1 Kings 10:10

10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, ^[a] a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance 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 blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set 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 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.

12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s palace, and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had such almug wood been brought in, nor has such been seen again to this day.)

Footnotes

• [a]. 120 talents is approximately 4.52 tons or 4.1 metric tons of gold.