1 Kings 10:11

And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11, 12) Gold from Ophir.—The insertion of this notice is obviously suggested by the mention of the gold and precious stones brought from Sheba. The wood of the “almug” tree, called (apparently more properly) the “algum” tree in 2Chronicles 9:10, is (see Note on 1Kings 9:25) the red sandal-wood found in China and the Indian Archipelago, and still used for precious utensils in India. The “pillars for the house of the Lord” could not have been any of the larger supports of the Temple. They are usually supposed to have been (see margin) “rails” or “balustrades” for stairs. (See 2Chronicles 9:11.) For the harps and the “psalteries” (which appear to have been like our guitars) the beauty and hardness of the word would be especially appropriate. These represent the stringed instruments chiefly in use in the service of the Temple. The harp (kinnor) is the more ancient, traced (see Genesis 4:21) even to antediluvian times. The psaltery (nebel) is first mentioned (generally with the harp) in the Psalms. Both seem to have been played either with the hand, or with a plectrum or quill.

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 10:11-12. The navy of Hiram — brought great plenty of almug-trees — It is very uncertain what these almug-trees were, or algum-trees, as they are termed 2 Chronicles 2:8, by a transposition of letters. Dr. Waterland renders the expression gum-trees, and Houbigant ligna citra, citron-wood. But Dr. Castell thinks it was the wood called sanctulum, which is proper for all the uses mentioned in the next verse, and is still in India. The king made of the almug-trees pillars for the house — There is nothing said from whence we can form any conjecture what is meant by these pillars or props, or how or where they were applied.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:1-13 The queen of Sheba came to Solomon to hear his wisdom, thereby to improve her own. Our Saviour mentions her inquiries after God, by Solomon, as showing the stupidity of those who inquire not after God, by our Lord Jesus Christ. By waiting and prayer, by diligently searching the Scriptures, by consulting wise and experienced Christians, and by practising what we have learned, we shall be delivered from difficulties. Solomon's wisdom made more impression upon the queen of Sheba than all his prosperity and grandeur. There is a spiritual excellence in heavenly things, and in consistent Christians, to which no reports can do justice. Here the truth exceeded; and all who, through grace, are brought to commune with God, will say the one half was not told them of the pleasures and the advantages of wisdom's ways. Glorified saints, much more, will say of heaven, that the thousandth part was not told them, 1Co 2:9. She pronounced them happy that constantly attended Solomon. With much more reason may we say of Christ's servants, Blessed are they that dwell in his house; they will be still praising him. She made a noble present to Solomon. What we present to Christ, he needs not, but will have us do so to express our gratitude. The believer who has been with Jesus, will return to his station, discharge his duties with readiness, and from better motives; looking forward to the day when, being absent from the body, he shall be present with the Lord.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The navy of Hiram - i. e., Solomon's navy in the Red Sea, which was chiefly manned by subjects of Hiram. (see the marginal reference).

Almug-trees - Probably the sandal-wood tree (pterocarpus santalinus). The wood is very heavy, hard, and fine grained, and of a beautiful garnet color, which, according to the rabbinical writers, was the color of the algum. One of the names of the red sandal-wood, in its own native country (India) is "valguka," a word of which "algum" is a natural corruption.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. almug trees—Parenthetically, along with the valuable presents of the queen of Sheba, is mentioned a foreign wood, which was brought in the Ophir ships. It is thought by some to be the sandalwood; by others, to be the deodar—a species of fragrant fir, much used in India for sacred and important works. Solomon used it for stairs in his temple and palace (2Ch 9:11), but chiefly for musical instruments.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the navy also of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir,.... This perhaps was before Solomon was concerned with Hiram in navigation and merchandise; though in 2 Chronicles 9:10 both their servants are said to bring it; and it is here inserted perhaps to show that Solomon had not his gold, at least all of it, from the queen of Sheba; but much from Hiram, who fetched it from Ophir; and as this was in India, as observed on 1 Kings 9:28, many writers make mention of gold in that part of the world, as Diodorus Siculus (w), Strabo (x), Dionysius (y), Curtius (z), Pliny (a), and others: and this navy also

brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees: or algum trees, by transposition of letters, 2 Chronicles 9:10, which some of the Jewish writers (b) take to be coral, which is not likely; others Brasil, rather ebony, which was peculiar to India, as both Solinus (c) and Virgil (d) say; Strabo (e) makes mention of strange trees in India:

and precious stones; of which there is great variety and plenty in that country, as related by Dionysius (f), as diamonds, beryls, jaspers, topazes, and amethysts, and by Curtius (g), Solinus (h), and others.

(w) Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 121. (x) Geograph l. 15. p. 481. (y) Perieg. v. 1144. (z) Hist. l. 8. sect. 9. (a) Nat. Hist. 1. 6. c. 19, 20. (b) Daved de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 70. 3.((c) Polyhistor. c. 64. (d) "Sola India nigrum fert ebenum." Georgie. l. 2. ver. 116, 117. (e) Geograph. l. 15. p. 477. (f) Perieget, ver. 1119, &c. (g) Hist. l. 8. c. 9. (h) Polyhistor. c. 65.

Geneva Study Bible

And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - And the navy of Hiram also [i.e., built and equipped by him, 1 Kings 9:26-28], that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees [In 2 Chronicles 2:8; 2 Chronicles 9:10, called "algum trees." The origin and meaning of the word are alike uncertain. By some (see Gesen., Thessalonians 1. p. 93) the Al is supposed to be the Arabic article, as found in Al-coran, Al-cohol, Ad-miral, etc., but later authorities (see, e.g., Max Muller," Science of Language," p. 214) lend no support to this view. "Celsius enumerates fifteen different trees, each of which has been supposed to have a claim to represent the almug tree of Scripture" Dict. Bib. 3. Appendix, p. 6.) It is now, however pretty generally agreed that the red sandalwood (pterocarpus sandaliorus, Linn.; or, according to others, santalum album, the white species) is intended - a tree which grows in India and on the coast of Malabar. It is said that in India sandalwood is called valguha (same root); and Stanley sees in almug the "Hebraized form of the Deccan word for sandal." Dr. Hooker, however, (Dict. Bib. l.c.) regards the question as still undecided], and precious stones. [Stanley remarks on the frequent references to gold and silver and precious stones in the Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:9; Proverbs 3:14, 15; Proverbs 8:10, 11; Proverbs 10:20; Proverbs 16:16, etc.), as one indication that it belongs to the age of Solomon.] 1 Kings 10:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The allusion to these costly presents leads the historian to introduce the remark here, that the Ophir fleet also brought, in addition to gold, a large quantity of Algummim wood (see at 1 Kings 9:28) and precious stones. Of this wood Solomon had מסעד or מסלּות made for the temple and palace. מסעד, from סעד, signifies a support, and מסלּה may be a later form for סלּם, a flight of steps or a staircase, so that we should have to think of steps with bannisters. This explanation is at any rate a safer one than that of "divans" (Thenius), which would have been quite out of place in the temple, or "narrow pannelled stripes on the floor" (Bertheau), which cannot in the smallest degree be deduced from מסעד, or "support equals moveables, viz., tables, benches, footstools, boxes, and drawers" (Bttcher), which neither harmonizes with the temple, where there was no such furniture, nor with the מסלּות of the Chronicles. "And guitars and harps for the singers," probably for the temple singers. כּנּור and נבל are string instruments; the former resembling our guitar rather than the harp, the strings being carried over the sounding-board upon a bridge, the latter being of a pitcher shape without any sounding bridge, as in the case of the harps.