2 Chronicles 9:10-11 - Exposition

Either these two verses are misplaced (with their parallel, 1 Kings 10:11 , 1 Kings 10:12 ), or they ought to have, though unstated, some occult bearing on the queen. There are some slight indications pointing to this, and the meaning is perhaps that the terraces, balustrades, stairs (which possibly is the idea in the "ascent," 2 Chronicles 9:4 ), pillars, etc; made of the wood which Hiram's and Solomon's servants had formerly brought with gold, were the artificial-work wonders which helped to astound the queen. Terraces to the house of the Lord, and to the king's palace . These so rendered terraces were probably stairs, and, as already intimated, may have composed the "ascent" ( 2 Chronicles 9:4 ), and explain the mention of it in 2 Chronicles 9:4 . The algum trees. This is the Hebrew text order of the lamed and gimel alphabet characters, as the Authorized Version order in the parallel almug is also the order of its Hebrew. The tree is mentioned only six times—three times in Chronicles ( 2 Chronicles 2:8 ; 2 Chronicles 9:10 , 2 Chronicles 9:11 ) and three times in Kings ( 1 Kings 10:11 , 1 Kings 10:12 ). Apparently this wood did grow in Lebanon ( 2 Chronicles 2:8 ), though we think this not certain. Kimchi thinks it was the bukkum (Arabic word), which Europeans call Brazil wood, and which (Keil) was found in Ethiopia, as well as India. Some think it the sandal-wood of Malabar. Whatever it was, it no doubt was to be purchased at the emporium of Ophir. The intrinsic nature of the wood, and its intrinsically valuable nature, may easily be inferred from its use for the woodwork and sounding-board woodwork of musical instruments like the harp and psaltery. This fact would much incline to the view that the red sandal-wood is what is here called algum. The 'Speaker's Commentary' quotes Max Muller for the statement that the vernacular for this wood in India is valguka. Harps … psalteries

left both here and in the parallel, before the words "men of," etc; in the compound English word chapmen (Authorized Version), shows clearly the construction of this and the following sentence; from the previous verse needs to come the words, after our "beside," "the weight of gold which came," etc. This gold probably came by way of tax payments from the merchant travellers, and as tribute money from the kings of the part of Arabia where the blood was mingled, Jewish and Arabian, and not exclusively and independently Arabian (see the word used in place of our Arabian in the parallel, and Jeremiah 25:24 ), and from those governors (perhaps in some cases superseding older kings) of adjacent countries, that had become in some part tributary to Solomon. Governors . For this unusual and un-Hebrew word ( פַחוֹת ) see Ezra 5:6 ; Haggai 1:1 ; Nehemiah 5:14 . Gesenius mentions Turkish, Persian, and Sanscrit derivations that would well suit it. It is very noticeable that it is employed also by the writer of Kings. It is used of a ruler in the Assyrian empire ( 2 Kings 18:24 ; Isaiah 36:9 ), in the Chaldean ( Ezekiel 23:6 , Ezekiel 23:23 ; Jeremiah 51:23 ), in the Persian ( Esther 8:9 ; Esther 9:3 ), specially of the Persian governor of Judaea ( Haggai 1:1 , Haggai 1:14 ; Haggai 2:2 , Haggai 2:21 ; Nehemiah 5:14 , Nehemiah 5:18 ; Nehemiah 12:26 ; Malachi 1:8 ); while Gesenius reads this passage in our present text and its parallel, to speak of governors of Judaea ( the country ). See also 1 Kings 20:24 , where the word is translated (Authorized Version) "captains," and is in the Syrian king's mouth. The word is not used before Kings. It is used by the writer of Kings three times; of Chronicles, once; by Ezra, six times; in Nehemiah, eight times; in Esther, three times; in Daniel, four times; and in the remaining prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Malachi, ten times in all. The Authorized Version, out of the whole number of these occurrences of the word, has rendered it "captains" thirteen times; "deputies," twice; and "governors," twenty times.