Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 10:29
And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring [them] out by their means.
29. And a chariot ] The word is used (Exo 14:25; Jos 11:6; Jos 11:9, &c.) for a ‘chariot employed in war,’ and that is probably the sense here. These also Solomon’s merchants supplied from Egypt, and in this verse we have the notice of their retail trade. It may be that these traders did not pay to the king according to their profits, but paid him a duty for the privilege of trading; but this does not appear.
The Hebrew word for ‘shekels’ is omitted here as in 1Ki 10:16 above. See note there.
for all the kings of the Hittites ] The Hittites were divided into numerous small kingdoms, situated in the country between the Euphrates on one side and Hamath and Damascus on the other. Their two chief cities were Carchemish and Kadesh. In the early times some Hittite settlements were made in southern Palestine, and we read of these people in the days of the patriarchs (Gen 26:34, &c.).
and for the kings of Syria ] Syria ( Heb. Aram) is the name given in the Old Test. to all the country north-east of Phnicia and extending beyond the Euphrates and Tigris. Sometimes the term includes the Hittite country. Mesopotamia is distinguished (Gen 24:10; Deu 23:5, &c.) as Aram-Naharaim (i.e. Syria of the two rivers), and is sometimes called Padan-Aram (Gen 25:20). Other portions were known by distinctive names, as Aram-Maachah (1Ch 19:6), Arambeth-Rehob (2Sa 10:6), Aram-Zobah (2Sa 10:6; 2Sa 10:8). It was for the princes of these districts that Solomon’s merchants brought up horses and chariots from Egypt. All these small kingdoms became afterwards subject to Damascus.
by their means ] Literally ‘in their hand.’ That is, these merchants were the agents through whom the various princes obtained their supplies. In 2Ch 9:28 it is not only from Egypt, but from all lands, that horses for Solomon’s trade were brought, but 2Ch 1:16-17 is word for word the same as the account in this chapter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Taking the shekel at about three shillings of our money, six hundred silver shekels would be equal to about 90; and 150 shekels to 22 British pounds and 10 shillings. Average price seems to be in each case intended; and we may account for the comparatively high price of the chariot by supposing that by chariot is intended the entire equipage, including car, harness, and trained horses, of which there would be two at least, if not three. The horses mentioned separately from the chariots are not chariot-horses, but chargers for the cavalry.
The kings of the Hittites – See 2Ki 7:6 note. The kings intended were probably Solomons vassals, whose armies were at his disposal if he required their aid.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 29. A chariot came up – for six hundred shekels] This was the ordinary price of a chariot, as a hundred and fifty shekels were for a horse.
Kings of the Hittites] These must have been the remains of the original inhabitants of Canaan, who had gone to some other country, probably Syria, and formed themselves into a principality there. It seems that neither horses nor chariots came out of Egypt but by means of Solomon’s servants.
MR. BRUCE’S ACCOUNT OF SOLOMON’S VOYAGE TO OPHIR
“WE are not to wonder, if the prodigious hurry and flow of business, and the immensely valuable transactions they had with each other, had greatly familiarized the Tyrians and Jews with their correspondents, the Cushites and shepherds, on the coast of Africa. This had gone so far as, very naturally, to create a desire in the queen of Azab, the sovereign of that country, to go herself and see the application of the immense treasures that had been exported from her country for a series of years, and the prince who so magnificently employed them. There can be no doubt of this expedition; as Pagan, Arab, Moor, Abyssinian, and all the countries around, vouch for it nearly in the terms of Scripture.
“Her name, the Arabs say, was Belkis; the Abyssinians, Maqueda. Our Saviour calls her queen of the south, without mentioning any other name, but gives his sanction to the truth of the voyage. ‘The queen of the south (or Saba, or Azab) shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold a greater than Solomon is here.’ No other particulars, however, are mentioned about her in Scripture; and it is not probable that our Saviour would have said she came from the uttermost parts of the earth, if she had been an Arab, and had near fifty degrees of the continent behind her. But when we consider that the boundaries of the known land, to the southward, were at that time Raptum or Prassum, as we have just seen, these, being the uttermost parts of the known earth, were, with great propriety, so styled by our Saviour; and of these she was undoubtedly sovereign. The gold, the myrrh, cassia, and frankincense were all the produce of her own country.
“Whether she was a Jewess or a pagan is uncertain. Sabaism was the religion of all the East; it was the constant attendant and stumbling block of the Jews: but considering the multitude of that people then trading from Jerusalem, and the long time it continued, it is not improbable she was a Jewess. ‘And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions,’ 1Kgs 10:1; 2Ch 9:1. Our Saviour moreover speaks of her with praise, pointing her out as an example to the Jews. And in her thanksgiving before Solomon, she alludes to God’s blessing on the seed of Israel for ever, which is by no means the language of a pagan, but of a person skilled in the ancient history of this nation.
“She likewise appears to have been a person of learning, and of that sort of learning which was then almost peculiar to Palestine, not to Ethiopia; for we know that one of the reasons of her coming was to examine whether Solomon was really the learned man he was said to be. She came to try him in allegories or parables, in which Nathan had instructed him.
“The annals of the Abyssinians, being very full upon this point, have taken a middle opinion, and by no means an improbable one. They say she was a pagan when she left Azab, but, being full of admiration at Solomon’s works, she was converted to Judaism in Jerusalem, and bore him a son whom he called Menilek, and who was their first king.
“The Abyssinians, both Jews and Christians, believe the forty-fifth Psalm to be a prophecy of the queen’s voyage to Jerusalem; that she was attended by a daughter of Hiram’s from Tyre to Jerusalem; and that the last part of it contains a declaration of her having a son by Solomon, who was to be a king over a nation of the Gentiles.
“To Saba or Azab, then, she returned with her son Menilek; whom, after keeping him some years, she sent back to his father to be instructed. Solomon did not neglect his charge; and he was anointed and crowned king of Ethiopia in the temple of Jerusalem, and at his inauguration took the name of David. After this he returned to Azab, and brought with him a colony of Jews, among whom were many doctors of the law of Moses, particularly one of each tribe, to make judges of in his kingdom; from whom the present umbares, or supreme judges (three of whom always attended the king) are said and believed to be descended. With these came also Azarias, the son of Zadok the priest, and brought with him a Hebrew transcript of the law, which was delivered into his custody, as he bore the title of nebret, or high priest; and this charge, though the book itself was burnt with the church of Axum in the Moorish war of Adel, is still continued, as it is said, in the lineage of Azarias, who are nebrets, or keepers of the church of Axum, at this day. All Abyssinia was thereupon converted, and the government of the church and state modelled according to what was then in use at Jerusalem.
“By the last act of the queen of Saba’s reign, she settled the mode of succession in her country for the future. First, she enacted, that the crown should be hereditary in the family of Solomon for ever. Secondly, that, after her, no woman should be capable of wearing that crown, or being queen; but that it should descend to the heir male, however distant, in exclusion of all heirs female, however near; and that these two articles should be considered as the fundamental laws of the kingdom, never to be altered or abolished. And, lastly, that the heirs male of the royal house should always be sent prisoners to a high mountain, where they were to continue till their death, or till the succession should open to them.
“The queen of Saba having made these laws irrevocable by all her posterity, died after a long reign of forty years, in 986 before Christ, placing her son Menilek upon the throne, whose posterity, the annals of Abyssinia would teach us to believe, have ever since reigned. So far, indeed, we must bear witness to them that this is no new doctrine, but has been steadfastly and uniformly maintained from their earliest account of time; first, when Jews, then in later days, after they had embraced Christianity. We may farther add, that the testimony of all the neighbouring nations is with them on this subject, whether friends or enemies. They only differ in the name of the queen, or in giving her two names.
“I shall therefore now give a list of their kings of the race of Solomon, descended from the queen of Saba, whose device is a lion passant, proper, upon a field gules; and their motto, Mo Anbasa am Nizilet Solomon am Negade Juda; which signifies ‘The lion of the race of Solomon and tribe of Judah hath overcome.’
List of the kings of Abyssinia, from Maqueda,
Queen of Saba, to the Nativity
| | Reigned yrs. | | | Reigned Yrs. |
| Menilek, or David I. | 4 | | Katzina . . . | 9 |
| Hendedya,or Zagdur | 1 | | Wazeha . . . | 1 |
| Awida . . . | 11 | | Hazer . . . | 2 |
| Ausyi . . . | 3 | | Kalas . . . | 6 |
| Sawe . . . | 31 | | Solaya . . . | 16 |
| Gesaya . . . | 15 | | Falaya . . . | 26 |
| Katar . . . | 15 | | Aglebu . . . | 3 |
| Mouta . . . | 20 | | Asisena . . . | 1 |
| Bahas . . . | 9 | | Brus . . . | 29 |
| Kawida . . . | 2 | | Mohesa . . . | 1 |
| Kanaza . . . | 10 | | Bazen . . . | 16 |
Bruce’s Travels, vol. ii., p. 395.
Mr. Bruce justly finds fault with this table as being defective; several kings must necessarily have been lost out of this list. It is probably a late invention, the genealogical tables having been lost or destroyed; and no wonder when we consider the numerous predatory wars in which the people of Abyssinia have been frequently engaged.
l need scarcely add that the very learned Samuel Bochart has endeavoured to prove by arguments not to be despised, that the Scripture Ophir is the island Taprobanes or Serendib, now called Ceylon. With any other opinions on this subject I think it unnecessary to trouble the reader. That the voyage which Mr. Bruce describes would take up three years, I think he has satisfactorily proved; but on other points and resemblances many readers will doubtless hesitate, while some may suppose his theory is the most plausible of any yet offered to the public on this very obscure subject.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A chariot: this is not to be understood of the chariots and horses themselves, (for then all horses had been set at an equal price, which is most absurd,) but by a metonymy, for the lading of chariots and horses, which consisting of fine linen and silk, &c., were of great value; and the kings custom, together with the charges of the journey, amounted to these sums.
The Hittites; a people dwelling principally in the northern and eastern parts of Canaan, Jos 1:4, whom the Israelites, contrary to their duty, spared, and suffered to live among them, Jdg 3:5, who afterwards, it seems, grew numerous and potent, and, it may be, they sent out colonies (after the manner of the ancient times) into some parts of Syria and Arabia and possibly these kings of the Hittites may be some of those kings of Arabia, 1Ki 10:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,…. Which, reckoning at two shillings and six pence a shekel, amounted to seventy five pounds; but a shekel was not worth more than two shillings and four pence farthing:
and an horse for one hundred and fifty; and this being the fourth part of the above sum, the Jews gather from hence that there were four horses in a chariot; the horses must be reckoned one with another, the whole collection of them, or otherwise no doubt but one horse was better than another; and it was a pretty large price to give for a horse in those times; which, taking a shekel at the lowest rate, must be upwards of ten pounds; and which is too great a sum still for a custom or tribute to be paid for them, whether to Pharaoh or Solomon, as some understand it:
and so for all the kings of the Hittites; perhaps the same with the kings of Arabia, 1Ki 10:15 and for the kings of Syria; those of Damascus, Zobah, c.
did they bring them out by their means that is, by the means of Solomon’s merchants, who bought them out of Egypt, and sold them to these kings.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(29) A chariot.This is the chariot and its team of two or three horses; the horse is the charger. The price (though so far considerable as to indicate a large expenditure on the whole) shows that the supply was large, and the commerce regular.
The kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syriaevidently allies or tributaries of Solomon, who were allowed, or compelled, to purchase their horses and chariots through his merchants. Of all the earlier inhabitants of Palestine the Hittites alone are mentioned as having existed in power after the conquest (as here and in 2Ki. 7:6); and this statement is curiously confirmed by both Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions, describing a powerful confederacy of Hittites in the valley of the Orontes in Syria, not far from Phnicia, with whom both empires waged war. The possession of horses and chariots by the northern confederacy round Hazor is especially noted in the history of the Conquest (Jos. 11:4-6).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
29. Six hundred shekels of silver According to Keil about thirty-five pounds sterling, or one hundred and seventy-five dollars.
A hundred and fifty About forty-five dollars. The object of the writer was to show that horses and chariots were so multiplied in Solomon’s day as to be obtained at a very small price.
And so for all the kings of the Hittites, and of Syria That is, the Canaanitish and Syrian kings, who were tributary to Solomon, received the same advantage from this extensive traffic in horses and chariots that the great king himself did. They too had opportunity to purchase horses and chariots of Solomon’s traders at the same low price. But this commerce with Egypt, though for a time seeming to aggrandize the empire of Solomon, was helping to lay the foundation of its fall.
By their means That is, by means of Solomon’s horse-merchants. Literally, by their hand they brought them forth. The traders brought them (horses and chariots) out of Egypt for the vassal kings of Palestine and Syria.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 10:29. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt, &c. The Egyptian horses were highly acceptable to the Syrian princes, who, it seems, had them brought out of that country by the means of Solomon, at a considerable expence. What made them prize the Egyptian horses so highly, is not easy to determine. It cannot be imagined that they were animals peculiar to Egypt, or not known in that part of Asia, which made them so desirous to transplant such an useful creature into their countries; for we read of great numbers of them in Syria before the time of Solomon. (See 1Sa 13:5. 2Sa 10:18.) They might be supposed, however, much more useful in war, to which the prophet Isaiah may possibly refer, Isa 31:3 when he tells the Israelites, that the Egyptians were men, and not God; and their horses were flesh, and not spirit: for it is well known, that they are much larger than other eastern horses, as well as more beautiful. Or they might be chosen on account of their stateliness, and being more proper for the use of those who desired to appear in great pomp and dignity. But, whatever was the reason, it seems to have been a proof of the respect paid to Solomon by the neighbouring princes, and among the rest by those of Egypt, which the Scripture speaks of, but which has not, as far as I know, been remarked by commentators, as pointed out in the present passage, and 2Ch 1:16-17 though they are very clear proofs of it, if the present Egyptian usages are derived from remote antiquity in this respect, as they are in most other things; for the difficulty, we are told, of conveying horses out of Egypt, is so great, that, excepting those designed for Turks of high distinction at Constantinople, it cannot be overcome. M. Maillet himself, though Consul General of France in Egypt, and though he had powerful connections with the great men there, could never obtain this liberty; and in his eleventh letter he employs upwards of two pages in proposing projects for doing that by subtilty, which he despaired of effecting by any other means. It is most probable, that the like difficulty existed in the time of Solomon, as the customs of Egypt are so very ancient; and, consequently, his bringing horses out of this country for himself, and for other princes at his pleasure, should be considered as a proof of the respect with which he was treated; as the fondness of the present great men of the East for the horses of Egypt, may account for the desire of the kings of the Hittites and of Syria to obtain them. See the Observations; the author of which, speaking of the linen yarn, 1Ki 10:28 goes on to remark, that, according to Norden, this is one of the principal of the Egyptian merchandises, and is sent away in prodigious quantities, together with unmanufactured flax, and cotton spun. Sanutus, who lived about four hundred years since, observes, that though Christian countries abounded in his time in flax, yet the goodness of the Egyptian was such, that it was dispersed all about, even into the west. For the same reason, without doubt, the Jews, Hittites, and Syrians, anciently purchased the linen yarn of this country, though they had flax growing in their own.
Note: 1. Solomon, on his throne of ivory, was typical of his greater Son, seated on the great white throne of Judgment, and pronouncing sentence on the eternal state of men and angels; see Rev 2:2. That king is truly glorious, who makes his subjects affluent and happy under his wise administration. 3. If we shall be found citizens of the New Jerusalem, and our lot be cast among the subjects of Jesus, then the very streets of our city shall be pure gold, and the walls the richest jewels; so much will our eternal consolations and blessedness exceed all earthly joy and felicity.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! added to the view we have taken in this chapter of Solomon’s wisdom and greatness, as a shadow of him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; are we not led by what we have read to behold in this Queen of the south, thus coming to Solomon, a picture of the whole Gentile church coming to Christ? Was it not a promise of our covenant God concerning him, that Gentiles should come to his light, and kings to the brightness of his rising? And in allusion to the same blessed and glorious event, did not the Lord Jehovah promise that the multitude of camels should cover him; the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they from Sheba should come, they should bring gold and incense, and show forth the praises of the Lord. And how is the mind overpowered in the contemplation, when we behold these great predictions accomplished in the first fruits of the wise men from the East coming to Christ in the moment of his Incarnation; and now in the dispensation of the fullness of times the Lord gathering together in one all things in Christ?
But Reader! while our souls are deeply impressed with the contemplation of the stupendous blessings and mercies in Jesus; shall we not advance one step higher in the wonderful subject, and look at Jesus himself thus gloriously shadowed forth in the several striking features of Solomon king of Israel? As far as the excellencies of Solomon go, they were surely descriptive of Solomon’s Lord God, and Saviour. And here (though not in the infirmities of the man) as we read the relation (but in the wisdom of the king) we are constrained to cry out in the representation, and say, a greater than Solomon is here. Yes! blessed Jesus; as the Lord sent by the hand of Nathan to David, and at the birth of Solomon called him Jedidiah, beloved of the Lord; so by a voice from heaven at thy gracious entrance upon the work the Father gave thee to do, thou wert declared to be the true Jedidiah; the beloved Son of God, in whom the soul of thy Father was well pleased. And thy wisdom hath not only called forth the whole earth to admire and adore; but all the powers of heaven join to acknowledge thee to be the power of God, and the wisdom of God, for salvation to everyone that believeth. Thy kingdom was but faintly represented by the peaceful reign of Solomon; for of the increase of thy government and peace, there is, there can be no end. Well may every true believer, like the Queen of Sheba, and yet in higher notes of gratitude, love and praise, exult and say; Happy are thy redeemed ones; happy are thy servants who minister in thy great name, and stand continually before thee! And blessed be the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who hath constituted our Jesus the Solomon of his people, and hath given him an everlasting kingdom, and a dominion that ruleth over all. Lord! hasten thy kingdom, and thy glory; take to thyself thy great name, and rule and reign forever.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 10:29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring [them] out by their means.
Ver. 29. And a chariot came up. ] A chariot with four horses. The custom of six horses in a coach with a postilion, began among us but in King James’s days by the duke of Buckingham, that king’s favourite.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
kings of the Hittites. Compare 1Sa 26:6. 2Ki 7:6. These passages alleged to be unhistoric! but they are confirmed by the discoveries made in 1874 throughout Asia Minor and North Syria, which identify them with the “sons of Heth” (Gen 23:3, Gen 23:5, Gen 23:7; Gen 25:10; Gen 27:46; Gen 49:32), the Khatta of the Accadian and the Kheta of the Egyptian records. They contended on equal terms with Assyria and Egypt. Crushed by Sargon II, 717 B.C. Chief centers, Carchemish on the Euphrates and Kadesh on the Upper Orontes.
by their means. Hebrew by their hand. Hand put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6, for what is done by it: by means of Solomon’s merchants.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
for six hundred: This was the ordinary price of a chariot, as 150 shekels was that of a horse. It seems that neither horses nor chariots came out of Egypt but by means of Solomon’s servants.
the kings: Jos 1:4, 2Ki 7:6
their means: Heb. their hand, Hos 12:10, Mal 1:1
Reciprocal: 2Ch 1:16 – Solomon
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 10:29. A chariot came up out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, &c. Egypt being then the most famous country in the world for horses and chariots, and all Asia being supplied from thence, Solomon, who possessed, as it were, the gate of Egypt, by being master of that one only passage, the distance between the Red and the Mediterranean sea, took, it seems, an advantage of this, to lay an excessive high tribute on all that were brought out of Egypt that way, to supply Asia and the neighbouring nations; and perhaps he fixed this tribute so high, not only for the sake of gain, but to be a means of preventing the neighbouring nations from increasing their cavalry and chariots of war to too formidable a degree. Poole, however, thinks that this great price is not to be understood as paid for the chariots and horses themselves, but for the lading of the chariots and horses, which, consisting of fine linen and silk, was of great value: and that the kings custom, together with the charges of the journey, amounted to these sums. And so for all the kings of the Hittites A people dwelling principally in the northern and eastern parts of Canaan, (Jos 1:4) the posterity of those Hittites who were driven out by the Israelites, and who afterward increased and grew potent, and, it may be, sent out colonies, after the manner of ancient times, into some parts of Syria and Arabia.