Philippines is Ophir
Philippines is Ophir
by Anonymous
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 contoversial books like Rizal Code 2009, Philippines is Ophir " Greatest Ancient Sacred Secrets De Coded" and The Ophirian.
The said books are copyright of the Philippine National Library Manila.In which the said controversy that Philippines is the ancient Ophir the place where king Solomon got golds 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 evidence how Philippines become Ophir while Dr. R V Narag shed the light of the Biblical evidence and the Scientific evidence why Philippines is Ophir. so let me first discuss the Biblical Evidence then the Historical.
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 I. I Tabilog stops right here while Dr. R. Narag gave more evidence from the start why did Noah bless Shem so much thats 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 mount 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 estern derived from the Hebrew word Qedem in which in Hebrew it means front of the rising sun it alsomeans , 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 s 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.
I. 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 golds 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 offerered to the house of YHWH. The question now here according to Dr. Narag Why they built Fleet of ship as written in I kings 9:26-27 .
Philippines become the No.1 site of Golds during ancient times according to Morga and Pigafetta. Rare in India and Japan. Also claimed by I. Tabilog in which he gave more historical explaination.
3. Ophir is Island or group of Islands
King Solomon built a fleet of ships to Ezion Geber to get gold from Ophir becauseit is an island or group of island.
26King 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 10:11it 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 I. Tabilog and R. 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
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 regioon 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 noncold country and it is found in the easter 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.
Part II
Historical Evidence excert 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
1.Magellan's contemporary, Duarte Barbosa, wrote that the people of Malacca (in modern Malaysia) haddescribed to him an island group known as the Lequios whose people were as "rich and more eminentthan the Chins (Chinese)," and that traded "much gold, and sliver in bars, silk, rich cloth, and much verygood wheat, beautiful porcelains and many other merchandises." However, Barbosa was not the only oneto mention the Lequios from Luzon empire
2. The quest for spices and precious metals ushered in what is known as the Age of Exploration. Magellan‟spersonal 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.”
3. 3.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. Which suggest that Philippines is rich in gold.
Trade Missions to China:
4. 4.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 recognisable pieces of Sung and Yuan Dynasty porcelains found in ancient burial sites in the Province of Pampanga and Manila suggests an active trade with China long before the Ming period.
5. 5.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, to China, then finally Ophir.