1Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to test him with hard questions. 2She came to Jerusalem with a very great company, with camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart. 3And Solomon made known all her matters; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. 4And when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, it took her breath away. 6Then she said to the king: It was a true word which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I have heard. 8Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9Blessed is Jehovah your God, who has delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because of Jehovah's eternal love for Israel, therefore He made you king, to execute justice and righteousness. 10And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11And the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12And the king made pillars of the almug wood for the house of Jehovah and for the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers. There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. 13And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given to her according to the hand of the king. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. 14The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the land. 16And King Solomon made two hundred shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20Twelve lions were standing there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 21All King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the house of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22For the king had a fleet of ships at sea from Tarshish along with the fleet of Hiram; and once every three years the ships from Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23Thus King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his heart. 25Each man was bringing his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 26And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Mikveh; the king's merchants got them at Mikveh for a price. 29Now a chariot that came up out from Egypt was six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, by their hand, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ADMIRES THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. (
1Kgs 10:1-13)
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. The opinions preponderate in favor of the former. This view harmonizes with the language of our Lord, as Yemen means "South"; and this country, extending to the shores of the Indian ocean, might in ancient times be considered "the uttermost parts of the earth."
heard of the fame of Solomon--doubtless by the Ophir fleet.
concerning the name of the Lord--meaning either his great knowledge of God, or the extraordinary things which God had done for him.
hard questions--enigmas or riddles. The Orientals delight in this species of intellectual exercise and test wisdom by the power and readiness to solve them.
2 she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels--A long train of those beasts of burden forms the common way of travelling in Arabia; and the presents specified consist of the native produce of that country. Of course, a royal equipage would be larger and more imposing than an ordinary caravan.
6 It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom--The proofs she obtained of Solomon's wisdom--not from his conversation only, but also from his works; the splendor of his palace; the economy of his kitchen and table; the order of his court; the gradations and gorgeous costume of his servants; above all, the arched viaduct that led from his palace to the temple (
2Kgs 16:18), and the remains of which have been recently discovered [ROBINSON]--overwhelmed her with astonishment. [See on
2Chr 9:4.]
9 Blessed be the Lord thy God--(See on
1Kgs 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.
10 she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold--Ł720,00.
11 almug trees--Parenthetically, along with the valuable presents of the queen of Sheba, is mentioned a foreign wood, which was brought in the Ophir ships. It is thought by some to be the sandalwood; by others, to be the deodar--a species of fragrant fir, much used in India for sacred and important works. Solomon used it for stairs in his temple and palace (
2Chr 9:11), but chiefly for musical instruments.
13 King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside--that is, Solomon not only gave his illustrious guest all the insight and information she wanted; but, according to the Oriental fashion, he gave her ample remuneration for the presents she had brought.
14 HIS RICHES. (1Ki. 10:14-29)
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year--666 talents, equal to Ł3,996,000. The sources whence this was derived are not mentioned; nor was it the full amount of his revenue; for this was "Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country." The great encouragement he gave to commerce was the means of enriching his royal treasury. By the fortifications which he erected in various parts of his kingdom, (particularly at such places as Thapsacus, one of the passages of Euphrates, and at Tadmor, in the Syrian desert), he gave complete security to the caravan trade from the depredations of the Arab marauders; and it was reasonable that, in return for this protection, he should exact a certain toll or duty for the importation of foreign goods. A considerable revenue, too, would arise from the use of the store cities and khans he built; and it is not improbable that those cities were emporia, where the caravan merchants unloaded their bales of spices and other commodities and sold them to the king's factors, who, according to the modern practice in the East, retailed them in the Western markets at a profit. "The revenue derived from the tributary kings and from the governors of the country" must have consisted in the tribute which all inferior magistrates periodically bring to their sovereigns in the East, in the shape of presents of the produce of their respective provinces.
16 two hundred targets, six hundred shekels--These defensive arms were anciently made of wood and covered with leather; those were covered with fine gold. 600 shekels were used in the gilding of each target--300 for each shield. They were intended for the state armory of the palace (see
1Kgs 14:26).
18 a great throne of ivory--It seems to have been made not of solid ivory, but veneered. It was in the form of an armchair, with a carved back. 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 (
2Chr 9:18) as attached to this throne, whose magnificence is described as unrivalled.
22 a navy of Tharshish--Tartessus in Spain. There gold, and especially silver, was obtained, anciently, in so great abundance that it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. But "Tarshish" came to be a general term for the West (
Jonah 1:3).
at sea--on the Mediterranean.
once in three years--that is, every third year. Without the mariner's compass they had to coast along the shore. The ivory, apes, and peacocks might have been purchased, on the outward or homeward voyage, on the north coast of Africa, where the animals were to be found. They were particularized, probably as being the rarest articles on board.
26 --(See on
2Chr 1:14 [and
2Chr 9:25].)