22 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.
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.
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.
26 And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
28 And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
22 And king H4428 Solomon H8010 passed H1431 all the kings H4428 of the earth H776 in riches H6239 and wisdom. H2451
23 And all the kings H4428 of the earth H776 sought H1245 the presence H6440 of Solomon, H8010 to hear H8085 his wisdom, H2451 that God H430 had put H5414 in his heart. H3820
24 And they brought H935 every man H376 his present, H4503 vessels H3627 of silver, H3701 and vessels H3627 of gold, H2091 and raiment, H8008 harness, H5402 and spices, H1314 horses, H5483 and mules, H6505 a rate H1697 year H8141 by year. H8141
25 And Solomon H8010 had four H702 thousand H505 stalls H723 for horses H5483 and chariots, H4818 and twelve H8147 H6240 thousand H505 horsemen; H6571 whom he bestowed H3240 in the chariot H7393 cities, H5892 and with the king H4428 at Jerusalem. H3389
26 And he reigned H4910 over all the kings H4428 from the river H5104 even unto the land H776 of the Philistines, H6430 and to the border H1366 of Egypt. H4714
27 And the king H4428 made H5414 silver H3701 in Jerusalem H3389 as stones, H68 and cedar trees H730 made H5414 he as the sycomore trees H8256 that are in the low plains H8219 in abundance. H7230
28 And they brought H3318 unto Solomon H8010 horses H5483 out of Egypt, H4714 and out of all lands. H776
22 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
24 And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 And he ruled over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.
28 And they brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
22 And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;
23 and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart,
24 and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
25 And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem.
26 And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt.
27 And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that `are' in the low country, for abundance,
28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.
22 And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and clothing, armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.
25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 And he ruled over all the kings from the river as far as the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.
28 And they brought to Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
22 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
24 They brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
27 The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.
28 They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
22 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put into his heart.
24 And everyone took with him an offering, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and robes, and coats of metal, and spices, and horses and beasts for transport, regularly year by year.
25 Solomon had four thousand buildings for his horses and his war-carriages, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king in Jerusalem.
26 And he was ruler over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the limit of Egypt.
27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedars like the sycamore-trees of the lowlands in number.
28 They got horses for Solomon from Egypt and from every land.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 9
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
2Ch 9:1-12. The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon; She Admires His Wisdom and Magnificence.
1-4. when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon—(See on 1Ki 10:1-13). It is said that among the things in Jerusalem which drew forth the admiration of Solomon's royal visitor was "his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord." This was the arched viaduct that crossed the valley from Mount Zion to the opposite hill. In the commentary on the passage quoted above, allusion was made to the recent discovery of its remains. Here we give a full account of what, for boldness of conceptions for structure and magnificence, was one of the greatest wonders in Jerusalem. "During our first visit to the southwest corner of the area of the mosque, we observed several of the large stones jutting out from the western wall, which at first seemed to be the effect of a bursting of the wall from some mighty shock or earthquake. We paid little regard to this at the moment; but on mentioning the fact not long after to a circle of our friends, the remark was incidentally dropped that the stones had the appearance of having once belonged to a large arch. At this remark, a train of thought flashed across my mind, which I hardly dared to follow out until I had again repaired to the spot, in order to satisfy myself with my own eyes as to the truth or falsehood of the suggestion. I found it even so. The courses of these immense stones occupy their original position; their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and, being fitted one upon another, they form the commencement or foot of an immense arch which once sprung out from this western wall in a direction towards Mount Zion, across the Tyropœon valley. This arch could only have belonged to the bridge, which, according to Josephus, led from this part of the temple to the Xystus (covered colonnade) on Zion; and it proves incontestably the antiquity of that portion from which it springs" [Robinson]. The distance from this point to the steep rock of Zion Robinson calculates to be about three hundred and fifty feet, the probable length of this ancient viaduct. Another writer adds, that "the arch of this bridge, if its curve be calculated with an approximation to the truth, would measure sixty feet, and must have been one of five sustaining the viaduct (allowing for the abutments on either side), and that the piers supporting the center arch of this bridge must have been of great altitude—not less, perhaps, than one hundred and thirty feet. The whole structure, when seen from the southern extremity of the Tyropœon, must have had an aspect of grandeur, especially as connected with the lofty and sumptuous edifices of the temple, and of Zion to the right and to the left" [Isaac Taylor's Edition of Traill's Josephus].
2Ch 9:13-28. His Riches.
13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year—(See on 1Ki 10:14-29).
six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold—The sum named is equal to £3,646,350; and if we take the proportion of silver (2Ch 9:14), which is not taken into consideration, at one to nine, there would be about £200,000, making a yearly supply of nearly £6,000,000, being a vast amount for an infant effort in maritime commerce [Napier].
21. the king's ships went to Tarshish—rather, "the king's ships of Tarshish went" with the servants of Huram.
ships of Tarshish—that is, in burden and construction like the large vessels built for or used at Tarshish [Calmet, Fragments].
25. Solomon had four thousand stalls—It has been conjectured [Gesenius, Hebrew Lexicon] 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 [see 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.
28. they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt—(See on 2Ch 1:14). Solomon undoubtedly carried the Hebrew kingdom to its highest pitch of worldly glory. His completion of the grand work, the centralizing of the national worship at Jerusalem, whither the natives went up three times a year, has given his name a prominent place in the history of the ancient church. But his reign had a disastrous influence upon "the peculiar people," and the example of his deplorable idolatries, the connections he formed with foreign princes, the commercial speculations he entered into, and the luxuries introduced into the land, seem in a great measure to have altered and deteriorated the Jewish character.