1 Kings 10:1
in 1 Kings 10Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions.
KJV
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.
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This verse in 1 Kings 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
she came to prove him with hard questions
on 1 Kings 10:1-3
The queen of Sheba travels from southern Arabia to test Solomon's wisdom with hard questions, and Jesus names her the queen of the south at Matt 12:42 and Luke 11:31, rising in judgment against a generation that refuses one greater than Solomon. Solomon answers every question she brings; there is not any thing hid from the king which he told her not. Her hard questions were likely riddles and matters of state as much as philosophy, the kind ancient Near Eastern courts traded to test a ruler's mind.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The queen of Sheba was a sheep that had come into the place of wolves. The lamp of truth did Solomon give her who also married her when he fell away. She was enlightened and went away, but they were dark as their manner was.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
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 …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
42 ), that she might be the better able to govern her own kingdom by his maxims of policy. Those whom God has called to any public employment, particularly in the magistracy and ministry, should, by all means possible, be still improving themselves in that knowledge which will more and more qualify them for it, and enable them to discharge their trust well.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Sheba - Of that part of Arabia, called Shabaea, which was at great distance from Jerusalem, bordering upon the Southern Sea; for there, much more than in Ethiopia, were the commodities which she brought, ver. 2, 10. Name of the Lord - That is, concerning God; the name of God being often put for God; concerning his deep knowledge in the things of God.
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the queen of Sheba--Some think her country was the Sabean kingdom of Yemen, of which the capital was Saba, in Arabia-Felix; others, that it was in African Ethiopia, that is, Abyssinia, towards the south of the Red Sea.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2778: “Consulting With Jesus” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
Those of you who were here last Thursday evening will recollect that I spoke to you upon our Savior's words, "The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." [Sermon No. 2776, Volume 48— THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, A SIGN].
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2778: “Consulting With Jesus” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
Those of you who were here last Thursday evening will recollect that I spoke to you upon our Savior's words, "The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." [Sermon No. 2776, Volume 48— THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, A SIGN]. I tried, then, to prove that the queen of Sheba is a condemning sign to those who do not believe our report concerning Him, or who do not act upon it so as to seek His face. Tonight we will follow the queen of the south little further. As our Lord has given the queen of Sheba for a sign, it would be unbecoming if we did not try to learn all that we can from that sign. She came "to hear the wisdom of Solomon." But Christ is "greater than Solomon" in every respect. He is greater in wisdom, for, though Solomon was wise, he was not Wisdom, itself, and that Jesus is. In the Book of Proverbs Jesus is referred to under the name of Wisdom and the Apostle Paul tells us that He is made of God unto us wisdom. They who really know Him know something of how wise He is and how truly He may be called Wisdom. Because He is with the Father and knows the Father, He has such wisdom as no one else can have. "No man knows the Son, but the Father. Neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomever the Son will reveal Him." He knows the deep things of God, for He came down from Heaven bringing His Father's greatest secrets in His heart. To Him, therefore, men ought to come if they wish to be wise, and ought we not to wish for wisdom? To whom else can we go if we go not to Him "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"? In speaking of the queen of Sheba coming to Solomon as a type of our coming to Christ, I will, first, call upon you to admire the queen's mode of procedure.
When the queen of Sheba heard - As our Lord calls her queen of the south, (Mat 12:42), it is likely the name should be written Saba, Azab, or Azaba, all of which signify the south. She is called Balkis by the Arabians, but by the Abyssinians Maqueda. See the account at the end of this chapter, 1Ki 10:29 (note). With hard questions - בחידות bechidoth; Septuagint, εν αινιγμασι, riddles. With parables and riddles, says the Arabic.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Doubt has arisen whether the “queen of Sheba” was an Ethiopian or an Arabian princess. Both countries profess to have traditions on the subject connecting the queen of Sheba with their history; and in both countries, curiously enough, government by queens was common. But the claims of Arabia decidedly preponderate. The Arabian Sheba was the great spice country of the ancient world; whereas Ethiopia furnished no spices. The Arabian Sheba was an important kingdom. Sheba in Ethiopia was a mere town, subject to Meroe.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמַֽלְכַּת־ | umalkat- | and [the] queen of | H4436 → | 35 times |
| שְׁבָ֗א | sheva' | Sheba | H7614 → | 23 times |
| שֹׁמַ֛עַת | shomaat | [was] hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֥מַע | shema' | [the] report of | H8088 → | |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְשֵׁ֣ם | leshem | to [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַתָּבֹ֥א | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְנַסֹּת֖וֹ | lenasoto | to put to [the] test him | H5254 → | |
| בְּחִידֽוֹת׃ | bechidot | by difficult matters | H2420 → |
וּמַֽלְכַּת־and [the] queen of
umalkat-H4436 →35 times
שְׁבָ֗אSheba
sheva'H7614 →23 times
שֹׁמַ֛עַת[was] hearing
shomaatH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֥מַע[the] report of
shema'H8088 →
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לְשֵׁ֣םto [the] name of
leshemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַתָּבֹ֥אand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
לְנַסֹּת֖וֹto put to [the] test him
lenasotoH5254 →
בְּחִידֽוֹת׃by difficult matters
bechidotH2420 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 12:42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:1–13
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 9:1–12
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in…
- Hebrews 1:2–4
But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
- Luke 11:31–32
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,…
- Matthew 17:5
While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
- 1 Kings 10:1–13
Through
Luke 11:31The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 9:1
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in…
- 2 Chronicles 9:1
Through
Psalms 72:15Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him; may they bless him all day long.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:14
The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,
- Philippians 2:11
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- 1 Kings 10:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2778: “Consulting With Jesus” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Ephrem the Syrian, THE PEARL, HYMN 3.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.