Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 14/01/2006 19:42, Steve Miller wrote:

> There is also the Semite Ophir, spelled with the consonants Aleph Phei Resh,
> transliterated to English as AFR. Add "ica" for a continent, and you have
> Africa. Ophir in the Bible is always the place of much gold. South Africa
> has 60% of the world's natural gold resources.
>
>  
Remember that Afar is a region, a people and a language in Ethiopia and 
the neighbouring region, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar. The link 
to Ophir is surely quite strong, given the standard shift in Hebrew and 
Canaanite long A to long O, and this region makes a lot of sense as the 
source or at least trading port for Solomon's gold.

But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa#Etymology for the origin of 
the name "Africa". It is probably derived from a different, Berber 
people called the Afri, but there may also be a link with Semitic 'afar.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/