1 Reis 10
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
1 Reis 10
NJB (MT versing) The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba's Praise of Solomon The Visit of the Queen of Sheba The Visit of the Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon 10:1-10 10:1-10 10:1-5 10:1-9 10:1-13 10:6-10 10:10 10:11-12 10:11-13 10:11-12 10:11-12 10:13 10:13 10:13 Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom Solomon's Great Wealth Solomon's Wealth King Solomon's Wealth Solomon's Wealth 10:14-22 10:14-15 10:14-22 10:14-15 10:14-20 10:16-17 10:16-17 10:18-20 10:18-20 10:21-23 10:21-22 10:21-25 10:23-25 10:23-25 10:23-25 1-:24-25 Solomon's Business Enterprises Solomon's Chariots and Cavalry 10:26-29 10:26-27 10:26-29 10:26-29 10:26-29 10:28-29 Etc.
1 Reis 10:1-10
10:1 "Sheba" There is still scholarly discussion about where this name (BDB 985) originated. Yemen ‒ from local contemporaneous literature it was known as Saba (ABD, vol. 5, pp. 1170-1171). This may have been the Sabean traders of the period. Northern Arabia ‒ a colony called Sheba is known, which had several queens as leaders. This term first appears in Gen. 10:7,28; 25:3, which makes it an Arab tribe that migrated to Ethiopia (Josephus, Antiq. 8.6.5.). If accurate she was an ancestor of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. Jewish tradition says she had a child with Solomon who became Ethiopian royalty (Abyssinian line). Option #1 fits history best. This locale was known for its spice trade its wealth in silver and gold ▣ "the name of the Lord" See SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH. ▣ "to test him" This VERB (BDB 650, KB 702, Piel INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 112-113) can mean Gideon seeking another test of YHWH ‒ Jdgs. 6:39 David testing military equipment ‒ 1 Sam. 17:39 Qohleth's mental actions ‒ Eccl. 2:1; 7:23 This term can be negative but here it denotes curiosity and probably refers to riddles or practical wisdom decisions/judgments (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 107). 10:2 Behind the queen's curiosity was the commercial purpose of obtaining or maintaining trade routes. ▣ "large retinue" This word (BDB 298) can refer to large military force large number of servants and merchants (BDB 299, #4) 10:4-5 She was impressed with Solomon's palace Solomon's food Solomon's servants the stairway (BDB 748; see note below) 10:5 "his stairway" "his entryway" NRSV, NJB, JPSOA, NET, Peshitta "his burnt offerings" "the sacrifices" "the whole offerings" "his whole burnt offerings" The MT has "his burnt offerings" (BDB 750) but the parallel in 2 Chr. 9:4, "his stairway." See my exegetical note below from 2 Chr. 9:4. 2 Chronicles 9:4 NASB, NEB "his stairway" "his entry way" NRSV, NJB, NET, LXX, Peshitta "his burnt offerings" "the procession" The UBS Text Project, p. 455, gives the NASB translation a "B" rating (some doubt). and his stairway ‒ וצליחו (BDB 751) and his burnt offerings ‒ וצלוחיו The parallel in 1 Kgs. 10:5 has "and his burnt offerings" ‒ וצלחו (BDB 750) The NASB seems to fit the context best and refers to a royal procession to the store houses of the temple (i.e., "upper chambers," cf. 2 Chr. 3:9,51) or to a special place for the king to worship in the temple. ▣ "there was no more spirit in her" Notice the different way the translations handle this idiomatic language. LXX ‒ "she was beside herself" Peshitta ‒ "she was greatly overcome" NJB, TEV, JPSOA ‒ "it left her breathless" REB ‒ "she was overcome with amazement" SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE 10:8 NASB, NKJV, JPSOA "your men" NRSV, TEV, LXX, Peshitta "your wives" NJB, REB (just leaves out "men") "courtiers" The UBS Text Project, p. 311, asserts that the Masoretic scholars changed "wives" to "men" to protect Solomon's reputation. They give the change a "C" rating (considerable doubt). your men ‒ אבשיך (BDB 34) your wives ‒ בשיך (BDB 61) The parallel in 2 Chr. 9:7 also has "men." Josephus (Antiq. 8.6.5.) calls them "servants" and "friends." 10:9 This is a surprisingly theologically informed prayer of a foreign queen. Possibly she learned this language from Solomon (possibly becoming a convert; Jewish tradition). Possibly she knew of YHWH before she came. This phraseology is similar to Hiram's remarks in 1 Kgs. 5:7. ▣ "to do justice and righteousness" The king of Israel was to embody YHWH's character and reveal it to the world, as he did with the Queen of Sheba (cf. v. 24). This pair of terms first appears in connection to David's reign in 2 Sam. 8:15 (cf. 1 Chr. 18:14). Here, they are used of Solomon (cf. 2 Chr. 9:8). In Isa. 9:7 they are used of the coming Davidic King, the Messiah (also note Isa. 32:16; 23:5). They are used of idolatrous Israel in Isa. 59:14. In Jer. 9:24 they describe YHWH's character. 10:10 "talents" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES.
1 Reis 10:11-12
10:12 "almug trees" The UBS Helps for Translator Series entitled "Fauna and Flora of the Bible", p. 81, notes there are two spellings of this tree. algummim (2 Chr. 2:7) almuggim (only here) It is often called "sandalwood" (from Sanskrit), which was imported from southern India. It was a hard wood of reddish color. ▣ "to this day" This is a literary marker of a later editor or an author living after the events described.
1 Reis 10:14-22
10:14 This was the revenue Solomon received from trade routes and vassal states in one year (cf. v. 25). 10:15 "wares" "traveling" "business" "taxes" "tolls" JPSOA, Peshitta "traffic" The MT has the PARTICIPLE (BDB 940, KB 237, Qal ACTIVE) which denotes "going about" for trade gossip The UBS Text Project assumes it refers to "men" (i.e., traders), not "tolls" (i.e., Targums) but gives its suggestion only a "C" rating (considerable doubt). The parallel in 2 Chr. 10:15 has the same text as 1 Kings. ▣ NASB, NJB, Peshitta "Arabs" NKJV, NRSV, TEV, REB, JPSOA "Arabia" "who are from beyond" The MT has a root that has several possible origins. Arabian ‒ BDB 787, ערבי mixed, BDB 786 I ‒ ערב "Arabs" comes from the parallel in 2 Chr. 9:14, BDB 787, see #1 NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 520, suggests it refers to "people of assorted ethnic groups." Verse 15 lists several groups from whom Solomon received revenue. traders merchants kings of the Arabs governors of the country 10:16 These decorative shields were common in the ANE. They were cultural items to denote wealth and power. 10:17 "the house of the forest of Lebanon" This was a large building for public/state gatherings. It also was the place for Solomon to judge Israel. His great, unique throne is described in vv. 18-20. ▣ "minas" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES. 10:21 This demonstrated Solomon's great wealth (cf. v. 27). ▣ "in the days of. . ." The NOUN "day" (BDB 398-401) can refer to a 24 hour cycle a period of time Here, the PLURAL refers to Solomon's life as king. SPECIAL TOPIC: DAY (yom) 10:22 "ships of Tarshish" This was a class of ocean going large commercial ships. SPECIAL TOPIC: TARSHISH ▣ "once very three years" The ports were far away and took over a year to reach.
1 Reis 10:23-25
10:25 "horses" Josephus describes in detail these horses (Antiq. 8.7.3.). For a good brief note see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, pp. 234-236. Solomon's business was to match horses with chariots and sell them together. SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARIOTS
1 Reis 10:26-29
10:26-29 This describes Solomon's military power and arms trade with the Hittite Empire (cf. 2 Chr. 1:15-17). 10:28 NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NJB, REB, LXX, Peshitta "from Egypt" "from Musri" "from Mizraim" The MT has "from Egypt." The UBS Text Project, p. 313, gives it an "A" rating. The other suggestions are based on the name of a horse breeding area near Kue (Cilicia) in western Anatolia (Turkey). from Egypt ‒ ממצרים from Muzur (Musri) ‒ ממצור ▣ NASB, NRSV, REB "Kue" "Keueh" TEV, NJB "Cilicia" "The Koue" —omit— The MT has קוה (BDB 875), which can denote a verb "to wait" or "to pool" (see UBS Text Project, p. 314) a place name (probably Cilicia)