1 Kings 10:24

And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:14-29 Solomon increased his wealth. Silver was nothing accounted of. Such is the nature of worldly wealth, plenty of it makes it the less valuable; much more should the enjoyment of spiritual riches lessen our esteem of all earthly possessions. If gold in abundance makes silver to be despised, shall not wisdom, and grace, and the foretastes of heaven, which are far better than gold, make gold to be lightly esteemed? See in Solomon's greatness the performance of God's promise, and let it encourage us to seek first the righteousness of God's kingdom. This was he, who, having tasted all earthly enjoyments, wrote a book, to show the vanity of all worldly things, the vexation of spirit that attends them, and the folly of setting our hearts upon them: and to recommend serious godliness, as that which will do unspeakably more to make us happy, that all the wealth and power he was master of; and, through the grace of God, it is within our reach.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references. By "all the earth" we are, of course, only to understand the kings or people of neighboring nations.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

22. a navy of Tharshish—Tartessus in Spain. There gold, and especially silver, was obtained, anciently, in so great abundance that it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. But "Tarshish" came to be a general term for the West (Jon 1:3).

at sea—on the Mediterranean.

once in three years—that is, every third year. Without the mariner's compass they had to coast along the shore. The ivory, apes, and peacocks might have been purchased, on the outward or homeward voyage, on the north coast of Africa, where the animals were to be found. They were particularized, probably as being the rarest articles on board.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

All the earth, i.e. all the kings of the earth, (as it is expressed, 2 Chronicles 9:23) to wit, of those parts of the earth; which synecdoche is very frequent.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. For it was all of God, a peculiar gift of his; by "all the earth" is meant the inhabitants of it, and only them, and those the more principal; who came from the several parts of it, hearing the fame of his wisdom, to know the truth of it, and to improve themselves by it.

Geneva Study Bible

And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. And all the earth sought to Solomon] In 2 Chronicles 9:23 the words are ‘and all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon,’ and, as the Hebrew of the last words is the same as here, the fuller form will be better in this verse as it comes more close to the original. The LXX., the Syriac and Arabic, have ‘all the kings of the earth.’

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - And all the earth sought to [Heb. sought the face of] Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart [i.e., mind. Cf. 1 Kings 4:34]. 1 Kings 10:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In 1 Kings 10:23-29 everything that had to be stated concerning the wealth, wisdom, and revenue of Solomon is summed up as conclusion (cf. 2 Chronicles 9:22-28 and 2 Chronicles 1:14-17).

1 Kings 10:23-25

1 Kings 10:23, 1 Kings 10:24 point back to 1 Kings 5:9-14. ויּגדּל: Solomon became greater, not was greater, on account of the Vv consec. כּל־הארץ, all the world, corresponds to כּל־העמּים in 1 Kings 5:14. The foreigners out of all lands, who came on account of his wisdom, brought Solomon presents: gold and silver vessels, clothes (שׂלמות, court dresses, which are still customary presents in the East), נשׁק, armour, spices, horses and mules.