Merril F. Unger

Solomon's Gold From Ophir

"Ophir was the famous gold-producing region prominent in the OT. It is believed to have been located in SW Arabia in what is now known as Yemen. It may have included a part of the adjacent African seaboard. Yemen was famous for its gold mines, which are known to have still existed in the ninth century B.C. 

Ophir was visited by the trading fleet of Solomon and the Phoenicians. Solomon's navy was fitted out at Ezion-Geber, then traveled to Ophir, taking "four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there" <1 Kin. 9:26-28; 22:48; 2 Chr. 8:17-18; 9:10>. At the northern end of the Gulf of Aqabah, Ezion-Geber (modern Tell el Keleifeh) was excavated by Nelson Glueck. Solomon used the copper of the Arabah, smelted at Ezion-Geber, as a stock-in-trade. His tarshish or "refinery" fleet sailed down the Red Sea and spent part of three years to make the trip, explainable by long hauls in excessively hot weather. 

In exchange for copper, Solomon's refinery fleet brought back not only the fine gold of Ophir but silver, apes, ivory, and peacocks <1 Kin. 10:22>. Gold of Ophir garnished Solomon's armor, throne, Temple, and house of the forest of Lebanon <10:14-19>."