1 Kings 10:1

Christian Standard Bible ®

The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame connected with the name of Yahweh and came to test him with difficult questions.

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came to test him with riddles.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now 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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the queene of Saba hearing the fame of Solomon (concerning the name of the Lord) came to proue him with harde questions.

Literal Translation
And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon as to the name of Jehovah, and she came to test him with hard questions.

Easy-to-Read Version
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions.

Revised Standard Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

World English Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to prove him with hard questions.

King James Version (1611)
And when the Queene of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, concerning the Name of the Lord; shee came to prooue him with hard questions.

King James Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord , she came to prove him with hard questions.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan kynge Salomons fame of the name of the LORDE came to the eares of the Quene of riche Arabia, she came to proue him with darke sentences.

THE MESSAGE
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his connection with the Name of God . She came to put his reputation to the test by asking tough questions. She made a grand and showy entrance into Jerusalem—camels loaded with spices, a huge amount of gold, and precious gems. She came to Solomon and talked about all the things that she cared about, emptying her heart to him. Solomon answered everything she put to him—nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials and sharply dressed waiters, the lavish crystal, and the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at the steps leading up to The Temple of God , it took her breath away.

American Standard Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Bible in Basic English
Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions.

Update Bible Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

New English Translation
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions.

New King James Version
2 Chronicles 9:1-28">[xr] Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

Contemporary English Version
The Queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she went to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions.

Complete Jewish Bible
When the queen of Sh'va heard what was being said about Shlomo because of the name of Adonai , she came to test him with difficult questions.

Darby Translation
And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah, and came to prove him with enigmas.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Queene of Sheba hearing ye fame of Salomon (concerning the Name of the Lord) came to proue him with hard questions.

George Lamsa Translation
AND when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon and the name of the LORD, she came to try him out with proverbs.

Amplified Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with riddles.

Hebrew Names Version
When the queen of Sheva heard of the fame of Shlomo concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon because of the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

New Living Translation
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord , she came to test him with hard questions.

New Life Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard about the wisdom Solomon had from the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions.

New Revised Standard
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon (fame due to the name of the Lord ), she came to test him with hard questions.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the queen of Saba heard of the name of Solomon, and the name of the Lord, and she came to try him with riddles.

English Revised Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Berean Standard Bible
Now 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.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when, the queen of Sheba, heard the report of Solomon, as pertaining to the Name of Yahweh, she came to prove him, with abstruse questions.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the queen of Saba having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.

Lexham English Bible
Now the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon regarding the name of Yahweh, and she came to test him with hard questions.

English Standard Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord , she came to test him with hard questions.

New American Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with riddles.

New Century Version
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to test him with hard questions.

Good News Translation
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But also the queen of Saba, whanne the fame of Salomon was herd, cam in the name of the Lord to tempte hym in derk and douti questiouns.

Young's Literal Translation
And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas,

Contextual Overview

¹ The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame connected with the name of Yahweh and came to test him with difficult questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind. ³ So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon's wisdom, the palace he had built, ⁵ the food at his table, his servants' residence, his attendants' service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord 's temple, it took her breath away. ⁶ She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. ⁷ But I didn't believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard. ⁸ How happy are your men. How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. ⁹ May Yahweh your God be praised! He delighted in you and put 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 four and a half tons of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3014, bc 990

And when: 2 Chronicles 9:1-12, Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31

Sheba: Genesis 10:7, Genesis 10:28, Genesis 25:3, Job 6:19, Psalms 72:10, Psalms 72:15, Isaiah 60:6, Jeremiah 6:20, Ezekiel 27:22, Ezekiel 27:23, Ezekiel 38:13

heard: 1 Kings 4:31, 1 Kings 4:34

concerning: Job 28:28, Proverbs 2:3-6, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Corinthians 1:21

prove him: Judges 14:12-14, Psalms 49:4, Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 1:6, Matthew 13:11, Matthew 13:35, Mark 4:34

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:26 - the hard causes 1 Kings 8:41 - a stranger 1 Kings 10:3 - hid from the king 1 Chronicles 1:32 - Sheba 1 Chronicles 5:13 - Sheba 2 Chronicles 6:32 - the stranger Psalms 87:4 - Ethiopia Proverbs 3:13 - is the Isaiah 60:9 - unto Ezekiel 16:14 - thy renown Daniel 1:20 - in all Daniel 5:12 - doubts Matthew 4:24 - his fame Luke 12:27 - that Acts 8:27 - queen Hebrews 5:11 - we 2 Peter 3:16 - hard

Cross-References

Genesis 2:4
These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

Genesis 5:1
These are the family records of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God;

Genesis 6:9
These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.

Genesis 9:1
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Genesis 9:7
But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it."

Genesis 9:19
These three were Noah's sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Matthew 1:1
The historical record of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon,.... Josephus u calls her a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia; but Sheba was in the southern part of Arabia Felix; her name with the Ethiopians is Maqueda w, and with the Arabic geographer x Belequis. Some y think that Sheba, or Saba, is not the name of a country, but of the queen herself; and that she is the same with Sabbe the sibyl mentioned by Pausanias z; but no doubt Sheba or Saba, the metropolis of Arabia Felix, as Philostorgius a calls it, is here meant; which Benjamin of Tudela says b is called the country of Al Yeman, or the south; and the name of Queen Teiman, given to this queen by an Arabic writer c, seems to be the same as the queen of the south, :-. The fame of Solomon's greatness and goodness, of his wealth and riches, and especially of his wisdom, had reached her ears; perhaps by means of the ambassadors of princes that had been at Solomon's court, and attended her's. According to an Ethiopic writer d it was by Tamerinus, a merchant of her's, she came to hear of him: particularly she heard of his fame

concerning the name of the Lord; his knowledge of the true God, the favour he was in with him, the excellent wisdom he had received from him, and what he had done for his honour and glory:

she came to prove him with hard questions; in things natural, civil, and divine; to try whether he had such a share of knowledge and wisdom it was said he had, she posed him with enigmas, riddles, dark and intricate sayings, to unravel and tell the meaning of. She might be an emblem of the Gentiles, seeking unto Christ, having heard of him, Isaiah 11:10. In Matthew 12:42 she is said to come from the "uttermost parts of the earth"; wherefore some fetch her from Sumatra in the East Indies, where in an old map no other name is put but Sheba e.

u Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2, 5. w Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 2. c. 3. x Clim 1. par. 6. y Vid. Coryli Disser. de Reg. Austral. c. l. sect. 1, 2. z Phocica, sive, l. 10. p. 631. a Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 4. b Itinerar. p. 82. c Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 54. d Tellezius apud Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 2. c. 3. e Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. p. 139.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Doubt has arisen whether the “queen of Sheba” was an Ethiopian or an Arabian princess. Both countries profess to have traditions on the subject connecting the queen of Sheba with their history; and in both countries, curiously enough, government by queens was common. But the claims of Arabia decidedly preponderate. The Arabian Sheba was the great spice country of the ancient world; whereas Ethiopia furnished no spices. The Arabian Sheba was an important kingdom. Sheba in Ethiopia was a mere town, subject to Meroe. And it may be doubted whether the Cushite Sheba of Scripture Genesis 10:7 is not rather to be sought on the shores of the Persian Gulf (Genesis 10:7 note), from where no one supposes “the queen of Sheba” to have come. If Ophir be placed in Arabia, there will be an additional reason for regarding Sheba as in the same quarter, because then Solomon’s trade with that place will account for his fame having reached the Sabaean princess.

“The fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord,” has been variously explained, and is confessedly very obscure. May it not mean what we should call “his religious fame,” as distinct from his artistic, literary, military, or political fame - “his fame with respect to God and the things of God” - or, in other words, “his moral and religious wisdom?” (compare 1 Kings 10:6).

Hard questions - Or “riddles” Judges 14:12, though not exactly riddles in our sense. The Orientals have always been fond of playing with words and testing each other’s wit and intelligence by verbal puzzles of various kinds. This spirit seems to have been particularly rife in Solomon’s time, for Josephus records other encounters with Hiram of Tyre and another Tyrian called Abdemonus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER X

The queen of Sheba visits Solomon, and brings rich presents;

and tries him by hard questions, which he readily solves, 1-3.

She expresses great surprise at his wisdom, his buildings, his

court, c. and praises God for placing him on the Jewish

throne, 4-9.

She gives him rich presents, 10.

What the navy of Hiram brought from Ophir, 11, 12.

The queen of Sheba returns, 13.

Solomon's annual revenue, 14, 15.

He makes two hundred targets and three hundred shields of

gold, 16, 17.

His magnificent ivory throne, 18-20.

His drinking vessels all of gold, 21.

What the navy of Tharshish brought every three years to Solomon,

22.

His great riches, numerous chariots, and horsemen, 23-27.

He brings chariots and horses out of Egypt, 28, 29.

NOTES ON CHAP. X

Verse 1 Kings 10:1. When the queen of Sheba heard — As our Lord calls her queen of the south, (Matthew 12:42), it is likely the name should be written Saba, Azab, or Azaba, all of which signify the south. She is called Balkis by the Arabians, but by the Abyssinians Maqueda. See the account at the end of this chapter. 1 Kings 10:29.

With hard questions. — בחידות bechidoth; Septuagint, εν αινιγμασι, riddles. With parables and riddles, says the Arabic.