---
title: אוֹפִיר — Ophir · The Tanakh dictionary
description: אוֹפִיר (lemma:אוֹפִיר), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 11 times: Ophir. BDB 1906: n.pr. Ophir n.pr.m. n.pr.loc. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# אוֹפִיר

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«אוֹפִיר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **Ophir** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 11 times · **Key:** lemma:אוֹפִיר · **BDB:** אוֹפִיר

### Glosses

of.Ophir (4); Ophir (3); to (3)

### Meaning (OSHB)

Ophir [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/lemma_3a_5d0_5d5_5b9_5e4_5b4_5d9_5e8/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.pr. Ophir n.pr.m. n.pr.loc. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/lemma_3a_5d0_5d5_5b9_5e4_5b4_5d9_5e8/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.pr. Ophir—א׳ 1 K 10:11 +; אוֹפִ֫ירָה 9:28 + אוֹפִר †Gn 10:29; אֹפִיר †1 K 10:11— n.pr.m. 11th son of Joktan Gn 10:29 (J) = 1 Ch 1:23; 𝔊 Οὐφειρ, Ὠφειρ, name of an Arabian tribe, vid. Gn 10:30 \& Di. n.pr.loc. (land or city S. or SE. from Palestine, exact position unknown, cf. infr.; 𝔊 Σωφηρα, Σωφειρα, Σουφειρ, etc.; Jb 28:16 Ὠφειρ AC, cf. 1 K 22:49 A Ὠφειρδε, B om.) place whither Sol.’s ships went from Ezion Geber, bringing thence gold 1 K 9:28—cf. 22:49—2 Ch 8:18; gold, almug-(sandal-?) wood \& gems 1 K 10:11(×2), cf. 2 Ch 9:10; prob. 1 K 10:22 ref. to same ships; they came once in 3 years with gold, silver, ivory, apes \& peacocks (all from Ophir?); 2 Ch 9:21 makes these ships go to Tarshish (but on Tarshish-ships, i.e. large, sea-going vessels, merchantmen, v. 1 K 22:49 \& sub תַּרְשִׁישׁ). characteristic of fine gold (poet. \& late) זְהַב א׳ 1 Ch 29:4; כֶּחֶם א׳ Is 13:12; Jb 28:16 ψ 45:10. hence for fine gold itself Jb 22:24 (‖ בֶּצֶר).—(If 2 = 1, the southern, prob. south-eastern, Arabia (cf. Di Gn 10:29) furnished the gold; and other articles, which point farther E. (e.g. to India, toward which the words קוֹפִים apes \& תֻּכִּיִּים peacockes seem to lead), were either brought to Ophir by traders, \& so found there by Sol.’s men, or were found elsewhere by the latter, whose cruise may have taken them beyond Ophir, the name of Ophir alone, as source of gold-supply, being preserved. If (less likely) 1 \& 2 are not the same, the only data for determining loc. of 2 are the articles brought, \& one may look toward India, Ceylon or other islands, or even lower Africa. Particular theories have as yet no adequate support; e.g. (a) old city Supara, or Uppara, in the region of Goa, Malabar coast (cf. 𝔊 supr. 2, but also 1; form with Σ said on Copt. authority to denote India, v. JablonskiiOpusc. ed. te Water i. 337; cf. also JosAnt. 8:6, 4; in that case its use by 𝔊 may indicate a theory of the location of Ophir); (b) peninsula Malacca; (c) island Sumatra; (d) Sofâla, with city Zimbabye (SE. Africa); (e) west coast of Arabia (where gold \& silver formerly found), etc. On these \& other theories, v. Di Gn 10:29 RiHWB, Herzog, SmithDict. Bib.; cf. GlaserSkizze ii. 367 ff. WMMAs. u. Eur. 111 identifies with Egypt. Pvnt, on W. coast of Red Sea).

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 10 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses (5 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (3 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «אוֹפִיר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/lemma_3a_5d0_5d5_5b9_5e4_5b4_5d9_5e8/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Isaiah 13:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/ISA.13.12/)

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אוֹקִ֥יר אֱנ֖וֹשׁ מִפָּ֑ז וְאָדָ֖ם מִכֶּ֥תֶם אוֹפִֽיר׃

*Word for word:* I.will.make.precious humankind more than.pure.gold and humankind more than.(the).gold of.Ophir

*JPS 1917:* I will make man more rare than fine gold, even man than the pure gold of Ophir.

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[Job 22:24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.22.24/)

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וְשִׁית־עַל־עָפָ֥ר בָּ֑צֶר וּבְצ֖וּר נְחָלִ֣ים אוֹפִֽיר׃

*Word for word:* and put on \[the\].dust gold and among.\[the\] rock\[s\] of.wadis gold.of.Ophir

*JPS 1917:* And lay thy treasure in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;

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