John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 10

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon ,
&c.] Josephus ^F21 calls her a queen of Egypt and Ethiopia; but Sheba was in the southern part of Arabia Felix; her name with the Ethiopians is Maqueda ^F23 , and with the Arabic geographer ^F24 Belequis. Some ^F25 think that Sheba, or Saba, is not the name of a country, but of the queen herself; and that she is the same with Sabbe the sibyl mentioned by Pausanias ^F26 ; but no doubt Sheba or Saba, the metropolis of Arabia Felix, as Philostorgius ^F1 calls it, is here meant; which Benjamin of Tudela says ^F2 is called the country of Al Yeman, or the south; and the name of Queen Teiman, given to this queen by an Arabic writer ^F3 , seems to be the same as the queen of the south, (See Gill on Matthew 12:42).

The fame of Solomon's greatness and goodness, of his wealth and riches, and especially of his wisdom, had reached her ears; perhaps by means of the ambassadors of princes that had been at Solomon's court, and attended her's. According to an Ethiopic writer ^F4 it was by Tamerinus, a merchant of her's, she came to hear of him: particularly she 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 wisdom he had received from him, and what he had done for his honour and glory:

she came to prove him with hard questions ;
in things natural, civil, and divine; to try whether he had such a share of knowledge and wisdom it was said he had, she posed him with enigmas, riddles, dark and intricate sayings, to unravel and tell the meaning of. She might be an emblem of the Gentiles, seeking unto Christ, having heard of him, (Isaiah 11:10) (John 12:20John 12:21) . In (Matthew 12:42) she is said to come from the "uttermost parts of the earth"; wherefore some fetch her from Sumatra in the East Indies, where in an old map no other name is put but Sheba {e}^F5.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2, 5.
• F23: Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 2. c. 3.
• F24: Clim 1. par. 6.
• F25: Vid. Coryli Disser. de Reg. Austral. c. l. sect. 1, 2.
• F26: Phocica, sive, l. 10. p. 631.
• F1: Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 4.
• F2: Itinerar. p. 82.
• F3: Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. Dyn. 3. p. 54.
• F4: Tellezius apud Ludolf. Ethiop. Hist. l. 2. c. 3.
• F5: Dampier's Voyages, vol. 2. p. 139.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train
With many of her courtiers and principal men, as well as with a large retinue of servants:

with camels that bore spices ;
her country abounded both with camels and spices; (See Gill on Isaiah 60:6), (See Gill on Jeremiah 6:20), and as Pliny ^F6 observes, who says their spices used to be carried on camels, particularly frankincense, for which Sheba was famous, and is therefore called by him "regio thurifera", the frankincense country ^F7 , being to be had nowhere else; and Strabo ^F8 speaks of "cinamon, cassia", and other spices here in such plenty, that the inhabitants burnt the wood of them for fuel; and Diodorus Siculus ^F9 represents this country as exceeding odoriferous, and as having besides the above spices, balsam, myrrh, calamus, costus, and others, in such abundance that they heated their ovens with them:

and very much gold ;
see (1 Kings 10:10) , the gold of Sheba is spoken of in (Psalms 72:15) and Pliny ^F11 observes, that the Sabeans are exceeding rich, as in other things, so in gold; and Diodorus Siculus ^F12 and Strabo ^F13 speak of gold found here in large lumps, very pure, and of a fine colour:

and precious stones ;
as crystals, emeralds, beryls, and chrysolites, mentioned by Diodorus ^F14 as in those parts; and a late traveller says {o}, that Arabia Felix abounds with balsam, myrrh, cassia, manna, dates, gold, frankincense, and pearl:

and when she was come to Solomon ;
unto his palace, and admitted into his presence:

she communed with him of all that was in her heart ;
which she had in her mind to discourse with him about, and which she had laid up in her memory for that purpose; and some things which she had kept to herself, and had never imparted to any before, as some think; all which she had full liberty from Solomon to propound unto him.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 14.
• F7: Ibid. "----Molles sua thura Sabaei", Virg. Georg l. 1. v. 57. & l. 2. v. 117. Thurilegos Arabes, Ovid. Fast. l. 4. Vid. Plant. Trinum. Act. 4. Sc. 2. v. 89.
• F8: Geograph. l. 16. p. 535.
• F9: Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 132.
• F11: Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.
• F12: Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 2.) p. 133. l. 3. p. 181.
• F13: Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 535.)
• F14: Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 2.) p. 134. & l. 3. p. 181.
• F15: Ovington's Voyage to Surat, p. 421.

And Solomon told her all her questions
Answered them, told her the meaning of everything she inquired about, expounded her riddles, solved her objections, and gave her satisfaction in all things she proposed to him:

there was not anything hid from the king, which he told her not ;
there was not anything, though however abstruse and difficult, but what he understood, and gave her a clear and plain solution of.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom
Which she perceived by his answers to things relative to all sorts of science, natural, civil, and divine:

and the house that he had built ;
the singular for the plural, "house for houses"; the house of the Lord, his own house, that for Pharaoh's daughter, and the house of the forest of Lebanon; in all which there appeared not only surprising grandeur and magnificence, but exquisite art and skill; there was a great display of his wisdom in the form and contrivance of them. Josephus ^F16 says, what exceedingly surprised her, and raised her admiration, was the house of the forest of Lebanon.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 5.

And the meat of his table
The various sorts of it, the different dishes, and the multitude of them; see (1 Kings 4:22 1 Kings 4:23)

and the sitting of his servants ;
at table, either with him, or at tables by themselves, yet in his presence; for these were his nobles and courtiers, who were placed in order, according to their rank and degree, which showed wisdom:

and the attendance of his ministers ;
or the "standing" ^F17 of those that waited, both at the king's table, and the tables of the lords, who each had their proper place and business assigned; so that the utmost decorum was observed, and no confusion or disorder to be seen:

and their apparel :
their several liveries, which were distinct according to the posts and offices in which they were, and which no doubt were rich and splendid, as well as various:

and his cup bearers ;
to serve him and his nobles with wine when called for; though the word signifies liquors ^F18 , and may design the various sorts of wines, and other drinkables, used by him, of which there was great plenty:

and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord ;
the steps which he had made to go up from his palace to the temple; which were so curiously devised, and so artificially wrought, that it gave the queen, among other things, a sensible proof of his great wisdom, as well as of his religion and piety. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and some others, render the words, "and the burnt offerings which he offered in the house of the Lord"; and so Josephus ^F19 understood them; she was shown the service of the house of the Lord, as much as could be admitted, and perhaps was told the meaning of it; all which she saw, both in his own house, and in the house of God, and greatly surprised her:

so that there was no more spirit in her ;
she was quite astonished; like one in an ecstasy, she had no power for a time to speak, what she saw and heard so affected her.

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: (Kmem) "statum", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius;
• F18: (wyqvm) "et potum ejus", Tig. vers. so Abarbinel
• F19: Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 5.)