Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 10:23-25

"So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year." — 1 Kings 10:23-25 (ASV)

All the kings. —These verses indicate the character of the empire of Solomon as a loosely-compacted group of tributary states around the dominant kingdom of Israel. They were kept to their allegiance mainly by the ascendancy of his personal wisdom and ability, partly by commercial ties and the attractions of his wealth and splendor, and to some degree (though in his case to a lesser extent than usual) by an imposing military force.

It rose rapidly in the comparative abeyance of the great neighboring empires of Egypt and Assyria, and fell just as rapidly on the death of Solomon and the disruption of the kingdom. In the grand description of it in Psalm 72, we observe that while its wealth and prosperity are painted in bright colors, the chief stress is laid on its moral greatness, as a kingdom of righteousness and peace: All kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him.

For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ... He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. Here, with the same general idea but with a characteristic difference of expression, the chief emphasis is placed on the wisdom of Solomon, acknowledged as the gift of God (see Note on 1 Kings 4:29). This wisdom was a moral and religious power at least as much as an intellectual one. In this higher character, it was the type of the kingdom of the true Son of David. In this, rather than in wealth and power, lay its true glory; and the falling away from this in the later days of Solomon immediately brought decay and ruin.