1 Kings 10:14-21

III. INDICATIONS OF SOLOMON'S GLORY 10:14-29

The account of the visit of the queen of Sheba is followed by a description of Solomon's revenues, his throne, and various other particulars of his wealth and magnificence. These notices are a continuation of 1 Kings 9:23-28 from which they have been separated by the queen of Sheba narrative. There is no inkling of criticism in these notices. On the contrary, it was probably the intent of the author to emphasize the fulfillment of the promise to Solomon (1 Kings 3:13) that he would be given riches and honor in addition to wisdom.

In this section the author discusses (1) Solomon's enormous gold revenues (1 Kings 10:14-21); and (2) his wealth in substance other than gold, particularly in silver (1 Kings 10:22-29).

A. SOLOMON'S WEALTH IN GOLD 10:14-21

TRANSLATION

(14) Now the weight of the gold which was brought to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, (15) besides that which came from the merchants and the commerce of the caravaneers and of all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land. (16) And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of gold went into one shield. (17) And three hundred shields of beaten gold with three minas of gold going into each shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. (18) And the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. (19) The throne had six steps, and a rounded head on its hinder part, and arms on both sides of the seat with two lions standing beside the arms. (20) And twelve lions stood there upon the six steps on either side. There was not the like made in any kingdom. (21) And the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver, it was of no account in the days of Solomon.

COMMENTS

In one year[277]probably the year of the queen's visitthe gold revenues of Solomon weighed 666 talents ($20,000,000 BV). The correspondence with the number of the beast in Revelation 13:18 is probably not accidental. This enormous income is indicative of Solomon's worldliness and was no doubt the turning point in his estrangement from God. From this point on the story of Solomon is one of steady declension. The 666 talents include the receipts from all sourcestaxes, tribute, and voyageswith the exception noted in 1 Kings 10:15.

[277] The text does not necessarily imply that this income was annual. It may be interpreted as referring to the total income in Solomon's most prosperous year.

Solomon also received vast annual revenues from caravaneers who passed through his territory, the Arabian kings[278] who were subject to him. The governors of the land may refer to the twelve officers mentioned in chapter 4 who administered the kingdom. On the other hand, these governors may have been vassal princes conquered by David. The contributions mentioned in 1 Kings 10:15 may have been in kind, i.e., produce or animals or goods, and this would explain why they are distinguished from the gold revenues mentioned in 1 Kings 10:14.

[278] The text of Kings literally says kings of the mingled peoples (Heb. ha-'erebh); Chronicles reads kings of Arabia (Heb. -arabh). On either reading, the sheiks of the nomad tribes in parts of Arabia are meant.

From his enormous gold treasures Solomon made two hundred bucklers (Heb. tsinnaha large oblong shield which covered the entire person) of beaten gold. It cannot be determined whether these bucklers were of solid gold, or simply were plated with gold.[279] The gold used in this project amounted to six hundred shekels (1 Kings 10:16) in which case the weight would be about nine pounds per buckler.[280] In addition, Solomon made three hundred of the smaller shields (Heb. magen) such as soldiers used in hand-to-hand combat. These golden shields were carried by the royal bodyguard on special occasions (cf. 1 Kings 14:27). Each of these shields contained three minas (three hundred shekels according to 2 Chronicles 9:16) of gold, half of the amount contained in the larger bucklers. When not in use during royal ceremonies these shields were suspended from the walls of the house of the forest of Lebanon (cf. 1 Kings 7:2), but whether on the inside or outside cannot be ascertained (1 Kings 10:17). All of these golden shields were carried off by Pharaoh Shishak when he invaded the land during the reign of Solomon's son Rehoboam.

[279] Shields of gold are mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:7.

[280] This assumes that the royal shekel is meant and not the Mosaic shekel which weighed almost twice as much. According to the Berkeley Version, six hundred shekels is equivalent to about $6,000.

As the house of the forest of Lebanon was distinguished by the golden shields which emblazoned its walls, so the porch of judgment was distinguished by Solomon's glorious throne. The throne was made of solid ivory[281] overlaid with pure gold (1 Kings 10:18). It is very unlikely, however, that the gold entirely covered and concealed the beautiful ivory. The throne was elevated and was ascended by means of six steps. Perhaps the seven levels symbolized the perfection, and over lordship exercised by the king sitting in judgment.[282]

[281] Others think the throne was of wood inlaid with ivory. Cf. Honor, JCBR, p. 147.
[282] Finley, BBC, p. 188.

The top or head of the throne was rounded or arched in form. There were arm rests on either side of the seat and two great lions on either side of those arm rests (1 Kings 10:19). The lions were probably made of wood overlaid with gold. In addition to the two lions mentioned in 1 Kings 10:19, there were ten other lions, two on either side of the steps leading to the throne. The lion was a familiar emblem of royalty among the nations and had a special significance in this case, being the symbol of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24). Perhaps the twelve lions represented the twelve tribes as the guardians of the throne of Israel. Thrones somewhat similar to this one, but much less magnificent, are depicted on the monuments of the ancient Near East; but never had any kingdom constructed a throne like that of Solomon (1 Kings 10:20).

All of Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, as were also the vessels used in the house of the forest of Lebanon. None were of silver, since silver had become so plentiful that it had lost all value (1 Kings 10:21). Such extravagance was possible in Solomonic Jerusalem because of the prodigious quantity of gold and silver brought in by the fleet.