1 Kings 10:1

Solomon Entertains a Queen

10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, ¹  she came to challenge ²  him with difficult questions. ³ 

1 Kings 10:4

10:4 When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon’s extensive wisdom, ⁴  the palace ⁵  he had built,

1 Kings 10:10

10:10 She gave the king 120 talents ⁶  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. ⁷ 

1 Kings 10:13

10:13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. ⁸  Then she left and returned ⁹  to her homeland with her attendants.

[10:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the report about Solomon.” The Hebrew text also has, “to the name of the Lord,” which fits very awkwardly in the sentence. If retained, perhaps it should be translated, “because of the reputation of the Lord.” The phrase, which is omitted in the parallel passage in 2 Chr 9:1, may be an addition based on the queen’s declaration of praise to the Lord in v. 9.

[10:1]  ² tn Or “test.”

[10:1]  ³ tn Or “riddles.”

[10:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the wisdom of Solomon.”

[10:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”

[10:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “there has not come like those spices yet for quantity which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”

[10:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “besides what he had given her according to the hand of King Solomon.”

[10:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “turned and went.”