Editing Ophir (section)

====Sumatra and Malay Peninsula====
The 1st-century historian [[Josephus]], in his "[[Antiquities of the Jews]]" (8.6.4), identified Ophir as "the Aurea Chersonesus, which belongs to India."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Josephus |first1=Flavius |title=Antiquities of the Jews |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D8%3Awhiston+chapter%3D6%3Awhiston+section%3D4 |website=Perseus Digital Library |access-date=9 August 2024 |page=8.6.4 |orig-date=94 AD}}</ref>  "Aurea Chersonesus" ({{lang|grc-x-classic|Χρυσῆ Χερσόνησος}}) is Grecolatin for "Golden Peninsula." At that time, [[India]] was thought to comprise, not just the Indian subcontinent, but also [[Indochina]], and [[Indonesia]].  Hence, in his [[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]], the nearly contemporaneous geographer [[Ptolemy]] lists these additional lands within the province of "India beyond the Ganges." Ptolemy therein identifies exactly where this Golden Peninsula is, centering it in [[Malaysia]], perhaps also extending somewhat into [[Sumatra]]. In particular, Ptolemy mentions a "golden river" ({{lang|grc-x-classic|Χρυσοάνα ποταμος}}) somewhat south of the archaeological site of the [[Bujang Valley]] ({{lang|grc-x-classic|Βήσυγγα ἐμπόριον}}), and in the vicinity of the "Palandos river" ({{lang|grc-x-classic|Παλάνδος ποταμος}}) (the modern [[Pahang|Pahang region]], also common in the derived [[toponymy|toponyms]] surrounding [[Kuala Lumpur]]). These areas are indeed famous for gold.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=John Stephen Kayode |author2=Mohd HARIRI Arifin |author3=Mohd Basril Iswadi Basori |author4=Mohd Nawawi |title=Gold Prospecting Mapping in the Peninsular Malaysia Gold Belts |journal=Pure and Applied Geophysics |date=Aug 9, 2022 |doi=10.1007/s00024-022-03121-w |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Peninsular-Malaysia-showing-the-gold-belts-modified-after-Yeap-1993_fig1_362582568 |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>  Indeed, the [[Sumatra#Etymology|longest-lasting name for Sumatra]], {{lang|sa-Latn|Svarṇa}},<ref>{{cite book|title=A Kingdom of Words: Language and Power in Sumatra|last=Drakard|first=Jane|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=983-56-0035-X}}</ref> which also means "gold," may have derived directly from the word Ophir, by a means similar to the Classical Greek pronunciation displayed in the [[Septuagint]]: "Soophaara"/"Souphir" ({{lang|grc-x-classic|Σωφηρα}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Bible |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1ki/9/28/t_conc_300028 |chapter=1 Kings 9:28}}</ref>/{{lang|grc-x-classic|Σουφιρ}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Bible |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1ki/10/11/t_conc_301011 |chapter=1 Kings 10:11; 1 Chron. 29:4; 2 Chron. 8:18, 19:10}}</ref>).

Europeans, arriving later, consequently renamed mythologically-famous 'golden' [[Mount Ledang]] near Malacca, Malaysia, as [[Mount Ophir]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Zainal-'Abidin bin Ahmad |year=1951 |title=Some Malay Legendary Tales |journal=Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=24 |issue=1|pages=77–89|jstor=41502972}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Malayan Peninsula from a Compilation by T Morriot |url=https://sea.mashable.com/life/21429/the-british-had-a-terrible-time-spelling-peninsular-malaysian-states-map-from-1862-reveals |website=Sea.Mashable.com |access-date=9 August 2024 |date=1862}}</ref>