1 Kings 10:29

Contextual Overview

¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, ¹⁴ Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. ¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, ¹⁴ Every year King Solomon received about fifty thousand pounds of gold. ¹⁴ Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, ¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold, ¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, ¹⁴Now the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one [particular] year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, ¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴ Forsothe the weyte of gold, that was offrid to Salomon bi ech yeer, was of sixe hundrid and sixe and sixti talentis of gold,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

for six hundred: This was the ordinary price of a chariot, as 150 shekels was that of a horse. It seems that neither horses nor chariots came out of Egypt but by means of Solomon's servants.

the kings: Joshua 1:4, 2 Kings 7:6

their means: Heb. their hand, Hosea 12:10, Malachi 1:1

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 1:16 - Solomon

Cross-References

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Genesis 2:11
The first river, named Pishon, flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first [is] Pison, which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold;

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first is Pishon: this is the one which flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

Genesis 2:11
The first [river] is named Pishon; it flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the o ryuer is Fyson, thilke it is that cumpassith al the lond of Euilath, where gold cometh forth,

Genesis 2:11
the name of the one [is] Pison, it [is] that which is surrounding the whole land of the Havilah where the gold [is],

Genesis 2:11
The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,.... Which, reckoning at two shillings and six pence a shekel, amounted to seventy five pounds; but a shekel was not worth more than two shillings and four pence farthing:

and an horse for one hundred and fifty; and this being the fourth part of the above sum, the Jews gather from hence that there were four horses in a chariot; the horses must be reckoned one with another, the whole collection of them, or otherwise no doubt but one horse was better than another; and it was a pretty large price to give for a horse in those times; which, taking a shekel at the lowest rate, must be upwards of ten pounds; and which is too great a sum still for a custom or tribute to be paid for them, whether to Pharaoh or Solomon, as some understand it:

and so for all the kings of the Hittites; perhaps the same with the kings of Arabia, 1 Kings 10:15 and for the kings of Syria; those of Damascus, Zobah, c.

did they bring them out by their means that is, by the means of Solomon's merchants, who bought them out of Egypt, and sold them to these kings.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Taking the shekel at about three shillings of our money, six hundred silver shekels would be equal to about 90; and 150 shekels to 22 British pounds and 10 shillings. “Average” price seems to be in each case intended; and we may account for the comparatively high price of the chariot by supposing that by “chariot” is intended the entire equipage, including car, harness, and trained horses, of which there would be two at least, if not three. The “horses” mentioned separately from the chariots are not chariot-horses, but chargers for the cavalry.

The kings of the Hittites - See 2 Kings 7:6 note. The kings intended were probably Solomon’s vassals, whose armies were at his disposal if he required their aid.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 10:29. A chariot came up - for six hundred shekels] This was the ordinary price of a chariot, as a hundred and fifty shekels were for a horse.

Kings of the Hittites — These must have been the remains of the original inhabitants of Canaan, who had gone to some other country, probably Syria, and formed themselves into a principality there. It seems that neither horses nor chariots came out of Egypt but by means of Solomon's servants.

MR. BRUCE'S ACCOUNT OF SOLOMON'S VOYAGE TO OPHIR

"WE are not to wonder, if the prodigious hurry and flow of business, and the immensely valuable transactions they had with each other, had greatly familiarized the Tyrians and Jews with their correspondents, the Cushites and shepherds, on the coast of Africa. This had gone so far as, very naturally, to create a desire in the queen of Azab, the sovereign of that country, to go herself and see the application of the immense treasures that had been exported from her country for a series of years, and the prince who so magnificently employed them. There can be no doubt of this expedition; as Pagan, Arab, Moor, Abyssinian, and all the countries around, vouch for it nearly in the terms of Scripture.

"Her name, the Arabs say, was Belkis; the Abyssinians, Maqueda. Our Saviour calls her queen of the south, without mentioning any other name, but gives his sanction to the truth of the voyage. 'The queen of the south (or Saba, or Azab) shall rise up in 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.' No other particulars, however, are mentioned about her in Scripture; and it is not probable that our Saviour would have said she came from the uttermost parts of the earth, if she had been an Arab, and had near fifty degrees of the continent behind her. But when we consider that the boundaries of the known land, to the southward, were at that time Raptum or Prassum, as we have just seen, these, being the uttermost parts of the known earth, were, with great propriety, so styled by our Saviour; and of these she was undoubtedly sovereign. The gold, the myrrh, cassia, and frankincense were all the produce of her own country.

"Whether she was a Jewess or a pagan is uncertain. Sabaism was the religion of all the East; it was the constant attendant and stumbling block of the Jews: but considering the multitude of that people then trading from Jerusalem, and the long time it continued, it is not improbable she was a Jewess. '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,' 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1. Our Saviour moreover speaks of her with praise, pointing her out as an example to the Jews. And in her thanksgiving before Solomon, she alludes to God's blessing on the seed of Israel for ever, which is by no means the language of a pagan, but of a person skilled in the ancient history of this nation.

"She likewise appears to have been a person of learning, and of that sort of learning which was then almost peculiar to Palestine, not to Ethiopia; for we know that one of the reasons of her coming was to examine whether Solomon was really the learned man he was said to be. She came to try him in allegories or parables, in which Nathan had instructed him.

"The annals of the Abyssinians, being very full upon this point, have taken a middle opinion, and by no means an improbable one. They say she was a pagan when she left Azab, but, being full of admiration at Solomon's works, she was converted to Judaism in Jerusalem, and bore him a son whom he called Menilek, and who was their first king.

"The Abyssinians, both Jews and Christians, believe the forty-fifth Psalm to be a prophecy of the queen's voyage to Jerusalem; that she was attended by a daughter of Hiram's from Tyre to Jerusalem; and that the last part of it contains a declaration of her having a son by Solomon, who was to be a king over a nation of the Gentiles.

"To Saba or Azab, then, she returned with her son Menilek; whom, after keeping him some years, she sent back to his father to be instructed. Solomon did not neglect his charge; and he was anointed and crowned king of Ethiopia in the temple of Jerusalem, and at his inauguration took the name of David. After this he returned to Azab, and brought with him a colony of Jews, among whom were many doctors of the law of Moses, particularly one of each tribe, to make judges of in his kingdom; from whom the present umbares, or supreme judges (three of whom always attended the king) are said and believed to be descended. With these came also Azarias, the son of Zadok the priest, and brought with him a Hebrew transcript of the law, which was delivered into his custody, as he bore the title of nebret, or high priest; and this charge, though the book itself was burnt with the church of Axum in the Moorish war of Adel, is still continued, as it is said, in the lineage of Azarias, who are nebrets, or keepers of the church of Axum, at this day. All Abyssinia was thereupon converted, and the government of the church and state modelled according to what was then in use at Jerusalem.

"By the last act of the queen of Saba's reign, she settled the mode of succession in her country for the future. First, she enacted, that the crown should be hereditary in the family of Solomon for ever. Secondly, that, after her, no woman should be capable of wearing that crown, or being queen; but that it should descend to the heir male, however distant, in exclusion of all heirs female, however near; and that these two articles should be considered as the fundamental laws of the kingdom, never to be altered or abolished. And, lastly, that the heirs male of the royal house should always be sent prisoners to a high mountain, where they were to continue till their death, or till the succession should open to them.

"The queen of Saba having made these laws irrevocable by all her posterity, died after a long reign of forty years, in 986 before Christ, placing her son Menilek upon the throne, whose posterity, the annals of Abyssinia would teach us to believe, have ever since reigned. So far, indeed, we must bear witness to them that this is no new doctrine, but has been steadfastly and uniformly maintained from their earliest account of time; first, when Jews, then in later days, after they had embraced Christianity. We may farther add, that the testimony of all the neighbouring nations is with them on this subject, whether friends or enemies. They only differ in the name of the queen, or in giving her two names.

"I shall therefore now give a list of their kings of the race of Solomon, descended from the queen of Saba, whose device is a lion passant, proper, upon a field gules; and their motto, Mo Anbasa am Nizilet Solomon am Negade Juda; which signifies 'The lion of the race of Solomon and tribe of Judah hath overcome.'

List of the kings of Abyssinia, from Maqueda,

Queen of Saba, to the Nativity

	Reigned yrs.			Reigned Yrs.
Menilek, or David I.	4		Katzina . . .	9
Hendedya,or Zagdur	1		Wazeha . . .	1
Awida . . .	11		Hazer . . .	2
Ausyi . . .	3		Kalas . . .	6
Sawe . . .	31		Solaya . . .	16
Gesaya . . .	15		Falaya . . .	26
Katar . . .	15		Aglebu . . .	3
Mouta . . .	20		Asisena . . .	1
Bahas . . .	9		Brus . . .	29
Kawida . . .	2		Mohesa . . .	1
Kanaza . . .	10		Bazen . . .	16

Bruce's Travels, vol. ii., p. 395.

Mr. Bruce justly finds fault with this table as being defective; several kings must necessarily have been lost out of this list. It is probably a late invention, the genealogical tables having been lost or destroyed; and no wonder when we consider the numerous predatory wars in which the people of Abyssinia have been frequently engaged.

l need scarcely add that the very learned Samuel Bochart has endeavoured to prove by arguments not to be despised, that the Scripture Ophir is the island Taprobanes or Serendib, now called Ceylon. With any other opinions on this subject I think it unnecessary to trouble the reader. That the voyage which Mr. Bruce describes would take up three years, I think he has satisfactorily proved; but on other points and resemblances many readers will doubtless hesitate, while some may suppose his theory is the most plausible of any yet offered to the public on this very obscure subject.