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Text -- 1 Kings 10:3-29 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
10:3 Solomon answered all her questions ; there was no question too complex for the king .
10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom , the palace he had built ,
10:5 the food in his banquet hall , his servants and attendants , their robes , his cupbearers , and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple , she was amazed.
10:6 She said to the king , “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true !
10:7 I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes . Indeed , I didn’t hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me.
10:8 Your attendants , who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings , are truly happy !
10:9 May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel ! Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel , he made you king so you could make just and right decisions .”
10:10 She gave the king 120 talents of gold , a very large quantity of spices , and precious gems . The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched .
10:11 (Hiram’s fleet , which carried gold from Ophir , also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems .
10:12 With the timber the king made supports for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians . No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day .)
10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested , besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants .
Solomon’s Wealth
10:14 Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year ,
10:15 besides what he collected from the merchants , traders , Arabian kings , and governors of the land .
10:16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold ; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield .
10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold ; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields . The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest .
10:18 The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold .
10:19 There were six steps leading up to the throne , and the back of it was rounded on top . The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side .
10:20 There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps , one lion at each end of each step . There was nothing like it in any other kingdom .
10:21 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold , and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold . There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time .
10:22 Along with Hiram’s fleet , the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea . Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold , silver , ivory , apes , and peacocks .
10:23 King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth .
10:24 Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom .
10:25 Year after year visitors brought their gifts , which included items of silver , items of gold , clothes , perfume , spices , horses , and mules .
10:26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses . He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses . He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem .
10:27 The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones ; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands .
10:28 Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt and from Que ; the king’s traders purchased them from Que .
10:29 They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse . They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Solomon |
Queen |
Sheba |
King |
Gold |
QUEEN OF SHEBA |
Women |
Throne |
ARMY |
Chariot |
Ivory |
TEMPLE, A1 |
Commerce |
TRADE |
KING; KINGDOM |
GOVERNMENT |
Merchant |
Ophir |
LAW OF MOSES |
Horse |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> 1Ki 10:3; 1Ki 10:4; 1Ki 10:4; 1Ki 10:5; 1Ki 10:5; 1Ki 10:5; 1Ki 10:6; 1Ki 10:7; 1Ki 10:7; 1Ki 10:8; 1Ki 10:9; 1Ki 10:9; 1Ki 10:10; 1Ki 10:10; 1Ki 10:12; 1Ki 10:12; 1Ki 10:12; 1Ki 10:13; 1Ki 10:13; 1Ki 10:14; 1Ki 10:14; 1Ki 10:15; 1Ki 10:16; 1Ki 10:17; 1Ki 10:17; 1Ki 10:19; 1Ki 10:20; 1Ki 10:21; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ki 10:23; 1Ki 10:24; 1Ki 10:24; 1Ki 10:25; 1Ki 10:26; 1Ki 10:26; 1Ki 10:26; 1Ki 10:27; 1Ki 10:27; 1Ki 10:27; 1Ki 10:28; 1Ki 10:29
NET Notes: 1Ki 10:3 Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are spe...
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:8 Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:10 Heb “there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:12 Heb “there has not come thus, the fine timber, and there has not been seen to this day.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:14 Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:17 The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its constr...
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:19 Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:21 Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:23 Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and with respect to wisdom.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:24 Heb “and all the earth was seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:25 Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:26 For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
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NET Notes: 1Ki 10:28 From Egypt. Because Que is also mentioned, some prefer to see in vv. 28-29 a reference to Mutsur. Que and Mutsur were located in Cilicia/Cappadocia (i...
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