The God Culture: The Queen of Sheba Was not a Filipina

Who was the Queen of Sheba and where did she come from to visit King Solomon? According to Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture she was the first female billionaire and hailed from the Philippines. Is that really where the Bible leads the careful reader? Let's take a look at what Tim has to say in his book Solomon's Treasure which is "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove" and which I have shown time and time again is full of errors and non-arguments and is easily disproven. Then let's compare Tim's narrative with the Bible.

Solomon's Treasure, pg 73

We will restore this understanding and clarify whom the Queen of Sheba was, how she would have conducted herself and from where she commenced her notable voyage which has captured the hearts and minds of so many. We assure you the Hollywood narrative of this Queen arriving as a pagan harlot is utterly false. This was a true, authentic lady by every measure within this story.

This narrative has sadly been greatly distorted in modern thinking even in most seminaries. The main reason is scholarship is incorporating legends that the Talmud has picked up from occult sources and when you learn their claims and origins, you will be very disappointed. One only has to read the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 to notice that there are two Sheba’s listed in that era not just one. Many commentaries just overlook the second Sheba completely yet that is the actual brother of Ophir in which this Queen’s adventure cannot be separated.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 73

There are actually three Sheba's in the Bible who could be the namesake of the land of Sheba.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7614/kjv/wlc/0-1/

It is very important to note that no one in the history of studying the Bible has ever placed Sheba to the Far East. Is that because they are stupid? According to Tim that is the correct answer. Why does Tim think the land of Sheba is named after Ophir's brother when they moved to the east? He does not have an answer. He is literally going to make stuff up to concoct an answer that derives from wrong etymologies and twisted Bible interpretations. 

In Psalm 72, David equates the correct Sheba with Tarshish, the isles (Ophir) and Seba.

Psalm 72:10 KJV

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles (Ophir) shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

You will note that Ophir and Tarshish are the same land. However, now we see Sheba and Seba together with them. Seba is the origin of the word Saba or Sabah and denotes a territory of Sheba which is why they are mentioned together like this. This is practically the sole position for Yemen which was formerly Saba or the Sabaeans whom even from the days of Job were known in scripture thus, not a new people as described in these passages. This is because Saba is not Sheba, it’s Seba and the Philippines has an ancient territory called Sabah all the same not to mention one of it’s most abundant fruits is also the “saba” or banana. Therefore, there is no position based on this etymology from Yemen as Saba and Sabah are well-recorded in the Philippines.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 73-74

The word Ophir does not appear in the text at all. Tim has inserted it on his own and falsely claims that Tarshish and the isles mentioned "are the same land." The word translated isles does not necessarily mean islands.

coast, island, shore, region

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h339/kjv/wlc/0-1/

However, there are plenty of islands in the Mediterranean. We are told of them in Genesis 10:5.

By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands.

Those isles are not the Philippines and even Tim admits that.

Next he moves on to etymology and says Seba is in the Philippines because it "has an ancient territory called Sabah" and the banana is known as the "saba" and grows abundantly here. What a joke! Are we supposed to take this man seriously? Psalm 72:10 is referring to a land abundant in bananas? Ridiculous. What concrete proof does he offer for this spurious connection? None. None whatsoever. 

It's funny that he brings up Job mentioning the Sabeans. Does he realize that the word translated Sabean is the same word translated Sheba in Psalm 72? If he does he's not telling. Why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

After that introduction Tim does a resource test based on Jeremiah 6:20.

Jeremiah 6:20 KJV

To what purpose cometh there to me incense (frankincense) from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

Is Ethiopia located just down the Red Sea really considered a far country? Not logically. What sweet cane is this referring? Scholars simply aren’t testing. This reveals Ethiopia is the wrong Sheba.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 74

Tim messes up big time here. He interprets this verse as meaning the incense and sweet cane were brought from the same place which is Sheba. This is wrong! The incense is from Sheba and the sweet cane is from a far country. They are not from the same place. Southern Arabia has incense and is the traditional location of Sheba. 

Tim concludes his resource test on a triumphant note.

Therefore, the Sheba referred to in Jeremiah 6:20 is the one from the brother of Ophir from Joktan from Shem not the one from Ham’s lineage in Ethiopia(Cush). You will notice scholars simply ignore Ophir’s brother Sheba’s descendants due to ignorance on this topic.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 76

He then goes on to give more proof why the land of Sheba must be named after Ophir's brother and no one else. First he says that Sheba is equated with Tarshish which he has previously said is equated with Ophir.

Then, we have Ezekiel also equating Tarshish and Sheba. Dedan is there too but understand Tarshish also has a brother Dodan and both are rendered DDN in Ancient Hebrew in which the Bible was written and he too followed Tarshish into the Land of Adam and Eve. Tarshish never ties with Ethiopia but the isles of the East.

Ezekiel 38:13 KJV

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 76-77

First of all Tarshish does not have a bother named Dodan. His name is Dodanim. This word is H1721 and is in only two places in the entire Bible, Genesis 10:4 and 1 Chronicles 1:7. Dedan is a completely different word referring to two people and a region in South Arabia.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1719/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Did Tim even bother to look up these words? It appears he did not. There is so much wrong here and yet he is shoehorning it all in as if it were true. The Shebas descended from Ham and Abraham both have a brother named Dedan and thus they are better candidates for identifying the Sheba in Ezekiel 38:13.

Second of all Ezekiel is not equating Sheba with Tarshish. He refers to Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish as three separate locales. They are not the same place. Tim is reading this verse in a twisted way.

Next Tim claims that David equates Ophir and Sheba.

David equates the gold of Ophir and Sheba as well as the gold of royalty and that of Messiah. He is equating that Sheba as Brother of Ophir not Ethiopia.

Psalm 45:9 KJV

Kings’ daughters were among thy honorable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

Psalm 72:15 KJV

And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

This begins to lead to the right Sheba as there are two to choose from in Genesis 10. Ophir especially has a brother named Sheba and they migrated to Sephar, the Mount of the East, ancient Havilah in about 2200 B.C. The Queen of Sheba descended from this Sheba and was Queen of the territory named after her ancestor, a male. We do not know her name but only the territory for which she is Queen – her family. How can we be sure though this Queen is associated with Ophir and not Ham’s lineage? There is only one Ophir in all of scripture and he is from Shem and just so happens to have a brother named Sheba.

Solomon's Treasure, pg, 77-78

There is gold from Ophir and there is gold from Sheba. How exactly are those places being equated?  There is pizza from New York and there is pizza from Chicago. Are those places also equated? Tim does not offer proof for the equation. He simply asserts it as a fact. The Septuagint renders the word Sheba as Arabia.

Next Tim delves into the visit of the Queen of Sheba and breaks it down for us. The whole story is progressive.

The source of the Queen of Sheba story in scripture makes this crystal clear. The beginning of her story starts with “And.”

1 Kings 9:26-10:1 KJV

And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. 10:1 AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Hers is a continuation of the previous story which this falls right at the midpoint and is completely bookended on both sides. This is a progressive story of Solomon building a navy and port on the Red Sea. They go to Ophir... They fetch gold in Ophir... They are in Ophir... They are not in Ethiopia... AND when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahuah... From whom? Solomon’s navy. There is no forcing this any other way. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 79

Tim's only proof that the navy of Solomon told the Queen of Sheba about Solomon is the progression of the story. His interpretation is that because chapter 9 ends with Solomon's navy going to Ophir and chapter 10 begins with the Queen of Sheba's visit that it follows she is a Queen from Ophir and hightailed it back to Israel to meet Solomon. But this does not follow. If Tim's interpretation were true why is there no mention of Solomon's navy visiting Ophir and meeting with the Queen of Sheba? Why does she not mention that it was his navy which told her about him? Because it did not happen. The correct way of reading this is that Solomon's navy went to Ophir and after that the Queen of Sheba visited. It does not follow that she came from Ophir along with his navy.

Tim's interpretation relies wholly on the word "and." But the word and is not in the Hebrew text at all. The passage starts off in the Hebrew thusly:

The Queen of Sheba when heard

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1ki/10/1/t_conc_301001

This is reflected in modern translations that begin:

When the Queen of Sheba 

Now when the Queen of Sheba

https://biblehub.com/1_kings/10-1.htm

There is simply no word in 1 Kings 10:1 which connects the story of the Queen of Sheba with the ships going to Ophir.

Tim then discusses the meeting of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon and offers a lot of speculation I shall not discuss here. After that he again links the navy of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

However, notice what happens next in the story because at the same time she gives her gifts, so does Solomon’s navy and the same gifts essentially because they arrived from the same land with the same resources at the same time.

I Kings 10:11-12 KJV

And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

Hiram, King of Tyre and admiral of Solomon’s fleet, brings gold from Ophir as the Queen brought the gold of Sheba. They are the same. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 81-82

This story is inserted just before the ending of the Queen of Sheba's visit. Tim says that is because they both arrived from the same land with the same resources at the same time. But that does not follow. I already showed how there is no connection between the visit of the Queen of Sheba and the ships of Ophir. So why is this story inserted in the middle of the story of her visit?

The insertion of this notice is obviously suggested by the mention of the gold and precious stones brought from Sheba.

The allusion to these costly presents leads the historian to introduce the remark here, that the Ophir fleet also brought, in addition to gold, a large quantity of Algummim wood (see at 1 Kings 9:28) and precious stones.

it is here inserted perhaps to show that Solomon had not his gold, at least all of it, from the queen of Sheba; but much from Hiram, who fetched it from Ophir;

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_kings/10-11.htm

Three different commentators make the same comment upon this verse. The insertion of the gold brought back from Ophir was because the author had just made mention of the costly gifts given by the Queen of Sheba. That is a lot less convoluted and truer to the text than that the Queen of Sheba travelled from Ophir to meet King Solomon.

In his quest to prove that the Queen of Sheba is from the Philippines Tim also parses out what Jesus had to say about her.

Matthew 12:42 KJV (Parallel In Luke 11:31)

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Messiah places the Queen of Sheba’s location at the “uttermost parts of the Earth” as well. Even before His time in 194 B.C., Eratosthenes’ maps represent the known world. At the ends of the earth to the East were islands East of China. We already showed you the 43 A.D. map of Pomponius Mela and 124 A.D. map of Dionysius showing the same. [50, 18, 20–Ch. 3] Of course, He also happened to have participated in Creation (John 1) thus He would have foreknowledge as well as viewing the Earth from Heaven. The challenge with this though is this Sheba cannot be Ethiopia who is not in the uttermost parts of the Earth.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 76

No ancient map shows any islands to the East of China. That is flat out wrong and Tim is intentionally misreading those directions and maps. I have written extensively about Tim's faulty cartography here.

Knowing that nothing of Africa was known past Ethiopia why can't Ethiopia be the uttermost parts of the earth compared to Israel? Tim does not say. He just assumes. Jesus calls her the queen of the south not the queen of the east. How can the queen of the south be the Philippines? After a lot of etymological work showing that Sheba and Cebu are the same word he says the following.

Cebu City today is still known as the “Queen City of the South” and no one seems to coherently know where that identifier originated. Iloilo, Panay, also in Visayas near Cebu, has the same nomenclature. It likely originated in Matthew 12:42 as Messiah called Sheba the “Queen of the South” which is the same connotation of Cebu and Iloilo today (Matt. 12:42, Luke 11:30). Along the same vein, Sheba means 7 and Cebu just by chance happens to be in Region 7. Additionally, is it not fascinating that Lake Sebu in Mindanao has Seven Falls or Sheba Falls?

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 87-88

Is this dinglehopper really saying that Jesus was referring to Cebu City? Unbelievable. It's simply not true that no one knows how Cebu got the name Queen City of the South. That name was first bestowed upon Iloilo and then transferred to Cebu in the 1980s.

Due to the loyalty of the Ilonggos, the city of Iloilo was honored with the perpetual title of Muy Noble (Most Noble). The Royal Decree granting this title was signed on 1 March 1898 by Queen Regent Maria Cristina. Over time, this title earned for Iloilo City the reputation of it being "The Queen's Favored City in the South" or simply "Queen's City in the South", and was later evolve to "The Queen City of the South", being the second Spanish port of importance next to Manila, and being located South of the Archipelago's Capital. On a side note, at the beginning of the American period until the Second World War, Cebu became the second port of importance (Iloilo having been partly ravaged by bombardment, fire, and riots during the American occupation of Iloilo City).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iloilo_City#The_Revolutionary_Period_(1896)

Iloilo City was originally known as the "Queen City of the South," a title that evolved from another Iloilo title, "Queen's Favored City of the South." From being the Queen Regent of Spain, Maria Christina's favorite city in the south of Manila in the late 19th century. Iloilo became the second-most important city in the Philippines at that time, giving it a reason to evolve to the title of "Queen City of the South" until the mid 20th century, after World War II, leaving the city devastated and causing investors to flee to nearby Cebu City. Cebu later claimed the title after it surpassed Iloilo's economy in the 80s. Although some people disagree with Cebu's claim since the title is of historical significance to Iloilo alone and not for which city is the next second-most important in the country

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_City

If Timothy Jay Schwab had bothered to research the origin of the name Queen City of the South he would not have written something so dumb as to say the name originates in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a recent name applied only 40 years ago. 

The Queen of Sheba is the queen of the south. That means she came from the south of Israel. Not from the Far East. The most likely as well as traditional location is South Arabia.

https://biblereadingarcheology.com/2015/12/14/where-was-the-land-of-sheba/

The wealthy kingdom from which the famous queen journeyed was almost certainly located in southern Arabia, primarily in Yemen with colonies along the western coast of Arabia and across the Red Sea in Ethiopia and modern Eritrea. The Kingdom of “Saba” (spelled “Sheba” in Hebrew) had the city of Marib as its capital (ruins pictured above). Archeological work has been limited, but what has been done shows that the Sabaens were wealthy and sophisticated. For example they built a massive dam between two mountains that allowed them to capture periodic monsoon rains and irrigate the land around their capital. The dam is considered one of the engineering marvels of the ancient world and stood for almost 2000 years! The Sabaens were primarily peaceful traders specializing in spices, frankincense, myrrh, ivory and gold and they transported these products and others in long camel caravans. This is exactly the picture painted in 2 Chronicles chapter 9. 

The claim that Sheba was in Arabia with Marib as its capital is backed up with archaeological evidence which is something Tim's "monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove" is sorely lacking. More about Sheba can be read here.

Where was the Queen of Sheba from? South of Israel far away. Arabia fits that location and the history of the region gives it more weight. She was most certainly not from the Far East as Timothy Jay Schwab contends. What we see in this chapter is that Tim's case is built on speculation, assertions, false etymology, and a twisted reading of the Bible. As ever Timothy Jay Schwab is wrong about who the Queen of Sheba was and so one more piece of his "monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove" comes crashing down.

The God Culture: Havilah is Not in the Philippines

Where is the Biblical land of Havilah? According to Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture it's in the Philippines. Let's examine the relevant section from Solomon's Treasure which is "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove." Then we will examine what the Bible has to say about the location of Havilah. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 60

The ancient land of Adam and Eve is designated as Havilah in Genesis 2 and it is represented by three resources which lead to only one nation even today. The Bible is proficient. This reminisces of the Rivers from Eden which we will test in Chapter 17. We truly attempt to leave no stone unturned in this expedition.

Genesis 2:10-12 KJV

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 60

This chapter is ridiculously byzantine as Tim ferrets out the meaning of the word Havilah and then attempts to test the resources attributed to it. 

When studying this passage, most scholars read it, even cite it and deviate from it to dock on assumptions which they do not return and validate with scripture. We will. However, this island (not India, Ethiopia nor Yemen) surrounded by the Pison River from Eden is named Havilah in antiquity. It’s interpretation divulges much more than solely some incidental estate.

 הוילח  havilah: that suffers pain; that brings forth, circle :

“That suffers pain, that brings forth” refers to childbirth – Eve’s curse from the Garden of Eden. What many miss is this word Havilah is a direct Hebrew variant of Eve’s Hebrew name as it is a reference not just to Eve’s curse but to Eve’s land named after her because Eve was not named until after the exile from the Garden. Notice also, this word Havilah means “circle” which is doubtlessly an allusion to the basis that it is encompassed by the Pison River. We will demonstrate the Pison is still there and still functions. We will also locate Havilah.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 60-61

First note that Tim is saying Havilah is an island because it is "surrounded by the Pison River." However the word translated compass does not necessarily mean to encircle.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5437/kjv/wlc/0-1/

סָבַב çâbab, saw-bab'; a primitive root; to revolve, surround, or border; used in various applications, literally and figuratively:—bring, cast, fetch, lead, make, walk, ×whirl, × round about, be about on every side, apply, avoid, beset (about), besiege, bring again, carry (about), change, cause to come about, × circuit, (fetch a) compass (about, round), drive, environ, × on every side, beset (close, come, compass, go, stand) round about, inclose, remove, return, set, sit down, turn (self) (about, aside, away, back).

We see this reflected in modern translations.

The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

https://biblehub.com/genesis/2-11.htm

There are no circular rivers on the face of the earth. Tim's solution is that the Pison River is an undersea ocean trench which circles the whole of the Philippines.

In Chapter 5 on Havilah, Land of Eve, we found that the Philippines leads the world in these three resources which define it as Ancient Havilah – gold, pearl and the onyx stone. To date, it maintains a leadership position in all three as it is the historic forerunner in gold abundance, has no rival in largest pearls on Earth and possesses the strongest onyx and marble from Romblon. Therefore, the Pison River must surround this whole land of the Philippines.

You can observe the culmination of the 65,000 kilometer Mid-Ocean Ridge off the coast of Mexico essentially. At that point begins a series of Oceanic Trenches which travel all the way up the coast of America to Alaska, then, over to Russia, down to Japan and splits and surrounds the whole land of the Philippines especially. This is the ancient Pison River, the first River From Eden that branches from the main source river. It is positioned at the end of the entire Eden River System yet it is ranked first. This is because Hebrew writing initiates from right to left or East to West in direction. Therefore, the Eastern-most river would be first.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 275

Tim teaches that before the flood the earth had no ocean and was watered by a mega-river system.

The Bible tells us far more than we realize about the layout and ecosystem of the pre-flood existence. Prior to the Flood, the water system of the earth was described as five mega-rivers with fountains of the great deep within. There is no mention of a world ocean but we did not see a firm balance for exactly how much of the earth was water and how much land prior to the Flood until we studied 2 Esdras. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 269

These "five mega rivers" are now ocean trenches. This is completely wrong. There are not series of interconnecting ocean trenches along the coast of North America that culminates in surrounding the Philippines. 

Ocean trenches are long, narrow, steep-sided depressions found on the ocean floor that contain the greatest depths in the ocean (11,000 meters - western Pacific). There are 26 oceanic trenches in the world: 3 in the Atlantic Ocean, 1 in the Indian Ocean, and 22 in the Pacific Ocean (Figure 10p-3). Generally, the trenches mark the transition between continents and ocean basins, especially in the Pacific basin. Trenches are also the tectonic areas. 

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10p.html

Ocean trenches are evidence for plate tectonics which is something Timothy Jay Schwab rejects even though his Rivers from Eden maps outline these plates. 

We have but we reject the unproven science of moving plates floating on magma nor liquid. If we have such, a simple scientific test would tell us there would only be 1 continent and it would be a mountain into space with the earth moving at 1000 mph at the equator. No one has ever observed such. Furthermore, Moses speaks of the ancient mountains and lasting hills meaning from before the Flood. Land didn't move, it got carved out by mega tsunamis and rapid erosion. Yahuah God Bless.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-god-culture-noah-landed-on-mt.html 

Here is what the Philippines ocean trench system looks like. 

https://www.air-worldwide.com/blog/posts/2019/4/the-philippines-is-shaking-again/

These trenches do not "completely surround this whole land of the Philippines" as Tim says it must. 

Next Tim makes a huge leap saying that Havilah is related to the Hebrew word for Eve.

Genesis 3:20 KJV

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

   הוח chavvah: life-giver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman:—Eve 

Eve is the life giver. Compare the two words and they are the same Hebrew letters. Havilah as a variant adds an “YL” or in Hebrew, a “Y,” YAD and an “L,” LAMED. Interestingly, “IY” is the Hebrew word for isle even and perhaps this is a prophetic forerunner to the Philippines, Havilah which will become over 7,000 islands after the Flood. Before the Flood, the Philippines was known as the Mountains of Eden but was one isle. Therefore, if one can locate this ancient land of Havilah, you have found the land of Adam and Eve as it is named for Eve. Let us unearth it now.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 61

Do you see what Tim did here? He said Eve and Havilah are related because they have the same letters with Havilah adding a few extra letters. That is stupid. That is a dumb as saying "dumb" and "thumb" are related words because both end with "umb."  

Throughout his books and videos Tim refers to the Blue Letter Bible which is a website with many tools for examining the Hebrew and Greek. It is therefore astounding that, though the footnote for the definition refers to the BLB, Tim ignores what Blue Letter Bible has to say about the word Havilah. 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2341/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Havilah means circle and is given two locations. We also see that there are two Havilah's in the Bible. One a son of Cush and the other a son of Joktan. The rest of Tim's definition for Havilah, that suffers pain, that brings forth, is found in Hitchcock's Bible Names which is referenced in the footnote. BLB says this word has its root in H2342. 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2342/kjv/wlc/0-1/

חוּל chûwl, khool; or חִיל chîyl; a primitive root; properly, to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner), i.e. (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear; figuratively, to wait, to pervert:—bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve, dance, drive away, fall grievously (with pain), fear, form, great, grieve, (be) grievous, hope, look, make, be in pain, be much (sore) pained, rest, shake, shapen, (be) sorrow(-ful), stay, tarry, travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently), be wounded.

This word is not found in Solomon's Gold which means Tim did not even bother to look it up. According to the Blue Letter Bible this word has no connection to the word translated Eve. Tim's etymology is false and entirely made up.

As we already proved out, this river surrounds the land of Adam and Eve named Havilah after Havah’s or Eve’s curse of childbirth. 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 71

Tim has by no means proven that Havilah is named after "Eve's curse of childbirth." Why would Adam name his homeland after his wife's curse? That makes no sense and Tim's only source to believe that tale is the fake etymology he has rendered for Havilah he has pulled out of his own head.

After the etymology comes the testing of the resources.

Genesis 2:11-12 KJV

The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

Three resources define this nation so now we assess. First, there is gold but not just some gold. The gold of this land is towb: טוב or abundant as in wealthy, prosperous or bountiful especially. In other words, this is not just any land of gold, it is the land of gold defined by having the most gold. Where is that? We already demonstrated the Philippines is the leader in all of history in gold.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 61  

This is totally wrong. That Hebrew word does not mean abundant. That is a completely different word H7227. What Tim is doing here is making it appear like this means that the land is filled with gold but that's not what the text says. It says the gold is good meaning pleasant, agreeable, excellent, etc.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2896/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Tome Pires says the quality of gold in the from the Philippines is of poor quality.

The Borneans go to the lands of the Lucoes to buy gold, and foodstuffs as well, and the gold which they bring to Malacca is from the Lucoes and from the surrounding islands which are countless; and they all have more or less trade with one another. And the gold of these islands where they trade is of a low quality —indeed very low quality. 

Tome Pires, pg. 133-134

The next resource is bdellium.

Next, we have bdellium which some scholars argue over yet it is a very simple topic to resolve. They generally claim it is either pearl or African resin. Please note the resin they mention as African is also found in the Philippines thus not specifically African even. This is an attempt to stretch the scripture for Africa to fit yet it cannot on many levels especially since it’s in the wrong direction, far too close and in Ham’s territory. The Hebrew word bdellium is only used twice in scripture. The second time does remedy.

Numbers 11:7 KJV

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

Would it make sense that the Israelites ate manna the color of nasty, gritty, dirty looking blackish-brown resin, or pearly white? The entire Old Testament never mentions the word pearl in Hebrew except these two times but has a name for every sacred resin or spice used and none known as bdellium ever. It’s pearl and there really is no question.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 61-62

Is Tim aware that not all bdellium is blackish-brown?

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/macro-closeup-organic-indian-bdellium-guggul-343884821

Granted that is Indian bdellium but the point remains that not all bdellium resin is black or brown. Modern translations have taken that into consideration.

The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.

https://biblehub.com/numbers/11-7.htm

The last resource to be tested is onyx. Guess what? It too is found in the Philippines. Therefore Tim has successfully proven that Havilah is in the Philippines. Actually he has proven no such thing and ignores what the Bible says. Havilah is in Southern Arabia near Egypt.

Genesis 25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

1 Samuel 5:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

There you go. End of story. There is one and only one land of Havilah in the Bible and it is not the Philippines. Here is a resource test for the region:

"Havilah. The rich land surrounded by the river Pishon according to the story of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:11). Its richness derives from the GOLD, RESIN BDELLIUM and ONYX STONES present there. ALL THREE OF THESE PRODUCTS POINT TO SOUTH ARABIA AS THE LOCATION OF HAVILAH, since South Arabia is the homeland of valuable resins and precious stones. According to Pliny (Natural History 12.23), the tree which yields bdellium also grows in Arabia, and the resin from Commiphora mukul, Arabic muql, is up to now a Yemenite product...Onyx (Arabic gaz) is found at all times in various places in Yemen; and among the sorts which were usually named after the places where they are found, there was also a 'Khaulanite onyx' (al-Hamadani 1884:202-3). Among the gold mines of the Arabian peninsula, the mine of `Asam in the region of the Quda`a is attested, the gold of which is red and excellent; also attested are the mines of al-Qufa`a in the land of Khaulan, which yield gold of superior quality (cf. al-Hamadani 1968 :138-41). J. Halevy reports that, as an eyewitness in1870 in Sirwah in Khaulan, he saw Arabs washing gold and noted that gold was found in small grains of sand and in the river bed (1872:54). (p. 82. Vol. 3. W. W. Muller. "Havilah." David Noel Freedman. Editor. The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York. Doubleday. 1992)

http://www.bibleorigins.net/PishonRiverMapWadiBishahAsir.html

I do not believe Tim read his Bible and missed this information. I believe he chose to ignore it. Rather than leaving no stone unturned he has declined to examine Genesis 25:18 and 1 Samuel 5:7 both in his book and his videos because it overturns his thesis. Now, he might counter by inquiring about the Pison River. Perhaps it is now a dry river bed running through Kuwait and Arabia as James Sauer thought. Perhaps it is not. One thing's for sure and that is the Pison River cannot be an underwater ocean trench. That is Tim's solution to the Rivers of Eden and it is wrong. The Bible mentions these rivers in a way that readers would be familiar with them. Making them be invisible underwater ocean trenches renders the text unintelligible.

The bottom line here is Timothy Jay Schwab is, as always, wrong. Havilah is not in the Philippines. It's an area to the south of Israel. The Bible says so.

The God Culture: Testing the Resources of Ophir and Tarshish, Part 3

This is the third and final article in my review of Timothy Jay Schwab's testing of the resources of Ophir and Tarshish. This article will focus on the gifts given to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. Though Tim has many videos on this subject I will be confining myself to his book Solomon's Treasure which is "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 119

I Kings 10:10-12 KJV

And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

First, notice again how the offerings the Queen of Sheba brought essentially match those of Hiram, King of Tyre, admiral of Solomon’s returning navy from Ophir. They arrive and offer their gifts at the same time. The Queen of Sheba came from Ophir which is why her land too is known for gold. She donated gold to the Temple project yet Solomon already had all he needed even before his trip to Ophir. He was replacing what was in the treasury with the gold of Ophir yet she gives her gold to the Temple project as well? This was acceptable because her gold is the gold of Ophir. Even King David equated the gold of Ophir with Sheba. We have well-covered the abundant gold of the Philippines at this point so we already know for both gold is a check.

Here Tim says that the gold brought by the Queen of Sheba, which he claims is Ophir, was to replace the gold used in building in the temple. This disregards what he wrote earlier:

They were building the Temple and to complete the project, Solomon wanted specific resources such as the gold Adam used in the first sacrifice which only comes from one place, the wood of Noah which was used to build the ark from this same land and all the resources of ancient Havilah, the land of his ancient ancestors – Adam and Eve.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 105

First he says Solomon needed the gold from Ophir to complete the temple and now he is saying he needed the gold to replenish the treasury. He can't even get his scenarios right. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate for what the gold she gave him was intended. Once more this is Tim making stuff up because "that makes sense." Now for the final resources.

Spices

The Hebrew word used here for spices is usually interpreted as frankincense. We are well aware we are all told by the Rabbis that Ethiopia has the only tree on earth which produces frankincense. However, yet again, this is not accurate by any reasonable logic. The Philippines has a frankincense. It’s called “Poor Man’s Frankincense” which we will cover in Chapter 15 in detail not because it is of lesser quality but since it is not designated by the Rabbis as the Biblical Frankincense, it has a lower perceived value. This is why many perfume companies from the U.S. and Europe are buying frankincense from the Philippines. It originates from the Pili Tree as Manila elemi. In fact, in Part 12C of Solomon’s Gold Series, we test every Biblical spice we can find and every one of them is native to the Philippines except one which is unidentified as a lost reference as no one is sure what the plant is. Regardless, the Philippines has frankincense and as a tropical rain forest, most spices and all Biblical ones.

That is Tim's entire argument for the spices brought by the Queen of Sheba originating in the Philippines. This is awful. There is no argument here of any kind. He even directs people to his Youtube videos! This is supposed to be "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove" and he is too lazy to prove it. Likewise he places the discussion of frankincense in another chapter when he should be discussing it here where it is relevant.

The Hebrew word used here for spices is usually interpreted as frankincense.

That is wrong and intentionally misleading. The word translated spice in 1 Kings 10:10 is translated spice 29 times in the Old Testament.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1314/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Funny that Tim does not mention this Hebrew word in Solomon's Gold. It's as if he is purposefully omitting information that would contradict him. The word translated frankincense is altogether different and does get a mention in his book on page 233.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3828/kjv/wlc/0-1/

The Queen of Sheba brought spices. Not frankincense. That makes Tim's discussion of frankincense in chapter 15 irrelevant.

Here is what Josephus has to say about these spices.

Now when the Queen had thus demonstrated in words how deeply the King had affected her, she made that her disposition known by certain presents. For she gave him twenty talents of gold; and an immense quantity of spices, and pretious stones. They say also that we possess the root of that balsam which our countrey still bears by this woman’s gift.

Antiquities of the Jews, 8.6.6

That agrees with one of the meanings of the word translated spice, balsam tree. 

Precious Stones

There are some who claim the Philippines does not have precious stones but to say so is to ignore history which we have already covered multiple observations of gemstones in the Philippines. Resource lists and even the United Nations for that matter, record the Philippines as a source for precious stones.

“Aside from gold deposits, the Philippines is also rich in gemstones such as opal, jasper, quartz, tektite, Zambales and Mindoro jade, garnet, epidote,jadeite, and blue and green schist.”

–Board of Investments, DTI Business Development Manager for Fashion and Jewelry 

“Agate, Amethyst, Calcite, Garnet, Hematite, Jade, Pearl, Pyrite, Quartz, Sphalerite” –OKD2 

“Chinese silk, porcelain, jars, gold, ivory, and beads were traded for wax, bird’s nest, teakwood, rattan, pearls, precious stones and other marine and forest products [from Philippines].” –United Nations, 2019 

The Philippines has every one of these resources natively – gold, spices and precious stones. However, we can also narrow down this lost reference of wood.

The Philippines is rich in gemstones. Great. How does this prove they were mining them and trading with Israel? Here is another section from the Bible Tim does not discuss.

Exodus 28:17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

How did the Israelites obtain these gemstones in the wilderness? They took them from Egypt. Beryl is translated from the word Tarshish. Could it be this gemstone was named after the region in which it was found? 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h8658/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Maybe, maybe not. One thing's for sure, Tim does not bother to discuss how the Israelites had gemstones in the wilderness and one of them was named Tarshish. He also does not bother to prove that there was a robust trade in gemstones between the Philippines and Israel. Noting that the Philippines has a resource is not the same thing as proving they were trading in that resource.

Almug Wood

This is a lengthy section discussing what almug wood is.

The Bible does not tell us what this almug or algum wood is as these are the only times it is used without much description. We know it is a foreign wood “never seen in Israel” before which tells us it does not originate from any of it’s normal trading partners which would include Ethiopia and Yemen thus neither are Ophir. Many scholars believe it is a red sandalwood based on descriptions of the Temple from other sources describing pillars in appearance as red sandalwood. Look up the distribution list for red sandalwood and once again, the Philippines does not make it onto some maps. It comes from India but not the Philippines according to some.

There is only one massive problem with this thinking. The national tree of the Philippines, the Narra, is a red sandalwood with incense resin or spices matching the Queen of Sheba’s offering. Why is this the national tree of the Philippines? We do not believe that to be coincidence. We believe Narra is the perfect fit for this narrative as this word also likely has Hebrew origins connected to the Queen of Sheba.

Hebrew: na’ara: נערה: girl, young woman, respectful. “She who must be admired.”

The Hebrew word na’ara is used twenty-four times in scripture such as referring to Dinah the daughter of Jacob and usually associated with a young woman or girl of purity – a virgin. When we see a tie like this as na’ara in Hebrew and the national tree Narra which fits the wood used in the Temple and then, bearing such meaning as “She who must be admired,” we strongly believe this is not chance. This red sandalwood ties to the Temple and to the Queen of Sheba, the wealthiest woman possibly of all time who must be admired indeed. Additionally, we believe this leads even deeper as Noah lived in ancient Havilah, land of Adam and Eve (Havah) and would have used this same wood to build the ark. This is the reason King Solomon sought it out.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 112-113

What follows is a lot of speculation that does not concern us here. Our primary concern is whether or not this tree originated in the Philippines and whether the Philippines was trading this wood with Israel. Tim offers no proof for such trade instead he gives another fanciful linguistic interpretation. In fact the Narra tree is not found only in the Philippines.

Pterocarpus indicus (commonly known as Amboyna wood, Malay padauk, Papua New Guinea rosewood, Philippine mahogany, Andaman redwood, Burmese rosewood, narra and asana in the Philippines, angsana, or Pashu padauk) is a species of Pterocarpus native to southeastern Asia, northern Australasia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, in Cambodia, southernmost China, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It is the national tree of the Philippines, as well as the provincial tree of Chonburi and Phuket in Thailand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_indicus

If the almug tree is indeed the Narra tree then there are several places from which it could have originated. But as Tim notes no one knows exactly what this tree is. That makes this entire section pure speculation. 

Here is how Tim ends his testing the resources of Ophir and Tarshsish.

Every resource of Solomon tests as native to the Philippines and all other claims fail in this chapter except India whose claim already failed the test of it’s own history. We offer a full test of each of the major claims and they are merely fallacious overtures in almost all cases as only the Far East could even fit Ophir on any level. Most fail more than 50 percent of the criteria. India fails it’s own history and Malaysia and Indonesia both were never seriously considered as possibilities after Magellan found Ophir. He was in Malaysia and Indonesia prior and ruled them out as the Portuguese certainly knew they were not Ophir and so did the locals. The British propagate such unsubstantiated myth but that does not make it worthy of review as it fails very quickly and these are not applying scholarship but propaganda. We will demonstrate the British East Indies Company has been paying to suppress this narrative for centuries. The Philippines is Ophir, Sheba, Tarshish, Ancient Havilah and the Land of Creation not because it has to be to fit our narrative but because this is where the evidence leads as these are all the same land in scripture and history and there is no debating that. No one has successfully in three years. Test for yourself.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 115

The evidence does not lead to the Philippines. When discussing ivory and peacocks Tim fabricated evidence to fit his narrative. Pigafetta never described elephants or peacocks in the Philippines. Tim also failed to prove there was any robust trade between the Philippines and Israel. He merely asserts that the Philippines had resources ergo that is from whence King Solomon obtained them. He also fails to test all the spices here instead referring to his videos. 

Solomon's Gold Series - Part 12C: Find the Garden of Eden. Ophir, Philippines

The reader should not have to watch his videos for more information. This is supposed to be "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can disprove" and Tim cannot even discuss everything thoroughly. It should all be here and it's not. There is much missing. Cinnamon barely gets a mention in this book. And just look at that slide. 

Cinnamomum cebuense, the Cebu cinnamon tree, is a species of cinnamon endemic to Cebu Island, Philippines. It was first discovered in Cantipla, Cebu in mid-1980s and described by Kostermans in 1986.

Is Timothy Jay Schwab so dense and unaware that he doesn't realize how this undercuts his case? He thinks the cinnamon not just in the Bible but also in Ceylon and Sri Lanka originates in the Philippines. If that is so then how is it that this tree was not discovered until the mid-1980s? Did the natives just forget about it for a few millennia? This account should have been in Solomon's Gold. That it is not makes Tim's case less thorough than it could have been.

Everything in this chapter is an assertion. Sure the Philippines has some of these resources but that does not prove there was there was trade in these resources with Israel. This is faulty reasoning and jumping to conclusions. To quote The God Culture:

Answers in First Enoch Part 14: Land of the Righteous Duidain, Philippines

That's a rather extreme view. Not one worth consideration. Yah Bless.

After reviewing Timothy Jay Schwab's testing of the resources of Ophir and Tarshish it is plain to see he hasn't got much of a case. He does not bother to prove anything beyond the Philippines having gold, ivory, monkeys, peacocks, silver, tin, iron, lead, gemstones, spices, and trees. But that is really his point. His argument is that the Philippines has these resources. That is all he set out prove. The reader is supposed to think, "Wow, the Philippines has all these resources listed in the Bible. That must mean Solomon's navy sailed to the Philippines." That would be to ignore that Tim says India also has all these resources, that historically India has been identified with Ophir, that no ancient descriptions of the world mention anything past the Malaysian Peninsula, and there is no record of trade routes circumnavigating Africa. As long as Tim has an unthinking audience who cannot discern that underneath all his rhetoric he has no arguments but only unproven assertions he will be able to continue to lure them in.