1 Kings 10:27

27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as numerous as the sycamores of the Shephelah.

1 Kings 10:27 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 10:27

And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones
By the vast quantity he received from Tarshish; this is an hyperbolical expression:

and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are the vale for
abundance;
not by the growth of them, but by the importation of them from the dominion of Hiram; this is said in the same figurative way; of the sycamore trees, Rauwolff says ^F7, they are what the Moors and Arabians calls "mumeitz"; which he describes to be as large and as high as white mulberry trees, and having almost the same leaves, but rounder, and their fruit not unlike our figs, only sweeter, and no little seeds within, and not so good; and are therefore not esteemed, and are commonly sold to the poorer sort, and that they grow in all fields and grounds; of which (See Gill on Amos 7:14).

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Travels, par. 1. c. 4. p. 37.

1 Kings 10:27 In-Context

25 Every one of them brought a present, objects of silver and gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as numerous as the sycamores of the Shephelah.

28 Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price.

29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty; so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.