1 Kings 9
DOYLYVer. 1.—when Solomon had finished the building] It is meant, after he had not only finished the building, but completed also the festival of the dedication, and the prayer, which has been detailed in the last chapter: this appears from ver. 3. Bp. Patrick.
— gold, four hundred and twenty talents.] It is said at 2 Chron. viii. 18, that they brought 450 talents: a difference which is of little importance, whether we attribute it to a variation in the value of the talent, or in the quantity of the metal, the one referring to the quantity of pure gold, the other of gold with alloy; The queen of Sheba admireth the wisdom of Solomon. Before CHRIST about 992. a 2 Chron. 9. 1. Matth. 12. 42. Luke 11. 31.
AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
Ver. 1.—the queen of Sheba] It has been a great subject of dispute, what was the situation of this Sheba. Some writers, and among these Josephus, place it in Africa; but the best supported opinion is, that the kingdom of Sheba lay in the south part of Arabia Felix. This accords with the title of “queen of the south” given by our Saviour, Matth. xii. 42, to the queen of Sheba; Arabia Felix too abounded very much in gold and spices, which were brought by that queen to Solomon. Dr. Wells.
—concerning the name of the Lord.] The most natural meaning is, she had heard of his fame concerning matters of religion, or with respect to religious knowledge in general, and particularly to the temple, built with such splendour and magnificence, for the honour of God’s name, and the maintenance of true religion. Pyle. If this princess came from Arabia, she may have been descended from Abraham, by his wife Keturah, one of whose sons begat Sheba, the first planter of this country; and consequently she may have had some knowledge of revealed religion, by tradition at least, from her pious ancestors. Accordingly, it was Solomon’s fame concerning the name of the Lord, “that is, concerning his knowledge of the supreme Being, and the proper manner of worshipping Him, which excited her to take so long a journey. And therefore our Saviour says, that, as she came so far to “hear his wisdom,” (his wisdom, no doubt, concerning the nature and worship of Almighty God,) Matth. xii. 42, she would, at the day of judgment, “rise up” against that generation which had refused to listen to Him. Stackhouse. See 2 Chron. ix. 8, and the note.
own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
—came to prove him with hard questions] Came to try whether his wisdom was so great as was reported, by proposing to him hard questions. Dr. Wells.
1 Kings 9:4
4.—if thou wilt walk before me, &c.] In this passage it is strikingly expressed how much the safety, welfare, and happiness of kings and people depend entirely on their obedience to the laws of God. Bp. Wilson.
1 Kings 9:11
11.—twenty cities] These were not cities in the land of promise, which, as being God’s gift to His people, could not be alienated; but were cities conquered by David, and not yet inhabited by Israel. Bp. Wilson.
1 Kings 9:13
13.—he called them the land of Cabul] It is commonly thought that Hiram called them by way of derision Cabul, which signifies “a dirty country,” or
1 Kings 9:15
- — and the wall of Jerusalem.] There are said to have been three walls, one within another; the inner wall compassing the house of God, and the house of the king; the middle wall compassing the houses of the Prophets and great persons; and the third compassing the houses of all the people. Bp. Patrick.
1 Kings 9:16
- — Pharaoh — had — taken Gezer.] It appeared from Josh. xvi. 10, that when the Ephraimites took possession of Gezer, they suffered the Canaanites to dwell in it, who afterwards gave them no small disturbance; when therefore Pharaoh contracted an alliance with Solomon, he thought that he could not do him a more acceptable service, than by expelling the Canaanites from Gezer, and giving the city as a present with his daughter. Stackhouse.
1 Kings 9:18
- — Tadmor in the wilderness.] Tadmor was a very famous city, known among the Greeks by the name of Palmyra, situated in the wilderness of Syria, on the borders of Arabia Deserts, inclining towards the Euphrates. Josephus places it two days’ journey from Upper Syria, one day’s journey from the Euphrates, and six days’ journey from Babylon. If we may guess by the ruins which later travellers describe of this city, it was one of the finest and most magnificent in the East; and it is somewhat surprising, that history should give us so little account when or by whom it was reduced to the sad condition in which it now appears. The reason of Solomon’s building this city in so desolate a place, was probably the commodiousness of its situation, to cut off all commerce between the Syrians and Mesopotamians, and to prevent their caballing and conspiring against him, as they had done against his father David. Stackhouse, Dr. Wells.
From the earliest times there seems to have been some communication between Mesopotamia and other provinces on the banks of the Euphrates, and those parts of Syria and Palestine which lay near the Mediterranean. The migration of Abram from Ur of the Chaldees to Sichem in the land of Canaan, is an instance of this, Gen. xi, xii. The journey through the desert, which separated these countries, was much facilitated by its affording one station abounding with water,
1 Kings 9:23
- — five hundred and fifty.] At 2 Chron. viii. 10, His yearly sacrifices. His navy fetcheth gold from Ophir. Before CHRIST about 992. built for her: then did he build Millo.
1 Kings 9:26
- — Exion-geber which is beside Eloth.] We read at Numb. xxxiii. 35, that one of the encampments of the Israelites was at Exion-geber; and both Eloth and Exion-geber are mentioned at Deut. ii. 8. It is clear from Scripture that Exion-geber was on the Red sea, but its exact situation is matter of dispute. Dr. Wells. The chief foundation of riches to the Jews was the trade which they carried on by the Red sea, to the coasts of Africa on the west, and also to those of Arabia, Persia, and India, on the east. King David was the first who began it; for, having conquered the kingdom of Edom, and reduced it to be a province of the empire,
1 Kings 9:28
- And they came to Ophir.] It is agreed by all writers, that the trade carried on under Solomon was the same as that which is now in the hands of our East India merchants; yet there are great disputes among learned men, in what parts of the Eastern world Ophir and Tarshiah, the two places of resort mentioned in Scripture, lay. Some suppose Ophir to have been the island of Socotra, which lies on the eastern coast of Africa, a little without the straits of Babel-mandel. Others contend for the island of Ceylon, which supposition is thus far confirmed, that an ancient author, Euhis servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.