maritime expedition - in fact, the first great national trading u ndertaking, which gave it such importance in

public estimation that Solomon went in person to visit the two harbors where the fleet was fitting out (2

Chronicles 8:17). According to 1 Kings 10:11, the Phoenician fleet also brought from "Ophir" "precious

stones" and "almug-trees," or sandal-wood, which King Solomon used for "balustrades" in the Temple, for

his own palace, and for making musical instruments.

The success of this trading adventure may have led to another similar undertaking, in company with t he

Phoenicians, to Tartessus (Tarshish),145 the well-known great mercantile emporium on the south coast of

Spain. The duration of such an expedition is stated in round numbers as three years; and the trade became

so regular that afterwards all the large merchantmen were popularly known as "Tarshish-ships" (comp. 1

Kings 22:48; Psalm 48:7; Isaiah 2:16).146 The imports from Tarshish consisted of gold, silver, ivory,147 apes,

and peacocks (1 Kings 10:22).

The two last-mentioned articles of import indicate the commencement of a very dangerous decline towards

Oriental luxury. It has been well observed (by Ewald), that there was a moment in Israel's history when it

seemed possible that David might have laid the foundation of an empire like that of Rome, and another when

Solomon might have led the way to a philosophy as sovereign as that of Greece.148

But it was an equally, if not more dangerous path on which to enter, and one even more opposed to the

Divine purpose concerning Israel, when foreign trade, and with it foreign luxury, became the object of king

and people. The danger was only too real, and the public display appeared in what the Queen of Sheba saw

of Solomon's court (1 Kings 10:5), in the magnificence of his throne (vers. 19, 20), and in the sumptuousness

of all his appointments (ver. 21). Two hundred large targets and three hundred smaller shields, all covered

with beaten gold,149 hung around the house of the forest of Lebanon; all the king's drinking vessels, and all

the other appurtenances for State receptions were of pure gold; the merchants brought the spices of the

East into the country (ver. 15); while traders, importers, and vassal chiefs swelled the immense revenue,

which in one year150 rose to the almost incredible sum of 666 talents of gold, which at the lowest

computation amounts to upwards of 2 _ millions of our money, or only one million less than that of the

Persian kings (Herod 3. 95).

Add to this the number of Solomon's chariots and horsemen, the general wealth of the country, and the

importation of horses  151 from Egypt, which made Palestine almost an emporium for chariots and horses;152

and it will not be difficult to perceive on what a giddy height king and people stood during the later years of

Solomon's reign.

It was this scene of wealth and magnificence, unexampled even in the East, as well as the undisputed

political influence and supremacy of the king, combined with the highest intellectual activity and civilization

in the country, which so much astounded the Queen of Sheba on her visit t o Solomon's dominions. Many,

indeed, were the strangers who had been attracted to Jerusalem by the fame of its king (1 Kings 10:24). But

none of them had been so distinguished as she, whose appearance was deeply symbolical of the glorious

spiritual destiny of Israel (Psalm 72:10, 11; Isaiah 60:6), and indicative of the future judgment on the unbelief

of those who were even more highly favored (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31). Sheba, which is to be

distinguished from Seba, or Meroi in Ethiopia, was a kingdom in Southern Arabia,153 on the shores of the

Red Sea, and seems to have been chiefly governed by Queens.

Owing to its trade, the population was regarded as the wealthiest in Arabia. It may have been that Solomon's

fame had first reached the ears of the Queen through the fleet of Ophir. In consequence, she resolved to

visit Jerusalem, to see, to test, and to learn for herself whether the extraordinary reports which had reached

her were true. But, whatever may have specially influenced her to undertake so novel a pilgrimage, three

things in regard to it are beyond question. She was attracted by the fame of Solomon's wisdom; she viewed

that wisdom in connection with "the Name of Jehovah" (1 Kings 10:1);  154 and she came to learn. What the

higher import of this "wisdom" was, is explained by Solomon himself in Proverbs 3:14-18, while its source is

indicated in Proverbs 2:4-6.