1 Kings10chapter 10

1 Kings 10:1

“And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon,.... Josephus (u) calls her a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia; but Sheba was in the southern part of Arabia Felix; her name with the Ethiopians is Maqueda (w), and with the Arabic geographer (x) Belequis.”

1 Kings 10:1

“Therefore does our Saviour mention her enquiries after God, by Solomon, as an aggravation of the stupidity of those who enquire not after God by our Lord Jesus Christ, though he, having lain in his bosom, was much better able to instruct them.”

1 Kings 10:2

“We read also in the book of Kings that the queen of the South came from the end of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. Actually, it was customary for that nation to be always ruled by women, whom they called Kandakes.The …”

1 Kings 10:2

“She came to Jerusalem with - spices, etc. - Those who contend that she was queen of the Sabaeans, a people of Arabia Felix, towards the southern extremity of the Red Sea, find several proofs of their opinion: 1. That the Sabaeans abounded in riches and spices. India mittit ebur, molles sua thura Sabaei “India furnishes ivory, and the effeminate Sabaeans their frankincense.” Virg. Geor. i., ver. 57. And again: - Divisae arboribus patriae: sola India nigrum Fert ebenum; solis est thurea virga Sabaeis. Geor. ii., ver. 1”

1 Kings 10:3

“Solomon told her all her questions - Riddles, problems, fables, apologues, etc., formed the principal part of the wisdom of the East; indeed they use and delight in them to the present day. See the case of Samson and his friends, Jdg 14:12 (note), Jdg 14:14 (note), and the notes there.”

1 Kings 10:4

“And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom,.... Which she perceived by his answers to things relative to all sorts of science, natural, civil, and divine: and the house that he had built; the singular for the plural, "house for houses"; the house of the Lord, his own house, that for Pharaoh's daughter, and the house of the forest of Lebanon; in all which there appeared not only surprising grandeur and magnificence, but exquisite art and skill; there was a great display of his wisdom in the form and contrivance of them.”

1 Kings 10:5

“The words "the attendance of the servants [and their clothing]." It seems that Solomon, in his wisdom, had divided into classes all his servants, that is, all the craftsmen that did their duty, so that they might be identifiable from their clothing and uniforms which …”

1 Kings 10:5

“And the meat of his table - Compare 1Ki 4:22-23. The scene here described receives very apt illustration from the Assyrian banquet scenes, where we have numerous guests sitting, dressed handsomely in fringed robes, with armlets upon their arms, and bracelets round their wrists, attendants standing behind them, and magnificent drinking-cups, evidently of a costly metal, in the hands of the guests, which are filled from a great wine-bowl at one end of the chamber.”

1 Kings 10:6-7

“Those who, through grace, are brought to experience the delights of communion with God will say that the one-half was not told them of the pleasures of Wisdom's ways and the advantages of her gates. Glorified saints, much more, will say that it was a true report which they heard of the happiness of heaven, but that the thousandth part was not told them, 1 Cor. ii.”

1 Kings 10:8

“Note, It is a great advantage to be in good families, and to have opportunity of frequent converse with those that are wise, and good, and communicative. Many have this happiness who know not how to value it. With much more reason may we say this of Christ's servants, Blessed are those that dwell in his house, they will be still praising him.”

1 Kings 10:9

“Blessed be the Lord thy God - This acknowledgment of Yahweh falls below the confessions of Hiram 2Ch 2:12 and Cyrus Ezr 1:3. It does not imply more than an admission of His power as a local deity; namely, that He is the God of the Jews and of their country.”

1 Kings 10:9

“Blessed be the Lord thy God--(See on 1Ki 5:7). It is quite possible, as Jewish writers say, that this queen was converted, through Solomon's influence, to the worship of the true God. But there is no record of her making any gift or offering in the temple.”

1 Kings 10:9

“To this she attributes his prosperity, not to his wisdom, for bread is not always to the wise ( Eccl. ix. 11 ), but whoso doeth judgment and justice, it shall be well with him, Jer. xxii. Thus giving of thanks must be made for kings, for good kings, for such kings; they are what God makes them to be.”

1 Kings 10:10

“The queen of Sheba was a type of our church. She came from her distant land to king Solomon, the church came together from the four regions of the world to Christ. What [the queen] ignored, she learned from Solomon, and she went back to …”

1 Kings 10:10

“And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold,.... The same sum that Hiram sent him; see Gill on 1Ki 9:14 this fulfilled the prophecy, so far as it respected Solomon, Psa 72:15. and of spices very great store, and precious stones; see 1Ki 10:2 there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon; that is, into Judea.”

1 Kings 10:10

“The present of gold and spices which the wise men of the east brought to Christ was signified by this, Matt. ii. Thus she paid for the wisdom she had learned and did not think she bought it dearly. Let those that are taught of God give him their hearts, and the present will be more acceptable than this of gold and spices.”

1 Kings 10:11

“The navy of Hiram - i. e., Solomon’s navy in the Red Sea, which was chiefly manned by subjects of Hiram. (see the marginal reference). Almug-trees - Probably the sandal-wood tree (pterocarpus santalinus). The wood is very heavy, hard, and fine grained, and of a beautiful garnet color, which, according to the rabbinical writers, was the color of the algum. One of the names of the red sandal-wood, in its own native country (India) is “valguka,” a word of which “algum” is a natural corruption.”

1 Kings 10:12

“Pillars - The Hebrew word signifies ordinarily a “prop” (margin). It is generally supposed to mean in this place a “railing,” or “balustrade,” a sense which connects and harmonises the present passage with the parallel passage in Chronicles (marginal reference), where Solomon is said to have made of the almug-wood “stairs” for the temple and for his own house. Harps - The Jewish harp כנור kı̂nnôr was of a triangular shape, and had ordinarily ten strings.”

1 Kings 10:13

“All her desire whatsoever she asked - Some imagine she desired progeny from the wise king of Israel; and all the traditions concerning her state that she had a son by Solomon called Menilek, who was brought up at the Israelitish court, succeeded his mother in the kingdom of Saba, and introduced among his subjects the Jewish religion. See at the end of the chapter, 1Ki 10:29 (note).”

1 Kings 10:14

“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold. From Ophir and Tarshish, and wherever he traded; which was of our money, according to Berewood (k), 2,997,000 pounds; or as another learned man (l), who makes it equal to 5,138,520 ducats of gold. (k) De Ponder. & Pret. c. 5. (l) Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 580.”

1 Kings 10:15

“Besides that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants,.... What they paid him as a duty or custom for the importation of their goods: and of all the kings of Arabia; who were subject to him, and paid him a yearly tribute, or at least made presents, see 1Ki 4:21. and of the governors of the country; who were viceroys or deputy governors of countries conquered by his father, and who collected tribute from the people, and paid it to him.”

1 Kings 10:15

“There is no mention in the original of “spice merchants.” Two classes of traders are spoken of; but both expressions are general. Kings of Arabia - Rather, “kings of the mingled people” (compare Jer 25:24). These were probably tribes half Jewish, half Arabian, on the borders of the western desert. They are regarded as Arabs by the author of Chronicles (marginal reference). Governors - The word used here is thought to be of Aryan origin. It appears to have been a title given by the Persians to petty governors, inferior to the great satraps of provinces.”

1 Kings 10:15

“Merchant-men - Hebrew. of the searchers; either merchants, who use to search out commodities: or, the gatherers of the king's revenues, who used to search narrowly into all wares, that the king might not be defrauded of his rights. Spice-merchants - Or rather, of the merchants in general, as the word is often used.”

1 Kings 10:16

“And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,.... Which were a larger sort of shields, which covered the whole body; and these were made of gold beaten with the hammer, or drawn into plates, being melted like wax; so the Poeni or Carthaginians made shields of gold (m): six hundred shekels of gold went to one target; which is to be understood not of the weight, but of the price or value of them, which amounted to four hundred and fifty pounds of our money; so Brerewood (n). (m) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 35. 3. (n) Ut supra.”

1 Kings 10:17

“These shields, together with the 500 taken by David from Hadadezer 2Sa 8:7 were hung round the outer walls of a building, reckoned as belonging to the “house of the Forest of Lebanon,” but separate from it, and called sometimes “the Tower of David” Son 4:4, or from its use “the armoury” Son 4:4; Isa 22:8. The practice of hanging shields outside walls for ornamentation seems to have existed at Tyre Eze 27:10-11, Rome, Athens, and elsewhere. Traces of it are thought to be found in the Assyrian sculptures.”

1 Kings 10:18

“Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory,.... To sit on and judge his people; and ivory being white, may denote the purity, justice, and equity with which he judged; the white throne in Rev 20:11 may be an allusion to this; the ivory he had from Tarshish, 1Ki 10:22. and overlaid it with the best gold; for the greater splendour and majesty of it; not that he covered it all over, for then the ivory would not be seen, but interlined it, or studded it with it, whereby it appeared the more beautiful and magnificent.”

1 Kings 10:18

“It is, on the whole, probable that the substance of the throne was wood, and that the ivory, cut into thin slabs, and probably carved in patterns, was applied externally as a veneer. This is found to have been the practice in Assyria. The gold was probably not placed over the ivory, but covered other parts of the throne.”

1 Kings 10:18-26

“The ascent to it was by six steps, on each of which stood lions, in place of a railing--while a lion, probably of gilt metal, stood at each side, which, we may suppose from the analogy of other Oriental thrones, supported a canopy. A golden footstool is mentioned (2Ch 9:18) as attached to this throne, whose magnificence is described as unrivalled.”

1 Kings 10:18-20

“He rolled it, flowered it, or inlaid it, with gold. The stays or arms of this stately chair were supported by the images of lions in gold; so were the steps and paces by which he went up to it, to be a memorandum to him of that courage and resolution wherewith he ought to execute judgment, not fearing the face of man. The righteous, in that post, is bold as a lion.”

1 Kings 10:19

“Representations of thrones are frequent in the Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures. They have no steps up to them, but frequently stand upon square bases. The back appears to be flat at the top, not rounded. Assyrian thrones have “stays” or arms on either side, and they stand generally upon lion’s feet. They are always accompanied by a footstool. Lions stood beside the stays - The arms of Assyrian thrones are occasionally supported by figures of animals. The throne of Rameses II at Medinet Abou has a sphinx at the side and a lion below the sphinx.”

1 Kings 10:20

“And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps,.... There was a lion on each side of every step, a symbol of royal power, as before observed; so the Egyptians placed lions under the throne of Orus (r): there was not the like made in any kingdom; for the matter and form of it, for its grandeur and magnificence; there was none at least at that time, whatever has been since; for this is the first throne of ivory we read of. (r) Hori Apoll. Hieroglyph, l. 1. c. 17.”

1 Kings 10:20

“Solomon’s throne, as described, is certainly grander than any of which we have a representation, either in Assyria or Egypt. Much more, then, would it transcend the thrones in inferior kingdoms.”

1 Kings 10:21

“He made it circulate among his subjects, so that the kingdom was as rich as the king; for he had no separate interests of his own to consult, but sought the welfare of his people. Those princes are not governed by Solomon's maxims who think it policy to keep their subjects poor. Solomon was herein a type of Christ, who is not only rich himself, but enriches all that are his.”

1 Kings 10:22

“A navy of Tharshish - For probable conjectures concerning this place, and the three years’ voyage, see at the end of this, 1Ki 10:29 (note) and the preceding chapter, 1 Kings 9 (note). Apes - קפים kophim; probably a species of monkey rather than ape.”

1 Kings 10:22

“For Tharshish was the name of a place upon the sea, famous for its traffick with merchants, and it was a place very remote from Judea, as appears from the three years usually spent in that voyage. But whether it was Spain, where in those times there was abundance of gold and silver, as Strabo and others affirm; or, some place in the Indies, it is needless to determine.”

1 Kings 10:23

“So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. In which he was an eminent type of Christ; see Eph 3:8.”

1 Kings 10:23

“See the marginal references. By “all the earth” we are, of course, only to understand the kings or people of neighboring nations.”

1 Kings 10:23

“The more moderate our desires are towards earthly things the better qualified we are for the enjoyment of them and the more likely to have them. See, in Solomon's greatness, the performance of God's promise ( ch. iii. 13 ), and let it encourage us to seek first the righteousness of God's kingdom.”

1 Kings 10:24

“For the beauty of Wisdom is wondrous, and no one looks upon her without admiration and ecstasy, as it is said of Esther and of Solomon, for "all the earth desired to see Solomon's face"; and the Queen of Sheba "came from the ends of …”

1 Kings 10:24

“All the earth - That is, all the kings of the earth, (as it is expressed 2 Chron. ix, 23,) namely of those parts of the earth.”

1 Kings 10:25

“And they brought every man his present,.... To recommend them, and introduce them into his presence: vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, a rate year by year; everyone brought according to the commodities of his country; and they did yearly, out of great respect to him, and in veneration of him for his wisdom, and for the advantages they received by his wise counsels and instructions; besides, it was the custom of the eastern countries not to pay a visit, especially to great personages, without carrying a present.”

1 Kings 10:25

“His present - i. e., his tribute (1Ki 4:21 note). A statement illustrated by Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures on slabs and obelisks. Tribute-bearers from the subject kings, bring not only the fixed rate of bullion, but a tribute in kind besides, consisting of the most precious products of their respective countries.”

1 Kings 10:26

“See 1Ki 4:26 note. Until the time of Solomon, war-chariots had not been in use among the Jews, except to a very small extent 1Ch 18:4. Hence, it was necessary for him to put himself on an equality in this respect with neighboring powers. Cities for chariots - They were probably fortresses upon the borders of his territory, in which he maintained the standing army necessary for the support of his dominion.”

1 Kings 10:27

“This means that the knowledge of divine things must be imparted to all nations everywhere through the advent and manifestation of Christ; and Isaiah predicted the coming of Christ in the clearest way by saying, "The earth will be full of the knowledge of the …”

1 Kings 10:27

“Made silver as stones - This strong hyperbole marks in the most striking way the great wealth and prosperity of the capital during Solomon’s reign. The lavish expenditure which impoverished the provinces, and produced, or helped to produce, the general discontent that led to the outbreak under Jeroboam, enriched the metropolis, which must have profited greatly by the residence of the court, the constant influx of opulent strangers, and the periodical visits of all Israelites not hindered by some urgent reason at the great festivals. The “sycomore-trees in the vale” (Shephelah) are mentioned also in 1Ch 27:”

1 Kings 10:27

“Such is the nature of worldly wealth, plenty of it makes it the less valuable; much more should the enjoyment of spiritual riches lessen our esteem of all earthly possessions. If gold in abundance would make silver to seem so despicable, shall not wisdom, and grace, and the foretastes of heaven, which are far better than gold, make earthly wealth seem much more despicable?”

1 Kings 10:28

“Horses brought out of Egypt - It is thought that the first people who used horses in war were the Egyptians; and it is well known that the nations who knew the use of this creature in battle had greatly the advantage of those who did not. God had absolutely prohibited horses to be imported or used; but in many things Solomon paid little attention to the Divine command. And linen yarn - The original word, מקוה mikveh, is hard to be understood, if it be not indeed a corruption.”

1 Kings 10:28-29

“The custom to be paid to the king of Egypt for exported chariots and horses out of Egypt was very high, but (as bishop Patrick understands it) Solomon, having married his daughter, got him to compound for the customs, so that he could bring them up cheaper than his neighbours, which obliged them to buy them of him, which he was wise enough no doubt to make his advantage of.”

1 Kings 10:29

“Taking the shekel at about three shillings of our money, six hundred silver shekels would be equal to about 90; and 150 shekels to 22 British pounds and 10 shillings. “Average” price seems to be in each case intended; and we may account for the comparatively high price of the chariot by supposing that by “chariot” is intended the entire equipage, including car, harness, and trained horses, of which there would be two at least, if not three. The “horses” mentioned separately from the chariots are not chariot-horses, but chargers for the cavalry.”

1 Kings 10:29

“Chariot - This is not to be understood of the chariots and horses themselves, but for the lading of chariots and horses, which consisting of fine linen and silk, were of great value: and the king's custom, together with the charges of the journey, amounted to these sums.”