2 Chronicles
Chapter 9
Visit of the Queen of Sheba
The fame of Solomon having reached the queen of Sheba, she came to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She came with immense riches, camels loaded with spices, gold, and precious stones.
Upon arriving in Solomon, she asked him all the questions she had in mind, and Solomon had an answer for each one; not one was too difficult for him to explain.
When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
the food at his table, the accommodations for his officials, the organization of his staff and the way they were dressed his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the Lord, it left her breathless;
and she said to the king: “What I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, then!
I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I did not hear even half the story!
How happy your wives are! How happy these servants of yours are who always wait on you and hear your wisdom!
Blessed be the Lord your God who loves you and made you king to rule in his name. Because your God loves Israel and wants to preserve them forever, he has made you their king to administer law and justice.”
And the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon almost five tons of gold and significant quantities of spices and precious stones. There were never spices like those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
Similarly, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who carried gold from Ophir, brought cabinet wood and precious stones.
Of the cabinet wood, the king made floorboards for the Lord’s house and the royal palace and lyres and harps for the musicians; nothing like them had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.
And King Solomon, in his turn, gave the queen of Sheba everything she expressed any wish for, besides returning what she had brought to the king. Then she went home and her servants to her own country.
Wealth, Wisdom, and Foreign Trade
The weight of gold coming to Solomon in one year was over twenty-five tons,
not counting the taxes the traders and merchants paid. All the kings of Arabia and the country’s governors also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
King Solomon made two hundred great shields of beaten gold, and plated each shield with about fifteen pounds of gold,
and also three hundred small shields of beaten gold, and plated each of these with about eight pounds of gold; and he put them in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
The king also plated a great ivory throne with the purest gold.
The throne had six steps, with a platform behind and arms at either side of the seat. Two lions stood beside the arms;
and twelve lions stood on either side of the six steps. No throne like this was ever made in any other kingdom.
All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the furnishings in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in Solomon’s time.
And the king also had ships that went to Tarshish with Huram’s men; once every three years, the ships of Tarshish would return, bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.
King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king.
All the kings of the earth consulted Solomon to hear the wisdom God had given him,
and each would bring his present: gold vessels, silver vessels, robes, armor, spices, horses, and mules; this went on year after year.
Solomon had four thousand stalls for his horses and chariots and twelve thousand horses. These were stationed in the chariot towns and near the king in Jerusalem.
Solomon extended his power over all the kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines and the Egyptian border.
In Jerusalem, the king made silver as common as stone and cedars as plentiful as the sycamores of the Lowlands.
Horses were imported for Solomon from Cilicia and all the other countries.
The rest of the history of Solomon, from first to last, is recorded in the History of Nathan the prophet, in the Prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and the Vision of Iddo, the seer concerning Jeroboam, son of Nebat.
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for years.
Then Solomon rested with his father and was buried in the city of David, his father’s city. His son Rehoboam succeeded him.
Commentaries
The Reign of Solomon.
In these chapters, the Chronicler shares his view of Solomon’s reign, based on the account in 1 Kings 1-11. He omits any negative details about the king or anything that contradicts his greatness. He highlights the building of the Temple, dedicating five chapters (2-7) to it. Solomon is shown as the ideal king of Israel, the leader who fulfills David’s dream and God’s plan by constructing the Temple. He is described as the wise king who excels in construction, leadership, and trade. Chapters 1-9 begin (1:14-17) and end (9:1-28) with celebrations of Solomon’s wealth and wisdom.
Solomon’s Achievements and Reputation.
In this section, the Chronicler draws on 1 Kings 9:10-28 and 10:1-40 to construct his account. However, he omits 1 Kings 11:1-40, which provides a clear judgment on Solomon’s reign. Instead, he focuses on what makes him stand out, such as his wisdom and wealth. The section is divided into three parts: first, a list of some buildings built by Solomon (8:1-16); second, Solomon’s glory demonstrated through recognition from foreign kings and his impressive wealth (8:17-9:28); and finally, Solomon’s death. The campaign against King Hamath mentioned in 8:3 is likely historical. In 9:29, three sources are cited that the Chronicler references, but which remain unknown to us.