Washington telegraph., 1850-04-17
OPHIR.

fishing the sum total. which We stated
at eight hundred and thi,zy-esght mil-
lions four hundred anil sereutv-seceu
pounds. thartesn shslliugs and sizpeuce,
Sterlang-more than the national debt of
Great Britain at the present day. The
first llstalnieht towards building The Tenn
pie which King David paid into The hands
of the S/lalamOth, or treasurer, was 1OO.-
! 600 talents of gold, or 9436. .O00. 900 ,,rr-
ling. which sum was 10 make the ims,ru-
ments of gold The candlesticks, lamps,
tables. flesh hooks. bowls, cups, .ewers,
ba>ins, the altar OF incense, cherubim, &c,
&c. He likewise appropriated 100. 600
talents OF sitter, which amounted to E36,-
25O00O, for Instruments of silver. The
brass was without weight. aud some of il
was brought from I,bboth and Gun.
cities of Hu6l'rezer. King Of I'0bub aud
with this Sobnon made the brazen sea
aud the piIlar and vessels OF brass.
| He received and dedicated vessels of
gold, silver and brass, which he obtained
as presents fom the King of Klamath.
| and those treasures also which lie brought
from Ed0na. Nuttb. Amman. the PhikiS-
tines, and the land oi AusuLek Besides
Immense qualtilles OF IRON, marble, yrxm-
ite, aud ced;r. together with precious
>tOues. he appropriated from his own pfi-
vate Golfers ibree thousand talents OF the
gold OF Ophir. and seven thousand talents
of refined silver, TO overIay the walls OF
the house The Rev DR.. Donl.e, in his
dedication seniuu of Lincoln Inu Chapel,
said that if al the kings III Chr'stendom
should send III all they had at once, 10
any one servme, it would not equal this
ma agnlticeUt contribution of David and his
| princes. With such vast prep ralioiis
tor The great work, Solomon engaged oO.-
| 600 hewers III the mountains. 10000
| bearers of burdens, aud $500 officers or
super. isors Altogether he employed
| 1873, 600 persons Oh that immense edltice,
winch occupied twelve years III compile
Iion. 1t will create no surprise, therefore,
al the vast amount which The temple cost.
when regarding the preparations aud the
structure itself. But various countries
were at that time tributary TO the Jewish
nation. Spain and Sicily contributed
amounts annually towards This greal
project.
La relation to Ophir aud the impression
that it was California. ,here are evidences
10 sustain that belief. Iarshish was un-
doubtedly OH the coast OF Africa. All
the trade to India, Persia, Africa and
Arabia. was carried on through the Red
Sea. in substantial ships built aud equipp-
ed at Elath, one OF the tiue>l ports in that
sea. EupolenuS, quoted by Eusebiu-,
says of hinl, that he uuit ships AT Eiath,
city OF Arabia, and from thence sent
netal-niem (.nlners aud geoiigists.) 10 the
island Of Urphe or Ophir, situated in The
Red Sea. which was fruitful in yielding
abundance OF gold, and the ineial-nlen
brought it from thence 10 Judea. From
EIalh to the straits Of BaheImandel, al
The mouth Of the Red Sea, The distance
is scarcely six hundred mile>, aud il j.
uureaseasonable 10 suppose that voyage
To and from Ophir would. at that distance,
have occupied three years. Even it by
the Red Sea was meant the Arabian Cult
aud India that would st:.l be within
thirty days sail Of Elath. The PhGue-
clans, who were great naviyators. and
discovered the continent of South Amer
lea, aud huilt the palaces aud temples
which are found in every direction OH
thai continent, undoubtedly discovered
California. They circulnI,avigatedA Africa.
passed up the Arabian Cult into the Chi
nese Seas. and went through Behriny>
straits into the Pacific, and coasted down
TO California. where they discovered gold.
King Hiram and King Solomon fitted
out large number of discovery ships
Oh joint profit from EiatlI. in the Red
Sea, which coasted through the same
route, we'll known to the PhGneciam>,
until they reached San Francisco. which
on the old maps we find is called the
Golden Gates, and the voyages lasted
three years. This was also the time re
qu,red for the voyage 10 Tarshi>h. which
was OIL the coast OF Guinea. where ivory.
apes, peacocks. and gold and silver were
found. The scriptures represent Solomon
10 be the richest King on earth. and he
made silver i'll Jerusalem like the stoues
in the streets. Since his time no such
deposits Of gold have been found III the
Red Sea, OH the coast Of India, China, or
the islands III those seas. Ii Ophr was
III that neighborhood, succeeding ages
would have protted by the discovery
The colonial wealth aud grandeur os the
PhBnecians OH the continent OF Sontn
America so long concealed from the world
led Hiram and Solomon 10 believe that
they had made valuaie discoveries III
unknown regions, and their ships were
prepared for those long voyages. and vast
amounts Of gold were found Oh the Pa-
citic.
When Rein, King of Damascus. and
Pekah, King OF Israel, captured the sea-
mort of Elalh. in the Red Sea, they ban
;shed the Jews aud colonzed the Syrians;
aud from that time the great secret CT Inc
the wealth of Ophir aud its position have