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1 Kings 10:14 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

14 And the weight of the gold that hath come to Solomon in one year is six hundred sixty and six talents of gold,

Cross Reference

1 Kings 9:28 YLT

and they come in to Ophir and take thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and bring `it' in unto king Solomon.

2 Chronicles 9:13-28 YLT

And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold, apart from `what' the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon. And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred `shekels' of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target; and three hundred shields of alloyed gold, three hundred `shekels' of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold; and six steps `are' to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands `are' on this `side' and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands, and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this `side', and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom. And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon `are' of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon `are' of refined gold -- silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything; for ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom; and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart, and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem. And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt. And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that `are' in the low country, for abundance, and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.

Commentary on 1 Kings 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 10

1Ki 10:1-13. The Queen of Sheba Admires the Wisdom of Solomon.

1. 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 (2Ki 16:18), and the remains of which have been recently discovered [Robinson]—overwhelmed her with astonishment. [See on 2Ch 9:4.]

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.

10. she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold—£720,00.

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 (2Ch 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.

1Ki 10:14-29. His Riches.

14, 15. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year—666 talents, equal to £3,996,000. 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, 17. 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 1Ki 14:26).

18-26. 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 (2Ch 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 (Jon 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.

26-29.—(See on 2Ch 1:14 [and 2Ch 9:25].)