Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Kings
Chapter 10: The Half Was Not Told Me
The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame concerning the name of the LORD, travels far to prove him with hard questions. She finds his wisdom and glory surpassing all report, 'the half was not told me,' and blesses the God of Israel. The chapter then records the astonishing riches of Solomon's reign, gold as common as stones, when he exceeded all the kings of the earth.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Kings chapter 10. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13)
Drawn by the fame of Solomon's God-given wisdom, the queen finds the reality far exceeds the report.
The Half Was Not Told Me
"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. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare 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. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat 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 unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an 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. And the navy also of Hiram, that 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 the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants."
Word Study
"the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD," and "there was no more spirit in her," Hebrew ruach (רוּחַ), breath, spirit. The queen of Sheba came not merely because of Solomon's riches but because of "the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD." His wisdom pointed beyond himself to his God; that is what drew her from afar. When she had seen it all, "there was no more spirit (ruach) in her"; the sight left her breathless, overwhelmed. Her confession is memorable: "the half was not told me." The reality of God's blessing on Solomon surpassed every rumor. And she blesses the true God: "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee." A Gentile queen from a distant land is brought to praise the LORD by the testimony of His servant. This is exactly what Jesus pointed to: "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment... for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). She sought a shadow; we have the substance, Christ Himself, the wisdom of God.
Explanation
News of Solomon's wisdom, bound up with the name of the LORD, reached the distant land of Sheba (in southern Arabia). Its queen made the long journey to Jerusalem with a great caravan of camels bearing spices, gold, and jewels, determined to test him with hard questions. Solomon answered them all; nothing was too difficult for him. When she saw not only his wisdom but the splendor of his house, his table, his servants and their attire, and the way he went up to worship at the temple, she was left breathless. She confessed that the reports she had heard, which she had scarcely believed, fell far short of the reality: "the half was not told me." She pronounced his servants happy and blessed the LORD who had set him on the throne. She gave him lavish gifts of gold, spices, and stones, and Solomon in turn gave her all she desired of his royal bounty, and she returned home.
Gospel Focus
The queen of Sheba is one of Scripture's great pictures of the seeking soul, and Jesus Himself made her a witness against unbelief: "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment... for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." She traveled far, at great cost, on the strength of a report, to hear wisdom, and she found the reality exceeded the rumor: "the half was not told me." How much more should we seek Christ, the true and greater Solomon, in whom "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3)! Those who come to Him say the same thing the queen said, for no report of His grace and glory is ever too great; the half is never told. He tells us all that is in our heart and hides nothing we need to know, and He gives us "all our desire," not of earthly bounty only but the desire of the soul satisfied in God. If a Gentile queen crossed a desert for a shadow, will you not come to the substance? A greater than Solomon is here.
Solomon's Riches and Throne (1 Kings 10:14-22)
The gold that flowed to Solomon, his shields, his ivory throne, and his fleet of Tharshish.
A Great Throne of Ivory
"Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks."
Word Study
"six hundred threescore and six talents of gold." The annual income of gold to Solomon is given as a striking figure: six hundred sixty-six talents. The number six hundred sixty-six is later stamped in Scripture as "the number of a man" and of the beast (Revelation 13:18), and it is difficult not to see, in the yearly flood of gold to Solomon, a quiet mark of the world-system whose glory is measured in gold and whose tendency is to draw the heart from God. Here it stands at the summit of Solomon's earthly greatness, "there was not the like made in any kingdom," and yet at the very height of the accumulation lies the seed of the decline that chapter 11 will unfold. Solomon's throne of ivory overlaid with the best gold, guarded by lions (the lion being the emblem of Judah, Genesis 49:9), was unmatched on earth; silver was so common it counted for nothing. It is a portrait of unrivaled splendor, and a reminder that the most dazzling earthly glory is still earthly, and passing.
Explanation
This section catalogs the extraordinary wealth of Solomon's kingdom. Gold flowed to him at the rate of six hundred sixty-six talents a year, apart from the revenue of merchants, traders, and tributary kings and governors. He made two hundred large golden shields (targets) and three hundred smaller ones, stored in the great hall called the house of the forest of Lebanon. He built a magnificent throne of ivory overlaid with the finest gold, approached by six steps and flanked by carved lions, unequalled in any kingdom. All his drinking vessels were gold, and silver was so plentiful in his day that it was reckoned worthless by comparison. His trading fleet, sailing with Hiram's, returned every three years laden with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. It is a picture of wealth beyond measure, the golden peak of Israel's history.
Gospel Focus
At the very summit of Solomon's glory the record quietly notes the yearly weight of gold: six hundred sixty-six talents, a number Scripture later brands as the mark of man's kingdom in rebellion against God (Revelation 13:18). Even in its golden age, earthly glory carries the seed of its own fall, and the next chapter tells how this wealth and these alliances turned the wisest man's heart. The world offers thrones of ivory and vessels of gold, but "the fashion of this world passeth away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). There is a throne that does not pass, a throne of grace we are invited to approach boldly (Hebrews 4:16), and a kingdom that "cannot be moved" (Hebrews 12:28). The Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), of whom Solomon's carved lions were but a shadow, reigns for ever. Do not be dazzled by gold that flows one year and fails the next. Set your heart on the King whose riches are unsearchable and whose throne endures for ever and ever.
All the Earth Sought Solomon (1 Kings 10:23-29)
Solomon surpasses all kings in wealth and wisdom, yet gathers horses out of Egypt.
Solomon Exceeded All the Kings
"So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. 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."
Word Study
"horses brought out of Egypt," and "which God had put in his heart." Twice the chapter grounds Solomon's greatness in God: his wisdom was that "which God had put in his heart," and all the earth sought him to hear it. Yet the closing verses sound a warning note that a careful reader cannot miss. God had commanded through Moses that Israel's king "shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses" (Deuteronomy 17:16). But Solomon "gathered together chariots and horsemen," fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and had "horses brought out of Egypt." The very things God had forbidden a king to multiply, horses and, in the next chapter, wives and gold, Solomon now multiplies. His trust is quietly shifting from the LORD to Egyptian chariots. It is a sobering picture: the wisest man on earth, at the height of his blessing, beginning to lean on the arm of flesh and the strength of Egypt rather than on his God. Greatness given by God can become the very ground of forgetting God.
Explanation
The chapter closes by summing up Solomon's supremacy: he exceeded every king on earth in both riches and wisdom, and rulers from all nations sought him out to hear the wisdom God had given him, bringing yearly tribute of silver, gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules. He amassed fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, stationed in chariot-cities and at Jerusalem. Silver became as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as the lowland sycomore. He imported horses and fine linen from Egypt and dealt in chariots and horses, trading them on to the kings of the Hittites and Syria. Read against Deuteronomy 17, the accumulation of horses from Egypt is a warning sign woven into the very account of his glory, the first shadows of the fall recorded in chapter 11.
Gospel Focus
Solomon exceeded all kings in wisdom "which God had put in his heart," and yet in the same breath the record tells how he multiplied chariots and gathered horses out of Egypt, the very things God had forbidden a king to do. It is a solemn lesson: gifts given by God can quietly draw the heart away from God. When the horses of Egypt look stronger than the promise of the LORD, decline has already begun. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7). "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses... but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 31:1). Solomon's tragedy warns us that wisdom, wealth, and blessing are no safeguard when the heart begins to trust in the arm of flesh. Where he leaned on Egypt, we are called to lean on Christ alone. Keep your trust fixed not on the resources you can see, however abundant, but on the LORD your God, whose name is your strong tower and whose salvation never fails.
Chapter in Review
First Kings 10 is the golden summit of Solomon's reign. The queen of Sheba, drawn by his fame concerning the name of the LORD, comes to prove him and departs confessing "the half was not told me," blessing the God of Israel. The chapter then piles up the evidence of unequalled wealth: gold flowing in by the hundreds of talents, shields of beaten gold, an ivory throne guarded by lions, silver as common as stones, and a king who exceeded all the kings of the earth. Yet even here the seeds of decline are sown, in the yearly six hundred sixty-six talents and the horses gathered out of Egypt, contrary to God's command, preparing us for the sorrow of chapter 11.
Key Takeaways
- A seeking soul crosses deserts for wisdom. The queen of Sheba came far at great cost; Jesus made her a witness against those who will not seek "a greater than Solomon."
- The half is never told of Christ. Every report of His grace falls short of the reality; come and see for yourself.
- Earthly glory is passing. Thrones of ivory and vessels of gold belong to a world that "passeth away"; only Christ's throne endures.
- Gifts from God can turn the heart from God. Solomon's wisdom and wealth became the soil of his decline; guard your heart at the height of blessing.
- Trust the LORD, not the horses of Egypt. When earthly strength looks safer than God's promise, the fall has already begun.
Questions for Reflection
- Would you cross a desert, as the queen did, to hear wisdom? What are you willing to seek Christ for?
- Have you found that "the half was not told" of the Lord's goodness in your own life?
- What earthly "gold" dazzles you, and does it draw your heart toward God or away from Him?
- Where are you tempted to trust in the "horses of Egypt" rather than in the name of the LORD?
- At the height of your blessings, is your heart drawing nearer to God or drifting from Him?
References
- Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1-29, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Genesis 49:9; Deuteronomy 17:16; Psalm 20:7; Isaiah 31:1; Matthew 12:42; 1 Corinthians 7:31; Colossians 2:3; Hebrews 4:16; 12:28; Revelation 5:5; 13:18.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for ruach and the historical background of Sheba, Tharshish, and Ophir.