Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon, and admires his wisdom and magnificence. Then, verse 14, Solomon's annual revenues and wealth are recounted; and verse 18, the ivory throne, verse 22, the fleet to Tarshish, and verse 26, horsemen and cavalry.
Vulgate Text: 3 Kings 10:1-29
1. And the queen of Sheba also, having heard the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to test him with riddles. 2. And entering Jerusalem with a great retinue, and riches, and camels carrying spices, and an exceedingly great amount of gold, and precious gems, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart. 3. And Solomon taught her all the matters she had proposed: there was no question that could be hidden from the king, which he could not answer for her. 4. And when the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built, 5. and the food of his table, and the dwellings of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts which he offered in the house of the Lord: she had no more spirit. 6. And she said to the king: The report is true which I heard in my own land, 7. concerning your words and your wisdom: and I did not believe those who told me, until I myself came, and saw with my own eyes, and proved that not even half had been told me; your wisdom and works are greater than the report which I heard. 8. Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you always, and hear your wisdom. 9. Blessed be the Lord your God, whom you have pleased, and He has set you upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord has loved Israel forever, and has appointed you king, to do judgment and justice. 10. And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices, and precious gems: there were no more spices brought in such abundance as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. 11. (And the fleet of Hiram also, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great quantities of thyine wood, and precious gems. 12. And the king made of the thyine wood the supports of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and harps and lyres for the singers: no such thyine wood has been brought or seen unto this present day). 13. And king Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all that she desired and asked of him: besides what he offered her of his own accord with royal munificence. And she returned, and went to her own land with her servants. 14. And the weight of gold that was brought to Solomon every year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold: 15. besides that which the men who were over the tributes brought, and the merchants and all who sold wares, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land. 16. And king Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold; he gave six hundred gold shekels for the plates of one shield. 17. And three hundred bucklers of proven gold: three hundred minas of gold covered one buckler: and the king placed them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18. King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory; and overlaid it with exceedingly tawny gold. 19. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two arms on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood beside each arm. 20. And twelve little lions standing upon the six steps on either side: no such work was made in any kingdom. 21. Moreover all the vessels from which king Solomon drank were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Lebanon was of the purest gold: silver was not accounted of, nor considered of any value in the days of Solomon; 22. for the king's fleet went by sea with the fleet of Hiram once every three years to Tarshish, bringing from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks. 23. And king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24. And all the earth desired the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart. 25. And everyone brought him gifts, vessels of silver and gold, garments, and arms for war, spices also, and horses and mules, every year. 26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he placed them in the fortified cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. 27. And he made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars he made as plentiful as the sycamores that grow in the plains. 28. And horses were brought to Solomon from Egypt, and from Koa. For the king's merchants bought from Koa, and brought them at a set price. 29. And a chariot came out of Egypt for six hundred silver shekels, and a horse for one hundred and fifty. And in this manner all the kings of the Hittites and of Syria sold horses.
Verse 1: The Queen of Sheba Also
1. AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ALSO, HAVING HEARD THE FAME OF SOLOMON IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (that is, having heard the fame of Solomon's wonderful wisdom bestowed on him by God, and of his astonishing buildings and works which he was doing "in the name," that is, by the help and power "of the Lord:" for the phrase "in the name of the Lord" is to be referred to "fame," not to "came," as is clear from the Hebrew) CAME TO TEST HIM WITH RIDDLES, to prove his wisdom through obscure and intricate riddles.
You may ask, of what nation was she, and from what region did this queen come?
Note: From St. Jerome in the Traditions on Genesis, there are two Shebas. One is a city of Arabia Felix, and is then written with the letter shin, whence its inhabitants were called Sabaeans (according to that: India sends ivory, the soft Sabaeans their frankincense), from Sheba son of Raamah its founder, Genesis 10:7. The other Sheba is in Ethiopia, which is written with the letter samech, or its equivalent sin, founded and named after Sheba the son of Cush, Genesis 10:7, from whom the Abyssinians seem to have descended, whose king is the Prester John. This was the metropolis of Ethiopia, and afterwards was called Meroe by Cambyses after his sister's name, as Josephus testifies, book II of Antiquities, chapter 10, and Strabo, books XVI and XVII. Both are mentioned in Psalm 71:10: "The kings of Arabia and Sheba shall bring gifts." For in Hebrew it reads: the kings of Sheba (that is, of Arabia) and Seba (that is, of Ethiopia) shall offer gifts.
Now some think this queen came from Sheba, which is in Arabia Felix: for this abounds in frankincense and spices; and because "Sheba" here is written with shin. So Cajetan, Eugubinus, Pererius, Gagneius, Baronius, Suarez and others think, whom Pineda cites and follows, book V On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter 14, numbers 5 and 6.
But others commonly think this queen came from Sheba, which is in Ethiopia.
They prove it firstly, because this queen came from the ends of the earth, as Christ says in Matthew 12:42. Therefore she did not come from Arabia; for that is near to Judea; but from Ethiopia which is very far distant from it. Secondly, because Ethiopia abounds in gold more than Arabia, and exposes almost nothing else but gold for trade, says Genebrardus on Psalm 71. The same region produces frankincense and spices. Thirdly, because in Ethiopia women are accustomed to rule, whence their queens were commonly called Candaces, as is evident from Acts chapter 8, and from Pliny, book VI, chapter 29. Fourthly, because among the Ethiopians, or Abyssinians, there is a continuous and constant tradition of which more shortly. Furthermore, because this queen is called by Christ "the queen of the South." Now Ethiopia lies to the south of Judea, whereas Arabia is rather to its east. In addition, when she is called "the queen of the South," she seems to have reigned very widely throughout almost the entire southern quarter, such as vast Ethiopia is, not small Arabia. Fifthly, because from this queen the Ethiopians had received circumcision from Solomon, and the knowledge of Holy Scripture and the worship of the true God of Israel; whence the eunuch of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, coming in his chariot to Jerusalem to worship God, was reading Isaiah the prophet, when Philip approached him and instructed him in the faith of Christ, Acts 8. For he was the first among the Gentiles became a Christian, and propagated the faith of Christ in Ethiopia. Whence the Psalmist sang of him: "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God," Psalm 67:32. And the type of this was this queen: for just as she was the first from a distant region to come to Solomon to hear his wisdom, so also Ethiopia was the first to come to the faith and worship of Christ. So Josephus, Rabanus, Abulensis, Hugo, Dionysius think at this passage, likewise Maldonatus, Toletus, Jansenius, Barradius, Francis Lucas on Matthew 12, St. Jerome on Isaiah 43, Origen, homily 2 on the Canticle, St. Augustine, sermon 452 On the Season, says she "came from the regions of Ethiopia," Nazianzen, oration 40, calling her "queen of the Ethiopians," Nyssen, homily 7 on the Canticle, calling her "the Ethiopian woman, and saying that she crossed the great distance that lay between, to approach Solomon (1)."
You will say: Sheba here is written with shin; therefore it designates the one in Arabia. I respond: the Rabbis wrongly placed the dot on the right horn here, and thus made it shin, when it should have been placed on the left, and read as sin.
Moreover this queen is called Nicaule by Josephus, Nicolaa by the Rabbis in the book Yuchasin, Maqueda by Damian de Goes in the Ethiopian legation. Josephus adds that from this queen the root of opobalsamum was first brought to Judea, which however is said elsewhere to seem not very likely. Glycas adds that she was a Sibyl, and proposed a riddle about distinguishing the faces of boys and girls.
Some fable that this queen predicted that in the Cedron there would be hanged (Christ) one who would be wiser than Solomon. See Gretser, book I On the Cross, chapter 4.
The cause of her coming was to hear and learn the wisdom of Solomon, as Christ says in Matthew 12:42. Hence wisely St. Bernard, writing to the queen of Jerusalem, epistle 189, proposes this queen to her as a model to imitate: "The Queen of the South, he says, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, so that she might learn to be ruled and thus rule: otherwise you do not rule well, if you are not well ruled." Whence Cassiodorus, book X, last epistle, compares Amalasuntha (that is, daughter of heaven), queen of the Goths, distinguished in wisdom and piety, with the queen of Sheba.
Allegorically, just as the queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia to Solomon to learn wisdom from him: so the Church from the Gentiles came to Christ to draw the knowledge of salvation. So Eucherius, Angelomus, Bede and St. Bernard, sermon 22 on the Canticle, St. Ambrose, book II On Duties, chapter 10, St. Gregory on Psalm 7 of Penance, verse 7, Prosper, book II On Predestination, chapter 27. Christ Himself sufficiently suggests the same saying, in Matthew 12: "The Queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here." See above all Eucherius, book III on the books of Kings, before the end. Indeed the Hebrews in Bereshit Rabbah, that is, in Genesis Magna, on that passage chapter 25, verse 6: "He sent them to the eastern region," think this queen came to Solomon because from the fame of such great wisdom and virtues of his, she suspected him to be the Messiah or Christ, and that the phrase "she came in the name of God" etc. signifies this. So Galatinus reports, book VIII, chapter 3.
Verse 5: She Had No More Spirit
5. SHE HAD NO MORE SPIRIT, that is to say, she was carried outside herself with admiration and amazement, says Vatablus. Allegorically St. Gregory in Psalm 7 of Penance 7, taking this queen to represent the Church: "The Church of the elect, he says, gathered from the Gentiles, having known the grace of Christ and having found the teachers of the Evangelical doctrine, having cast away the spirit of pride, and having laid aside all the haughtiness of elation, learned to distrust herself, and to hope in the great mercy of her King."
Verse 8: Blessed Are Your Men
8. BLESSED ARE YOUR MEN, AND BLESSED ARE YOUR SERVANTS, WHO STAND BEFORE YOU ALWAYS, AND HEAR YOUR WISDOM. This is truer of Christ, the antitype of Solomon, as He Himself teaches in Luke 10:31. Anagogically, this will be most true in heaven, where "we shall see the God of gods in Zion, and we shall have no more spirit" from admiration of the glory "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man." So Angelomus. "And truly, says Eucherius, that which God prepares for those who love Him is not comprehended by faith, not reached by hope, not grasped by charity; it transcends desires and vows; it can be acquired, but cannot be estimated. A person will see his merits increase with an unsuspectable largesse of rewards; he will have fruit from perception, but will not have disgust from satiety."
Verse 11: He Brought from Ophir Thyine Wood
11. HE BROUGHT FROM OPHIR THYINE WOOD. In Hebrew almugim, or algumim, about which I spoke at Apocalypse 18:12. The Chaldean translates, coral wood, which under water has the appearance of wood like shrubs, but when brought to the air, it hardens into stone. Vatablus translates, Brazilwood; others, ebony; the Septuagint translates peleketa, that is, hewn. Angelomus says Thyine woods are imperishable, and thorny in the likeness of white thorn. Our translator and the Septuagint translate it as pine, 2 Chronicles 2:8. Here our translator renders it as thyine, because these unknown woods which in Hebrew are called almugim, were similar to the wood of the thyia, a tree about which Pliny thus writes, book III, 16: "Theophrastus, who first wrote from the age of Alexander the Great, about events that took place in the four hundred and fortieth year from the founding of Rome, already attributed great honor to this tree, reporting that from it the roofs of ancient temples were made." He means the transverse beams, which are also what the supports of the house of the Lord are explained to be; from which it is clear the tree was very tall. And he adds: "and a certain immortality of the timber, standing upright, incorrupt against all defects. Nothing is more figured than the root, nor from any other source are there more precious works." So Pliny from Theophrastus, whence you may rightly conclude that musical instruments were made from it. Now Theophrastus himself says this tree grows in Egypt near the temple of Ammon, and in the Cyrenaean region, similar to the cypress in its branches and leaves, and trunk, and fruit, but especially like a wild cypress. So Theophrastus, book V, chapter 5.
Moreover in 2 Chronicles 2:8, our translator and the Septuagint add arceutine wood, that is juniper; more recent translators say fir: for beros is the fir tree, because Hebrew names apply to many things, and signify multiple objects.
Verse 12: The King Made from the Thyine Wood Supports
12. AND THE KING MADE FROM THE THYINE WOOD SUPPORTS OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. By "supports" understand beams. It is added in 2 Chronicles 9:11 that from the same thyine wood Solomon made steps in the house of the Lord.
Verse 13: And She Returned
13. AND SHE RETURNED. After she had observed all the deeds and words of Solomon, and therefore remained with him for many months, or a year, as some say; dealing and conversing with him familiarly and frequently, and indeed, as many report, conceiving a son by him. For it is so undoubted among the Ethiopians that their emperors derive their origin from Solomon and the queen of Sheba, that the matter is without controversy among them, and all their books are found full of this. And therefore their emperors are called Israelites, and they glory in that name. And lest the kingdom should ever pass by inheritance to others, the sons of the emperors are kept on Mount Guixen-Amba, so that when male offspring fails who would succeed the present emperor, they may receive an emperor from there.
The history of the queen of Sheba, and how she received offspring from Solomon, is thus narrated in the most ancient books preserved in the church of Axum. A certain merchant named Tamarin, returned from Jerusalem, had told the queen of Sheba what he had seen and heard of Solomon's glory and wisdom: she was so inflamed with the desire of seeing the king that she immediately began to prepare for the journey, and finally leaving her fatherland and kingdom, she set out for Jerusalem accompanied by a great retinue of her nobles and truly royal pomp, so much so that even in Jerusalem itself she was an object of admiration. There she was received most magnificently by Solomon, and after seven months, now instructed in the worship of the one true God, and in all those things she had desired to know, when she was preparing to return to her fatherland and kingdom, she was invited by Solomon to a sumptuous dinner, spent the night in his palace, and conceived offspring by Solomon, which she later brought forth after nine months and five days, when she was already entering the borders of her own kingdom. The son born to her has several names in the books preserved in the church of Axum, namely Bailnelehequem, Etraclehaquem, Ebnehaquem, Menilehec, the last name being the one most commonly heard among the Ethiopians. And it means in the ancient language: he resembles him. The other names mean the same as: son of the wise one. When he grew up, he frequently asked his mother about his father, and finally at the age of 22, having learned the truth, he obtained from her by his entreaties permission to go to Solomon, and led by that merchant Tamarin, with a great retinue and equipment he arrived at Jerusalem, and there received by his father, was recognized as his son.
When he wished to return to his mother, Solomon ordered him to be duly inaugurated as king of Ethiopia with the customary insignia, and accordingly he was brought into the temple by the priests Zadok and Joash, and was anointed by the very hand of the son of the prince Solomon, and was called David after the name of his grandfather, and with all the people acclaiming: Long live the king, he was led through the city carried on a royal mule. After this he departed to his mother, laden with gifts received from his father, and took with him the son of the priest Zadok, Zechariah by name: he introduced into his household all those offices which were in use in the house of Solomon, some of which those emperors still retain.
The Ethiopians fancy that along with the aforesaid Zechariah they also carried off the very Ark of the Lord, which they call Zion; unless one should say that another ark, similar to that of Moses and Solomon, was made and given to him.
Received by his mother, he was raised to be king, and thence the custom was introduced of making the sons of the king into kings, whereas previously only virgins who had always remained unmarried were accustomed to be made queens, such as after Christ was Candace the queen, Acts chapter 8, verse 27.
All this is reported by Father Emmanuel Paz of our Society, who lived many years in Ethiopia, and recently converted its emperor to the orthodox faith, in his History of Ethiopia, which he carefully and accurately composed, and who also adds that the queen of Sheba was born in the kingdom of Tigray, which is the chief kingdom in Abyssinia, and that she is called the Queen of the South. I had this history written in his own hand at Rome from the Reverend Father Assistant of Portugal.
The same is reported by the historians of Ethiopian affairs, such as Damian de Goes, Victorius, Francisco Alvarez, Barrius, Abraham Ortelius, and Genebrardus in his Chronology at the year of the world 3150, and Maluentia On the Antichrist, book V, chapter 13; even though Thomas Bozius, book XXI On the Signs of the Church, chapter 1, and Pineda, book V On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter 14, number 46, consider these fabulous. It may be that the Ethiopians have added many fabulous elements to this history, but nevertheless the thing itself, namely that the Abyssinian emperors descend from Solomon and the queen of Sheba, received and certain by the continuous tradition of so many centuries among the Ethiopians, as Abyssinian orthodox priests assured me at Rome, is hard to deny, especially since Solomon had three hundred concubines and seven hundred wives, to whom if this one queen of Sheba is inserted or added, what inconvenience would there be: for he could have married her like the others, so that through her, and through her and his posterity, he might introduce and establish the faith and worship of the one true God among the Ethiopians; for through an illegitimate son this could not properly and effectively be done. In support is the fact that the Abyssinian emperor has for his coat of arms "a standing lion holding in its hand an upright cross:" for the lion was the emblem of David and the tribe of Judah, Genesis 49:9; the cross is the emblem of Christ and Christians. Finally Prester John, or the Abyssinian Emperor, claims for himself these titles, which Ortelius lists from the ancient monuments of the Ethiopians in his Theatre, chart 68, and they are:
David, supreme among my kingdoms, uniquely beloved by God, Pillar of faith, sprung from the stock of Judah, Son of David, son of Solomon, son of the pillar of Zion. Son of the seed of Jacob, great son of Mary, Son of Nahum according to the flesh, Son of the holy Peter and Paul according to grace, Emperor of the upper and greater Ethiopia, And of most extensive jurisdictions and lands; King of Goa, Caffates, Fatigar, Angota, Baru, Baliguanza, Adea, Vangua, Gojam, Where the sources of the Nile are, Amhara, Beguemder, Ambea, Vagunci, Tigremahon, Sheba the fatherland of the Queen of Sheba, Barnagassi, and lord even to Nubia, Which extends into Egypt.
Finally from Solomon through the queen of Sheba the Abyssinians received circumcision and other Jewish rites, which they still practice together with Baptism. The timing is favorable: for the queen of Sheba came to Solomon in the 24th year of his reign, as is evident from verse 10; when Solomon, now inclined toward women, was multiplying wives for himself, and saw this queen endowed with so many natural gifts, converted to Judaism, he could desire to be joined to her in marriage, so that from him she might conceive honored, wise and faithful offspring: just as Justin writes, book XII, of that Thalestris queen of the Amazons, that she met Alexander with three hundred thousand women, having completed a journey of twenty-five days through the most hostile nations, to seek children from the king: and that after thirty days she departed with a full womb.
Verse 14: The Weight of Gold Brought to Solomon
14. AND THE WEIGHT OF GOLD THAT WAS BROUGHT TO SOLOMON (from Ophir, Tarshish and elsewhere besides from tributes, for these are soon excepted) EVERY YEAR WAS SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX TALENTS OF GOLD, which make eight million French gold crowns, less eight thousand of the same: now eight million French gold crowns make 24 million Belgian florins; for one French crown is worth three Brabantine or Belgian florins. For although at first only 420 talents were brought to Solomon from Ophir, as was said in chapter 9:28, yet gradually with increasing diligence, and the number of miners, more was brought. Indeed Villalpandus, volume II, book V, chapter 46, and Pineda, book IV, chapter 6, at the end, think that for the immense expenses of building the temple, palaces and cities, Solomon sent a triple fleet, each of which returned every third year after completing its voyage; yet each year one would return, and the first fleet indeed carried four hundred and twenty talents of gold, the second four hundred and fifty, and the third, with increasing human industry and the multitude of miners, and desire for gold, brought back six hundred and more talents, as is said here; for the 450 talents of the second fleet is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 8:18, just as 420 talents are assigned to the first fleet in 3 Kings 9:28. Anastasius of Sinai supports this, book X of the Hexameron, saying that Solomon's fleet returned from Tarshish every year.
Verse 15: Besides That Which the Men over the Tributes Brought
15. BESIDES THAT WHICH THE MEN WHO WERE OVER THE TRIBUTES BROUGHT. The Septuagint reads: besides the tributes of the subjects and merchants who traded. Hence it is clear that Solomon's tributes and taxes are excluded from the six hundred and sixty-six talents already mentioned; and therefore those were brought to him from Ophir and Tarshish, etc. So Salianus. Moreover these tributes were enormous, so much so that on account of them the people rebelled against Rehoboam, as we shall hear in chapter 12.
AND THE MERCHANTS, whom Solomon sent to buy and acquire gold, or who paid Solomon a part of the gold they had acquired as tribute.
AND THOSE SELLING WARES (so it should be read with the Roman editions, not "shields," as Lyranus, Abulensis, Hugo and others read), who sold not only old things but also new things in detail by the yard and pound, whom the French call les merciers, that is, haberdashers, who sell all kinds of goods piecemeal. In Hebrew it reads: from the trade of the spice merchants, meaning Solomon collected tribute even from the smallest goods and retailers, such as spice merchants. For, as Emperor Vespasian used to say: "Profit from any thing, even a sordid one, smells good," because "sweet is the smell of profit."
AND ALL THE KINGS OF ARABIA AND THE GOVERNORS OF THE LAND, that is, "satraps of the lands," as is said in 2 Chronicles 9:14. Namely the princes and prefects of the lands neighboring Judea.
From all these it is evident how great and immense the riches of Solomon were; for God seemed to heap gold and silver into his lap from every quarter: and he with his wisdom devised a thousand ways of gathering it. See Pineda, book IV On Solomon, chapter 19, and Villalpandus, volume II, book V, chapters 24 through 44, where he teaches that Solomon's riches were greater than those of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Median, Greek, Roman and all other emperors.
These gifts the kings offered to Solomon on account of his divine wisdom and virtue, desiring to be instructed and directed by him, indeed they offered themselves and their kingdoms, says Severus Sulpicius, to be governed by Solomon; and this is sufficiently implied in verse 23.
Solomon here was a type of Christ, of whom David sang, Psalm 71:9: "Before Him the Ethiopians shall fall down." And: "The kings of Tarshish and the islands shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Sheba shall bring presents. And all the kings of the earth shall worship Him, all nations shall serve Him."
Verse 16: King Solomon Made Two Hundred Shields
16. KING SOLOMON ALSO MADE TWO HUNDRED SHIELDS, in 2 Chronicles chapter 9, verse 15, instead of shields "spears" are placed, but spears are what the shields sharpened like spears are called; so also there are shields with spearheads, that is, having both a boss and a point, and they serve both to protect the body and to strike the enemy, piercing. Villalpandus shows the same, page 527, from Polybius who says, "with the boss the more forceful blows of enemies can be deflected," and from Suetonius, who in Julius Caesar, chapter 68, says that with the same one can "push back the enemy," and indeed "lay them flat," as Livy says, book X. And this is what the Hebrew tsinna means, from the root tsanan, that is, to sharpen and to be sharp. Whence our translator renders tsinna now as shield, now as spear, now as breastplate, now as lance. So also the Septuagint. See Pineda, book V on Solomon, chapter 6, number 1.
HE GAVE SIX HUNDRED GOLD SHEKELS FOR THE PLATES OF ONE SHIELD. A shekel is half an ounce, six hundred shekels therefore are six hundred half-ounces, which make 25 pounds. Therefore these shields as well as the bucklers were made not so much for fighting (for what soldier in arms would carry a shield of 25 pounds?) as for magnificence and display. Whence Solomon placed them in the house of the forest of Lebanon, as follows.
Verse 17: Three Hundred Bucklers
17. THREE HUNDRED BUCKLERS. A scutum is a large shield covering almost the entire person, a pelta is a shorter shield, having the form of a crescent moon. Whence Virgil, book I of the Aeneid:
She leads the battalions of Amazons with crescent-shaped bucklers.
THREE HUNDRED MINAS OF GOLD COVERED ONE BUCKLER. The Hebrew mina contains 60 shekels, that is, 30 ounces, namely two and a half pounds; "three hundred gold minas" therefore make 750 pounds.
But because this weight seems enormous for a buckler, some here understand mina to mean shekel, which was mentioned in the preceding verse, for in this verse in the Hebrew the wording is exactly similar: for just as there it said each shield was of six hundred gold pieces, namely shekels (for the weight of the shekel was most customary among the Hebrews), so here it says each buckler was of three hundred gold pieces, namely shekels. So also Josephus uses mina for shekel, when he says Joseph was sold by his brothers for twenty minas, that is, shekels of silver. Hence the Septuagint and the Chaldean, for three hundred shekels, translate three minas (whence one might suspect that our translator, who usually follows the Septuagint, translated three, not thirty); moreover the Roman as well as the Attic mina contained 25 shekels, that is 100 drachmas, namely one hundred gold pieces. For a gold piece has the weight of one drachma: therefore three Attic minas weigh and are worth three hundred gold pieces. Better, as I said, by three hundred gold pieces understand shekels, each of which weighed and was worth four drachmas, that is, four gold pieces.
Verse 18: King Solomon Made a Great Throne of Ivory
18. KING SOLOMON ALSO MADE A GREAT THRONE OF IVORY, AND OVERLAID IT WITH EXCEEDINGLY TAWNY GOLD, both so that in it as a king he might sit magnificently, as on a royal seat; and so that in it he might decide the disputes and cases of his subjects as a judge (for it belongs to judges to sit on thrones), so that to all who desired to see him, hear him and consult him, he might give ear and answers.
Allegorically, Solomon here represented the judicial power given by God to Christ, insofar as He is man, and His glorious throne, on which He will sit on the day of judgment, and will judge "all the tribes of the earth." So Rupert, Eucherius and Angelomus. Hear Eucherius: "There is no doubt that the ivory throne bore the figure of the power of eternal judgment shining with the gold of divinity, which the Lord as man received from the Father. The six steps of this throne typified all creation, visible and invisible, which was made in six days and subjected to Christ the Lord by the Father. And that the throne itself is described as round in its back part, this is without doubt given to be understood because the present world, which revolves through the boundaries of time, is to be judged by the Lord at its end. And indeed the twelve little lions standing in pairs on the six steps represented the power of the holy Apostles, to whom it was said by the Lord: You shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Symbolically, this throne signifies the Blessed Virgin, from whom the true Solomon, namely the eternal Wisdom of God, assumed flesh, and in her as in His throne purer than ivory, stronger than lions, and more resplendent than gold through charity, He sat for nine months: whence she is called and invoked by the Church in the litanies as "the throne of Solomon." So Lyranus. Here Blessed Peter Damian delivered an excellent sermon on this throne of Solomon on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, where he elegantly applies it to the Virgin and adds: "He made, he says, a throne, namely the womb of the immaculate Virgin in which that Majesty sat. This sitting of the Son the Father both approved and knew, as He Himself says: You have known My sitting." And: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever." And: "This throne is like the sun in Your sight." And shortly after: "And a voice went out from the throne saying: Speak praise to our God all His saints." And from the throne, he says, that is from the Virgin, the praise of Angels and of men bursts forth, because while the one is restored, the other is repaired, and both owe the devotion of thanksgiving. Do you know what He who sits on the throne says? Behold, I make all things new. Happy the throne, in which the Lord the ruler sat, in which and through whom not only all persons, but also all things are renewed." And after some further words: "What is greater than the Virgin Mary, who enclosed the greatness of the supreme divinity within the secret of her womb? Look upon the Seraphim, and fly above the dignity of that higher nature, and you will see that whatever is greater, is less than the Virgin, and that only the Creator surpasses this work." See more in the same author, where he applies each element of this throne to the Blessed Virgin.
Verse 19: Two Lions Stood
19. AND TWO LIONS STOOD. For the lion was the emblem of the tribe of Judah, of David and Solomon on account of their strength and kingdom, Genesis chapter 49, verse 5. So also of Christ their antitype, Apocalypse chapter 5, verse 3. See what was said there. Symbolically, the lion denotes watchfulness (for the lion sleeps with open eyes) and strength, which a king and judge ought to have, in order to blunt and break the forces of the wicked. See Sirach chapter 7, verse 6:
"Do not, he says, seek to become a judge, unless you have the strength to break through iniquities, lest perhaps you fear the face of the powerful, and set a stumbling block against your own equity." See what was said there.
Moreover, novel is the opinion of Pineda, book IV On Solomon, chapter 14, where he tries to prove with many arguments that "Tarshish" is Tartessus, and Baetica in Spain, where Hispalis is situated, commonly called Seville, which formerly abounded in gold, in order to claim for his fatherland this glory of Solomon's fleet. He therefore thinks there was only one and the same fleet of Solomon, which setting sail from Ezion-geber situated on the Arabian Gulf, or the Red Sea, first navigated into the Ocean, and sailing around all the African coasts past the Cape of Good Hope as far as Cadiz, came "to Tarshish" that is Tartessus and Spain; returning thence, following the same African coasts, it sailed to the East Indies, namely to Taprobane and Sumatra, and thence in the third year at last returned to the port of Ezion-geber, from which it had set sail.
But in that case this fleet ought first to have returned from Tarshish to Ezion-geber, and there unloaded its goods acquired in Tarshish and Tartessus, and then sailed to Ophir, that is to Sumatra. For why would it have exposed the goods acquired in Tarshish to the danger of a new and long navigation to India and Sumatra, when it could easily unload them at Ezion-geber, which had to be passed by sailors heading from Tarshish or Tartessus to India? Surely this would have been a too dangerous, seemingly reckless and imprudent navigation, by which so many precious goods were entrusted to ship and treacherous sea, when they could be securely deposited in a nearby port.
Verse 21: Silver Was Not Accounted Of
21. SILVER WAS NOT ACCOUNTED OF (that is, in the vessels and furnishings of Solomon, because these were entirely of gold: or rather, "it was not," that is, in estimation. Whence explaining he adds): NOR CONSIDERED OF ANY VALUE, for otherwise in verse 22, he adds that from Tarshish both silver and gold were brought to Solomon.
Verse 22: The King's Fleet Went by Sea with Hiram's Fleet
22. FOR THE KING'S FLEET WENT BY SEA WITH THE FLEET OF HIRAM ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS TO TARSHISH, BRINGING FROM THENCE GOLD AND SILVER, AND ELEPHANTS' TEETH (ivory) AND APES AND PEACOCKS.
You may ask whether this fleet of Solomon sailing to Tarshish is the same as the fleet sailing to Ophir, of which verse 11 speaks. Some think it was one and the same: for "Ophir" and "Tarshish" are said to refer to the vast sea, the most extensive and very distant regions, such as is India whether East or West. So Joseph Acosta, book III On the New World, chapter 14, and others. They therefore take "Ophir and Tarshish" to mean the Indian Ocean, and its trading ports to which Solomon's fleet sailed from Ezion-geber situated on the Red Sea, just as Jehoshaphat's fleet setting sail from the same port sailed "to Tarshish," that is, to the East Indies, as is said in 2 Chronicles chapter 20:36. Josephus the Hebrew suggests the same.
More clearly others think there were two fleets: for that one went to Ophir, this one to Tarshish; that one brought from Ophir Ophirite gold and thyine wood; this one brought from Tarshish gold and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks; that one went to Ophir every year, as is evident from verse 14. This one went to Tarshish once every three years, as is said here; that one set sail from Ezion-geber situated on the Arabian Gulf, this one from Joppa situated on the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore by Tarshish understand here the Mediterranean Sea. For Tarshish was the son of Javan, Genesis 10:4, who first after the flood inhabited Cilicia, whose metropolis is Tarsus; thence the neighboring sea, and finally the rest of the Mediterranean Sea was called Tarshish: for the Cilicians formerly dominated almost all of it. Thus Jonah chapter 1, verse 3, "fled to Tarshish," that is, into the Mediterranean Sea. So Ribera in that place, Salianus and others.
This fleet therefore, setting sail from Tyre, or from Joppa, sailed "to Tarshish," that is, into the Mediterranean Sea nearby, and visited various shores, ports and trading centers of Africa, Europe and Asia, such as of Arabia, Anatolia, Greece, Dalmatia, Gaul, Italy, Spain, Mauritania, Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, the Cyclades, etc., bordering this sea, and whatever was distinguished and precious anywhere, it purchased for Solomon. Therefore using many anchorages, it did not return home until the third year, as Josephus says. If anyone wishes that from the Mediterranean Sea it went further into the Ocean, and sailed to Brazil, Peru and Mexico, as the Spaniards do now, I will not object, and I would more readily grant this of this fleet than of the other one sailing to Ophir; for this one spent three years on the outward and return voyage, but that one to Ophir only one year.
Verse 27: He Made Silver as Plentiful in Jerusalem as Stones
27. AND HE MADE SILVER AS PLENTIFUL IN JERUSALEM AS STONES. This is hyperbole, meaning: he made silver so exceedingly plentiful, as stones are plentiful. For otherwise there was a greater supply of stones than of silver.
Verse 28: The King's Merchants Bought
28. FOR THE KING'S MERCHANTS BOUGHT (horses) FROM KOA, AND BROUGHT THEM AT A SET PRICE. For "from Koa," the Hebrew has miccoa, which our translator and the Septuagint take as a proper name of a place, and point and read miccoa, and translate "from Koa," although in the Septuagint it is corruptly read as "from Ekue" or "Tekoa." Koa seems to have been a city or western region of Egypt in which there was a very famous horse trade, about which Stephanus of Byzantium writes. So Serarius.
But the Chaldean, reading with different vowel points micue, translates: the collection of the king's merchants bought a collection at a price. Following the Chaldean, R. David, R. Solomon, R. Joseph, and R. Levi in Pagninus variously explain; but the sum of all is that a multitude of merchants at a given price brought out of Egypt a multitude of either linen, or cloth, or horses, or other things. But one should follow the translation of St. Jerome and the Septuagint. Some thought Koa to be Goa, which is the seat of the viceroy of the king
of Portugal in the East Indies; but this is very far from Egypt and Jerusalem.
Moreover, that the dignity and magnificence of a king consists especially in the number and pomp of his guards, horsemen and chariots, Brissonius teaches from Athenaeus, Aelian, Xenophon and others, book I On the Kingdom of the Persians. Whence Julian the Apostate, "when he had removed the splendor of the palace, made the empire contemptible," says Socrates, book III of the History, chapter 1, and Cassiodorus, book VI of the Tripartite History, chapter 1, but in this matter, as in all others, moderation should be observed.
Verse 29: A Chariot Came Out of Egypt for Six Hundred Shekels
29. AND A CHARIOT CAME OUT OF EGYPT FOR SIX HUNDRED SILVER SHEKELS, AND A HORSE FOR ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. "Chariot," that is, four horses, which draw a chariot or four-horse team. For each horse cost 150 shekels: four horses therefore cost six hundred shekels; therefore the chariot itself, or the four-horse team, had to be bought at another price; so Abulensis. A silver shekel is a half-ounce, or four silver drachmas, namely four Roman julii, or four Spanish reales, which make a Brabantine or Belgian florin. Six hundred shekels therefore are six hundred Brabantine florins.
AND IN THIS MANNER ALL THE KINGS OF THE HITTITES AND OF SYRIA SOLD HORSES. Our translator translates correctly. For the prefix article lamed, although ordinarily it is a sign of the dative, is sometimes a sign of the ablative, and has the same meaning as from, out of, of. Whence you may thus translate from the Hebrew: and so from all the kings of the Hittites and Syrians through their hands they went out, that is, they were sold to Solomon.
However the Septuagint, the Chaldean and the Rabbis, taking lamed as a sign of the dative, translate contrarily: Thus (for 600 shekels) they brought out horses from Egypt for all the kings of the Hittites and the Syrians; see Abulensis who excellently defends the Vulgate translation here.
Finally such great opulence, happiness and glory of all things was given by God to Solomon on account of his wisdom and virtue, so that all Israelites might imitate the same in hope of the same rewards: and therefore they would serve the true God, not idols, seeing that the true God gave more to Solomon alone than all idols to their worshippers. For the Israelites were coarse and unrefined and grasped and relished nothing but earthly things, as their descendants the Jews also do today.
Secondly, so that the kings of the Syrians, Egyptians, Arabians, and indeed of the whole world, might be incited to worship the God of Solomon, in order to obtain from God a similar magnificence to that which Solomon had obtained, as the queen of Sheba did, and other prudent kings.
Thirdly, so that in Solomon He might give a specimen and faint idea of the eternal happiness and glory which He has prepared for His elect from eternity in heaven.
Fourthly, to show in Solomon how vain all the opulence and glory of this world is, since it soon vanished like smoke along with Solomon himself, so that they might say: "Thus passes the glory of the world." Therefore true happiness and glory consists in heavenly and eternal goods, so that men might seek them; and this God clearly showed in Solomon, whose happiness was pure unhappiness, as will now be evident: for his glory soon became inglorious, and his fame infamy, and his opulence poverty: for his son Rehoboam, having lost the ten tribes of Israel, barely retained the one tribe of Judah alone.