Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom.
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1 Kings 10:18-20 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house, and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen, to this day. King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. All king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules. Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. A chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites, and to the kings of Syria.
Parallel Translations
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.
There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.
Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom.
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.
And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
Show all 3 translations
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.
There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were arms on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms.
And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps; there was not the like made in any kingdom.
Cross-references (17)
- 1 Kings 10:22 (v18) For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver,…
- Psalms 45:8 (v18) All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
- Revelation 20:11 (v18) I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Genesis 49:9 (v20) Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?
- Numbers 24:9 (v20) He couched, he lay down as a lion, as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Everyone who blesses you is blessed. Everyone who curses you is…
Show all 17 cross-references
- 1 Kings 22:39 (v18) Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, aren’t they…
- Amos 6:4 (v18) Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of…
- Hebrews 1:8 (v18) But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
- Revelation 18:12 (v18) merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every…
- Numbers 23:24 (v20) Behold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the…
- 2 Chronicles 9:17-19 (v18) Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. There were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of…
- Psalms 45:6 (v18) Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
- Psalms 110:1 (v18) Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
- Psalms 122:5 (v18) For there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of David’s house.
- Ezekiel 27:6 (v18) They have made your oars of the oaks of Bashan. They have made your benches of ivory inlaid in cypress wood from the islands of Kittim.
- Revelation 5:5 (v20) One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome: he who opens the…
- Hebrews 1:3 (v18) His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v19 As the chair bows, or places to lean upon.
As the chair bows, or places to lean upon.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–20 1Ki 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne…
1Ki 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
Ver. 18. Moreover the king made a great throne.] Which stood, likely, in the porch of judgment. {1Ki 7:7}
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And overlaid it with the best gold.] To show, saith Martyr, the incorruption that should be in kings, who should administer justice justice, - Moses’ expression, - that is, pure justice.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18–19 Overlaid it; not wholly, but in part, here and…
Overlaid it; not wholly, but in part, here and there, which made it more beautiful to the eye. Probably the main substance of it was ivory, but some cavities were left in it which were filled with gold.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory,....…
Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory,.... To sit on and judge his people; and ivory being white, may denote the purity, justice, and equity with which he judged; the white throne in Rev 20:11 may be an allusion to this; the ivory he had from Tarshish, Kg1 10:22.
and overlaid it with the best gold; for the greater splendour and majesty of it; not that he covered it all over, for then the ivory would not be seen, but interlined it, or studded it with it, whereby it appeared the more beautiful and magnificent. Such a throne of gold and ivory was decreed to Caesar by the Romans (p).
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(p) Appian. Alex. l. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v19 Round - Made like the half of a circle.
Round - Made like the half of a circle.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v19 Verse 19. The throne was round behind: and there…
Verse 19. The throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side] This description seems to indicate that the throne was in the form of one of our ancient round-topped, two-armed chairs. This throne or chair of state was raised on a platform, the ascent to which consisted of six steps. What we call stays is in the Hebrew ידת yadoth, hands, which serves to confirm the conjecture above.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v18 1Ki 10:18-20. The king made a great throne of…
1Ki 10:18-20. The king made a great throne of ivory — We never read of ivory till about Solomon’s time; who, perhaps, brought elephants out of India, or at least took care to have a great deal of ivory imported from thence; for we read of ivory palaces Psa 45:9, whose walls were overlaid with ivory; which was more precious than gold in ancient times, as Pliny tells us in many places. And overlaid it with the best gold — Not entirely, so as to cover the ivory, for in that case it might as well have been made of wood; but here and there, and with curious ornaments. Thus, the throne appeared the more beautiful by this mixture of gold and ivory, with which, at due distances, it was studded. It was in the form of a niche, and the top of it was round behind — Making a half circle over his head. It was placed in the porch, mentioned 1Ki 7:7, which was very magnificent, being both the king’s seat of judgment, and the public audience, where he showed himself either to the nobles, or to the strangers that resorted to him. Here it stood “in the midst of a flight of rich pillars of cedar, curiously carved and covered, or rather inlaid, with gold. The ascent to it was by six steps, each step being supported, on either side, by a small lion, and the arms of the seat with two large ones, as big as life. All these, and even the steps themselves, were covered with ivory and gold.” — Dodd. There was not the like made in any kingdom — That is, in those times there was none to be compared to it: but in after ages there were, perhaps, some equally glorious. For Alhæneus says, “The throne of the Parthian kings was of gold, encompassed with four golden pillars, adorned with precious stones; and that the Persian kings sat in judgment under a golden vine, and other trees of gold, the bunches of whose grapes were made of several sorts of precious stones.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv18–20 It is, on the whole, probable that the substance…
It is, on the whole, probable that the substance of the throne was wood, and that the ivory, cut into thin slabs, and probably carved in patterns, was applied externally as a veneer. This is found to have been the practice in Assyria. The gold was probably not placed over the ivory, but covered other parts of the throne.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18–19 Ivory. Hebrew, "of the tooth" (or horn) of elephants:…
Ivory. Hebrew, "of the tooth" (or horn) of elephants: people do not agree of which the ivory is formed. See Pliny ([Natural History?] viii. 3.) for the former sentiment, and for the latter, Varro vi. Ezechiel (xxvii. 15.) seems to unite both sentiments, calling it, "horns of the tooth." (Haydock) --- Ivory may, in effect, be wrought like horn. --- Finest. Hebrew, "gold of Uphas." This was the country whence it was brought; (Jeremias x. 9.) probably Colchis, where the river Phasis, or Phison, flows, Genesis ii. 11. (Calmet) --- The Chaldean calls Uphas, (in Jeremias) Ophir; and Huet supposes that Paz and Parvaim designate the same place, chap. ix. 28., and Job xxviii. 17. (Du Hamel) --- In Paralipomenon, we only read, pure gold, which would suffer the ivory to appear in some places. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v18 a great throne of ivory--It seems to have been…
a great throne of ivory--It seems to have been made not of solid ivory, but veneered. It was in the form of an armchair, with a carved back. The ascent to it was by six steps, on each of which stood lions, in place of a railing--while a lion, probably of gilt metal, stood at each side, which, we may suppose from the analogy of other Oriental thrones, supported a canopy. A golden footstool is mentioned (Ch2 9:18) as attached to this throne, whose magnificence is described as unrivalled.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–20 18. Throne of ivory — Like Ahab’s ivory house,…
18. Throne of ivory — Like Ahab’s ivory house, (1Ki_22:39,) and the ivory palaces and beds mentioned Psa_45:8, Amo_6:4, this throne was not made entirely of ivory, but was so set with ivory, and so much of this material was used in its construction, that it naturally received this name. Ivory was an important article of ancient commerce, as Assyrian monuments show.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–19 18. a great throne of ivory] Like Ahab’s ivory…
18. a great throne of ivory] Like Ahab’s ivory house, mentioned later on (1Ki_22:39), the throne was no doubt only inlaid with ivory, in such a way that where the gold did not cover the framework there the ivory appeared. And we may suppose that the ivory was a very conspicuous part of the structure, or else the throne would not be called from it.
with the best gold] R.V. ‘finest gold.’ The Hebrew participle (which occurs in no other place) is from a root which signifies ‘to refine,’ ‘to purge.’ Hence the rendering of R.V. is preferable. The Hebrew word is ‘muphaz,’ and the excessive rarity of its occurrence has led some to conjecture that the reading here ought to be as in Jer_10:9 ‘ma-uphaz,’ i.e. ‘from Uphaz.’ Uphaz is thought to be a later form of the word Ophir. It is found also in Dan_10:5. But though the participle in the text is rare, there is a cognate word of frequent occurrence, meaning ‘fine gold,’ so that we need not doubt about the sense in this passage.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v18 (18) Ivory.—This seems to have been brought in by…
(18) Ivory.—This seems to have been brought in by the Tyrians (1Ki_10:22), and it may be noted that the only other notice of ivory in the history is in the “ivory house” of Ahab (1Ki_22:39), who was allied with Tyre. In Psa_45:8 (presumably of the age of Solomon) we find mention of “ivory palaces,” or possibly “caskets.” The Tyrians are described in Eze_27:15 as receiving it through Dedan in Arabia, whither, no doubt, it came from India. But the Egyptians used ivory largely, drawing it from Africa; and there was, in later times, a port on the Red Sea which was a mart for ivory. The Tyrians may, therefore, have imported it both from India and from Africa. The throne of Solomon was probably inlaid with ivory and gold. Traces of such inlaying are found in Assyrian and Egyptian monuments. It is probable that, like his other architectural and decorative work, it was executed by Tyrian workmen, and the detailed description of it shows how greatly it impressed the imagination of Israel. The lion was the emblem of the house of Judah; the number twelve corresponded to the twelve tribes; and the exaltation of the throne—specially remarkable in a country where men sat commonly on the ground or on cushions—was the emblem of majesty. In the Dictionary of the Bible (“THRONE”) is given a sketch of an Assyrian throne, from a Nineveh bas-relief, which has horses in the position, supporting “the stays,” or arms of the throne, here ascribed to the lions.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Moreover the ling made a great throne Heb. seat.…
Moreover the ling made a great throne Heb. seat. The use of a chair where the custom of the country is to squat on the ground, or to recline on a divan, is always a mark of dignity. See 2Ki_4:10; Pro_9:14 of ivory Heb. tooth. Below in ver. 22 we have elephant"s tooth. It is generally thought that this "throne of the house of David" (Psa_122:5) was of wood, veneered with ivory, as was the practice in Assyria (Rawlinson, "Ancient Monarchies," 1. p. 463), and in the chryselephantine statues of the Greeks (Paus. 2:4. 1; 6:25. 4, etc.) Bahr says there is no more necessity for believing this throne to have been of solid ivory than the "ivory house" mentioned in 1Ki_22:39. (Cf. Psa_45:8;) , 2Ch_9:17 gold. It is very unlikely that the gold entirely covered and concealed the ivory, especially if the latter was merely a veneer. Keil and Bahr consider that the gold was laid on the wood and the ivory inserted between the plates, but the text does not speak of overlaying with ivory, but of overlaying ivory with gold. And the presumption is that the ivory was solid. In the Greek statues both ivory and gold were applied in laminae, the former representing the flesh, the latter the drapery.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 the king made
the king made
It might be best to translate so that the reader understands that other people helped the king do this. AT: "the king's men made" (See: Synecdoche)
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throne of ivory
Ivory is the hard, white substance from the tusks or teeth of large animals. (See: Translate Unknowns)
translationWords
throne
lions
kingdom
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 10:18-21 Solomon obtained ivory through commercial ventures with Hiram.…
10:18-21 Solomon obtained ivory through commercial ventures with Hiram. Ancient Near Eastern kings often used lion figures as symbols of royal power and divine protection of the throne.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.