1 Kings 10:15

10:14-29 Solomon increased his wealth. Silver was nothing accounted of. Such is the nature of worldly wealth, plenty of it makes it the less valuable; much more should the enjoyment of spiritual riches lessen our esteem of all earthly possessions. If gold in abundance makes silver to be despised, shall not wisdom, and grace, and the foretastes of heaven, which are far better than gold, make gold to be lightly esteemed? See in Solomon's greatness the performance of God's promise, and let it encourage us to seek first the righteousness of God's kingdom. This was he, who, having tasted all earthly enjoyments, wrote a book, to show the vanity of all worldly things, the vexation of spirit that attends them, and the folly of setting our hearts upon them: and to recommend serious godliness, as that which will do unspeakably more to make us happy, that all the wealth and power he was master of; and, through the grace of God, it is within our reach.

Besides that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants,.... What they paid him as a duty or custom for the importation of their goods: and of all the kings of Arabia; who were subject to him, and paid him a yearly tribute, or at least made presents, see 1 Kings 4:21. and of the governors of the country; who were viceroys or deputy governors of countries conquered by his father, and who collected tribute from the people, and paid it to him.

1 Kings 10:15 . Besides that he had of the merchant-men — Who paid custom for the goods they brought from divers countries. Hebrew, מאנשׁי התרים , meanshee hattarim, from the men, the searchers. Merchants may be so called, because they search for commodities and articles of traffic. Or rather, the gatherers of the king’s revenues are intended, who used to search narrowly into all wares, that the king might not be defrauded of his rights. Of the traffic of the spice-merchants — Or rather, of the merchants in general, as the word רכלים , rochelim, is continually used; for there is no reason why it should be confined to those that traded in spices. Of all the kings of Arabia — Who sent him presents. We must not suppose that these in general were kings of large dominions; most of them were only rulers of cities, and the territories belonging to them, such as were formerly in Canaan, and were anciently called kings. And of the governors of the country — Or, of the land, namely, the land of Arabia; some parts of which were so far conquered, that he had governors of his own placed over them, each of whom was to take care of the king’s revenue in his jurisdiction; and some parts only so far, that they still had kings of their own, but such as were tributaries to him.

(15) The governors of the country .—The word “governor” ( pechah ) is supposed to be of foreign origin—possibly cognate to the Sanscrit word paksha “friend.” It is used constantly of foreign officers, or satraps: as in 1Kings 20:24 , of the Syrian officers; in 2Kings 18:24 and Isaiah 36:9 , of the Assyrians; in Jeremiah 51:23 , of the Babylonians; in Esther 8:9 , Nehemiah 5:14 ; Nehemiah 5:18 ; Nehemiah 12:26 , &c., of the Persians. Hence it would seem to be used here, not for the officers in the land of Israel described in 1 Kings 4, but for governors (Israelite or foreign) in tributary countries: and it may possibly be a word of later origin than the age of Solomon, introduced by the compiler of the book.

15 . beside that he had of the merchantmen ] There are two kinds of traders specified in this verse, and the participle here used to describe the first signifies ‘those who go about’ with their goods, hawkers of their wares, which is a general characteristic of Oriental traffickers. Hence in R.V. the word chapmen has been adopted, and the clause a little differently worded. Literally it is, ‘beside (what came) from the men of the hawkers,’ and this is represented by ‘beside that which the chapmen brought ,’ though the literal rendering shews that ‘brought’ might fairly have been printed in Roman and not in italics. The LXX. gives, apparently having read some other words in the original, ‘from the tribute of the subject people.’ and of the traffick of the spice merchants ] A mistaken identification of the word descriptive of this second class of traders with a Syrian noun which means ‘a dealer in aromatic herbs’ has led to the rendering ‘spice merchants.’ The word merely implies another class of merchants, but whether more or less dignified than the former it is not easy to make out. The LXX. renders by ἒμπορος here and elsewhere, and gives here ‘the taxes on the merchants’. Render (as there is no preposition with this clause) and the traffick of the merchants . and of all the kings of Arabia ] R.V. ‘and of all the kings of the mingled people .’ The word in the original, though it has the same consonants, has not the same vowels as the proper name.

In this text we have הָעֶרֶב , while the other word is עֲרַב = Arabia. That the two are distinct designations is proved by Jeremiah 25:24 , where both occur in the same verse, ‘all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mingled people.’ The word in our text is used very early in the history of Israel ( Exodus 12:38 ) of ‘the mixed multitude’ which came up with the Israelites out of Egypt, and afterwards of people who were in a sort of loose attachment to the kingdom. (Cf. Jeremiah 1:3-7 .) In the parallel passage ( 2 Chronicles 9:14 ) the Hebrew text has the ‘kings of Arabia,’ but the form of the sentence is somewhat altered, and the close connexion of the two sets of persons in the verse already quoted from Jeremiah makes it not unlikely that both were under a sort of tribute to Solomon. The LXX. has τῶν βασιλέων τοῦ πέραν , but the Vulgate ‘reges Arabiæ.’ and of the governors of the country ] Most likely those officers are meant whose positions were described 1 Kings 4:7-19 . After the Oriental fashion such persons would pay for their posts by regular tribute to the king.

There is no mention in the original of "spice merchants." Two classes of traders are spoken of; but both expressions are general. Kings of Arabia - Rather, "kings of the mingled people" (compare Jeremiah 25:24). These were probably tribes half Jewish, half Arabian, on the borders of the western desert. They are regarded as Arabs by the author of Chronicles (marginal reference). Governors - The word used here is thought to be of Aryan origin. It appears to have been a title given by the Persians to petty governors, inferior to the great satraps of provinces. We find it borne by, among others, Tatnai Ezra 5:6, Zerubbabel Haggai 1:1, and Nehemiah Neh 5:14. It can scarcely have been in use among the Jews so early as Solomon, and we must therefore suppose it to have been substituted by the writer of Kings for some corresponding Semitic title. The empire of Solomon was not a state governed from a single center by an organisation of satrapies or provinces (1 Kings 4:21 note). But exceptionally, in some parts of the empire, the kings had been superseded by "governors" (compare 1 Kings 20:24).

Of the merchantmen, Heb. of the searchers , or spies, i.e. either merchants, who use to inquire and search out commodities, and all advantages of trade; or rather, the publicans or gatherers of the king’s revenues, who used to search narrowly into all wares and dealings, that the king might not be defrauded of his rights. Of the spice merchants, or rather, of the merchants in general, as that word is oft used in Eze 27 , and elsewhere. So this and the former particular contain both the branches of the king’s revenue, what he had from the land and fruits thereof, and what he had from the merchants and traders in other commodities. Of all the kings of Arabia, to wit, of those parts of Arabia which were next to Canaan, which were either conquered by David, or submitted to pay tribute to Solomon. But we must not think all these to be kings of large dominions, but many of them only governors of cities, and the territories belonging to them, such as were formerly in Canaan, and were anciently called kings. Of the country , or, of the land , or, of that land , for there is an article in the Hebrew; i.e. either of the land of Canaan; or rather, of the land of Arabia; whereof some parts were so far conquered, that he had governors of his own over them, who were each of them to take care of the king’s revenue in his jurisdiction; and part only so far that they still had kings of their own, but such as were tributaries to him.

1Ki 10:14-29. His Riches. 14, 15. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year—666 talents, equal to £3,996,000. The sources whence this was derived are not mentioned; nor was it the full amount of his revenue; for this was "Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country." The great encouragement he gave to commerce was the means of enriching his royal treasury. By the fortifications which he erected in various parts of his kingdom, (particularly at such places as Thapsacus, one of the passages of Euphrates, and at Tadmor, in the Syrian desert), he gave complete security to the caravan trade from the depredations of the Arab marauders; and it was reasonable that, in return for this protection, he should exact a certain toll or duty for the importation of foreign goods.

A considerable revenue, too, would arise from the use of the store cities and khans he built; and it is not improbable that those cities were emporia, where the caravan merchants unloaded their bales of spices and other commodities and sold them to the king's factors, who, according to the modern practice in the East, retailed them in the Western markets at a profit. "The revenue derived from the tributary kings and from the governors of the country" must have consisted in the tribute which all inferior magistrates periodically bring to their sovereigns in the East, in the shape of presents of the produce of their respective provinces.

Verse 15. - Beside that he had of the marchantmen [The root תּוּר signifies to wander or travel about . In Numbers 13:16, 17 , it is used of spies . It may here be applied to persons who travelled for purposes of trade; but the versions differ very materially in their rendering of the word; the LXX. understanding it of tribute ( τῶν φόρων τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ); the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic of artizans ; the Vulgate of ambassadors . And the word is nowhere else used of traders. For the construction, see Ewald 287 e ], and of the traffick [it is noteworthy that no such word is used before הַתָּרִים above] of the spice [not in Hebrews] merchants רָכַל is akin to רָגַל Like the preceding word, the primary meaning is to go about ( תווט רֶגֶל ); hence, to trade . It is probable that Solomon's great commercial enterprises were conducted for his own benefit, i.e. , that the merchants were little more than agents, who bought and sold for the king. Such is the custom of Eastern kings (Kitto)], and of all the kings of Arabia [ הָעֶרֶב is very variously interpreted. According to Gesenius it means foreigners , and he would understand "foreign kings who made an alliance with the Israelites," and so the Chaldee. Keil: "the kings of the mixed population" (mentioned Exodus 12:38 . Cf. Jeremiah 50:37 ; Nehemiah 13:3 ).