21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, [which] was not of the least account in the days of Solomon.
22 For the king had on the sea a Tarshish-fleet, with the fleet of Hiram: once in three years came the Tarshish-fleet, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
23 And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
24 And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.
26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 10
Commentary on 1 Kings 10 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 10
Still Solomon looks great, and every thing in this chapter adds to his magnificence. We read nothing indeed of his charity, of no hospitals he built, or alms-houses; he made his kingdom so rich that it did not need them; yet, no question, many poor were relieved from the abundance of his table. A church he had built, never to be equalled; schools or colleges he need not build any, his own palace is an academy, and his court a rendezvous of wise and learned men, as well as the centre of all the circulating riches of that part of the world.
1Ki 10:1-13
We have here an account of the visit which the queen of Sheba made to Solomon, no doubt when he was in the height of his piety and prosperity. Our Saviour calls her the queen of the south, for Sheba lay south of Canaan. The common opinion is that it was in Africa; and the Christians in Ethiopia, to this day, are confident that she came from their country, and that Candace was her successor, who is mentioned Acts 8:27. But it is more probable that she came from the south part of Arabia the happy. It should seem she was a queen regent, sovereign of her country. Many a kingdom would have been deprived of its greatest blessings if a Salique law had been admitted into its constitution. Observe,
1Ki 10:14-29
We have here a further account of Solomon's prosperity.
Lastly, Well, thus rich, thus great, was Solomon, and thus did he exceed all the kings of the earth, v. 23. Now let us remember,