(Neh. 11:35) But some scholars understand the Hebrew geh ha-hhara·shimʹ to designate another location and transliterate it as a proper name, “Ge-harashim.”—JP; compare 1 Chronicles 4:14.

ONYCHA

(onʹy·cha) [nail, claw, husk, flap, or that which hangs loose (down)].

An ingredient of the incense designated exclusively for sanctuary use. (Ex. 30:34-37) Some believe that onycha may have been derived from the closing valves of certain shellfish. However, since this ingredient was used for a sacred purpose, others consider it to have been a vegetable product instead of something obtained from an unclean animal.

ONYX

A semiprecious gemstone, a hard variety of agate; the term also applies to a banded form of chalcedony. The onyx has white layers alternating with black, brown, red, gray or green. The pale color produced by the combination of the red layers showing through the translucent white layers of this stone evidently reminded the Greeks of the fingernail, which in Greek is oʹnyx. From early times, onyx has been prized for ornaments, rings and beads. The varicolored layers made it especially popular for cameo work.

The “land of Havilah” was a prominent source of onyx in early Bible times. (Gen. 2:11, 12) Onyx stones were among the valuables contributed for the making of things associated with Israel’s tabernacle. (Ex. 25:1-3, 7) The “names of the sons of Israel . . . in the order of their births” were engraved upon two onyx stones (six names on each stone) placed upon the shoulder pieces of the high priest’s ephod “as memorial stones for the sons of Israel.” Another onyx stone was engraved with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel and was set in the center position of the fourth row of stones on the high priest’s “breastpiece of judgment.”—Ex. 28:9-12, 15-21; 35:5, 9, 27; 39:6-14.

Later, David personally prepared many valuable things, including onyx stones, for the construction of the prospective temple at Jerusalem. (1 Chron. 29:2) Onyx was also among the precious stones serving as a figurative “covering” for the “king of Tyre” in the dirge recorded by Ezekiel. (Ezek. 28:12, 13) Recognizing wisdom’s value, Job stated that with “the rare onyx stone” and other precious things one could not buy priceless, godly wisdom.—Job 28:12, 16.

OPHEL

(Oʹphel) [bulge, swelling, projection, eminence].

The Hebrew term ʽOʹphel is applied in two ways. Most commonly, it is applied in a topographical sense to a prominent hill or promontory; this usage is found both in the Bible and in the Moabite Stone (“I built . . . the wall of ʽOʹphel”). A form of the term is also applied to the swelling or bulging of body veins known as piles or hemorrhoids.—Deut. 28:27; 1 Sam. 5:6, 9, 12; 6:4, 5.

There was a particular hill or eminence located at or near Jerusalem that was called ha-ʽOʹphel, or Ophel. The Scriptural indications taken with the comments of Josephus locate Ophel at the SE corner of Moriah. (2 Chron. 27:3; 33:14; Neh. 3:26, 27; 11:21) In the first century C.E. Josephus placed Ophel where the E wall “joined the east colonnade of the Temple.” Ophel evidently was the bulge of land extending eastwardly from the SE corner of Jerusalem’s temple hill.

Ophel’s wall and elevated position over the Kidron valley gave it a strong defensive position. Nevertheless, Isaiah prophesied that “Ophel,” apparently that of Jerusalem, would become a ‘bare field.’—Isa. 32:14; compare the reference to the tower and “mound” (ʽOʹphel) at Micah 4:8.

Scholars believe that the term ʽOʹphel at 2 Kings 5:24 refers to some prominent hill or fortified place in the vicinity of Samaria to which Elisha’s attendant Gehazi took the riches he obtained from Naaman. That the word was applied to mounds other than the one in Jerusalem is supported by the reference in the Moabite Stone.

OPHIR

(Oʹphir).

1. A descendant of Shem through Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber and Joktan; the eleventh of Joktan’s thirteen sons. (Gen. 10:22-29; 1 Chron. 1:17-23) Ophir was probably born about two hundred years before Abraham, who was a descendant of his paternal uncle Peleg. (Gen. 10:25; 11:18-26) As in the case of his brothers, it appears that Ophir also headed one of the Shemite tribes that were numbered among the descendants of Noah “according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations.” (Gen. 10:31, 32) See No. 2 below for possible locations of the land of Ophir in which this tribe eventually settled.

2. A place renowned as a source of much gold of the finest quality. Thus already in Job’s time (c. 1600 B.C.E.) “precious ore in the dust” and “pure gold” were spoken of in parallel with the “gold of Ophir.” (Job 22:24; 28:15, 16) Psalm 45:9 describes the queenly consort arrayed in precious gold of Ophir, and at Isaiah 13:11, 12, in the pronouncement against Babylon, the relative rarity of Ophir gold is used to symbolize the scarcity of tyrannical men in Babylon after its fall.

David donated 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir for construction of the temple, gold valued at $115,983,000, based on a price of $35.115 a troy ounce. (1 Chron. 29:1, 2, 4) Later, the trading fleet of David’s son Solomon regularly brought back from Ophir 420 talents of gold. (1 Ki. 9:26-28) The parallel account at 2 Chronicles 8:18 reads 450 talents. Some scholars have suggested that this difference came about when letters of the alphabet served as figures; that an ancient copyist could have mistaken the Hebrew numeral letter nun (נ), representing 50, for the letter kaph (כ), standing for 20 or vice versa. However, the evidence is that all numbers in the Hebrew Scriptures were spelled out, rather than represented by letters. A more probable explanation, therefore, is that both figures are correct, and that the gross amount brought was 450 talents, of which 420 were clear gain.

In 1946, as confirmation of these Biblical accounts about imports of gold from Ophir, a potsherd was unearthed NE of Tel Aviv. Thereon was an inscription saying ‘Gold from Ophir [belonging to or] for Beth-horon, 30 shekels.’

In addition to the vast quantity of gold, the land of Ophir was also a source of the “almug” trees and precious stones imported by Solomon. (1 Ki. 10:11; 2 Chron. 9:10) However, when King Jehoshaphat, a hundred years later, attempted an expedition to that land, it ended in disaster, his “Tarshish ships” being wrecked at Ezion-geber at the head of the Gulf of Aqabah.—1 Ki. 22:48; see TARSHISH No. 1.

LOCATION

The precise location of Ophir cannot be determined today with certainty. Of the several suggestions in this regard, three are particularly favored: India, Arabia and NE Africa—all being within reach of a fleet operating out of Ezion-geber at the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea. In regard to India, all the goods brought back in the ships of Solomon and Hiram were available there. Josephus, Jerome and the Septuagint could also be marshaled to give some support to Ophir’s being in India. On the other hand, those maintaining that Ophir was in the region of NE Africa in the vicinity of Somaliland, at the lower extremity of the Red Sea, point out that it would have been a much closer source of supply for all the imported items than India.

However, the weight of opinion appears to support the conclusion that Ophir was a region in SW Arabia in the vicinity of modern Yemen. Evidence offered for this view is based on the premise that the descendants of Joktan’s son Ophir settled in the Arabian Peninsula along with such brother tribes as the descendants of Sheba and Havilah. (Gen. 10:28, 29) The account of the visit of the queen of Sheba (likely from southern