1 Kings 10:12

12 And the king made of the brazil wood banisters for the house of the LORD and for the king’s houses, harps also and psalteries for the singers; there never had been such brazil wood, nor was it seen again unto this day.

1 Kings 10:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 10:12

And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house
of the Lord, and for the king's house
Or terraces, as in ( 2 Chronicles 9:11 ) , causeways; and means the ascent or causeway he made from his own house to the temple; the pavement of which, as Jarchi interprets the word here, was made of the wood of these trees; or the supports of it, or rather the rails on each side, on which men might stay themselves as they passed along, as Ben Gersom; and since this ascent was admired by the queen of Sheba, it is particularly observed what wood it was made of, and from whence it came:

harps also, and psalteries for singers;
these musical instruments were made of the same wood; Josephus F9 says of amber, and that their number was 400,000:

there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day;
not in the land of Israel, neither before nor since, see ( 2 Chronicles 9:11 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F9 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 8.

1 Kings 10:12 In-Context

10 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great store of spices and precious stones; never again did there come such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 And the navy of Hiram, that had brought the gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir a great plenty of brazil wood and precious stones.
12 And the king made of the brazil wood banisters for the house of the LORD and for the king’s houses, harps also and psalteries for the singers; there never had been such brazil wood, nor was it seen again unto this day.
13 And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her slaves.
14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010