1 Kings 10:11

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. ²She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind. ³And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain. ⁴When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, ⁵the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away. ⁶She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. ⁷But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁸How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! ⁹Blessed 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." ¹⁰Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

from Ophir: 1 Kings 9:27, 1 Kings 9:28, 2 Chronicles 8:18, Psalms 45:9

almug: 2 Chronicles 2:8, 2 Chronicles 9:10, 2 Chronicles 9:11, algum trees

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 1:23 - Ophir Revelation 18:12 - merchandise

Cross-References

Genesis 10:1
This is the account of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who also had sons after the flood.

Genesis 10:10
His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Numbers 24:22
Yet Kain will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive."

Numbers 24:24
Ships will come from the coast of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever."

2 Kings 19:36
So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

Ezra 4:2
they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, "Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here."

Psalms 83:8
Even Assyria has joined them, lending strength to the sons of Lot. Selah

Isaiah 37:37
So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned home to Nineveh and stayed there.

Ezekiel 27:23
Haran, Canneh, and Eden, and the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.

Ezekiel 32:22
Assyria is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the navy also of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir,.... This perhaps was before Solomon was concerned with Hiram in navigation and merchandise; though in 2 Chronicles 9:10 both their servants are said to bring it; and it is here inserted perhaps to show that Solomon had not his gold, at least all of it, from the queen of Sheba; but much from Hiram, who fetched it from Ophir; and as this was in India, as observed on 1 Kings 9:28, many writers make mention of gold in that part of the world, as Diodorus Siculus w, Strabo x, Dionysius y, Curtius z, Pliny a, and others: and this navy also

brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees: or algum trees, by transposition of letters, 2 Chronicles 9:10, which some of the Jewish writers b take to be coral, which is not likely; others Brasil, rather ebony, which was peculiar to India, as both Solinus c and Virgil d say; Strabo e makes mention of strange trees in India:

and precious stones; of which there is great variety and plenty in that country, as related by Dionysius f, as diamonds, beryls, jaspers, topazes, and amethysts, and by Curtius g, Solinus h, and others.

w Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 121. x Geograph l. 15. p. 481. y Perieg. v. 1144. z Hist. l. 8. sect. 9. a Nat. Hist. 1. 6. c. 19, 20. b Daved de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 70. 3. c Polyhistor. c. 64. d "Sola India nigrum fert ebenum." Georgie. l. 2. ver. 116, 117. e Geograph. l. 15. p. 477. f Perieget, ver. 1119, &c. g Hist. l. 8. c. 9. h Polyhistor. c. 65.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The navy of Hiram - i. e., Solomon’s navy in the Red Sea, which was chiefly manned by subjects of Hiram. (see the marginal reference).

Almug-trees - Probably the sandal-wood tree (pterocarpus santalinus). The wood is very heavy, hard, and fine grained, and of a beautiful garnet color, which, according to the rabbinical writers, was the color of the algum. One of the names of the red sandal-wood, in its own native country (India) is “valguka,” a word of which “algum” is a natural corruption.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 10:11. Great plenty of almug trees — In the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 9:10-11, these are called algum trees, the ם mem and the ג gimel being transposed; probably the latter is the more correct orthography. What the algum trees were we do not exactly know. The Vulgate calls it ligna thyina, the thya or lignum vitae wood; and Mr. Parkhurst thinks that the original אלגומים algumim, comes from אל al, not, and גם gem, to fill; because the lignum vitae is of so close a texture that it can imbibe no water, and cannot be affected by wet weather. The Septuagint translate it ξυλα πυκινα, pine timber; the Syriac [Syriac] kaise dakisotho, probably cypress wood, or what the translators render ligna brasilica; the Arabic translates coloured wood, and subjoins a paraphrase, for that wood was by nature painted with various colours. Perhaps the Arabic comesnearest the truth; wood shaded of different colours, such as the rose wood and such like, which are brought to us from various parts of the East Indies. The whole passage as it stands in the Arabic is this: "And the ships of Hiram brought gold from the land of Hind, (India,) and they carried also much coloured wood, (but this wood is naturally painted of various colours,) and very precious jewels. And Solomon put some of that same painted wood which was brought to him in the house of the Lord, and in his own house; and with it he adorned them." And for inlaying and veneering nothing can be finer than this wood.