Solomon's Seafaring Activity And The Visit Of The Queen Of Sheba (1 Kings 9:26-28).
In this passage we learn of Solomon's international influence and widespread trading activities, while central to it is Solomon's reputation for wisdom as evidenced by the visit of the Queen of Sheba. Even though very much aware of Solomon's weaknesses and failures the author hides nothing of his splendour. He is fair and open minded while making clear his disapproval simply by the way in which he words things. The sad thing about Solomon is that such a wise man, to whom God had given so much, should have been so foolish as to destroy his kingdom because of his vanity, pride and lust. He was fulfilling all the prophetic warnings of what happened when men were given supreme kingship (1 Samuel 8:11-18; Deuteronomy 17:16-17).
The coming of the Queen of Sheba was almost certainly because she wanted to ensure the maintenance of trading routes between her kingdom in Arabia, the Red Sea trade through Ezion-Geber, the northern trade routes, and the maritime trade through Tyre and Sidon. Solomon's kingdom bestrode and controlled all the trade routes. We know from Assyrian records that queens were a regular feature of Arabian rule of Saba around this time, along with their priest-kings, so that this visit is not surprising. She clearly wanted to search out and sum up her prospective trading partner. She was suitably impressed. But, of course, no hint of such trading activities is given. Kings did not ‘trade'. They gave each other things (compare Hiram above).
Analysis.
a And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom (1 Kings 9:26).
b And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon, and they came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon (1 Kings 9:27-28).
c And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of YHWH, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels which bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones, and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart (1 Kings 10:1-2).
d And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not (1 Kings 10:3).
e And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of YHWH, there was no more spirit in her (1 Kings 10:4-5).
f And she said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom” (1 Kings 10:6).
e “Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and my own eyes had seen it, and, behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard” (1 Kings 10:7).
d “Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, and who hear your wisdom. Blessed be YHWH your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel, because YHWH loved Israel for ever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness” (1 Kings 10:8-9).
c And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones. There came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon (1 Kings 10:10).
b And the navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones. And the king made of the almug-trees pillars for the house of YHWH, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for the singers. There came no such almug-trees, nor were seen, to this day (1 Kings 10:11-12).
And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants (1 Kings 10:13).
Note that in ‘a' Solomon had established maritime trade routes through the port of Ezion-Geber, trade routes which were important to Arabian trade, and in the parallel ‘all her desire' would include access to these trade routes on reasonable terms. In ‘b' Hiram enabled Solomon to set up his fleet, which went to Ophir, and in the parallel Hiram's navy brings goods back from Ophir. In ‘c' the Queen of Sheba arrived bring many precious gifts, and in the parallel she supplies these gifts to Solomon. In ‘d' Solomon revealed his wisdom to the Queen of Sheba, and in the parallel she extols his wisdom. In ‘e' the Queen saw all the splendour of Solomon's court, and in the parallel she expatiates on its magnificence. Centrally in ‘f' she gives her fulsome verdict on Solomon.
‘ And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.'
As a result of David's conquest of Edom Solomon had control of the port of Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea. This is now Guzarat al-Far'un, and the nearby ancient storage facilities have been excavated. Traces of ship-building materials (long nails, lumps of pitch, carbonised cables) were found on site. It was an important maritime trade route for Arabia. Elath also was on the Gulf of Aqabah, and is mentioned for identification purposes. These facilities would provide Solomon with huge revenues, as well as enabling his own trading ventures.
‘ And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.'
Taking advantage of his treaty friendship with Hiram Solomon set up his own fleet, with his own people receiving expert guidance and help from the experienced Tyrian sailors and shipbuilders. And they regularly set sail for Ophir, and returned bringing back large consignments of gold (compare Job 22:24; Job 28:16; Isaiah 13:12), a trade attested on the Tell Qasileh ostracon inscriptions. We do not know the identity of Ophir, which may have been in southern Arabia (Genesis 10:29), or East Africa (e.g. Somalia which was a source of frankincense and myrrh) or even India. India is known to have had a thriving trade with the Persian Gulf region in 2nd-1st millenniums BC, and all the commodities mentioned were available from there.
There is no reason for doubting the huge amount of gold which would accumulate over many voyages. Solomon's trade was expansive, and such levels are mentioned in inscriptions elsewhere.
‘ And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of YHWH, she came to prove him with hard questions.'
The real purpose of the visit, trading negotiations, would naturally be passed over, and there is no good reason for doubting the Queen of Sheba's genuine interest in what she had heard of Yahwism. The fame of Solomon's Temple had no doubt spread, and together with it the mystery of the covenant chest, topped by the Cherubim which represented the invisible God, which ‘bore the Name of YHWH of Hosts' (2 Samuel 6:2). It would be quite clear to all the greatness that He had given to Solomon, as He had raised up this powerful empire on his behalf. Furthermore Solomon's reputation for wisdom had reached her ears, and she wanted to test him out with riddles, as well as to discuss diplomatic and ethical questions. All this is quite in accord with what we might expect.
‘ And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels which bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.'
The Queen was taking advantage of the visit for trading purposes, and brought with her a huge train of valuable commodities, no doubt well guarded. Her camels brought the spices, gold and precious stones for which Arabia was famous. They would, of course, have been a gift, in return for which she would be entitled to expect similar ‘gifts'. But the main purpose of her own coming was in order to sound Solomon out, and discover what she could about him, with thoughts of future dealings in mind. Thus they talked about many things.
‘ And Solomon told her all her questions. There was not anything hid from the king which he did not tell her.'
She found Solomon competent and capable, and able to live up to the reputation that he had earned. He was able to give satisfactory answers to all her questions, and was not caught out by any of them.
‘ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of YHWH, she was breathless with wonder (there was no more spirit in her).'
The magnificence of Solomon's court impressed even such a great queen, while his wisdom, the magnificence of his palace complex, and the engineering ingenuity of the access which had been built between the palace and the Temple, filled her with awe. It fulfilled all her expectations. Also included among her impressions was the quality and quantity of food, the protocol of his chief ministers, the wide variety of lesser ministers, and the kind of clothing that they wore, together with the hugely important ‘cupbearers' (not just wine waiters. Compare the Rabshakeh in 2 Kings 18:17, and the later Nehemiah) who supervised all drinking and ensured that no important persons were poisoned. Everything was magnificent, and it took her breath away.
Alternatively what might have impressed her about his ascent to the house of YHWH may have been the huge bodyguard with their shields of glistening gold (1 Kings 14:28 with 1 Kings 10:17).
‘ And she said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and my own eyes had seen it, and, behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard”.'
While fulsome praise was expected by kings, and indeed its lack would have been looked on as an insult, there is no reason for doubting the genuineness of the Queen's words. She had heard of his doings and his wisdom, and had hardly been able to believe that it was true, but now she had seen it with her own eyes. Indeed what she had seen had surpassed all that she had heard. Both in wisdom and in wealth, Solomon surpassed all expectations. Sadly it was these very things which would contribute so very much towards his downfall. Reputation and wealth can destroy the best of men, especially when they have absolute power.