The Queen of Sheba
1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. 3 Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. 4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her. 6 She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 7 However, I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8 Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. 9 Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 10 She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. 12 The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen to this day. 13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. 14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, 15 in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. 17 He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules. 26 Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He kept them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 29 A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.
A foreign monarch comes to test the wisdom and leaves praising Israel's God — and then the chapter counts the gold, item by item, until the point turns over.
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions.
The visit is the fifth petition of the dedication prayer happening in front of us: a foreigner coming from a far country because of God's name 1 Kings 8:41–43. She comes to test rather than to admire, with hard questions, and Solomon answers all of them 1 Kings 10:3.
6 She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 7 However, I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.
What overwhelms her is a list — the wisdom, the house, the food of the table, the servants standing in order, the cup bearers, and the ascent by which he went up to Yahweh's house 1 Kings 10:4–5. The last item on the list is worship, and it is the one that leads into her conclusion.
Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”
A pagan queen states Israel's own theology of kingship better than most of Israel's kings did: the throne is God's gift, given because God loves this people, and its purpose is justice and righteousness. This is the nations coming to Jerusalem and going home knowing God's name — the vocation working exactly as designed, once, and Jesus later holds her up as a judgment on people who had something greater in front of them and were unimpressed Matthew 12:42.
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,
And from here the chapter changes character without changing tone. It counts: gold shields, an ivory throne with twelve lions, drinking vessels of gold because silver... was considered of little value 1 Kings 10:21, fleets returning every three years with apes and peacocks, silver as common as stones 1 Kings 10:27.
The inventory is admiring on its surface and damning underneath, because a reader who knows the law can hear what is being listed. A king was told not to multiply gold and silver to himself, and not to multiply horses, and specifically not to send to Egypt for them Deuteronomy 17:16–17. The chapter's final two verses report horses imported from Egypt in droves and resold to the kings of Syria 1 Kings 10:28–29. Israel's king has become an arms dealer running the exact trade route the law named.
The queen came for wisdom and the chapter ends in bullion. Nothing is condemned in a single line of it, and everything necessary for the next chapter's verdict has now been laid on the table.
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