2 Chronicles 9

2Ch 9:1-12.

THE

QUEEN OF

SHEBA

VISITS

SOLOMON;

SHE

ADMIRES

HIS

WISDOM AND

MAGNIFICENCE.

1-4. when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon--(See

on

1Ki 10:1-13).

It is said that among the things in Jerusalem which drew forth the

admiration of Solomon's royal visitor was "his ascent by which he went

up into the house of the Lord." This was the arched viaduct that

crossed the valley from Mount Zion to the opposite hill. In the

commentary on the passage quoted above, allusion was made to the recent

discovery of its remains. Here we give a full account of what, for

boldness of conceptions for structure and magnificence, was one of the

greatest wonders in Jerusalem. "During our first visit to the southwest

corner of the area of the mosque, we observed several of the large

stones jutting out from the western wall, which at first seemed to be

the effect of a bursting of the wall from some mighty shock or

earthquake. We paid little regard to this at the moment; but on

mentioning the fact not long after to a circle of our friends, the

remark was incidentally dropped that the stones had the appearance of

having once belonged to a large arch. At this remark, a train of

thought flashed across my mind, which I hardly dared to follow out

until I had again repaired to the spot, in order to satisfy myself with

my own eyes as to the truth or falsehood of the suggestion. I found it

even so. The courses of these immense stones occupy their original

position; their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and, being

fitted one upon another, they form the commencement or foot of an

immense arch which once sprung out from this western wall in a

direction towards Mount Zion, across the Tyropœon valley. This

arch could only have belonged to the bridge, which, according to JOSEPHUS, led from this part of the temple to the Xystus

(covered colonnade) on Zion; and it proves incontestably the antiquity

of that portion from which it springs" [ROBINSON].

The distance from this point to the steep rock of Zion ROBINSON calculates to be about three hundred and fifty

feet, the probable length of this ancient viaduct. Another writer adds,

that "the arch of this bridge, if its curve be calculated with an

approximation to the truth, would measure sixty feet, and must

have been one of five sustaining the viaduct (allowing for the

abutments on either side), and that the piers supporting the center

arch of this bridge must have been of great altitude--not less,

perhaps, than one hundred and thirty feet. The whole structure, when

seen from the southern extremity of the Tyropœon, must have had an

aspect of grandeur, especially as connected with the lofty and

sumptuous edifices of the temple, and of Zion to the right and to the

left" [ISAAC TAYLOR'S EDITION OF TRAILL'S JOSEPHUS].

2Ch 9:13-28.

HIS

RICHES.

13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one

year--(See on

1Ki 10:14-29).

six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold--The sum

named is equal to £3,646,350; and if we take the proportion of

silver

(2Ch 9:14),

which is not taken into consideration, at one to nine, there would be

about £200,000, making a yearly supply of nearly

£6,000,000, being a vast amount for an infant effort in maritime

commerce [NAPIER].

21. the king's ships went to Tarshish--rather, "the king's ships of

Tarshish went" with the servants of Huram.

ships of Tarshish--that is, in burden and construction like the

large vessels built for or used at Tarshish

[CALMET, Fragments].

25. Solomon had four thousand stalls--It has been conjectured

[GESENIUS, Hebrew Lexicon] that the

original term may signify not only stall or stable, but a number of

horses occupying the same number of stalls. Supposing that ten were put

together in one part, this would make forty thousand. According to this

theory of explanation, the historian in Kings refers to horses [see

1Ki 10:26];

while the historian in Chronicles speaks of the stalls in which they

were kept. But more recent critics reject this mode of solving the

difficulty, and, regarding the four thousand stalls as in keeping with

the general magnificence of Solomon's establishments, are agreed in

considering the text in Kings as corrupt, through the error of some

copyist.

28. they brought unto Solomon horses out of

Egypt--(See on

2Ch 1:14).

Solomon undoubtedly carried the Hebrew kingdom to its highest pitch of

worldly glory. His completion of the grand work, the centralizing of

the national worship at Jerusalem, whither the natives went up three

times a year, has given his name a prominent place in the history of

the ancient church. But his reign had a disastrous influence upon "the

peculiar people," and the example of his deplorable idolatries, the

connections he formed with foreign princes, the commercial speculations

he entered into, and the luxuries introduced into the land, seem in a

great measure to have altered and deteriorated the Jewish

character.