1 Kings 10:18

_MOREOVER THE KING MADE A GREAT THRONE OF IVORY, AND OVERLAID IT WITH THE BEST GOLD._ A great throne of ivory. It seems to have been made, not of solid ivory, but veneered. It was in the form of an arm-chair with a carved back. The ascent to it was by six steps, on each of which stood lions, in place of a railing; while a lion, probably of gilt metal, stood at each side, which, we may suppose from the analogy of other Oriental thrones, supported a canopy (Sir Thomas Roe's 'Voyages,' p. 456, where he gives an account of the throne of the, great Mogul, bearing a resemblance to Solomon's magnificent seat of majesty, but much inferior: see also Rawlinson's Herodotus,' 2:, p. 178, note, p. 179). A golden footstool is mentioned (2 Chronicles 11:18) as attached to this throne, whose magnificence is described as unrivaled....

14-29 Solomon increased his wealth. Silver was nothing accounted of. Such is the nature of worldly wealth, plenty of it makes it the less valuable; much more should the enjoyment of spiritual riches lessen our esteem of all earthly possessions. If gold in abundance makes silver to be despised, shall not wisdom, and grace, and the foretastes of heaven, which are far better than gold, make gold to be lightly esteemed? See in Solomon's greatness the performance of God's promise, and let it encourage us to seek first the righteousness of God's kingdom. This was he, who, having tasted all earthly enjoyments, wrote a book, to show the vanity of all worldly things, the vexation of spirit that attends them, and the folly of setting our hearts upon them: and to recommend serious godliness, as that which will do unspeakably more to make us happy, that all the wealth and power he was master of; and...

It is, on the whole, probable that the substance of the throne was wood, and that the ivory, cut into thin slabs, and probably carved in patterns, was applied externally as a veneer. This is found to have been the practice in Assyria. The gold was probably not placed over the ivory, but covered other parts of the throne....

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S WEALTH, POMP, AND POWER. The visit of the Queen of Sheba, in itself a striking proof of the fame and greatness of Solomon, is followed by a description of his revenues, his throne, and various other particulars of his wealth and magnificence, some of which are related here because they were the products of the voyages of that same fleet which had been the means of acquainting the queen with Solomon and his glory. 1 KINGS 10:14 NOW THE WEIGHT OF GOLD THAT CAME TO SOLOMON IN ONE YEAR [probably one particular and exceptional year, probably also the year of the queen's visit, not year by year (Wordsworth, _al_.),_ _as the Vulgate (_per singulos annos_)._ _One fleet only came home from

MOREOVER, THE KING MADE A GREAT THRONE OF IVORY,.... To sit on and judge his people; and ivory being white, may denote the purity, justice, and equity with which he judged; the white throne in Revelation 20:11 may be an allusion to this; the ivory he had from Tarshish, 1 Kings 10:22 AND OVERLAID IT WITH THE BEST GOLD; for the greater splendour and majesty of it; not that he covered it all over, for then the ivory would not be seen, but interlined it, or studded it with it, whereby it appeared the more beautiful and magnificent. Such a throne of gold and ivory was decreed to Caesar by the Romans p. p Appian. Alex. l. 2....

6. SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA: HIS GREAT RICHES AND SPLENDOUR CHAPTER 10 _ 1. The visit of the Queen (1 Kings 10:1)_ 2. Solomon's enormous wealth (1 Kings 10:14) 3. the targets and shields (1 Kings 10:16) 4. The ivory throne (1 Kings 10:18) 5. The abundance of gold and the depreciation of silver (1 Kings 10:21) 6. The greatest living monarch (1 Kings 10:23) 7. His chariots and hors

1 KINGS 10. VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. By Sheba or Saba a district in S. Arabia is meant. The Sabæ ans were known to the Israelites as exporters of gold (Isaiah 60:6; Psalms 72:15); Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:23) says that they dealt extensively with Tyre. In Job (Job 1:15; Job 6:19), they are represented as marauders. The civilisation of Arabia was considerable, and much light has been thrown on it by scholars like Hommel and Glaser. Our Lord calls the queen of Sheba the queen of the south (Mat

THE BEST. pure....

_a great throne of ivory_ Like Ahab's ivory house, mentioned later on (1 Kings 22:39), the throne was no doubt only inlaid with ivory, in such a way that where the gold did not cover the framework there the ivory appeared. And we may suppose that the ivory was a very conspicuous part of the structure, or else the throne would not be called from it. _with the best gold_ R.V. -FINEST gold." The Hebrew participle (which occurs in no other place) is from a root which signifies -to refine," -to purge." Hence the rendering of R.V. is preferable. The Hebrew word is -muphaz," and the excessive rarity of its occurrence has led some to conjecture that the reading here ought to be as in Jeremiah 10:9 -ma-uphaz," i.e. -from Uphaz." Uphaz is thought to be a later form of the word Ophir. It is found al

THE KING MADE A GREAT THRONE OF IVORY— The porch in which this throne was placed is mentioned, chap. 1 Kings 7:7 and it was by far the most magnificent of all the rest, inasmuch as it was both the king's seat of judgment and the public audience, where he shewed himself either to the nobles, or to the strangers who resorted to him. It was placed in the midst of rich pillars of cedar, curiously carved and covered, or rather inlaid, with gold: the throne itself, which was in the fashion of a niche, was covered with ivory, inlaid and intermixed with curious ornaments in gold: the ascent to it was by six steps, each step being supported on either side by a small lion, and the arms of the seat with two others as large as the life. All these, and even the steps themselves, were covered with ivory and gold. We never read of ivory till about Solomon's time; who, perhaps, brought elephants out of...