1 Kings 10:10

10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons^[a] of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

1 Kings 10:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 10:10

And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold,
&c.] The same sum that Hiram sent him, (See Gill on 1 Kings 9:14) this fulfilled the prophecy, so far as it respected Solomon, ( Psalms 72:15 )

and of spices very great store, and precious stones;
see ( 1 Kings 10:2 ) there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon; that is, into Judea. Josephus reports ^F20, that some say that the balsamic plant, which Judea was afterwards so famous for, was brought by this queen, and a gift of hers to Solomon; and Diodorus Siculus ^F21 speaks of it as in Arabia, and not to be found in any other part of the world.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6.) sect. 6.
F21 Bibliotec. l. 2. p. 132.

1 Kings 10:10 In-Context

8 How happy are your men. How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom.

9 May the Lord your God be praised! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel, because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel. He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness."

10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 In addition, Hiram's fleet that carried gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug wood and precious stones.

12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the Lord's temple and the king's palace and into harps and lyres for the singers. Never [before] had such almug wood come, and [the like] has not been seen [again] even to this very day.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit 120 talents