1 Kings 10:22 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 10:14-29

We have here a further account of Solomon's prosperity. I. How he increased his wealth. Though he had much, he still coveted to have more, being willing to try the utmost the things of this world could do to make men happy. 1. Besides the gold that came from Ophir (1 Kgs. 9:28), he brought so much into his country from other places that the whole amounted, every year, to 666 talents (1 Kgs. 10:14), an ominous number, compare Rev. 13:18; Ezra 2:13. 2. He received a great deal in customs from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 10:22

For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish, with the navy of Hiram ,.... Tharshish was not the place the navy went from, but whither it went to, as appears from 2 Chronicles 9:21 and designs not Tarsus in Cilicia; nor Tartessus in Spain, or Gades, or which was however near it; though it appears from Strabo F19 Corinthiaca, sive, l. 2. p. 136. and Mela F20 Ut supra. (Navigat. l. 5. c. 20.) that the Phoenicians were acquainted with those parts, and were possessed of them; and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 10:22

A navy of Tharshish - For probable conjectures concerning this place, and the three years' voyage, see at the end of this, 1 Kings 10:29 ; (note) and the preceding chapter, 1 Kings 9 (note). Apes - קפים kophim ; probably a species of monkey rather than ape. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 10:14-29

The Decline and Fall of Solomon. The fall of Solomon, in itself one of the most portentous facts in Scripture history, is rendered doubly suggestive and admonitory by a consideration of the way in which it was brought about. It was not that he succumbed to some fierce onslaught of temptation; it was no terrible rush of passion—no sudden guilty love of "fair idolatresses," as some have held—wrought his ruin; on the contrary, his decline in piety was so gradual and slow as to be almost... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 10:22

For [Reason why silver was so lightly esteemed. It was because of the prodigious quantity both of gold and silver brought in by the fleet] the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish [It has been much disputed I incline (with Rawlinson, al .) to think there were two separate navies, for the following reasons: read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:22

This is given as the reason of the great plentifulness of silver in the time of Solomon. The “navy of Tharshish” (not the same as the navy of Ophir, 1 Kings 9:26) must therefore have imported very large quantities of that metal. Tharshish, or Tartessus, in Spain, had the richest silver mines known in the ancient world, and had a good deal of gold also; apes and ivory were produced by the opposite coast of Africa; and, if north Africa did not produce “peacocks,” which is uncertain, she may have... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 10:22

1 Kings 10:22. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish Ships that went to Tharshish. For Tharshish was the name of a place, upon the sea, famous for its traffic with merchants, and a place very remote from Judea, as appears from the three years usually spent in that voyage. But whether it was Spain, where in those times there was abundance of gold and silver, as Strabo and others affirm; or some place in the Indies, it is as needless as it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.... 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 10:22

navy of Tharshish = Tharshish ships, a name for large ocean-going ships (like English "East-Indiamen"). When mentioned as a place it is identified by Oppert with Tartessis = the Andalusia of to-day, noted for silver (not gold), iron, tin, and lead (Jeremiah 10:9 . Ezekiel 27:12 ). They sailed from Tyre to the West Mediterranean, and from Ezion-geber to Ophir (Arabia, India, and East Africa), 1 Kings 9:26-28 and 1 Kings 10:11 . ivory = elephants' tusks. apes, and peacocks. The Hebrew for... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 Kings 10:22

1 Kings 10:22. Bringing gold and silver, ivory, &c.— See the note on chap. 1Ki 9:28 and Scheuchzer on the place. read more