seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built,4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents(b) of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;they also brought algumwood[c] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
a. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up tob. 2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
c. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
I read a few commentaries this morning... they all say about the same thing.... Solomon is great.... Solomon is wise.... Solomon is rich... blah blah blah.... I think the easy English site has the least preaching this morning.
Sheba was a country near Israel. It was on both sides of the Red Sea where it joins the Gulf (bay) of Arabia. It was in the modern countries called Yemen, Djibouti and east Ethiopia. The kingdom called Sheba was famous because of its trade in gold and spices.
The visit of the queen of Sheba was perhaps for the purposes of trade. Perhaps she wanted to protect the trade from Sheba to Israel. The ships of Hiram and Solomon were perhaps trading with Sheba.
But the main reason for the queen’s visit was that she had heard about Solomon’s wisdom. She had many questions that she wanted to ask him. She discussed with him all the difficult problems that she had. And he was able to answer all her questions. Solomon was very wise (1 Kings 4:29-34). People then considered that wisdom was very important. This wisdom was not just knowledge about facts. It was also practical wisdom about such matters as life and politics. We can read examples of such wisdom in the Book of Proverbs.
The queen saw all that Solomon had done. She saw how wealthy he was. The amount and the luxury of the food on his table impressed her. The clothes that even his servants wore astonished her. She saw the ceremonies in the temple. The result of all this made her feel so small.
The queen had to admit how great Solomon was. Solomon was much greater than she had heard in her own country. His wisdom was greater than the reports that had come to Sheba. Also, she believed that the LORD was the cause of Solomon’s greatness. She believed that the LORD had put Solomon on the throne to rule Israel. She could see that the LORD loved Israel. And the LORD had made Solomon able to be a good king over his people.
Verse 9 Before the queen left Israel, she gave gifts to Solomon. She gave to him 120 talents of gold. In addition to this, she gave to him spices and precious stones.
The queen of Sheba gave gold and precious stones to Solomon. And Hiram’s men with Solomon’s men brought more gold and precious stones to him. They went every three years to trade for these. Also, these men brought this algum wood to Solomon. We do not know what this wood was. But clearly, it was special and expensive. The trees that supplied this wood did not grow in Israel.
King Solomon gave gifts to the queen of Sheba. He gave her even more gifts than she had brought to him. In addition, he gave to her all that she desired. This may have included a good trade agreement.
When I read the story this morning.... it sure seemed like Solomon did a lot of "mansplaining" and he made quite an impression.
It also seemed to me.... the Queen of Sheba might have been as beautiful as Cleopatra.... but Solomon doesn't seem to be affected by her in Kings or in Chronicles. You would think... with all those wives... there would have been at least a comment about how her beauty affected him..... this is a couple thousand years before the #metoo movement. Women in Israel weren't even considered part of the census. Women in Israel were for procreation and production.
I pulled this from the got questions site.
The Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem as she had “heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, [and] came to test Solomon with hard questions” (1 Kings 10:1). As God had granted Solomon the gift of wisdom (1 Kings 3:5–12), “nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her” (1 Kings 10:3). After a meal together, the Queen of Sheba declares how impressed she is with Solomon’s answers, hospitality, and the reputation that preceded him. The story ends with an exchange of resources and the Queen of Sheba returning “with her retinue to her own country” (1 Kings 10:13).
Sources outside the Bible suggest that the Queen of Sheba conceived a child in secret with King Solomon, while some Bible commentators have suggested that the nameless woman in the Song of Solomon is the Queen of Sheba (with the man being King Solomon). Both are speculative and, while interesting, cannot be declared factual. Whether she has any relation to the “Sheba” mentioned in Genesis 10:7 and 28, or if she was the ancestor of “Candace, queen of the Ethiopians” (Acts 8:27), is, again, open to speculation.
I just have a hard time with the fact Solomon had so many wives and girlfriends, but he only had four kids..... I was hoping that his relationship with the queen might offer up a better hint in Chronicles than it did in Kings. So I'm still stuck wondering about "king" Solomon.