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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Chronicles 9:13 - 9:31
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The Immense Wealth of Solomon and his Death
v. 13. Now, the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold (almost $20,000,000),
v. 14. beside that which chapmen, traders, especially such as establish commercial connections with new territories, and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia, the mighty and wealthy sheikhs of the various tribes of the peninsula, and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon, as presents showing their good will.
v. 15. And King Solomon made two hundred targets, a special kind of shield, of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target (approximately $2,000 worth).
v. 16. And three hundred shields, of a smaller size, made he of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold, or three full pounds, 1Ki_10:17, went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon, the great armory just before his palace.
v. 17. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
v. 18. And there were six steps to the throne, leading up to the seat itself, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays, arm-rests, on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays;
v. 19. and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like, for uniqueness and costliness, made in any kingdom.
v. 20. And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and an the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver; it was not anything accounted of in the days of Solomon, being so plentiful and so common that it lost its value as a precious metal.
v. 21. For the king's ships, the navy on the Mediterranean Sea, went to Tarshish, the rich mining region of Spain, with the servants of Huram; every three years once came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, in the form of elephants' tusks, and apes, and peacocks. The words may also be construed as referring to Tarshish-ships, large vessels built for ocean trade, such as were sent out from Ezion-gaber and Elath.
v. 22. And King Solomon passed all the kings of the earth, of all the countries known at that time, in riches and wisdom.
v. 23. And all the kings of the earth, those in the world as known then, sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God had put in his heart.
v. 24. And they brought every man his present, showing their good will and regard, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year, the bringing of these gifts being made an annual affair.
v. 25. And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, for a total of forty thousand horses, 1Ki_4:26, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
v. 26. And he reigned over all the kings from the river, that is, from the Euphrates, even unto the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt, all the kingdoms and tribes in that entire region being tributary to his kingdom at that time.
v. 27. And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, so common and therefore comparatively low in value, and cedar-trees made he as the sycomore-trees that are in the low plains in abundance, 2Ch_1:15; 1Ki_10:27.
v. 28. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt and out of all lands, 1Ki_10:28. So Solomon undoubtedly carried the Hebrew kingdom to its highest pinnacle of worldly glory and power, and his centralizing of the worship served to unify the nation as never before or after. At the same time, however, the luxury introduced by him served to enervate the people and to have a bad influence on the character of the entire nation.
v. 29. Now, the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the Book of Nathan, the prophet, and in the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the Visions of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nebat? It seems that the inspired writer drew from these accounts for his information, being guided herein by the Holy Spirit, the real Author of the Bible.
v. 30. And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
v. 31. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David, his father, in the place afterward known as the sepulchers of the kings; and Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his stead. All the wealth, honor, and wisdom of this world is vain and vanishing. The safest thing is to place one's trust in the Word and promises of God, faith in which will carry each believer through death into eternal life beyond.