6 Biblical Mysteries People Still Haven’t Solved

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The Bible is the holy book for the largest religion on the planet. Nearly a third of the entire human population identifies as Christian which adds up to more than 2.2 billion Christians in the world. As the Bible is the foundation for their religion, there are a multitude of people who make it a point to study the book. Since the Bible was also hugely influential in creating Western culture, a large percentage of the total human population is at least passingly familiar with the Bible and its stories.

The Bible has been studied almost since its creation, and given its importance both throughout history and in the modern day, one would think that there would be few mysteries left to unravel in this ancient book. That, however, would be incorrect. Despite its undeniable influence on the world and the number of scholars that have studied its millennia old words, the Bible continues to have secrets that it is keeping. Some of which seem far too important to have been lost to time. Here are six biblical mysteries people still have not solved.

What happened to Ophir?

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The biblical city of Ophir is rather like a Middle Eastern El Dorado. The city or region was famous for its wealth. According to the Bible, King Solomon received shipments of extraordinary value from Ophir. The region would send shiploads of gold, silver, sandalwood, ivory, pearls, peacocks and even monkeys to Israel every three years. After Solomon’s death, King Jehoshaphat tried to make an expedition to Ophir, but the journey failed. The area was apparently wealthy enough to be well known, as numerous books in the Old Testament reference the gold of Ophir and even the New Testament apocrypha mentions Ophir. So, where was this city of extraordinary wealth located? No one knows. There have been a variety of locations suggested, but there is limited evidence to support any of them. One would think that a city where “all the stones are gold” would have been remembered throughout the ancient world, but beyond the biblical mentions of this ancient city and one inscription discovered in a Canaanite temple dedicated to Horon, Ophir may as well have never existed.

What does 'selah' mean in Psalms?

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Anyone who has read the book of Psalms has probably noticed that the word “selah” appears repeatedly. Untranslated, this Hebrew word is usually hanging off to the side of a verse in Psalms. There is no indication of what the word is supposed to mean or why it is there. It appears, however, more than 70 times in the book of Psalms. The repeated use of the word must mean that it is important, right? Well, no one knows. No one is certain what “selah” means or why it appears so often in Psalms. Some scholars theorize that the word was used to indicate that there was an instrumental moment following a line or that there should be a change in instrument of some type. It was a stage direction of some sort as the Psalms were originally meant to be sung. This theory, however, does not explain why the word shows up three times in the book of Habakkuk. Writings by the prophets were not usually sung, and if Habakkuk’s words were meant to be performed for some reason, then one would expect “selah” to be scattered throughout the entire book. Instead, “selah” only appears between Habakkuk 3:3 and 3:13.

Another theory about the meaning of “selah” suggests that it means “forever” or “to praise” and would act either as the Christian “amen” does in some churches. Yet another theory is that the word followed a verse of particular importance and was used to indicate that the preceding words should be emphasized. Unfortunately, no one can say for sure what the word meant. It cannot be identified simply by comparing it to other Hebrew words either, as there are several Hebrew words that come close, such as “salah” and “calah,” but each has a very different meaning and would give the use of “selah” a very different purpose.

Where was Eden located?

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The story of the Garden of Eden may be one of the best known tales in the Bible. It was there that Adam and Eve were created and man named the animals. It was also in Eden that a talking snake tricked Adam and Eve into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil against God’s wishes thus dooming their descendants to sin. For their transgression, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and never allowed to return. Given that some believed any human who ever set foot in Eden again would die, some early explorers wanted to be sure to avoid this forbidden place. Others, of course, did not believe they would die and wanted nothing more than to find where God had originally planted paradise. Unfortunately for both camps, no one knows where Eden would have been. The Bible states that four fivers flowed out of Eden, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Euphrates and the Hiddekel or Tigris. The last two rivers are well known today, but the others are unknown. As such, Eden would most likely have been somewhere in the Middle East, but given that no one knows how large of an area Eden covered, Eden may well have only been partially situated in the Middle East.

What is God’s name?

When asked what God’s name is, people tend to give one of a few answers. Some will say His name is simply “God,” while others will state that it is “Jesus Christ” since the Son and the Father are simultaneously both one and separate. Others will say that the divine name was either hidden from mankind or that it is forbidden to speak. Still others will claim it is “Yahweh.” The people in camps two and three would be the closest according to the Old Testament where God is actually spoken of by name. In English Bibles, the use of God’s name is usually translated as “LORD” in all capital letters to signify when God’s name was used as opposed to His various titles and epithets. In Hebrew, God’s name was written using the consonants YHWH. It is from these letters that modern scholars get the name “Yahweh” as the most likely pronunciation. Unfortunately, no one knows whether or not this is the correct pronunciation. Ancient Hebrew did not have vowels, and it was taboo to speak the divine name. As such, the actual pronunciation of YHWH was slowly lost. Most people believe that it was pronounced “Yahweh,” but no one can confirm that for certain.

What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

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The Ark of the Covenant ranks beside the Holy Grail as arguably the most important historical artifact to ever go inexplicably missing. As such, it has been a source of fascination and obsession for hundreds of archeologists, treasure hunters, religious scholars, warlords and movie makers. Two of the most historically and theologically valuable artifacts ever known simply vanished without a trace.

The last time the Ark of the Covenant is ever mentioned in the Bible is in 2 Chronicles 35 when King Josiah of Judah ordered the Ark to be brought back to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is known from both Scripture and archaeology that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem roughly 40 years later and raided the Temple. Then, 10 years after Nebuchadnezzar raided the Temple, the Temple was destroyed. The Temple was rebuilt, and then destroyed again in A.D. 72 by the Romans. Jerusalem has changed hands dozens of times throughout history, but there is no mention of any conqueror being puzzled as to why some old stone tablets and a budded branch were in such a grand container or listing the Ark among their plunder. As such, tracking the Ark is almost impossible. Was it hidden safely by the Levites before Jerusalem fell? Did some lay Jews sneak it out of the Temple before invaders reached it? If so, where was it hidden, and why was its location never revealed? If it was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, why did Scripture not mention its theft or possible return after the end of the Babylonian exile? One would think that the Jews would have been allowed to take some old carved stone and a branch with them back to Jerusalem even if they had to leave the gold cherubim behind. If the Babylonians never had it, then did the Romans take it in A.D. 72? The questions are endless, but answers are all but impossible to find.

When was Jesus born?

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The date of Jesus’ birth is something that every Christian thinks they know. Ask any Christian, and many non-Christians, when Jesus was born, and they will say He was born on Christmas Day, December 25 when B.C. becomes A.D. This is one of the most common misconceptions on Earth. The reality is that no one can say for certain when Jesus was actually born. Ironically, what almost all scholars agree on is that Jesus was not born on December 25. The date was chosen because of its proximity to the pagan holiday Saturnalia. In the early days of Christian persecution, Christians could disguise their celebration of Christmas as the festival of Saturnalia to avoid detection. After Christianity became the law of the Roman Empire, pagans could adjust better to Christianity as it already had similarly timed holidays. By the time anyone was questioning when Jesus was actually born, late December had become so set in cultural memory that no one could say for certain. In attempting to unravel the actual date, scholars have been stumped. The Roman census mentioned in Luke is difficult to use as no one has been able to pin down when the census actually happened. Herod died before Augustus held a census, but both Herod and Augustus’ census really existed. The problem is that Herod died 10 years before Augustus’ census, but Herod may have carried out a census of his own before his death. There may also have been more than one Quirinius as the Census of Augustus would not have called for people to return to their ancestral homes or even affected Joseph’s family in Galilee as it would only have been counting the people of Judea.

Other attempts at finding the exact date of Jesus’ birth relied on astronomical events that could have been the Star of Bethlehem. Once again, however, scholars do not agree on what the star actually was. Some argue it was a comet or supernova as that would have been an unusually bright and noticeable object. Others claim the “star” was actually an unusual alignment of the planets or the eclipse of Jupiter by the moon, both of which would have been subtle enough that Herod was unaware of them but important enough for ancient wise men to read great significant into them. Unfortunately, as no one can agree on what the Star of Bethlehem was, the date of Jesus’ birth again varies by several years. All scholars can agree on is that the date of Christmas and the age of the Gregorian calendar are both wrong for the actual date of Jesus’ birth.