1 Kings 10:1-13

II. THE RECOGNITION OF SOLOMON'S GLORY

(1 Kings 10:1-13)

TRANSLATION

(1) When the queen of Sheba continued to hear the report of Solomon in relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with riddles. (2) And she came to Jerusalem with a very heavy host, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came unto Solomon, she spoke unto him all which was within her heart. (3) And Solomon related to her all of her matters. Nothing was hidden from the king which he did not relate to her. (4) When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, (5) the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, his cup-bearers, and his ascent[270] by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit within her. (6) And she said unto the king, True was the word which I heard in my land concerning your words and your wisdom. (7) But I did not believe the words until I came and my eyes saw, and behold the half was not told me; with respect to wisdom and prosperity you have exceeded the report which I heard. (8) Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand before you continually, hearing your wisdom. (9) May the LORD your God be blessed who delighted in you to set you upon the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever and made you king to execute justice and righteousness. (1) And she gave the king a hundred twenty talents of gold and exceeding much spices and precious stones. There never came again an abundance of spices like those which the queen of Sheba gave to Solomon. (11) And also the fleet of Hiram which carried gold from Ophir brought in from Ophir very great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. (12) And the king made the almug trees into pillars for the house of the LORD and the king's house, and harps and psalteries for singers. Such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day. (13) And King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides that which he gave her as the hand of King Solomon. And she turned and went to her land, she and her servants.

[270] The text here literally reads his burnt offering (Heb. -olatho), but Chronicles has his ascent (Heb. -aliyatho).

COMMENTS

In 1 Kings 10:1-13 the author narrates one of the results produced by the wide-ranging voyages of Solomon's fleet. The fame of this king and news of his great undertakings were widely diffused and stirred great wonder throughout the ancient world. Among others, an incredulous queen of Arabia came to inspect first hand the marvels of Solomon's city and court. The prediction made in Solomon's dedicatory prayer (1 Kings 8:42) was thereby fulfilled.

Sheba, located in southern Arabia, was one of a number of advanced states in that region contemporary with the Hebrew monarchy. These kingdoms were essentially trading empires. Costly luxury commodities from India and East Africa along with incense produced locally would move through Sheba northward via the Arabian oases of Mecca, Medina and Teima to such distribution points as Damascus in the north and Gaza in the west. More than mere curiosity moved this queen to head for Jerusalem. The visit of the queen of Sheba was probably a trade mission rendered necessary by the Hebrew control of the major land routes to the north and by the economic threat to south Arabian trade with India and East Africa posed by Solomon's naval enterprise. The precise identity of the queen of Sheba has not yet been ascertained. It is known, however, that queens were quite prominent in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, and there is absolutely no basis for thinking of the queen of Sheba as a fictional character invented by the author of Kings.[271]

[271] See Abbot, AJSL, LVIII (1946), 1ff. A South Arabian clay stamp used to seal cargo boxes has also been discovered in Palestine. This discovery would be a witness to the trade agreement between Israel and South Arabia in the days of Solomon. See Free, ABH, p. 174.

The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame through tradersperhaps Solomon's own sailorswho had been to Jerusalem and seen the magnificence of the city. She was informed that Solomon's greatness was due to his relationship with the God of Israel and part of her reason for going to Jerusalem was to test the king by means of enigmatic riddles in order to see for herself if he had supernatural wisdom (1 Kings 10:1). Such tests of practical sagacity were part of the diplomatic encounters of that time. A king's wit and poetic skill were evidence of the extent to which he was conversant with affairs and culture in the world of his day.[272] Josephus records a similar battle of wits between Solomon and Hiram.[273]

[272] Gray, OTL, p. 241.
[273] Ant., VIII, 5.3.

The journey to Jerusalem from Shebaa trip of some fifteen hundred mileswas no small undertaking in that day. The queen brought with her a very heavy force or host which included no doubt an armed escort and court attendants, as well as camels bearing spices, gold and precious stones to be bestowed upon her host. When she reached Jerusalem, the queen spoke to Solomon all that was in her heart (1 Kings 10:2), and the king was able to answer appropriately all the questions which were put to him (1 Kings 10:3). The queen was quite impressed with the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built for himself (1 Kings 10:4). She was amazed as she watched Solomon's hundreds of servants gathered about the bountiful tables which the king spread for them. The rich and costly apparel of Solomon's personal attendants and his cupbearers (cf. 2 Chronicles 9:4) particularly caught her eye. The queen also took note of the ascent or private entrance by which the king entered the Temple (cf. 2 Kings 16:18) which must have been a work of architectural magnificence.[274] The reaction of the queen to all the grandeur of Solomon's court is expressed in the words and there was no more spirit in her, i.e., she was beside herself with amazement.

[274] The phrase his ascent has caused considerable speculation. Some think it may have been an arched bridge or viaduct over the Tyropoeon Valley between Mt. Zion and the western wall of the Temple area. It has been estimated that such a bridge would have been at least three hundred fifty feet long and a hundred thirty feet in altitude. Others, however, think the reference is not to some architectural achievement, but rather to the splendid retinue which accompanied Solomon on his visits to the Temple.

The queen was not reluctant to express her feelings and reactions to Solomon. All that she had heard concerning his words and wisdom had proved to be true (1 Kings 10:6). While she had been incredulous prior to making her journey to Jerusalem, she now was of the opinion that the wisdom and prosperity of Solomon far exceeded any report which had come to her ears (1 Kings 10:7). How happy must be those servants who were part of this glorious court! (1 Kings 10:8).

The queen rightly discerned that Solomon's prosperity and sagacity came from the Lord, the God of Israel, and thus in 1 Kings 10:9 she directed her praise heavenward. The Lord delighted in Solomon and set him upon the throne of Israel because He loved Israel and wished a king to rule over His people who would execute justice and righteousness. Thus an interesting thought is attributed to the queen: the choice of Solomon was an indication of the extent of God's love for Israel. On the basis of 1 Kings 10:9 and the allusion to the queen of Sheba in Matthew 12:42, it has been concluded that the queen became a convert to the religion of Israel. However, it should be noted that she speaks here of the Lord your God. Also it is noteworthy that no record is made that she gave any of her gifts to the Temple; they all were given to King Solomon. One who is polytheist may recognize the absolute authority of a god of another people in another place.

The state visit was concluded with an exchange of gifts. For her part, the queen gave Solomon a hundred twenty talents of gold,[275] a vast amount of spices, and precious stones (1 Kings 10:10). Solomon made appropriate gifts to the queen in return for her generosity and in addition gave her whatever she asked (1 Kings 10:13). This might well include a satisfactory trade agreement. Ethiopian Christians take these words as a basis for their belief that the queen bore a son by SolomonMelimelek by namefrom whom the recent monarchs of Ethiopia claimed to derive their descent.

[275] According to the Berkeley Version the value of this gold would be about $3,500,000.

The account of the gifts given to Solomon by the queen of Sheba causes the author to digress in 1 Kings 10:11-12 to relate other importations during this reign. From the fleet of Hiram,[276] Solomon received a great quantity of gold from Ophir as well as precious stones and almug trees (1 Kings 10:11). On the location of Ophir, see comments on 1 Kings 9:28. The precise identification of the almug tree depends on the view one has of the location of Ophir. From this precious wood Solomon constructed pillars (lit., props, supports) and stairs (2 Chronicles 9:11). Taking both the Chronicles and Kings passages into account, Keil suggests that it was a flight of steps or staircase with banisters which was constructed. Also from this precious almug wood various types of stringed musical instruments were constructed for use by the Temple singers. The Chronicler implies that these musical instruments marked an innovation. Apparently it was only during the reign of Solomon that almug wood was imported to Israel (1 Kings 10:12).

[276] It is difficult to determine whether this fleet is the same as that mentioned in 1 Kings 9:26-28. Stieglitz (MAAI, p. 151) feels they are separate fleets, although he suggests the two fleets may have sailed together on occasion (p. 154).