Chapter 9

1 The queen of Sheba admireth the wisdom of Solomon. 13 Solomon’s gold. 15 His targets. 17 The throne of ivory. 20 His vessels. 23 His presents. 25 His chariots and horse. 26 His tributes. 29 His reign and death.

1. Queen of Sheba. Verses 1–12 deal with the visit of the queen of Sheba. The narrative is parallel to 1 Kings 10:1–13, with only slight variations in the two accounts. Modern archaeologists now generally place Sheba in southern Arabia (see on 1 Kings 10:1).

4. Ascent. Heb. Фaliyyah, “a roof chamber.” However, the reading should probably be Фolah as in 1 Kings 10:5. ФOlah may be translated “burnt offering.” Since Фolah is, literally, “that which goes up,” some think that a causeway may be indicated, such as one providing the king with a private way from his palace to the Temple (see 1 Chron. 26:16; see on 1 Kings 10:5).

7. Thy servants. When masters are servants of the Lord of heaven, those who are in their service will find happiness. At this time Solomon had not yet forsaken the Lord, but was devoted to His service. He loved God and had compassion on men. With the peace of God in his heart, Solomon was kind, patient, and considerate. Men close to him felt the spell of his influence. The great need of today is for leaders who reflect the spirit of Heaven, that those under their guidance may find true joy and lasting happiness.

8. Blessed be the Lord. See on 1 Kings 10:9. After Solomon told the queen of Sheba the secret of his wisdom, peace, and prosperity, she was led to extol not the king but God. If Solomon had always remained true to the Lord, his influence would have continued to go out to the world for good, and many who had not known God would have been led to give honor to Him. From Jerusalem a light might thus have gone out to all the world which would have brought men out of all lands from darkness to light.

God loved Israel. The queen of Sheba had learned of God’s love for His people from the witness that came from Solomon’s lips. No doubt Solomon related to the queen the history of God’s marvelous dealings with Israel, and she returned to her native land with a deep impression on her heart of the greatness of Israel’s God.

9. Hundred and twenty talents. If these were talents of about 75 lb. (34 kg.; see Vol. I, p. 164), the weight of gold would be 4.5 tons (4.1 metric tons); however, we cannot be sure what scale of weights was here used. The earthly treasure that the queen of Sheba left with Solomon was of small moment as compared with the heavenly treasure that had opened to her.

10. Servants also of Huram. The parallel passage in 1 Kings 10:11 reads, “The navy also of Hiram.”

Gold from Ophir. See on 1 Kings 10:11.

11. Algum trees. These trees cannot now be identified with any degree of certainty (see on ch. 2:8).

Terraces. Heb. mesilloth, “highways.” The parallel passage (1 Kings 10:12) has misФad, “pillars,” which should perhaps be read here also (see on 1 Kings 10:12).

12. Which she had brought. The parallel passage (1 Kings 10:13) reads instead, “which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty.” Solomon gave to the queen return presents. The giving was not all on one side. Solomon was as generous as his visitor, and gave gifts to her, perhaps of a value equal to or even greater than those which she had given to him.

13. Six hundred and threescore and six. For an attempted evaluation of this amount see on 1 Kings 10:14. Verses 13–28 deal with Solomon’s income, treasures, foreign trade, horses, and chariots. The parallel section is 1 Kings 10:14–29; 4:26.

14. Chapmen. Heb. Хanshe hattarim, translated “merchantmen” in 1 Kings 10:15. Tarim is from tur, which means “to seek out,” “to spy out,” “to explore,” and probably denotes a merchant as one who seeks out or explores. The word translated “merchants” is from a root meaning “to travel about.”

15. Targets. Heb. s\innah, large shields (see on 1 Kings 10:16).

Six hundred shekels. Possibly about 15 lb. (6.8 kg.). Shields of gold would probably not be used for protection in battle, but for display. Gold was extensively employed for display in the ancient Orient. The king of Ur had a helmet of gold. In Egypt royal coffins were made of gold.

16. Shields. Heb. maginnim, shields, evidently smaller than the sinnah (v. 15). There is a suggestion that the royal bodyguard in later years comprised 500 men in the fact that 5 “captains of hundreds” are mentioned who were presumably in command of the palace guards (ch. 23:1). That these guards were divided into two groups, one of 200 men and another of 300 men, is hinted in 2 Kings 11:5–7, 9, 10, where three parts, or companies, are named as those “that enter in on the sabbath,” or were on guard on the Sabbath, and two were those “that go forth on the sabbath.” If these deductions are correct, the 200 “targets” and the 300 “shields” may have been worn by the royal bodyguard at certain state functions. Solomon’s personal bodyguard is described as consisting of 60 men on a particular occasion when the king’s litter was carried through the streets of Jerusalem in magnificent display (S. of Sol. 3:7–10, margin).

Three hundred shekels. Probably about 71/2 lb. (3.4 kg.).

House of the forest. The golden shields were evidently not often used and on normal occasions were hung in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17. Throne of ivory. See on 1 Kings 10:18–20.

18. Stays. Presumably arms at the sides of the throne, which were possibly supported by lions.

20. Vessels of the house. The fact that there were such vessels of gold in the house of the forest of Lebanon has led some to believe that this building was used for banqueting purposes. For a description of this building see on 1 Kings 7:2–6.

None were of silver. Compare v. 27.

21. Tarshish. See on the parallel passage, 1 Kings 10:22, which reads: “For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish.”

22. Riches. See on 1 Kings 10:23.

23. All the kings. See on 1 Kings 10:24.

24. A rate year by year. The kings who were in vassalage to Solomon (v. 26) were required to bring a fixed annual tribute (see on 1 Kings 10:25).

25. Stalls. See on 1 Kings 4:26.

26. Over all. See on 1 Kings 4:21.

28. Out of Egypt. See on 1 Kings 10:28; 2 Chron. 1:16.

29. Rest of the acts. Verses 29–31 close the narrative of Solomon’s reign. The statements concerning Solomon’s many wives, his wandering after strange gods, the adversaries whom the Lord stirred up against him, and the prediction of the disruption of his kingdom found in 1 Kings 11:1–40 do not appear in Chronicles.

Are they not written? A number of important records that dealt with the life and times of Solomon are here named. These sources doubtless contained many items that were not incorporated in a summary history such as Chronicles.

Ahijah the Shilonite. For incidents in the life of this prophet see 1 Kings 11:29–39; 14:2–18.

30. Forty years. Compare 1 Kings 11:42.

31. Slept with his fathers. Verses 29–31 exhibit a typical official closing formula henceforth used in the records of the various kings (see on 1 Kings 11:43).

Ellen G. White comments

1 PK 66

2–6PK 67

21 Ed 49; PK 54; 7T 217

23 PK 47, 67

27 PK 54

28 PK 56