2Ch 9:1 And when
the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with
hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare
spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to
Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
The visit of the
queen of Sheba - This event is narrated as a practical proof of Solomon's
extraordinary wisdom. The narrative agrees exactly in both Chronicles and
Kings.
Our Savior has proposed this episode as an example in
seeking after him, Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with
this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is
here. we must not pass it over without observing, that those who
know the worth of true wisdom will grudge no pains or cost to obtain it. The
queen of Sheba put herself to a great deal of trouble and expense to hear the
wisdom of Solomon; and yet, learning from him to serve God, and do her duty,
she thought herself well paid for her pains.
2Ch 9:2 And
Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon
which he told her not.
2Ch 9:3 And when
the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had
built,
2Ch 9:4 And the
meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his
ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his
ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit
in her.
2Ch 9:5 And she
said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine
acts, and of thy wisdom:
2Ch 9:6 Howbeit I
believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold,
the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest
the fame that I heard.
2Ch 9:7 Happy are
thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee,
and hear thy wisdom.
2Ch 9:8 Blessed be
the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king
for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever,
therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
2Ch 9:9 And she
gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great
abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen
of Sheba gave king Solomon.
2Ch 9:10 And the
servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from
Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.
2Ch 9:11 And the
king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the
king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such
seen before in the land of Judah.
Terraces - “stairs”
2Ch 9:12 And king
Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside
that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her
own land, she and her servants.
The narrative here is parallel with that in marginal
reference, from which it varies but little, and to which it adds nothing.
Beside that which
she had brought unto the king - In 1Ki_10:13 it is stated that Solomon gave
her all she asked, besides that which he gave her of his royal bounty. It is
not at all likely that he gave her back the presents which she brought to him,
and which he had accepted. She had, no doubt, asked for several things which
were peculiar to the land of Judea, and would be curiosities in her own
kingdom; and besides these, he gave her other valuable presents.
2Ch 9:13 Now the
weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore
and six talents of gold;
The imports here mentioned, would show that prosperity
drew the minds of Solomon and his subjects to the love of things curious and
uncommon, though useless in themselves.
2Ch 9:14 Beside
that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and
governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
2Ch 9:15 And king
Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten
gold went to one target.
2Ch 9:16 And three
hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to
one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
2Ch 9:17 Moreover
the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
2Ch 9:18 And there
were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to
the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing
by the stays:
2Ch 9:19 And
twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps.
There was not the like made in any kingdom.
2Ch 9:20 And all
the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the
house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was
not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
2Ch 9:21 For the king's
ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came
the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
2Ch 9:22 And king
Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
In 2Ch_9:22-28, all that remained to be said of Solomon's
royal glory, his riches, his wisdom, and his revenues, is in conclusion briefly
summed up, as in 1Ki_10:23-29. From 2Ch_9:25 onwards, the account given in the
Chronicle diverges from that in 1Ki_10:26., in so far that what is narrated in
1Ki_10:26-28 concerning Solomon's chariots and horses, and his trade with Egypt
in horses, is here partly replaced by statements similar in import to those in
1 Kings 5, because the former matters had been already treated of in Chr.
2Ch_1:14-17.
2Ch 9:23 And all
the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that
God had put in his heart.
2Ch 9:24 And they
brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and
raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
2Ch 9:25 And
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at
Jerusalem.
Four thousand
stalls for horses – It has been conjectured that the original term may
signify not only stall or stable, but a number of horses occupying the same
number of stalls. Supposing that ten were put together in one part, this would
make forty thousand. According to this theory of explanation, the historian in
Kings refers to horses 1Ki_10:26; while the historian in Chronicles speaks of
the stalls in which they were kept. But more recent critics reject this mode of
solving the difficulty, and, regarding the four thousand stalls as in keeping
with the general magnificence of Solomon’s establishments, are agreed in
considering the text in Kings as corrupt, through the error of some copyist.
2Ch 9:26 And he
reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the
Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
2Ch 9:27 And the
king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the
sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
2Ch 9:28 And they
brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
Moses had expressly prohibited the multiplying of horses
(Deu_17:16); by which the future king was forbidden to establish a body of
calvary, because this could not be effected without sending into Egypt, with
which people God had forbidden any communication, as this would be dangerous to
His worship. When Solomon had violated this law, and multiplied horses to
excess (1Ki_4:26), it was soon attended with those fatal consequences that the
law foretold: for this wisest of kings having likewise, in violation of another
law, married Pharaoh's daughter (the early fruits of this commerce), and then,
by a repetition of the same crime, but a transgression of another law, had
espoused more strange women (1Ki_4:26; 1Ki_11:1), they first,in defiance of a
fourth law, persuaded him to build them idol temples for their use; and
afterwards, against a fifth law, brought him to erect other temples for his own.
2Ch 9:29 Now the
rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book
of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the
visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
Iddo - We hear
nothing of Iddo in Kings: but he is mentioned below twice 2Ch_12:15; 2Ch_13:22.
In the latter of these passages he is called not “the seer,” but “the prophet.”
He seems to have been the author of three works:
1) Visions against Jeroboam;
2) A book of genealogies; and
3) A commentary or history.
Nathan the prophet
in the prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer -
These books are all lost.
2Ch 9:30 And
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
2Ch 9:31 And
Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his
father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
