to India, to Burma, to Sumatra,
to Moluccas,
to Borneo,
to Sulu, then finally Ophir facing the Pacific Ocean ,
occasionally, to Taiwan (China) and some other Polynesian Islands, and back to
Ophir and to Israel using the same route. Ophir was said to be "[...] in
front of China towards the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese,
and Lequios met
to trade..." this group of islands could not be Japan because the
Moluccans did not get there, nor Taiwan, since it is not composed of "many
islands." Only the present-day Philippines,
could fit the description. Spanish records
also mention the presence of Lequios (big,
bearded men, probably descendants of the Phoenicians,
whose ships were always laden with gold and silver) in the Islands to gather
gold and silver.Some historians believe that the seat of Ophir in the
Philippines is the Pacific Ocean side of the Island of Samar which was led once
upon a time by a Samaritan Hadi Iberein, who was a staunch ally of the Kingdom
of Tondo. The Pacific side of Samar is also recognized by some historians as
the ancestral homeland of the Polynesians.
The Timeline of the
Pre - Hispanic Philippines
The Dawn man (Prof.
Otley Beyer) and Callao man (recent diggings) existed in the Philippines as
early as 250,000 and 65,000 years ago, but only the following ancient
settlements appears in most Philippine history books:
1800 BC – ancient Lawan pacific settlement: Ophir, the ancestral
homeland of the Polynesians and forebear of Tondo and other Philippine
ancient settlements because travel by sea was the fastest and easiest mode of
ancient migration compared to migration by land (some historians believe that
the estimated location of Ophir settlement is in the present - day
Northern Samar, the name Samar was derived from Samaria, the ancestral homeland
of Lawan chieftain Hadi Iberein)
1000 BC - Igorot Society (CAR)
601 AD - Chiefdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak (Pampanga and Aparri
800 AD - Namayan (Mandaluyong, Sta. Ana Manila)
900 AD - Tondo (Tondo, Manila)
971 AD - Huangdom of Ma-i
1176 AD - Kingdom of Tondo (Manila)
1200 AD - Rajahnate of Cebu, Madjas-as Confederation, Dapitan, Butuan
1252 AD - Lupah Sug (Sulu)
1376 AD - Bruneian Empire
1408 AD - Caboloan Vassal State of Ming China (Pangasinan)
1430 AD - Sultanate of Sulu
1450 AD - Kingdom of Tondo reached its peak with the largest territory in the archipelago
1470 AD - Namayan became a vassal state of Tondo
1492 AD - Kingdom of Taytay (Palawan)
1499 AD - Brunei conquered Ma-i and Sulu
1500 AD - Brunei conquered Tondo's Manila territory and established the puppet Kingdom of Maynila
1501 AD - Maguindanao established
1502 AD - Brunei totally took-over Tondo which lost its territories up north of Luzon.
1521 AD - Magellan reaches the Philippines & is killed by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan
1522 AD - Maranao established
1532 AD - Lanao established
1564 AD - Sultanate of Ternate established, Spain conquered Cebu
1567 AD - Datu Pagbuaya established
1573 AD - Spain conquered Madjas-As and Tondo
1577 AD - Spain conquered Caboloan
1000 BC - Igorot Society (CAR)
601 AD - Chiefdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak (Pampanga and Aparri
800 AD - Namayan (Mandaluyong, Sta. Ana Manila)
900 AD - Tondo (Tondo, Manila)
971 AD - Huangdom of Ma-i
1176 AD - Kingdom of Tondo (Manila)
1200 AD - Rajahnate of Cebu, Madjas-as Confederation, Dapitan, Butuan
1252 AD - Lupah Sug (Sulu)
1376 AD - Bruneian Empire
1408 AD - Caboloan Vassal State of Ming China (Pangasinan)
1430 AD - Sultanate of Sulu
1450 AD - Kingdom of Tondo reached its peak with the largest territory in the archipelago
1470 AD - Namayan became a vassal state of Tondo
1492 AD - Kingdom of Taytay (Palawan)
1499 AD - Brunei conquered Ma-i and Sulu
1500 AD - Brunei conquered Tondo's Manila territory and established the puppet Kingdom of Maynila
1501 AD - Maguindanao established
1502 AD - Brunei totally took-over Tondo which lost its territories up north of Luzon.
1521 AD - Magellan reaches the Philippines & is killed by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan
1522 AD - Maranao established
1532 AD - Lanao established
1564 AD - Sultanate of Ternate established, Spain conquered Cebu
1567 AD - Datu Pagbuaya established
1573 AD - Spain conquered Madjas-As and Tondo
1577 AD - Spain conquered Caboloan
and the rest is history...
Biblical scholars, archaeologists and others
have tried to determine the exact location of Ophir. Vasco da Gama's
companion Tomé Lopes reasoned that Ophir would have been the
ancient name for Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe,
the main center of sub-African trade in gold in the Renaissance period — though
the ruins at Great Zimbabwe are now dated to the medieval era, long after
Solomon is said to have lived. The identification of Ophir with Sofala in
Mozambique was mentioned by Milton in Paradise Lost (11:399-401),
among many other works of literature and science.
Another, more serious, possibility is the
African shore of the Red Sea, with the name perhaps being derived from
the Afar people living in the Danakil desert (Ethiopia, Eritrea)
between Adulis and Djibouti.
Afri was a Latin name used to refer to the Carthaginians,
who dwelt in North Africa, in modern-day Tunisia.
This name, that later gave the rich Roman province of Africa and the subsequent
medieval Ifriqiya,
are from which the name of the continent Africa is
ultimately derived, seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe
originally, however, see Terencefor
discussion. The name is usually connected with Phoenician afar, "dust", but a
1981 hypothesis[16] has asserted that it stems from the Berber word ifri (plural ifran)
meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers.[17] This is proposed[17] to be the origin of Ophir as well.[18]
The theologian Benito Arias Montano (1571) proposed finding Ophir
in the name of Peru,
reasoning that the native Peruvians were thus descendants of Ophir and Shem.[19]
In 1568 Alvaro Mendaña the
first European to discover the Solomon Islands,
and named them as such because he believed them to be Ophir.[20]
In Jewish tradition, Ophir is often associated
with a place in India,[dubious – discuss] named for one of the sons of Joktan.[21] The 10th-century lexicographer, David ben Abraham al-Fasi, identified Ophir with
Serendip, the old Persian name for Sri Lanka (aka
Ceylon).[22]
Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata Sie werden aus Saba alle
kommen, BWV 65 Aria Gold aus Ophir ist zu schlecht.
Ophir is the subject of H. Rider Haggard's
novel King Solomon's Mines, which places the lost city
in South Africa.
H P Lovecraft mentions
Ophir in his short story "The Cats of Ulthar", in the pulp magazine 'The
Tryout' November 1920.
Charles Beadle published
a three-part serial, The Land of Ophir, in the pulp magazine Adventure, issues of March 10, 20, & 30, 1922.
Ophir is also a kingdom in Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian series of stories;
see Hyborian Age for more information.
Several of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels
happen in and around the lost city of Opar, deep in the African jungles — with Opar evidently
being another name for Ophir. The city appears in The Return of Tarzan (1913), Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916), Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1923), and Tarzan the Invincible (1930).
Philip José Farmer took up the theme from the
Tarzan books and wrote two books of his own, taking place in Opar at the height
of its glory thousands of years ago: Hadon of Ancient Opar and Flight to Opar.
Wilbur Smith's
novel The Sunbird is set in ancient Ophir (called Opet)
and its modern ruins, located in modern Botswana.
Ophir is the name of the Nordic Utopia in M.
M. Scherbatov's
1784 novel "Putishestvie v zemliu ofirskuiu" ("Voyage to
Ophir").
Clive Cussler's The
Navigator places the mines of Ophir on the eastern seaboard of the
United States, postulating a pre-Columbian voyage by the Phoenicians.
Ophir is also referenced in Alexander Dumas's
book The Count of Monte Cristo. "...but these two tears
disappeared almost immediately, God doubtless having sent some angel to gather
them as being more precious in His eyes than the richest pearls of Gujarat or
Ophir."
John Masefield's
poem "Cargoes"
refers to Solomon's trade with Ophir.'Quinquereme of Nineveh from distant Ophir'
Ophir is the destination of the adventures in
the movies The Mistress of the World (1919) and Legend of the Lost (1957).
Ophir is the name of a board game created by Jason D. Kingsley and Charles
Wright in early 2015. It is published by Terra Nova Games.
Ophir is the suspected location of an
archaeological discovery near Aden, in the novel Biggles Forms A Syndicate (1961),
by W. E. Johns
The name appears in two Emily Dickinson poems,
"Sister of Ophir" and "Brother of Ophir," written two years
apart.
In his novel, "King Solomon's
Pilot", Jerold Richert finds Ophir on the Indian mainland, and fictionally
suggests its naming.
2. Jump up^ The first expedition is described in 1 Kings 9:28;
10:11; 1 Chronicles 29:4; 2 Chronicles 8:18;
9:10, the failed expedition of Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22:48
4. Jump up^ Beth-Horon probably refers to the ancient city 35
km south of Tell Qasile; another interpretation is that Beth-Horon means 'the
temple of Horon', (a Canaanite deity also known as Hauron), see Lipiński, p.
197 [1]
2. Jump up^ Badge, William (1927). The Book of The Cave of Treasures by
Ephrem the Syrian: Translated from the Syriac Text of The British Museum.
London: The Religious Tract Society. p. 32 – via Google Books.
3. Jump up^ Maisler, B., Two Hebrew Ostraca from Tell Qasîle, Journal
of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Oct., 1951), p. 265 [2]
4. Jump up^ Boardman, John, The Prehistory of the Balkans: The Middle
East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries B.C., Part 1,
Cambridge University Press, 1982, p. 480 [3]
5. Jump up^ Kitchen, Kenneth A.; Handy, Lowell K. (ed.), The Age of
Solomon: Scholarship at the Turn of the Millennium, BRILL 1997, p.
144 [4]
17. ^ Jump up to:a b The Berbers, by Geo. Babington
Michell, p 161, 1903, Journal of Royal African people book on ligne
19. Jump up^ Shalev, Zur (2003). "Sacred
Geography, Antiquarianism and Visual Erudition: Benito Arias Montano and the
Maps in the Antwerp Polyglot Bible" (PDF). Imago Mundi. 55: 71. doi:10.1080/0308569032000097495.
Retrieved 2017-01-17.
20. Jump up^ HOGBIN, H. In, Experiments in Civilization: The Effects of
European Culture on a Native Community of the Solomon Islands, New York:
Schocken Books, 1970 (1939), pp.7-8
22. Jump up^ Solomon Skoss (ed.), The Hebrew-Arabic Dictionary of the
Bible, Known as `Kitāb Jāmiʿ al-Alfāẓ` (Agron) of David ben Abraham al-Fasi, Yale University Press: New Haven 1936, vol. 1, p. 46 (Hebrew)
23. Jump up^ Crane, Hart (2001). The Complete Poems of Hart Crane. New
York: Liveright Publishing Company. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-87140-178-6.
· Edward Lipiński (2004). Itineraria Phoenicia
Studia Phoenicia 18. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-1344-8.
· Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ophir". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th
ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further Proofs that
Point to the Philippines as the Ophir
A comparative study of the two most prominent ophirians or Filipino
authors claiming that Philippines is Ophir. Namely they are Isagani
datu Aca Tabilog, the author of the article Ang
Pilipinas ay nasa Biblia 2010, (Philippines is in Bible) and Dr.
Richard Vincent Narag TH. D Dr. HUM author of the most controversial
books like Rizal Code 2009, Philippines is Ophir “Greatest Ancient
Sacred Secrets De Coded" and The Ophirian.
The said
books are copyrighted in the Philippine National Library Manila. In which the
said controversy that Philippines is the ancient Ophir the place where king
Solomon got gold to build the Temple of Jerusalem as written in I Kings
10:1-15. , this puzzled almost all scholars, historians and theologians all
over the world. What is their basis of writing this? What is the importance of
this to Filipino People and what will be the significance of this?
Isagani Tabilog in his writings emphasized more on the historical
evidences on how Philippines became Ophir while Dr. R V Narag shed light
on the Biblical evidence and the Scientific evidence why Philippines is
Ophir. This paper discussed the Biblical, then the historical evidences.
Biblical Evidence that Ophir is Philippines
According
to both authors I. Tabilog and Dr. R. Narag that
Shem the son of Noah become the father of Eber ( Hebrew ancestors), which
is the father of Peleg the Ancestor of Israel and Joktan the father of Ophir
and Sheba which is the ancestor of Southeast Asian countries including
Philippines. Genesis 10:25-30. That is why Filipinos has Hebrew origin.
Tabilog stopped right here while Dr. R. Narag gave more evidences from the
start why did Noah blessed Shem so much that is why he gave the three most
sacred places on earth, The Mount Sinia, Zion and Garden of Eden as it is
written in Jubilees 8. Dr. Narag said just using only the Bible with
prayer and fasting one may find Ophir and here are they.
Dr.
Narag emphasized that according to Antiquities of Jews by Flavius Josephus in
Chapter 4. That Eber is where the Hebrew originated so Philippines have a
Hebrew origin.
1. Ophirians live in Sephar.
Sheba, Ophir
and Hawilah , Obal and the some of Joktan sons went to Sephar. And their
dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mountain of the east.
Genesis 10:30
According to Dr. Narag, Sephar which is written
in Hebrew SPR because according to him there is no bowels in Hebrew and getting
the meaning of this through hermeneutics. Sephar in hermeneutics Se with
the root word para means the place of budding or origin, also sephar means
book, scribe and numbering. In Genesis 10:30 Sephar is the eastern border
of earth. This suggest that place in the eastern borders of Shem are
China, Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. Using the location we can easily rule
out all countries that do not fall on the Eastern parts of the world like India
and Yemen.
The word eastern derived from the Hebrew word Qedem in
which in Hebrew it means front of the rising sun it also
means , that which is before, aforetime. front or east, in front, mount
of the East ancient time, aforetime, ancient, from of old, earliest time;
anciently, of old (adverb),beginning . So Sephar is the land where the sun
rises, probably Japan or Philippines.
Sephar is linked to In Deuteronomy 33:15 as the ancient
mountains that is very rich. in natural resources as it is
written
May Yahweh bless their land with
crops, the best gift the sun can give, the best produce of each
month, “And with the best things of the ancient mountains. Deu. 33:15
According
to Dr. Narag, Sephar is the old or the ancient mountain where Noah live before
the flood as the word qedem implies, he seems trying to convince us to
believe the ancient eden location perhaps. With best things as stated
in Deu 33:15 which includes gold and all natural resources.
Tabilog
consider Philippines as Ophir as the ancient land of Gold which is written in
the Bible, while Dr. Narag Consider Philippines not only as the Biblical Land
of gold Ophir but he is pointing out to be the ancient habitat of the ancient
humanity, that’s why king Solomon knew it before.
2. Ophir is rich in gold.
The gold
used for the building of temple Jerusalem is from Ophir. And they came to
Ophir, where they got four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and took it
back to King Solomon.I Kings 9:28
King Solomon
built a fleet of ships to Ezion Geber to get gold from Ophir because the gold
there is numerous and high grade which is the best to be offered to the house
of YHWH. The question now here according to Dr. Narag is why they built
Fleet of ship as written in I kings 9:26-27.
Philippines become the No.1 site of Gold during ancient times according to
Morga and Pigafetta. Rare in India and Japan. Also claimed by Tabilog in which
he gave more historical explanations.
3. Ophir is Island or group of Islands
King Solomon built a fleet of ships to Ezion Geber to get gold
from Ophir because it is an island or group of island. 26 King Solomon also
built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of
the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in
the fleet with Solomon’s men. I kings 9:26-27. I Chronicles 9:21
The
answer according to the Philippines is Ophir “Greatest Ancient Sacred
Secrets De Coded" by Dr. Narag is that because Ophir is Island in the
eastern part of the world. As written in. Psalm 72; 10. This is the Sheba the
brother of Ophir that live in Sephar. The kings of Tarshish and of
the isles
Shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer
gifts. Psalm 72:10.
4. Ophir has Almug wood the red sandal wood (Narra).
King Solomon sent to
Hiram, king of Tyre, saying, "Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and
algum-trees, out of Lebanon" (2 Chronicles
2:8). In 1 Kings 10:11 it
is said that the navy of Hiram "that brought gold from Ophir, brought in
from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones." In the
parallel passage in 2 Chronicles
9:10 it is said that "algum-trees and precious
stones" were brought.
Almug
or Narra is the Kopher wood or the wood of Atonement. The wood used by Noah to
build the Ark. According to Dr. Narag The letter G in the word
Gopher (Genesis 6:14.) is interchangeable in Hebrew with letter K making it
Kopher the wood of atonement. Like the word Gamel it came along to be Camel.
Narra is endemic in Philippines and the no.1 producer in East during the
ancient times but very rare in Japan.
5. Ophir distance takes Three years round trip from Ezion Geber
And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and
peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the YHWH, and he burnt incense
upon the altar that was before the YHWH. So he finished the
house. I Kings 9:22
In a round trip travel we will
conclude that from Ezion Geber by using a boat 30 miles per day this will took
3 years round trip. 6 months round trip to India and 4 years round trip
to japan. So Only Philippines fit the description. This is both emphasize by
Tabilog and Narag.
6. Ophir is known before by King Solomon
According to Dr. Narag it is not accidentally discovered but planned and the
building of the temple is a command from YHWH that it should be the same or
similitude of the things used there. It is described there as the word Taybit which
means same place you got it and same kind which is written in I Chronicles 28:
13-19 as follows: 13 He gave him instructions for the
divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the
temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its
service. 14 He designated the weight of gold for all the
gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver
for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service: 15 the
weight of gold for the gold lampstands and their lamps, with the weight for
each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for each silver
lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand; 16 the
weight of gold for each table for consecrated bread; the weight of silver for
the silver tables; 17 the weight of pure gold for the
forks, sprinkling bowls and pitchers; the weight of gold for each gold dish;
the weight of silver for each silver dish; 18 and the
weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the plan
for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold that spread their wings and
overshadow the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All
this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on
me, and he enabled me to understand all the details (taybit) of the
plan.
The
temple of Jerusalem is same as the shape of the Noahs ark because it is Taybit
of it. That is why it is rectangle and the wood used is Narra. The Atonement
wood used by Noah in Genesis 6:14. According to Dr. Narag, Ophir is
not accidentally discovered but King Solomon knew it before. Because of the
word Sephar or Origin of Plants and Animals.
7. Ophir is in the place of Middle Earth in a not hot and cold
region of the Earth.
Shems land is in the middle Earth as stated by book Jubilees 8:12 and it is neither hot nor cold in Jubiless 8:30. And that is the temperature of places in Sephar. Philippines is a non - hot and non - cold country and it is found in the eastern limits of the middle earth. Japan and China is cold while Papua Guinea is hot. So Only Philippines fits the region.
Shems land is in the middle Earth as stated by book Jubilees 8:12 and it is neither hot nor cold in Jubiless 8:30. And that is the temperature of places in Sephar. Philippines is a non - hot and non - cold country and it is found in the eastern limits of the middle earth. Japan and China is cold while Papua Guinea is hot. So Only Philippines fits the region.
8. Ophirians clothes are Blue and Purple. Jeremiah 10:9
Ancient Filipinos love to wear Blue and purple.
Historical evidences
from the book “According to My Evidences That Philippines is Ophir in the
Bible” 2004 by Isagani Tabilog
Isagani Tabilog sparks the truth on the historical evidences why
Philippines is Ophir.
1.Magellan and the Search for
Ophir
Magellan's contemporary, Duarte Barbosa, wrote that the people of
Malacca (in modern Malaysia) had described to him an island group known as
the Lequios whose people were as "rich and more eminent
than the Chins (Chinese)," and that traded "much gold, and sliver in
bars, silk, rich cloth, and much very good wheat, beautiful porcelains and many
other merchandises." However, Barbosa was not the only one to mention the
Lequios from the Pacific empire. The quest for spices and precious metals ushered in what is known as
the Age of Exploration. Magellan’s personal documents indicated his desire to
find the golden islands of Tarshish and Ophir. The explorer Sebastian Cabot was
appointed as commander of an expedition “to discover the Moluccas, Tarsis,
Ophir, Cipango and Cathay.” The Boxer Codex was created on the order
of Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, the 9th Governor-General of the Philippines
(1593-1596). The said codex depicts the life of the Filipinos including
their clothing wherein the whole body of both male and female Filipino is adorn
with gold. This suggests that Philippines is rich in gold.
2.Trade Missions to
China
The name Lusung
(LUZON) first appeared in Chinese History in 1373 AD in the Ming Annals. In
this document, Lusung was one of the first to answer the call for tribute
missions to the new Ming Dynasty [1368 - 1644]. It was Brunei who first
responded in 1371 AD, followed by Liuchiu in 1372, and then by Lusung in 1373
AD*11. Despite the fact that it made its first appearance on Chinese records as
late as 1373 AD, evidences suggests that the Chinese had long known the
existence of LUZON as far back as the Sung Dynasty[960 - 1278 AD]. The presence
of thousands of recognizable pieces of Sung and Yuan Dynasty porcelains found
in ancient burial sites in the Provinces of Pampanga, Samar and Manila suggests
an active trade with China long before the Ming period. In the book entitled
Collecion General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas, the author has
described how to locate Ophir. According to the book, particularly in Documento
No. 98, Ophir can be found by travelling from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa,
to India, to Burma, to Sumatra, to Moluccas, to Borneo, to Sulu, then finally
Ophir in the Pacific, then to Taiwan (China), and other Pacific Islands and
back to Ophir and then finally to Israel.
