Ofirite Nation
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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).
