King Solomon’s gold from Ophir
there is mention of a place called Ophir (which supplied gold to King Solomon) in the various books of the Old Testament – nowhere in the Bible is there mention of its location. “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, to China, then finally Ophir. Ophir was said to be “[...] in front of China towards the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese, and Lequios met to trade...” Jes Tirol asserts that 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, he says, could fit the description. Spanish records also mention the presence of Lequios (big, bearded white men, probably descendants of the Phoenicians, whose ships were always laden with gold and silver) in the Islands to gather gold and silver.” (Reference: http:// newsguru.asia/where-is-the-ancientland-of-ophir-that-found-in-the-bible)
In another related opinion found in the same internal report as aforementioned:
“At the emergence of the hydrography of Spanish colonies in Asia in the early 17th century, Dominican Gregorio García wrote that Ophir was indeed located in the Moluccas and the Philippines. In 1609, Juan de Pineda wrote a diverse collection of literature relating Biblical accounts of Solomon, Ophir, and the islands. Former Prime Minister Pedro A. Paterno said in
one of his works on conjectural anthropology that Ophir is the Philippines because the scented wood Solomon received from Ophir also exists in the Islands. This notion was, however, later dismissed by modern historians as merely alluding and comparing the Philippines’ position to the Spanish economy with that of Ophir to Solomon’s kingdom — the sudden discovery and colonization of the Islands bringing wealth and prosperity to the realm.
“Other evidence has also been pointed out that the Philippines was the Ancient Ophir.”