1 Kings 10:12

12 The king made a raised structure for the house of Yahweh and for the house of the king out of the almug wood, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. [This much] almug wood has not come nor been seen [again] up to 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 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

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

1 Kings 10:12 In-Context

10 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, abundant spices, and precious stones. Spices as these did not come again in such abundance [as that which] the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, the fleet of ships of Hiram which carried the gold from Ophir [also] brought from Ophir abundant amounts of almug wood and precious stones.

12 The king made a raised structure for the house of Yahweh and for the house of the king out of the almug wood, as well as lyres and harps for the singers. [This much] almug wood has not come nor been seen [again] up to this day.

13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all of her desire that she asked, besides that which {King Solomon freely offered her}. Then she turned and went to her land with her servants.

14 The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year [was] six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,