1 Kings 10:15

besidethat he had of the merchantmen There are two kinds of traders specified in this verse, and the participle here used to describe the first signifies -those who go about" with their goods, hawkers of their wares, which is a general characteristic of Oriental traffickers. Hence in R.V. the word chapmen has been adopted, and the clause a little differently worded. Literally it is, -beside (what came) from the men of the hawkers," and this is represented by -beside that whichthe chapmen brought," though the literal rendering shews that -brought" might fairly have been printed in Roman and not in italics. The LXX. gives, apparently having read some other words in the original, -from the tribute of the subject people."

andof the traffick of thespice merchants A mistaken identification of the word descriptive of this second class of traders with a Syrian noun which means -a dealer in aromatic herbs" has led to the rendering -spice merchants." The word merely implies another class of merchants, but whether more or less dignified than the former it is not easy to make out. The LXX. renders by ἒμπορος here and elsewhere, and gives here -the taxes on the merchants". Render (as there is no preposition with this clause) and the traffick of the merchants.

and of all the kings of Arabia R.V. -and of all the kings of the mingled people." The word in the original, though it has the same consonants, has not the same vowels as the proper name. In this text we have הָעֶרֶב, while the other word is עֲרַב = Arabia. That the two are distinct designations is proved by Jeremiah 25:24, where both occur in the same verse, -all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mingled people." The word in our text is used very early in the history of Israel (Exodus 12:38) of -the mixed multitude" which came up with the Israelites out of Egypt, and afterwards of people who were in a sort of loose attachment to the kingdom. (Cf. Jeremiah 1:3-7.) In the parallel passage (2 Chronicles 9:14) the Hebrew text has the -kings of Arabia," but the form of the sentence is somewhat altered, and the close connexion of the two sets of persons in the verse already quoted from Jeremiah makes it not unlikely that both were under a sort of tribute to Solomon. The LXX. has τῶν βασιλέων τοῦ πέραν, but the Vulgate -reges Arabiæ."

andof the governors of the country Most likely those officers are meant whose positions were described 1 Kings 4:7-19. After the Oriental fashion such persons would pay for their posts by regular tribute to the king.