Lange Commentary - 1 Kings 10:1

Lange Commentary - 1 Kings 10:1 - 10:13

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Lange Commentary - 1 Kings 10:1 - 10:13

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FOURTH SECTION

The Fame And The Magnificence Of Solomon

1 Kings 10

A.—The Visit of the Queen of Sheba

1Ki_10:1-13

¹And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning thename of the Lord [Jehovah], she came to prove him with hard questions. ²And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, shecommuned with him of all that was in her heart. ³And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing [a question] hid from the king, whichhe told her not. ⁴And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom,and the house that he had built, ⁵and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord⁶[Jehovah]; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy Acts 7 and of thy Wisdom 7 Howbeit I believed not the words,⁷ until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth⁸the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants,which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy Wisdom 9 Blessed be the Lord [Jehovah] thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord [Jehovah] loved Israel forever, therefore made he theeking, to do judgment and justice. ¹⁰And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gaveto king Solomon; ¹¹And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.¹²And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord [Jehovah], and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: therecame no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. ¹³And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Exegetical and Critical

1Ki_10:1-3. And when the queen of Sheba.Cf. 2Ch_9:1-12. The name of Solomon became famous far and near, through the trading ships that were mentioned in 1Ki_9:26 sq. A proof is here given. ùְׁáָà , Sheba, is a country in Arabia Felix (not to be confounded with ñְáָà , i. e., Meroë in Ethiopia, as Josephus has it), on the Red Sea, rich in spices, frankincense, gold, and precious stones (Jer_6:20; Eze_27:22; Isa_60:6; Psa_72:15). “The Sabæans, whose capital city was Sheba, had become, through their extensive commerce, the richest nation among the Arabians” (Winer, R.-W.-B. II. s. 405; Duncker, Gesch. des Alterth. I. s. 140 sq.). The Queen of this country, who visited Solomon, was certainly the reigning one; according to Claudian in Eutrop. i. 132, the Sabæans were generally governed by queens, but this has no historical foundation. Whether she were widowed or unmarried is, like her name, uncertain. Her fame spread with and through that of Solomon, who was the beau-ideal of a king throughout the East, for even the Koran mentions her visit to Solomon (Sur. 27), and there are many legends about it among the Arabians and Abyssinians. The former name her Balkis, and the latter Maqueda, and even say that she had a son by Solomon, named Menihelek (or Melimelek), who was the ancestor of the Abyssinian kings (comp. Winer). These fables of after-times need no refutation. The words ìְùֵׁí éְäåָֹä , which are wanting in Chron., are by no means unsuitable or superfluous (Movers); they exist in all the old translations, but have been very differently understood. Propter nomen Jeh. (Le Clerc) is least like it; neither is De Wette right: to Jehovah’s honor; nor this, “the fame of what Solomon had become by Jehovah’s favor” (Gesenius); nor, the fame “that Solomon had acquired through the glory of his God” (Ewald); nor yet, “which he had attained, by Jehovah glorifying himself so in him” (Weil). The expression involuntarily reminds us of the ìְùֵׁí éְäåָֹä 3:2; 5:17, 19; 8:17, 18, 19, 20, 44, 48; 2Sa_7:13. The house built to Jehovah’s name was the first and principal reason of Solomon’s fame; and was what the Queen had chiefly heard of, in which she had seen, like Hiram, an evidence of wisdom. This she desired to prove for herself.

To prove him with hard questions. To clothe wisdom in the form of proverbs, which were often dark and enigmatical on account of their brevity, is a primitive custom of the East, especially among the Arabians, who are very rich in proverbs; the collection of the Meidani, for instance, which contains 6,000 proverbs, and the Makami of the Hariri show this. 1Ki_4:32 says that 3,000 are by Solomon; and those in his name, that are now extant, include many that are enigmatical. We do not mean enigmas in the sense of those that used to be propounded at meals or otherwise (cf. Rosenmüller A. u. N. Morgenland with Jdg_14:12); the Queen did not want any trial of skill in enigmas with Solomon, but wished to propound important and difficult questions to him. Solomon did not fail in a single answer ( äִâִּéø 1Ki_10:3 is solving riddles in Jdg_14:19, and interpreting dreams in Gen_41:24; Dan_5:12).

1Ki_10:4-8. And when the Queen had seen all Solomon’s wisdom. Solomon’s wisdom was shown, not only in his answers and discourses (1Ki_10:3), but in all his arrangements, in the whole constitution of the court, and manner of his government; whithersoever the Queen looked, she beheld evidence of his wonderful gifts and powers of thought. The “house” is not the Temple, but the royal palace, as the following words concerning the court-appointments show. “The meat of his table” is the royal table, the splendor of which is especially described. The sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, means “the civil officers who sat at the royal table, and the servants, among whom were the “cup-bearers,” in attendance upon them (Bertheau). These three descriptions have nothing to do with localities, with the ministers’ seats, the place where the servants stood, nor the preparations for the cup-bearing (Weil); nor the order of the offices, and the rooms of the lower servants (Thenius); for the parallel passage in 2Ch_9:4 shows that îַùְׁ÷ָéå are persons. It is more doubtful how we are to understand the following words åְòֹìָúåֹ , &c.; Chron. has òֲìִéָּúåֹ instead. All the translations give for both passages: “and the burnt-offerings, which he offered in Jehovah’s house;” this would mean the solemn and magnificent rites of the Temple worship. But it would not agree with the description just preceding, of the royal table and court appointments, the servants and cup-bearers; and above all, the splendid Temple building would have deserved mention; it would be necessary, too, to alter the text in both places; and åְòֹìֹúָå should be read, yet we have no grounds for doing this. If this were the right reading, the Chronicler, who was so partial to the details concerning the worship, would not have taken òֲìִéָּúåֹ instead. Most modern translators (Keil, Winer, Ewald), therefore, give ascent for òֹìָúåֹ ; meaning the particular ascent of steps that led from the palace to the Temple ; and òֹìָä Eze_40:26 has the same signification. This ascent of steps belonged to the palace, and very likely struck the eye, as it is here expressly mentioned; it also appears from 2Ki_16:18 that the king had a peculiar entrance of that kind to the Temple. The concluding words of 1Ki_10:5 are literally, and there was no more breath in her; as the breath goes in terror (Jos_2:11; Jos_5:1), so it also goes in cases of extreme astonishment.

1Ki_10:9-10. Blessed be the Lord thy God. We cannot conclude from these words that the Queen had formally confessed the One God of Israel, but rather that it meant what we have already remarked of a similar expression of Hiram, 1Ki_5:7. What she saw and heard excited her wonder to such a degree, that it seemed to her directly imparted by the God Solomon adored, and for whom she became filled with reverence. The presents which the Queen, according to custom, made, consisted of those articles in which her land most abounded, and for which it was most famous. The spices were principally the famous Arabian balm, which was largely exported; according to Josephus (Ant.8, 6, 6) the balm-shrub was introduced into Palestine by the Queen of Sheba (Winer, R.-W.-B. I. s. 132).

1Ki_10:11-13. And the navy also of Hiram, &c. The mention of the costly presents leads the author to the remark, 1Ki_10:11-12, which may be regarded as a parenthesis, that such articles of luxury were introduced in abundance into Jerusalem by commerce; and the (fragrant) spices reminded him of the equally great quantities of sandal-wood that Solomon received through Hiram’s ships. This wood, which is indigenous to India, “was highly prized throughout the East for its fragrance, and partly was carved into images, partly used for fine utensils, and partly used for incense-burning” (Winer, II. s. 379). îִñְòָã (1Ki_10:12) only occurs here, and its meaning is not quite certain. The root ñָòַã means, to support, make sure. Thenius calls it “supports of the resting,” i.e., seats made by Solomon on the walls of a palace or Temple room; but we do not find the slightest mention of such a Temple room anywhere. As Chron. has îְñִìּåֹú (from ñָìַì , to prepare the way, Psalms 68; Psalms 5) instead of our word, Bertheau thinks that ñòã like öòã is to advance, so that both expressions really denote the same thing; i.e., the “way of entrance, ascent.” Jarchi gives îñòã by øöôä i.e., wainscoting on the floor (tessellated pavements); and this seems the best. The translation, steps with banisters (Keil), has no authority. ëִּðּåֹø and ðֶáֶì must be stringed instruments with sounding-boards; they are mentioned together in Psa_71:22; Psa_108:3; Psa_150:3; we know nothing certain of their natures. Which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty (1Ki_10:13), i.e., besides the things he presented her with according to the custom of kings, he gave her everything else she desired. We can scarcely think this included, as the other translators think, any literary productions. It is very doubtful whether the Ethiopian Christians “concluded rightly from these words that their Queen had a son by Solomon” (Bertheau).

Historical and Ethical

1. The section before us does not, by any means, contain a story accidentally and arbitrarily inserted here, which, however beautiful it may be, might be left out without doing harm, because it does not bear upon the history of the Israelite kings. How high the significance which has always been attached to the event recorded is, is shown by the fact that the remembrance of it has been preserved outside of Palestine for thousands of years, and that two ancient peoples, the Arabians and Abyssinians, revered the Queen of Sheba as the mother of their line of kings; the Abyssinian tradition making the son she bore to Solomon the founder of the ancient Ethiopian kingdom. And when the Lord, from out the treasure of the Old Testament history, chooses this narrative, and presents it for the shaming of his contemporaries, this presupposes that it was known to and specially esteemed by all other nations. It is, therefore, something more than an ordinary visit of royal etiquette. Sabæa was reckoned to be the richest, most highly favored and glorious land in the ancient world, and therefore was given the unique name of “The Happy.” Agatharchides names the Sabæans ãÝíïò ðáíôïßáò êýñéïí åὐäáéìïíßáò . Now when the Queen came with a splendid retinue to visit this distant land, and from no political design, but merely to see and hear the famous king; and when she, the sovereign of the most fortunate country in the world, declared that what she had seen and heard exceeded all her expectations; this surely was the greatest homage Solomon could have met, homage that no king had ever yet received; and the result was that Solomon was regarded as the ideal of a wise, great, and happy king, throughout the Eastern world. The visit of the Queen of Sheba marks, then, the splendor and climax of the Old Testament Kingdom, and marks an essential moment in the history of the covenant as well as of Solomon. This story is therefore in its right place, following, as it does, the account of the great and glorious works Solomon made for his country and which acquired for him so much fame.

2. The context explains the kind of “wisdom” that the Queen sought and found in Solomon. It was not much learning; neither were the “riddles” that Solomon solved metaphysical problems, nor mere conversation and play of wit. Besides the answers he gave to her questions, his works, appointments, and arrangements convinced the Queen of his great wisdom, in which she recognized the working of a peculiar power and grace imparted by God. It was also a practical or life-wisdom, such as Solomon himself describes, “a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor. The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her,” Pro_3:14-18. But this wisdom rests upon the foundation of the knowledge and fear of God (comp. 1Ki_10:1 and Pro_2:4-6), and the whole reign of Solomon is the result of the same (see Historical and Ethical on 1Ki_4:29). “O! happy time, when mighty princes visited each other in the midst of their lands, made tranquil by a holy fear of God, so to vie with each other in wisdom and what is still better, the search after wisdom” (Ewald).

3. When the Lord says in Mat_12:42 and Luk_11:31 : “The Queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost part of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon is here,” he recognizes the prophetical and typical meaning of our narrative, as is the case generally with the kingdom of Solomon. It is said in the prophetical descriptions of the peaceful kingdom of Messiah, “the Kings of Sheba and Seba (Meroë) shall offer gifts; yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him” (Psa_72:10-11); and “all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord” (Isa_60:6). The Queen of Sheba, who came from far, out of the happiest, country of the world, to Solomon, brought him presents, and received all she wished from him, is a type of the kings who with their people shall come from far and near to the everlasting Prince of peace, the King of kings, and shall do him homage. Her visit is an historical prophecy of the true and eternal kingdom of peace. It is just this prophetical and typical character of the story that gives such emphasis to our Lord’s reproof of the hardened Israelites of His time.

Homiletical and Practical

1Ki_10:1-13. The queen of Sheba comes to Solomon. (a) She comes in order to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (b) She finds more than she expected. (c) She worships and praises the Lord for what she has seen and heard, (d) She returns home in peace, with rich gifts.—Solomon receiving the Queen of Sheba a type of Christ (Mat_22:42). (a) He did not reject her who sought him, but raised her up (Joh_6:37). (b) He solved her questions, and showed her his glory (Joh_1:9; Joh_1:14; 22:46; 6:68). (c) He accepted her gifts, and gave her much more in return, even all that she desired and requested. (Joh_10:11; Joh_10:28; Joh_16:24; Joh_4:13 sq.). 1Ki_10:1-3. The Queen of Sheba had everything that pertains to temporal prosperity and good fortune, high rank, power and honor, health and wealth; but all these satisfied not her soul; she sought the solution of the enigma of life, and when she heard of Solomon, and of the name of the Lord, she spared no expense or trouble, neither regarded the scorn and contempt of the world, in order to satisfy the longing of her soul for the word of life. She said not: I am rich, and have an abundance, and need nothing; but she felt that she still needed the highest and the best. How superior is this heathen woman to so many Christians, who hunger and thirst after all possible things, but never after a knowledge of truth and wisdom, after the word of life. We do not need to journey to Jerusalem, to find him who is greater than Solomon, for he has promised: “I am with you forever, until the end of the world,” and can be found everywhere, if men seek him earnestly.—God is not without a witness in the midst of the heathen, whereby they may feel and recognize Him, for He wills that all men shall be aided to come to a knowledge of the truth. The same God who gave Solomon the wise heart for which he prayed, revealed to the inquiring spirit of the heathen queen what she most desired.

1Ki_10:3. One receives with readiness and alacrity the soul which longs after the truth of God; such souls faithfully apply the same, they do not weary—and the counsel of God unto salvation is not withheld from them (Act_20:27, and Jam_5:19-20).

1Ki_10:4-9. The acknowledgment of the Queen of Sheba, when she beheld the works of Solomon. (a) It is true … I would not believe it until I, &c., 1Ki_10:6-7 (Joh_10:35; Joh_10:38; Joh_14:11). (b) Thy wisdom has exceeded, &c., 1Ki_10:7 (Joh_6:68 sq.). (c) Happy are thy men, &c., 1Ki_10:8 (Luk_10:23). (d) Praised be the Lord, &c., 1Ki_10:9 (Eph_1:3).

1Ki_10:4. Words must be followed by works; the beholding with her own eyes, and her very own experience, must be added to the rumors she has heard. Nathaniel, when he heard of Jesus, the Messiah, spoke doubtingly at first: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? But when he came and saw he joyfully exclaimed: Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel (Joh_1:45-49).

1Ki_10:5. Great palaces, brilliant arrangements, &c., are objects worthy of real admiration if they are not evidently mere works to gratify the lust of the eye and the pride of life, but rather proofs of wisdom, of spiritual elevation, and of love of art.

1Ki_10:7. As in order to form a just conception of visible things we must see them with our own eyes—so also with invisible and divine things: rightly to recognize them as such, we must feel and taste their strength in our own hearts, and not merely hear of them from others (1Pe_2:3; Psa_34:9).

1Ki_10:8. Not because of their fine clothes, of their high position, of their splendid possessions, did the Queen regard the people and the servants of Solomon as blessed and happy, but because they could always listen to his wisdom. How much the more are those to be esteemed blessed, who, sitting at His feet, who Himself contains all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge, can hear the word of everlasting life from His mouth (Luk_10:23 sq). 1Ki_10:9. It is proof of a good and noble heart, when a man gives thanks to God for the gifts which he bestows upon other men. Cramer: Upon the land which God will bless He bestows good and wise rulers; but if He will to punish a country, he does the opposite (Isa_3:4; Ecc_10:16-17). If the Queen, in God’s gift of a Solomon to Israel, recognized a singular proof of God’s love to this nation, and exclaimed: Blessed be, &c., how can we thank and praise God enough for the love which sent his only begotten Son into the world, to save us from utter darkness, and to place us in the kingdom of His dear Son (Cor. 1:13; Eph_1:3).—Osiander: Rulers are given their high position by God, not simply to enjoy the pleasures of life, and to see good days, but to administer justice to their subjects, and care for their temporal and eternal welfare.

1Ki_10:10-13. The interchange of gifts between the Queen and Solomon, (a) The Queen is not content with words of praise and thanks; she testifies her gratitude by means of great and royal gifts. Of what avail is all mere verbal thanks and praise, if the life be devoid of lovely deeds, and of cheerful gifts, for the acknowledgment of God’s kingdom? (b) Solomon needed not the gifts; he had more than she could give him (1Ki_10:11-12); he gave her all that heart could desire. What are all our gifts in comparison with those which we receive from the Lord,—those which are immeasurably beyond what we ask and seek (Eph_3:20), and where it is more blessed to give than to receive (Act_20:35)? 1Ki_10:11-12. As God bestows various gifts upon individual men, so He also blesses different countries with varied products, not that nations should covet and contest the same, but that they should serve and mutually benefit each other.

1Ki_10:13. With a treasure incomparable in value to gold and jewels, the Queen joyfully went her way, like the Eunuch of Ethiopia.

How many are there who return from far journeys into distant lands, rich in gold and substance, but poor in faith and knowledge of the truth. They have lost more than they have won; the Queen gained more than she lost.—The generation of the present day in comparison with the Queen of Sheba; its satiety and indifference, its unbelief and its guilt (Mat_12:42).

Footnotes:

1Ki_10:1. [The Sept. and Syr. render this very difficult expression, àֵúÎùֵׁîַò ùְׁìֹîֹä ìְùֵׁí éְäåָֹä (See Exeg.Com.), “heard the name of Solomon and the name of the Lord,” and the Arab. the same except in retaining fame in the first clause.

1Ki_10:2. [Many MSS. editions, and the Vulg. and Syr., insert king before Solomon.

1Ki_10:3. [There seems no sufficient reason for varying the translation of ãָáָø occurring twice in such close proximity. The same variation is observed in the Chald. and Syr., but the Sept. have ëüãïò in both cases.

1Ki_10:4. [Several MSS. followed by the Arab. omit “all.”

1Ki_10:5. [The Sept., quite without authority, put the pronoun in the singular as referring to Solomon’s apparel.

1Ki_10:5. [All the ancient versions render “the burnt-offerings which he offered” (see Exeg. Com.) and must therefore have read òìåúå instead of òìúå , but without reason. See Exeg. Com.

1Ki_10:6-7. [The Heb. for report and acts, 1Ki_10:6, and words, 1Ki_10:7, is the same ãְáָøִéí , ãָáָø and this sameness is preserved in the Sept., although hardly possible in English.

1Ki_10:8. [The Sept. curiously enough render “happy are the women.”

1Ki_10:11. [Almug is not a translation, but only a putting into English letters of the Heb. àַìְîֻâִּéí . The versions render:—Vulg. thyina; Sept. ðåëåêçôÜ (Alex. ἀðåëÝêçôá ); Arab. colored wood, i.e. that kind of wood naturally painted with various colors. The sense as now generally understood is sandal-wood. See Exeg. Com.

1Ki_10:13. [Lit. gave her as from the hand of king Solomon.—F. G.]

See the graceful account of the legends, in Stanley’s Jewish church, Second Series, p. 259–262.—E. H.