1 Kings 10:10

10 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in 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 your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom!

9 Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD ’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

10 Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (In addition, Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and precious jewels.

12 The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of sandalwood.)

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms].