1 Kings 10:18

18 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold:

1 Kings 10:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 10:18

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 ^F16.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Appian. Alex. l. 2.

1 Kings 10:18 In-Context

16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold, -- he applied six hundred [shekels] of gold to one target;

17 and three hundred shields of beaten gold, -- he applied three minas of gold to one 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 refined gold:

19 the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was rounded behind; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms;

20 and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'superfine:' it seems to have been the best kind of refined gold.