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.

The God Culture: Testing the Resources of Ophir and Tarshish, Part 2

In the previous article reviewing Timothy Jay Schwab's testing of the resources of Ophir and Tarshish I covered gold, ivory, apes, and peacocks. The Bible says those items came from Tarshish but Tim says they came from Ophir because he conflates the two places. In this article I will be looking at the "resources of Tarshsish." Remember, we are looking not at Tim's videos but at his book Solomon's Treasure which he claims is "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can dispute."

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 106

Tarshish is a place next to Ophir. They are in the same direction and region in destination. Now, we have yet more resources we can test and narrow this down beginning with silver as promised. Tarshish is the Biblical land of silver equated to the Greek Argyre which we saw is mapped by Pomponius Mela, Dionysius The Tourist and Behaim as Mindanao, Philippines. By rare occurrence, it just happens that Mindanao is the only place in the Philippines which can fully fit this part of the list for Tarshish especially tin.

According to Tim, Mindanao is Tarshish and the "Biblical land of silver." What? I never knew there was a "biblical land of silver." Let's see what the Bible has to say.

There is no "land of silver" mentioned in the Bible. Did Abraham get his silver from Mindanao?

Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Obviously not. 

Silver was first mined around 3,000 BCE in Anatolia, now located in modern-day Turkey. The precious metal helped early civilizations in the Near East, Ancient Greece to flourish.

In about 1,200 BCE the center of silver production shifted to Greece’s Laurium mines, where it continued to feed the region’s growing empires, even providing currency for ancient Athens. By about 100 CE, the center of silver mining moved to Spain, where the mines became a major supplier for the Roman Empire and an essential trading component along the Asian spice routes.

https://www.silverinstitute.org/silver-mining-history/

Look at that. The Greek's source of silver was....GREECE!!! Not some mythical island near India called Argyre.

Nevertheless let us continue. According to Tim the resources we will be discussing in this article all must necessarily come from Mindanao.  That includes silver, iron, tin, and lead.

Silver

“Nickel mines are located in Zambales, Palawan, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, while the gold with silver mines are in Benguet, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Davao del Norte and Agusan del Sur. The copper with gold and silver mines are located in Benguet, Cebu and Zamboanga del Norte. The copper mine with gold, silver and zinc is in Albay...” –Philippine Daily Inquirer 

Notice some attempt to hyper-focus on King Solomon’s copper mines yet no Biblical narrative mentions copper but there is also copper in the Philippines. It even fits narratives outside the Bible. Much of this silver is found with gold thus it has always been abundant in the Philippines and all over the archipelago.

“Of the total of sixteen lode and placer mines which were producing gold and silver bullion in appreciable quantities at the close of 1935, nine are situated in the Benguet mining district.”

–Port of Manila and Other Philippine Ports Year Book. (1936)

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 106-107

This is Tim's entire argument that the silver brought back from Tarshish comes from Mindanao. Can you see what is wrong here? There is no argument! There is no proof. In the second quote we are told that nine out of sixteen placer mines producing gold and silver are in Benguet which is Luzon and not Mindanao which undercuts Tim's case that Mindanao is argyre, the land of silver. What was he thinking?? This is stupid. It's not a case, it's not an argument, it's nothing. 

Much of this silver is found with gold thus it has always been abundant in the Philippines and all over the archipelago.

Silver is abundant all over the Philippine archipelago? What happened to Mindanao being "the Biblical land of silver?" Let's move on.

Iron

Peruse the many mining reports and you will find the Philippines is not mining iron at present. Does this mean they do not qualify? Iron is one of the largest mineral deposits in the Philippines, even gifted to President Quirino, and the government has shut down the last operation due to environmental infractions. Therefore, you will not see it on reports but it is definitely there and in abundance though few seem to have ever researched.

“Iron ore, one of the Philippines’ largest mineral deposits, is not being extracted at present.” –Philippine Statistics Authority

“The Philippines has suspended the operations of the country’s only iron ore miner due to environmental infractions.” –ABS-CBN, Reuters 2016

Iron ore is found all over the archipelago as well and was referenced in the early 1900s by an American scientist as well as history to 200 A.D.

“There are numerous veins of iron that will well repay working.” – James Walsh, Ih.D, M.D. 1865-1942

“Even as early as the third century, the Chinese reported that gold was mined in Luzon, and it was a principal medium of exchange with Chinese traders. Iron, copper, coal and other minerals were also discovered, but little effort was made to mine them.” –Port of Manila and Other Philippine Ports Year Book. (1936) 

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 107-108

Is Tim for real? Is he kidding? This is the entire section on iron and there is no argument. There is no attempt to prove there was an ancient iron trade between the Philippines and Israel. He is citing ABS-CBN and fails to give any ancient witness to a trade in iron. There is no argument here so I am moving on.

Tin

This is one of the largest assumptions that we often see. Some will claim Tin does not originate in the Philippines. However, once again, this thinking is based on distribution maps out there for countries who are mining tin and the Philippines has not been friendly for mining companies who do not take care of their environment. Having said that, even in our travels around the Philippines, in Mindanao, we have had active miners confirm there is definitely tin in Mindanao. However, remember in ancient times, tin mining was akin to gold mining in process.

“Tin is an essential metal in the creation of tin bronzes, and its acquisition was an important part of ancient cultures from the Bronze Age onward. Its use began in the Middle East and the Balkans around 3000 BC. Ancient sources of tin were therefore rare, and the metal usually had to be traded over very long distances to meet demand in areas which lacked tin deposits. It is likely that the earliest deposits were alluvial and perhaps exploited by the same methods used for panning gold in placer deposits.”

Many of the modern sources of tin would not even qualify in ancient times but the Philippines had gold panning operations since the most ancient of times. However, we do not need to rely on just that logic as the Philippines has tin indisputably.

“The economy is primarily agricultural. Tin mining takes place around Mindanao.”

–World Encyclopedia 2005 by Oxford University Press

“Tin is not so abundant.”

–James J. Walsh, , Ih.D., M.D. 1865-1942.

Dr. Walsh notes tin is not so abundant in the early 1900s yet it is there but we only affirm Mindanao. In 2005, World Encyclopedia by Oxford University Press and The American Desk Encyclopedia thought it noteworthy enough to mention that Mindanao was mining tin. Although we do not find it on modern mining lists for the Philippines which is no surprise, we have had first hand accounts from miners especially on Mindanao who note that tin is still there though not a focus.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 108-109

This is awful. This is plain awful. Again, no argument. Just an assertion that tin exists in the Philippines. But so what? Where is the proof that the Philippines was mining tin and trading tin with Israel in the time of King Solomon? The first quote comes from a Wikipedia article about the ancient sources of tin. Here is the map from that article.

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

Here is an interesting fact from this article that Tim ignores completely.

Evidence of direct tin trade between Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean has been demonstrated through the analysis of tin ingots dated to the 13th-12th centuries BC from sites in Israel, Turkey and modern-day Greece; tin ingots from Israel, for example, have been found to share chemical composition with tin from Cornwall and Devon (Great Britain).(Pernicka et al. 2019)

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

Tin ingots found in Israel which date to the 13th-12th centuries BC are from Cornwall and Devon. Amazing. Nothing about the Philippines whatsoever in this article. Why? Because there was no tin trade between Europe and the Philippines. If there was Tim does not even remotely try to prove it. He simply asserts that there is currently tin in the Philippines and then moves on. So shall I.

Lead

lead: `owphereth עפרת

Before we delve into lead, take a look at the Hebrew name for lead, owphereth. Is it possible this element may come from Ophir? The Philippines also has lead.

“Although the Philippines is rich in mineral resources, mining activities constitute only a small portion of GDP and employ an even smaller fraction of the population. Most of the country’s metallic minerals, including gold, iron ore, lead, zinc, chromite, and copper, are drawn from major deposits on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao.” –Encyclopaedia Britannica 2019

“An FTAA may be entered into for the exploration, development and utilization of gold, copper, nickel, chromite, lead, zinc and other minerals.” –Primer on the Philippine Minerals Industry

Once again, you will not find this resource on mining lists because it is not currently being mined but that does not mean it is not there. In fact, Encyclopaedia Britannica which updated this reference recently, affirms both lead and even iron ore again on Luzon and Mindanao. The resources of Tarshish are all found natively in the Philippines and specifically on Mindanao as Tarshish. This is after we already found all the Biblical resources of Ophir. Ethiopia and Yemen are already out of the running. Britain is not East of the Red Sea and does not have native peacocks nor almug wood. Spain is also not East and does not have indigenous ivory, apes, peacocks nor almug trees. Even Peru cannot fit the journey timewise and is missing ivory, peacocks and almug wood natively. These aren’t mere misses, they are ludicrous propositions and anyone calling themselves a scholar who did not begin with a resource test, is no scholar on this topic. The only other coherent claim as far as resources are concerned is India yet it’s own history says it had a source of ancient gold and silver, isles to the East thus none of these make any sense except the Philippines. Chapter 3 addressed Malaysia. However, we have one more list to test for the gifts of Sheba and Solomon’s navy.

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 109-110

Once more there is no argument here. There is no proof that there was a robust trade in lead between the Philippines and Israel. There is no proof that the Philippines was mining silver, lead, iron, or tin in the time of Solomon. Remember Tim admits that mining equipment during the time of Solomon was minimal.

This actually fits what would have to be the case in the ancient land of gold from at least 1000 B.C. as there was no major mining equipment in that era

Solomon's Treasure, pg. 96

Silver, tin, lead, and iron ore were all being mined elsewhere and traded within the Mediterranean basin. So, how were these minerals mined in the Philippines? Where is there proof that Filipinos had the technology to mine for these minerals? Tim offers ZERO proof for his assertions.

If there is an argument it is that the Hebrew word for lead sounds like Ophir therefore maybe the lead came from Ophir. But he is testing the resources of Tarshish not Ophir. Once again he is conflating the two regions and basing his theory on shaky linguistic grounds.

Here are some verses from Numbers which Tim does not discuss in this book.

Numbers 31:21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle,This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses; 

22: Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 

23: Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. 

24: And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean,and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

Where did the Israelites get this silver, iron, tin, and lead while wandering in the wilderness? From Mindanao? Of course not. They got them from Egypt. That means there was trade in these metals within the Mediterranean basin. Why then would they look to Mindanao for these metals? They wouldn't. It doesn't make any sense.

Tim's goal here is to prove that the Philippines has the resources ascribed to Tarshish. But that is not enough. He has to prove that these resources were brought to Israel from the Philippines and he has not done this. He has not offered any proof for his assertions. He might counter with, "I have already proved that Tarshish is the Philippines therefore these resources were brought back from the Philippines." This is wrong. He has not proven that Tarshish is the Philippines. He has asserted it via a twisted logic that he cannot prove from history or the Bible. There is no proof that Tarshish built ships for Ophir and Havilah and was given Mindanao as his wages. That comes from Tim's head and has no foundation in reality.

He has also lied about the ivory said to be fetched from Tarshish. There are no elephants in the Philippines. Pigafetta does not record their existence in the Philippines. The same goes for peacocks. There are no true peacocks in the Philippines and Pigafetta does not record seeing any though Tim claims he does. 

It is mind boggling that this is supposed to be "the monumental case for the Philippines no one can dispute" when there is no case being made. There is assertion after assertion with no proof proffered. In the next article I will look at the gifts of the Queen of Sheba.