¥. 20. And all the people that were lef — __ |rites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, an Who were not deftroyed in the /oua, or fince, but dwelt in feveral i and Beth-horon the ne- land of Jfrael from the above times 5. which were not of the children of Irael, nc i thejof the land of J/rae/, though they migh 2profelytes, at leaft fome of them. ee 4 Their children that were left after them b ¥-. he land, 8c.) _ The pofterity of thofe left unfub- ct dued in the times of fo/hua: whom the children /rael alfo were not able utterly to defray s in jtimes, though now itis thought by fome it) for want of power, but becaufe they h injcovenant with them, as the Gibeonite therefore they could not, becaufe it thisjbeen a breach of covenant to have deft fee 2 Chron. viii. 8. upon thefe did Solo o-|tribute of bond-fervice unto this day; not a t thejmoney, which being poor they were no} itjpay, but of fervice, and which being oft n three was continued, and even to the time o: aa openjting of this book. er, “ba y. 17. dnd Solomon built Gezer, &c.} Rebuilt it, j&ec. it having been burnt, at leaft great partof it, by Pharaoh when he took it:
‘ther; and the upper alfo, 2 Chron. viii. 5. which belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and were on borders of it, between that and Benjamin, Fo/b. xvi. 3,5. and xviil. 13, 14. “| 21.
¥. 22. But of the children of Ifrael did Solome make no bondmen, &c.] For that was contrary to BN the law; they might be hired fervants, but. _—. nothing green bond-fervants, Lev. xxv. 39, 40. but they vi ere ™en of war; which he kept in pay, a ftanding army, maintained even in time of peace, in cafe of neceflity, fhould an enemy attempt to invade, or furprize them: and bis fervants; in his family and fpacejcourt, who had offices and employments there:
now taken up by the ruins; but there are no foot-;
and bis princes, minitters of ftate, counfellors, gofteps of any wall remaining, nor is it poffible judge of the antient figure of the place. prefent inhabitants, as they are poor, miferable, dirty people, fo they have fhut themfelves up to the ¥. number of about 30 or 40 families, in little huts made of dirt, within the walls of a fpacious which inclofed a moft magnificent, heathen Benjamin of Tudela fays' it is fituated in a nefs, far from any habitable place, and is four days journey from Baalath before-mentioned; which* place he’ takes to be the fame with Baa/- bek, in the valley of Lebavon, built by Solomon for Pharach’s daughter; which, according to the Arabic geographer", was fituated at the foot mount Lebanon; and Tadmor feems to be in the land of Hamath Zobab, 2 Chron. viii. 3, 4.
¥.19. And all the cities of fore that Solomon &c.] In which were his magazines of corn, arms, and ammunition; and thefe were built in Hamath, tojvernors of cities, &c. and his captains, ‘officers in The his army: and rulers of bis chariots and his borfee” 5 war-chariots and troopers 5 fee ¥. 19. gt 23. Thefe were the chief of the officers over So- /omon’s work, &c.] In building the above hou court,!and cities: 550 which bore rule over the people that temple’. wrought in the work, in 2 Chron. viii. 10. the wilder-jare faid to be but 250; now it may be obferved, asis by the ewi/b writers, that there were three forts of thofe rulers; the loweft rank and or them confifted of 3300, the next of 300, whic were over the 3300, and being numbered with them made 3600, 2 Chrom, ii. 18. and the higheft rank ofjof them were 250, and the middlemoft and higheft - being joined together, as they are here, made 550. Abarbinel reconciles the places thus, the 250 wei had,jonly over thofe that wrought in the temple, the 550 here were thote that were over fuch th: were employed in the feveral parts of the kingdom. \ eae riots of war, iron chariots, which were kept in times of peace, in cafe of necefficy, of which lomon had 1400, ch.x. 26.
men; of which he had 12000, a ftanding cavalry: and that which Solomon defired to build in Ferufalem, befides the temple and his own palace before mentioned; fee Eccl. ii. 4. and in Lebanon; of the foreft of Lebancn, which Junius on 1 Kings vii. 2. thinks he built after he had taken Hamathzobab, a royal city of Lebanon % fee 2 Chron. viii. 3, 6. or fortref{es on mount Lebanon, which was the northern border of his kingdom: and in all the land of bis dominions; where he might repair, or fortify cities, or ereét new forts for the fa ety of his, ¥. 24. But Pharaob’s daughter came up out of tbe So- cio David, 8c.) Where he placed her wher and cities for bis horfe- married her, until he had finifhed his build2 ings, ch. iii. 10. which being done he brought her from thence unto her houfe, which Solomon had built for her; the reafon of which is the houfejonly becaufe it was the houfe of Dav caule it was holy by the ark being ther time; and therefore he did not judge that his wife, an Egyptian woman, and | in her impurity, fhould dwell there viii. 11. then did be build Millo, this’ larly repeated from y. 15. and foll what is laid of Pharaob’s daughter, t
‘ewifo writers to conclude her houfe was built at illo; and indeed without fuppofing this, it is hard toconceive why it fhould be oblerved here; the Jargum on 2 Chront vill, 11. calls her name £- thiah. 25. And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon tbe altar which be built unto the Lord, &c.|. The brazen altar, the altar of burnt-offering, which ftood in the court of thé priefts, and by whom he offered. The three times were the feafts of paflover, pentecoft, and tabernacles, as explained in 2 Chron. viii. 13. notthat thefe were the only offerings, or thefe the only times he offered; for he offered all other facrifices, and at all other times commanded in the law of Mo/es, as on fabbaths and new moons, as expreffed in the above place: and be burnt incenfe upon the altar that was before the Lord the altar of incenfe, which ftood in the holy place, right againft the moft holy, in which was the ark, the fymbol of the divine prefence; not that Solosion burnt incenfe in perfon, but by the priefts, whom he furnithed with incenfe 3, far no king might offer incenfe, as the cafe of Uzziab thews: fo be finifbed the boufe; which refpects not the building of it, that had been obferved before, but the férvice of it; as he had provided all vefizls and utenfils for the furniture of it, and all things to be ufed in them; as facrifices for the altar of burnt-offering, incenle for the altar of incenfe, bread for the fhew-bread table, and oil for. the lamps; fo he appointed the courfes of the priefts, Levites, and porters, to do their duty, who went throughevery part of fervice affigned them, and compleated the whole; fee y¥. 26. And king Solomon made a navy of foips in Ezion-geber, cc.) Which was one of the {tations of the J/raelites, near the wildernefs of Siz, or Pavan, Numb. xxxiii. 35. it fignifies the backbone of aman; and itis faid™ the ridge of rocks before this port were in that form, covered by the fea at high water, and {ticking up with various points in a line when it was low. Fo/ephus fays*in his time it was called Berenice, which is placed by Mela’ between the Heroopolitic bay, and the promantory
Strobilus, or Pharan.. It is thought probable * to be the fame with that which is called by the 4rabs
Meenah-el-Dfabab, the port of gold, called Diz- the Arabic gulph, about two or three day’s diftance from mount Sinai; though by others * thought to be the fame the Arabs call Calzem, where was a great quantity of wood fit for building fhips. It is farther defcribed, which is befide Elath, on the fore of the Red-Jea, in the land of Edom; and when Edom was fubdued by David, this port fell into his hands, and fo was in the pofleffion of So o- monk; and there being plenty of timber in the parts adjacent, and this being a port in the Redea, So-
Jomon pitched upon it as a proper place to build fhips in. Elath near to which it was, is the fame the Elanitic bay had its name from; of which fee the note on Deut. ii. 8. Trajan, the Roman emperor, formed a navy in the Red-/ea*, that byit he might ravage and wafte the borders of India; fe heré it feems Solomon’s navy went; fee ¥. ae
¥.27. And Hirank fent in bis navy bis fervant, &c.] And according to 2 Chron. viii. 18..fhips alfo; but how he could fend them from Tyre, which lay inthe Mediterranean fea, to the above ports in the Red-fea, without going a great way round, is not eafy to conceive. Perhaps, as Guffetius conjectures®, Hiram had a port in the Red /ea for building and fending out fhips, for the fake of his eaftern navigation, and from thence he fent them to Solomon’s ports in the fame fea; but if what R. Faphet* obferves is true, that the Red-/ea is mixed with the fea of Foppa by means of the river Rbinocurura, as is remarked by a learned man‘, and who approves of the obfervation, and thinks it does not deferve the cenfure Dr. Lightfoot * pafles onit. If this, I fay, can be fupported, the difficulty ig removed: fo Abarbinel afferts *®; that 4 branch of ‘the JVi/e flows into the Red-/ea; and another, paffing through /exandria; ryns into the Mediterranean fea. This is the firft navy of fhips we read of; in the conftruction of which, as well as in the art of navigation, the Zyriazs no doubt were greatly affifting to Solomon’s fervants, and which appears by what follows; and they are faid ® to be the firft that made ufe of fhips; and the invention of fhips of burden, or merchant fhips, fuch as thefe were, is by Pliny‘ afcribed to Hippus the Tyrian; and the Tyrians were famous for merchandize, which they could not carry on with foreign nations without fhipping; fee J/. xxiii. 8. the fervants Hiram fent in Solomon’s navy were hip-men that had knowledge of the fea, of fea-coafts and ‘ports, of the manner of guiding and managing fhips at fea, and of the whole art of navigation, fo far as then known, for which the Zyrzans were faz mous; fee Ezek. xxvii. 3-9. with the fervanis of Solomon; to inftruct and affift them in naval affairs, they not having been ufed thereunto.
¥. 28. And they came to Opbir, &c.| About which place there are various opinions; fome take it to be the little iland of Zocatora, on the eaftern coaftof Africa, ata fmall diftance from the traits of Babel-mandel; others the ifland of Ceylon 4 others Sofala in Africa; fome* Peru in America; Vatablus the ifland of Hi/panjola in theWeft Indies, difcovered by Columbus, and who thought’ himfelf that he had found the land of Opéir, becaufe of the quantity of gold init; others the fouthern part of Arabia; but the moft reafonable opinion is, fays my author™, that it is a rich country in Malacca, which is a peninfula in the true Red-/ea, (that part of the ‘ocean which divides Afa from Africa) known by the name of the golden Cherfonefe, and which agrees with Fofephus"; and at 12 leagues from Malaccg there is a very high mountain, which by the natives is called Opbir, and is reported to be, or to have been very rich in gold, though at prefent only fome tin-mines are worked there; and Kircher ° {ays the word Ophir is a Coptic or Egyptian word, by which the antient Egyptians ufed-to call that Jzdia which contains the kingdoms of Malabar, Zeilan, the golden Cherfone/e, and the iflands belonging to it, Sumatra, Molucca, Fava,” and other neighbouring golden iflands. So Varrerius? thinks that all that coaft in which are contained Pe. git, Malaca, and Somatra, is Ophir; which places, befides gold, abound with elephants, apes, and parrots. Inthe ifland of Samatra gold is now found, efpecially in chia, in great plenty; in which is a mountain, called the golden mountain, near the mines’. Reland‘ takes Ophir to be the country. round about a city called Oupara or Supbara in the Eajt-Indies, where now ftands Goa, the moft famous mart -in all Jndia at this day for many of thofe things Solomen traded thither for. Tho’ after all perhaps there was no fuch place originally as Ophir in Jadia; only the gold brought from thence
HIS chapter contains an account of the queen ae of Sheba’s vilit to king Solomon to her great fatisfaction, ¥. 1—13. of Solomon’s merchandize and riches, and the magnificence of his court, y. 34—23. of the rich. prefents fent to- him, and of the purchafe of chariots and horfes, and other things he made, ¥. 24—29.
¥. 1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, &c.] Fofephus “calls her a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia; bat Sheba was in the fouthern part of Arabia Felix, her name with the Ethiopians is Maqueda”, and with the Arabic geographer * Belcquis. Some’ think that Sheba, or Sada, is not the name of a country, but of the queen herfelf; and that fhe is the fame with Sabdée the fiby mentioned by Paufanias*; but no doubt Sheba or Saba, the metropolis of Arabia Felix, as Phitoftorgius* calls it, is here meant; which Benjamin of Tudela fays” is called the country of / Yeman, or the fouth; and the name of queen Teimaz given to this queen by an Arabic writer‘, feems to be the fame asthe queen of the fouth, agreeable to Mast. xii. 42. fee the note there. The fame of Solomon’s ereatnefs and goodnefs, of his wealth and riches, and efpecially of his wifdom, had reached her ears; perhaps by means of the embafladors of princes that had been at Solomon’s court, and attended hers. fxccording to an Ethiopic writer *, it was by Tamerinus, 2 merchant of hers, fhe came to hear.of him: particularly fhe 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 wifdom he had received from him, and what he had done for his honour and glory: fhe came to prove bim with hard queftions; in things natural, civil, and divine; to try whether he had fuch a fhare of knowledge and wifdom it was faid he had, fhe pofed him. with zenigma’s, riddles, dark and intricate fayings, to unravel and tell the meaning of. She might be an emblem of the Gentiles, feeking purpofe; and fome things which fhe hherfelf, and had never imparted to an
KEN OS:
Ch.xexd was like thatof Ophir in Arabia, and therefore the: called the place fo from whence it was had; f Fob xxii. 24. and fet from thence gold 420 talents and brought it to king Solomon, which according Brerewood* amounted to 1,890,000 pounds of money; and according to another writer‘ 5,132 ducats of gold. Abarbinel fays a talent of was equal to 12300 Venetian ducats; in 2 Chron. viii..18. it is faid, that 450 talents of gold | brought to Solomon, perhaps thirty might be ex: pended in the voyage, or paid to //iram’s fervants ~ for their wages, as fome Fewz/b writers obferve 3: vi or in the bulk or ore it might be 450 talents, but when purified only 420, as Grotius remarks 5 way removes the difficulty; though fome thin ¥ different voyages are refpected here and there; bf the gold of Ophir frequent mention is made:: i {criptare, og i 2% y 4 unto Chri, having heard of him, J/ xi. ro 3 xii. 20, 21. In Matt. xii. 42. the is faid to com " from the uttermoft parts of the earth, wherefor ‘ae eae fome fetch her from Sumatra in the Eajft-Indies, where in an old map no other name is put but Sheba*. ete ¥. 2. And fhe came to Ferufalem with avery great train, &c.| With many of her courtiers and principal men, as well as with a large retinue of fer-— vants: with camels that bare pices; her country abounded both with camels and fpices; fee Jf Ix. 6. Fer. vi. 20. andthe notes there,» and as Pliny* obferves; who fays their fpices ufed to be carried on camels, particularly frankincenfe, for which Shea was famous, and is therefore called by him regio thurifera, the frankincenfe-country ®, being to be had no where elfe; and Strabo * {peaks of cinnamon, cafia, and other fpices here in fuch plenty, that the inhabitants burnt the wood of them for fuel; and Diodorus Siculus* reprefents this coun-_ try as exceeding odoriferous, and as having befides the above fpices balfam, myrrh, calamus, coftus, and others, in fuch abundance that they heated their ovens with them: and very much gold; fee ¥. 10. the gold of Sheba is fpoken of in Pf Ixxii. 15. and Pliny * obferves, that the Sabeans are exceeding rich, as in other things, fo in gold; and Diodorus * Siculus and Strabo™ {peak of gold found here in large Iumps, very pure, and of a fine colour: and precious ftones, as chryftalsy emeralds, berylls, and chryfolites, mentioned by Disdorus" as in thofe parts; and a late traveller fays°, that Arabia Felix abounds with balfamy myrrh, caffia, manna, dates, gold, frankincenfe, and pearl: and when fhe was come to'Solomon; unto his palace, and admitted intohis prefence: foe com= muned with him' of all that was in ber heart which fhe had in her mind to difcourfe with him abot and which fhe had Jaid up in her memory for tha fome think; all which fhe had full liberty from greatly exageerated, but now the found it was
Solomon to propound unto him. * itrictly true. y¥. 3. And Solomon told her all her queftions, &c. Anfwered them, told her the meaning of every thing fhe enquired about, expounded her riddles, folved her objections, and gave her fatisfaction in all things fhe propofed unto him:
y. 4. And when the queen of Sheba had feen all Solomon’s wifdom, &c | Which fhe perceived by his anfwers to things relative to all forts of fcience, natural, civil, and divine: and the boufe that be had built; the fingular for the plural, boxe for houfes; the houfe of the Lord, his own houfe, that for Pharvaob’s daughter, and the houfe of the foreft of Le- -banon;, in all which there appeared not only furprizing grandeur and magnificence, but exquifite art and fkill; there was a great difplay of his wifdom in the form and contrivance of them. fofepbus? {ays what exceedingly furprized her, and raifed her admiration, was the houfe of the foreft | ¥. 7. Howbeit I believed not the words, until J come, and mine eyes had jen it, &c.] That is, the did not believe the whole of what was related to her; fomewhat of it the credited, and fuppofed there was not any there was fomething grand and extraordinary in it, or fhe would never have taken fuch a journey; bur fhe did not believe that all could be true; fhe thought things were too much magnified: and bebold the ‘half was not told me; of what fhe now faw and heard: thy wi/dom and pro/perity exceedeth the fame which I heard; the inward endowments of | his mind, and the outward magnificence of his court, exceeded the relation of them to‘her; they were beyond expreffion, they were fo great that reporters could not hyperbolize upon them, nor even come up to them in their account of them, and in which yet men are apt to exceed.
thing bid from the king which he told her not, there was not any thing, though ever fo abftrufe and difficult, but what he underftood, and gave her a clear and plain folution of.
y. 8. Happy are thy men, &c.] The menof JF 7rae/ that had a king over-them, fo wife, fo great, fo good: happy are thefe thy fervants, which ftand continually before thee, and hear thy wifdom, who were now prefent, and to whom {fhe pointed, and of Lebanon. » may refpect not his nobles and courtiers only, but x. 5. And the meat of bis table, &c.] The various forts of it, the different difhes, and the multitude of them; fee ch. iv. 22, 23. and the fitting of bis fervants; at table, either with him, or at tables by themfelves, yet in his prefence; were his nobles and courtiers, who were placed in order, according to their rank and degree, which fhewed wifdom: and the attendance of bis or the ftanding * of thofe that waited, both at the king’s table, and the tables of the lords, who each had their proper place and bufinefs affigned; fo that the utmoft decorum was obferved, and no confufion or diforder to be feen: and their apparel; their feveral liveries, which were diftinét according to the pofts and offices in which they were, and which no doubt were rich and fplendid, as well as various: and his cup-bearers; to ferve him and his nobles with wine when called for; though the word fignifies liquors", and may defign the various of wines, and other drinkables ufed by him, of which there was great plenty: and his afcent by which be went up unto the houfe of the Lord; the fteps which he had made to go up from his pa- ¥. lace to the temple; which were fo curioufly devifed, and fo artificially wrought, that it gave the queen among other things, a fenfible proof of his great wifdom, as well as of his religion and piety. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic fions, and fome others, render the words, and the burnt-offerings which be offered in the houfe of the Lord, and {o Fofephus * underftood them; fhe was fhewn the fervice of the houfe of the Lord, as much as could be admitted, and perhaps was told the meaning of jt; all which fhe faw, both in his own houfe, and in the houfe of God, and greatly prized her: fo that there was no more [pirit inher; fhe was quite aftonifhed; like one in an exftacy, ‘fhe had no power for a time to fpeak, what fhe faw and heard fo affected her.:
his menial fervants, who had an opportunity of often hearing the wife fayings which dropped from his lips; and which no doubt were means of greatly improving their knowledge’ and underftanding in for thefe things natural and divine.
. ¥. 9. Bleffed be the Lord thy God, &c.] Of whom fhe might have better notions than when fhe came minifters,;out ot her own country: which delighted in thee, to fet thee on the throne of Irae; loved him with a love of complacency and delight, was fedidiab, as he called him, beloved of the Lord, and therefore he chofe him and preferred him to be king before his elder brother: decaufe the Lord loved Ijrael for ever; to eftablifh them as a kingdom for ever as they were, fo long as obedient to him; fee 2 Chron. ix. 8. therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and juftice; not merely for the fake of honour and: glory, much lefs to, indulge to pleafure forts and luxury, and ftill lefs to oppreffion and tyranny 5 butto adminifter juftice and judgment to the people, which isthe principal end of government; fee P/- Ixxii. 1, 2.
10. And foe gave the king 120 talents of gold, &c-] The fame fum that Hiram fent him, ch. ix. 14. fee the note there; this fulfilled the prophecy, fo far as it refpected Solomon, Pf. Ixxii. 15. and of /prces very great fore, and precious fiones, fee y. 2.» ver- there came no more fuch abundance of Jpices as thefe which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon, that is, into Fudea. Fofepbus reports’, that fome fay that the balfamic plant which Yudea was afterwards fo famous for, was brought by this queen, and a gift of hers to Solomon; and Diodorus Siculus * fpeaks of it as in Arabia, and not to be found in any fur-jother part of the world,
¥. 11. And the navy alfo of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, 8c.] This perhaps was before So- /omon was concerned with Hiram in navigation, ~ \- |and merchandize; though in 2 Chron. ix. 10. both their fervants are faid to bring it’; and itis here in- {erted perhaps to fhew that. Solomon had not his gold, at leait all of it, from the queen of Sheba 5. but much from Hiram, who fetched it from Opbir 5 at leaft fhe thought it wasland as this was in India, as obferved on ch. ix. 28.
¥.6. And fhe faid to the king, &c.] When fhe was alittle come to herfelf: it was a true reportthat IT beard in mine cwn land, of thy aés, and of thy wifdom; which fhe was ready to call in queftion, when fhe firft heard it;
ie a) om F “a ed i ‘ 2: > Oe p' s..; oe oe a on es ’ 653 i KINGS Cheya2—an many writers maice mention. of gold in that part of the world, as Diedorus Siculus™, Strabo *, Dionyfius’, Curtius*, Pliny*, and others: and this navy alfo brought in from Ophir great plenty of trees; ov algum-trees, by tranfpofition of letters, 2 Chron. ix. 10, 1. which fome of the Fewi/h| &e. writers ° take to be coral, which is not likely; others Brafil, rather ebony, which was peculiar to India, as both Solinus ‘ and) Virgil fay “; makes mention of ftrange trees in Jndia: and precious ftones; of which there is great variety and plenty in that country, as related by Diomy 600 fhekels of gold went to one target 5 which be underftood not of the weight, but of the or value of them, which amounted. to 450 pounc almug- of our money; fo Brerewood *. Ra. xi. yy. 17. dud he made 300 frields of eal _ Which were a lefier fort: three poun of gold went to one Jeield; or 3200 thekels, as in 2 Chron. ix. 16. a hundred. fhekels made one Strabo *)pound, fo that thefe were but half the value ofeneformer, and one of them was-worth but 225 | pounds: Eupolemus °, an heathen. writer, makes | fius', as yu 12. And the king made of the almug-trees, pillars for the houfe of the Lord, and for the king’s houfe, &c.] Or terraces, as in 2 Ghren. ix. 11, caufeways; and means the afcent or caufeway he made from his own houfe to the temple;_ the payement of which, as archi interprets the word here, was made of the wood of thele trees; or the fupports of it, or rather the rails on each fide, on which men might flay, themfelves as they pafied along, as Ben Gerfom, and fince this afcent was admired by the queen.of Sheba, it is particularly obferved what wood it was made of, and from whence it came: harps alfo, and pfalteries for fingers, thele mufical inftruments were made of the fame wood; ‘Fe/epbus* fays, of amber, and that their number was 400,000: ¢here came no fuch almug-trees, nor were feen unto this day; not in the land of J/rae/, neither before nor fince, fee 2 Chron, 15. abi mention of thofe golden fhields So/amon made, and which were made for fhow, and not for war, as — follows: and the king put them in the houfe of the.
foreft of Lebanon; one part of which was made armoury of, fee Cant. iv. 4._; en y. 18. Moreover, the king made a great ivory, &c.] To fit on and judge his people: ivory being white, may denote the purity, juftic and equity with which he judged; the white throne in Rev. xx. rt. may be an allufion to this; the ivory he had from Zarfbifh, ¥. 22. and overlaid?
with the beft gold; tor the greater fplendor and majefty of it; not that he covered it all over, for ~ then the ivory would not be feen, but interlined it, or ftudded it with it, whereby it appeared the more — beautiful and magnificent. Such a throne of gold and ivory was decreed to Ce/ar by the Romans?, y. 19. The throne had fix fteps, &c.] Up to the footftool of the throne, which was of gold, 2 Coron. ix. 18. and was high, that every one in court might fee him, and the better hear the fentence he gave: and the top of the throne was round
¥. 13. Aud king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her defire whatfoever foe afked, Sc. bebind; had a femicircle~at the top of it, like an, Some alcove: and there were ffays on esther fide on the curious things fhe faw, and. was defirous of, fhe place of the feat; or bands *, fuch as the arms of a afked for, and had them: Zefdes that which Solomon gave ber of his royal bounty, of his own good will and’ pleafure, without. afking: fo jhe turned, chair, to lean and reft upon: aad two lions ftood befide the fiays; which were not only ornamental, and for fupport of the ftays, but expreffive of maand went to ker own country the country, of Sheba jefty, and of undaunted -courage and refolution to in Arabia Felix: foe and her fervants, the train or retinue. fhe brought with her,,.which, was large, Vn,,2:0 prea y¥. 14... Now the weight. of gold that came to Selomion in one year, was 606).talents of gold.|} From Ophir and Larfbifo, and wherever he traded; which was of..our. money, according to Brerewood *, 2,997,000 pounds; or, as another learned man ', who makes it equal to 5,138,520 ducats of gold. ¥. 15. Befides. that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the {pice-merchants,, &c.| ‘What.they paid him as a: duty or cuftom for the do juftice, and of the danger fuch expofe themfelves to, who oppofe magiftrates in. the difcharge of their office; and in which Solomon was a type of Chrifi, the lion of the tribe of Fudab, and for the fame reafons were the like portraits on the fteps,’ as follows. 1 y..20. And twelve lions ftood there on the one fide, and on the other, upon the fix fteps, &c.] There was a lion’ on each fide of every ftep, a fymbol of royal power, as before obferved; fo the Egyptians placed lions under the throne of Orus": there was not the like made in any kingdom; for the matter and importation of their goods: and of all the kings of \form of it, for its grandeur and magnificence;
Arabia, who were fubject to him, and paid him a yearly tribute, or at leaft made prefents, fee.ch. iv. 21, 24..and of the governors of the country; who were viceroys or deputy-governors of countries conquered: by his father, and who collected tribute from the people, and paid it to him.
there was none at leaft at that time, whatever has been fince; for this is the firft throne we read of ivory. = Bote y.21. And all king Solomon’s drinking-veffels were of gold, &c.} Such quantities of it were brought to him from Ophir, and paid to him in tribute, W. 16, dnd king Solomon made 200 targets. of and given him as prefents: and all the veffels of 1 b little efteemed, and fearce any ufe of it made in
Solomon’s palace, if at all; though doubtlefs it was f elfewhere, and efpecially filver as money.
¥.22. For the king had at fea a navy of Thar- Shifo, with the navy of Hiram, &c.] T. har/bifh. was not the place the navy went from, but whicher it went to, as appears from 2 Chron. ix. 21. and xx. 36. and defigns not Tarfus in Cilicia; nor Tarteffus in Spain, or Gades, or which was however near it; though it appears from Strabo * and Mela‘, that the Phanicians were acquainted with thofe parts, and were poffeffed of them; and particularly, according to Velleius Paterculus", the navy of Tyre traded thither betore the days of Solomon; and Vitringa“ is Clear in it, that thefe were fhips that traded to Tarteffus, with the thips of Zyre; and it is more likely that that place is meant than Carthage, now called Tuais, in Africa; though the Targum here calls it.the navy, the navy of Africa; but as Thar/hifh is fometimes ufed for the fea in general, here it may fignify a particular fea, fo called; and which Fo/ephus * names the Tar/ic fea, the fame with the Jndian fea; and points to the fame country where Ophir was, which was wathed by it, and to which the two fleets joined were bound. This is obferved, to account for it how Solomon came by fo much gold: once in three years came the navy of Tharfeifh, it returned in fuch a fpace of time; navigation not being improved as now, and failing by coafts, and what with their ftay abroad to vend and purchafe goods, and to refit their fhips, as well as fometimes contrary winds, they were {o long in performing this voyage, which is now done in a few months: bringing gold and filver; fo that filver was accounted of, and ufed for fome purpofes, though not for the king’s plate: ivory, and apes, and peacocks; ivory is the elephant’s tooth, as the word fignifies; fome of thofe are of an almoft incredible bignefs; fome are faid to be of
90, others of 125 pound weight; Vartomannus” fays, he faw in Sumatra, where fome place Ophir, one that weighed 330 pounds; though, according to the Erhiopians*, the ivory is from the horns; and fo fay * Paufanias and others, fee Ezek. xxvii. 15. but it is commonly fuppofed to be of the two teeth in the upper jaw that ftandsout; and whether they are called horns or'teeth, they are the fame of whichivory is: of elephants, there were large numbers in India, bigger and itronger than thofe in Africa; which latter were afraid of the former, as, Diodorus Siculus”, Curtius‘, and Pliny“ relate; fo Virgil ° fpeaks of ivory as fetched from Jndia; and Horace‘ alfo, which mutt be Eoaft- India, for thereare no ivory nor apesin the We t- dndies*: apes or monkeys were then, as now, brought from thofe parts. Szraéo* reports, that when the Macedonians under Alexander were there, fuch a vaft number of them came out of the woods, and placed