1 Kings 10:28-29

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 10:28

And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt ,.... To mount his horsemen with, and draw his chariots; which seems contrary to the command in Deuteronomy 17:16 . and linen yarn; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price ; or rather linen itself; or linen garments, as Ben Gersom; linen being the staple commodity of Egypt, see Isaiah 19:9 , but no mention is made of yarn in 2 Chronicles 9:28 , and the word rendered "linen yarn" signifies a confluence or collection of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 10:29

And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver ,.... Which, reckoning at two shillings and six pence a shekel, amounted to seventy five pounds; but a shekel was not worth more than two shillings and four pence farthing: and an horse for one hundred and fifty ; and this being the fourth part of the above sum, the Jews gather from hence that there were four horses in a chariot; the horses must be reckoned one with another, the whole collection of them, or... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 10:28

Horses brought out of Egypt - It is thought that the first people who used horses in war were the Egyptians; and it is well known that the nations who knew the use of this creature in battle had greatly the advantage of those who did not. God had absolutely prohibited horses to be imported or used; but in many things Solomon paid little attention to the Divine command. And linen yarn - The original word, מקוה mikveh , is hard to be understood, if it be not indeed a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 10:29

A chariot came up - for six hundred shekels - This was the ordinary price of a chariot, as a hundred and fifty shekels were for a horse. Kings of the Hittites - These must have been the remains of the original inhabitants of Canaan, who had gone to some other country, probably Syria, and formed themselves into a principality there. It seems that neither horses nor chariots came out of Egypt but by means of Solomon's servants. 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 10:28

And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. [This is a difficult passage, and the difficulty lies in the word מִקְוֶה , here rendered "linen yarn." Elsewhere the word signifies, a congregation, or gathering, as of water ( Genesis 1:10 ; Exodus 7:19 ; Le 11:36). Consequently, Gesenius (with Vatablus, al .) would here interpret, "company." "And the company of kings' merchants took the company (of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 10:29

And a chariot [including perhaps the two or three horses (see note on 1 Kings 5:6 ) usually attached to a chariot, and the harness. רֶכֶב is used ( 2 Samuel 8:4 ; 2 Samuel 10:18 ; Ezekiel 39:20 ) for chariot and horses ] came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver [about £80 (Wordsworth, £35), but, as these figures show, the precise value cannot be ascertained with certainty. But it is quite clear that these amounts cannot have been the custom... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:28

The word translated “linen yarn” is thought now by Hebraists to mean “a troop” or “company.” If the present reading is retained, they would translate the passage - “As for the bringing up of Solomon’s horses out of Egypt, a band of the king’s merchants fetched a band (or troop) of horses at a price.” But the reading is very uncertain. The Septuagint had before them a different one, which they render “and from Tekoa.” Tekoa, the home of Amos Amos 1:1, was a small town on the route from Egypt to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 10:29

Taking the shekel at about three shillings of our money, six hundred silver shekels would be equal to about 90; and 150 shekels to 22 British pounds and 10 shillings. “Average” price seems to be in each case intended; and we may account for the comparatively high price of the chariot by supposing that by “chariot” is intended the entire equipage, including car, harness, and trained horses, of which there would be two at least, if not three. The “horses” mentioned separately from the chariots... read more

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