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The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 10:18

Moreover the ling made a great throne [Heb. seat . The use of a chair where the custom of the country is to squat on the ground, or to recline on a divan, is always a mark of dignity. See 2 Kings 4:10 ; Proverbs 9:14 ] of ivory [Heb. tooth . Below in verse 22 we have elephant's tooth . It is generally thought that this "throne of the house of David" ( Psalms 122:5 ) was of wood, veneered with ivory, as was the practice in Assyria, and in the chryselephantine statues of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:16

The “targets” seem to have been long shields protecting the whole body, while the “shields” of the next verse were bucklers of a smaller size, probably round, and much lighter. They may be compared with the Assyrian long shield, and the ordinary Assyrian round shield. As the amount of gold used in each of the larger shields was only 600 shekels - worth from 650 to 700 of our money - and that used in the smaller ones was only half as much it is evident that the metal did not form the substance... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:17

These shields, together with the 500 taken by David from Hadadezer 2 Samuel 8:7 were hung round the outer walls of a building, reckoned as belonging to the “house of the Forest of Lebanon,” but separate from it, and called sometimes “the Tower of David” Song of Solomon 4:4, or from its use “the armoury” Song of Solomon 4:4; Isaiah 22:8. The practice of hanging shields outside walls for ornamentation seems to have existed at Tyre Ezekiel 27:10-11, Rome, Athens, and elsewhere. Traces of it are... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:18

It is, on the whole, probable that the substance of the throne was wood, and that the ivory, cut into thin slabs, and probably carved in patterns, was applied externally as a veneer. This is found to have been the practice in Assyria. The gold was probably not placed over the ivory, but covered other parts of the throne. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 10:16-17

1 Kings 10:16-17. Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold For pomp and magnificence, and to be carried before him by his guard when he went abroad. The Roman magistrates had rods and axes carried before them, in token of their power to correct the bad; but Solomon shields and targets, to show he took more pleasure in his power to defend and protect the good. Three hundred shields Smaller than targets. The king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon Where, it is likely,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 10:18-20

1 Kings 10:18-20. The king made a great throne of ivory We never read of ivory till about Solomon’s time; who, perhaps, brought elephants out of India, or at least took care to have a great deal of ivory imported from thence; for we read of ivory palaces Psalms 45:9, whose walls were overlaid with ivory; which was more precious than gold in ancient times, as Pliny tells us in many places. And overlaid it with the best gold Not entirely, so as to cover the ivory, for in that case it might... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 10:1-29

Click image for full-size version9:26-11:43 OTHER FEATURES OF SOLOMON’S REIGNTrade, fame and wealth (9:26-10:29)Always alert in business dealings, Solomon saw the opportunity for further profits by cooperating with Hiram in trade transport. Goods from the Mediterranean were received at Hiram’s port of Tyre, taken overland to the Israelite port of Ezion-geber at the northern tip of the Red Sea, then shipped east, possibly as far as India. Since the Israelites were not a seafaring people, Solomon... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Kings 10:17

shields. Taken away by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:26 ). read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 Kings 10:18

1 Kings 10:18. The king made a great throne of ivory— The porch in which this throne was placed is mentioned, chap. 1Ki 7:7 and it was by far the most magnificent of all the rest, inasmuch as it was both the king's seat of judgment and the public audience, where he shewed himself either to the nobles, or to the strangers who resorted to him. It was placed in the midst of rich pillars of cedar, curiously carved and covered, or rather inlaid, with gold: the throne itself, which was in the fashion... read more

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