Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Show the surrounding paragraph
1 Kings 9:27-28 sits inside this longer paragraph.
This is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower, Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness, all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel; their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day. But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo. Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh three times per year, burning incense with them, on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he finished the house. King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Parallel Translations
-
Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
-
And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Show all 3 translations
-
And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (14)
- 1 Chronicles 29:4 (v28) even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of…
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 (v28) Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to…
- 1 Kings 10:11 (vv27–28) The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones.
- 1 Kings 5:6 (v27) Now therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for…
- 1 Kings 5:9 (v27) My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you specify to me, and…
Show all 13 cross-references
- Job 22:24 (v28) Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
- Job 28:16 (v28) It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
- Psalms 45:9 (v28) Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
- Isaiah 13:12 (v28) I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
- Genesis 10:29 (v28) Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
- 1 Kings 22:49 (v27) Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not.
- 2 Chronicles 9:10 (v28) The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones.
- 2 Chronicles 20:36-37 (v27) He joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. They made the ships in Ezion Geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of…
13 distinct cross-references across this passage (14 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v28 In 2 Chron. 8:18, is made mention of thirty…
In 2 Chron. 8:18, is made mention of thirty more, which seem to have been employed for their charges.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv27–28 1Ki 9:27 And Hiram sent in the navy his…
1Ki 9:27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
Ver. 27. Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea.] The Tyrians and Phoenicians were famous all the world over for their great skill in navigation. Of the Hollanders, one saith, Peterent caelum navibus Belgae, si navibus peti posset. The Low-country men are brave seamen; and that the English are no less, our recent conflicts with them and our great achievements in the western parts have proclaimed.
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 vv27–28 The Tyrians were famous for
The Tyrians were famous for
knowledge of the sea. He sent also ships to join with Solomon’s, 2Ch 8:18; not from Tyre, the famous city of Phoenicia, which was in the midland sea, from whence he could not sail to the Red Sea without fetching a vast compass; but from an island in the Red Sea, called Tyre, because it was a colony of the Tyrians, as Strabo notes.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv27–28 Knowledge of the sea - For which the Tyrians…
Knowledge of the sea - For which the Tyrians were famous. He sent also ships to join with Solomon's, not from Tyre, the city of Phoenicia; but from an island in the Red-sea, called Tyre, because it was a colony of the Tyrians, as Strabo notes.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v28 Verse 28. And they came to Ophir] No man…
Verse 28. And they came to Ophir] No man knows certainly, to this day, where this Ophir was situated. There were two places of this name; one somewhere in India, beyond the Ganges, and another in Arabia, near the country of the Sabaeans, mentioned by Job, Job 22:24: Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust; and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. And Job 28:16: It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Calmet places this country at the sources of the Euphrates and Tigris.
But there are several reasons to prove that this was not the Ophir of the Bible, which it seems was so situated as to require a voyage of three years long to go out, load, and return. Mr. Bruce has discussed this subject at great length; see his Travels, vol. ii., chap. iv., p. 354, c. He endeavours to prove
Read full note →
1. That Ezion-geber is situated on the Elanitic branch of the Arabian Gulf or Red Sea.
2. That Tharshish is Moka, near to Melinda, in the Indian Ocean, in about three degrees south latitude.
3. That Ophir lies somewhere in the land of Sofala, or in the vicinity of the Zimbeze river, opposite the island of Madagascar, where there have been gold and silver mines in great abundance from the remotest antiquity. And he proves,
4. That no vessel could perform this voyage in less than THREE years, because of the monsoons that more time need not be employed, and that this is the precise time mentioned in 1Kg 10:22.
5. That this is the country of the queen of Sheba, or Sabia, or Azeba, who on her visit to Solomon, brought him one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices and precious stones great store, 1Kg 10:10. And that gold, ivory, silver, c., are the natural productions of this country.
To illustrate and prove his positions he has given a map on a large scale, "showing the track of Solomon's fleet in their three years' voyage from the Elanitic Gulf to Ophir and Tharshish" to which, and his description, I must refer the reader.
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 v28 1Ki 9:28. They came to Ophir — A place…
1Ki 9:28. They came to Ophir — A place famous for gold, which was found there in great plenty, and peculiarly fine. It is highly probable that this place was in India, but in what part of it is not easy to determine. Bochart thinks it was Taprobana, now called Ceylon, and shows that the account which the ancients give of the former, answers to that which the moderns give of the latter. It is certain that this island affords gold, ivory, and precious stones. The authors of the Universal History after confuting at large those opinions which seemed to them less probable, observe as follows: “Ophir appears most likely to have been in some of those remote, rich countries of India beyond the Ganges, and perhaps as far as China or Japan; which last still abounds with the finest gold, and several other commodities in which Solomon’s fleet dealt, as silver, precious stones, ebony, and other valuable sorts of wood, to say nothing of spices, peacocks, parrots, apes, and other such creatures; and by its distance best answers to the length of the voyage.” Gold, four hundred and twenty talents — It is said (2Ch 8:18) that they brought four hundred and fifty; but we may well suppose that thirty talents might be partly spent in the charges of the voyage to and fro, and partly allowed to Hiram and his men; so that only four hundred and twenty came clear into the king’s treasury. This, however, was a prodigious sum, being calculated to be above three millions two hundred thousand pounds sterling. How they obtained this vast quantity of gold, whether by exchanging various merchandises for it, or by finding out mines, or procuring it from the natives, does not appear.
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 vv27–28 Shipmen - See 1Ki 5:6 note. With respect to…
Shipmen - See 1Ki 5:6 note. With respect to the acquaintance of the Phoenicians with this particular sea, it may be observed that they are not unlikely to have had trading settlements there, as they had in the Persian Gulf, even at this early period. The commerce with Ophir was probably an established trade, previously either in their hands or in those of the Egyptians, when Solomon determined to have a share in it. The Egyptians had navigated the other arm of the Red Sea, and perhaps its lower parts, from a much more ancient period.
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 vv27–28 Fleet, from Tyre, (Calmet) or from the island of…
Fleet, from Tyre, (Calmet) or from the island of the same name, in the Red Sea. (Grotius)
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 v28 Ophir--a general name, like the East or West Indies…
Ophir--a general name, like the East or West Indies with us, for all the southern regions lying on the African, Arabian, or Indian seas, in so far as at that time known [HEEREN].
gold, four hundred and twenty talents--(See on Ch2 8:18). At 125 pounds Troy, or 1500 ounces to the talent, and about £4 to the ounce, this would make £2,604,000.
Read full note →
Next: 1 Kings Chapter 10
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 vv27–28 27. Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea —…
27. Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea — Skilled in navigation. The Phenicians were the earliest and boldest navigators of antiquity. See the tribute to Tyrian wisdom and success in Eze_28:1-5.
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 vv27–28 27. that had knowledge of the sea] For which…
27. that had knowledge of the sea] For which knowledge in ancient times the Phœnicians were the most famous people.
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 vv27–28 (27) Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea.—The Tyrians…
(27) Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea.—The Tyrians were known far and wide as the great sailors both of the Mediterranean and the seas beyond it, till they were rivalled and superseded by their own colonists in Carthage and by the Greeks. How greatly their seamanship, their commerce, and their civilisation impressed the imagination of Israel, is shown in the magnificent chapters of Ezekiel on the fate of Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28). The Israelites, on the contrary, had but little care for the sea, and little knowledge of seamanship. The coast line of Palestine is but scantily furnished with harbours; and even at the height of their power they were content to use the maritime skill of the Tyrians, without encroaching upon their commerce or attempting to seize their famous ports. This was natural; for their call to be a peculiar and separate people was absolutely incompatible with maritime enterprise and commerce. Even in this attempt at maritime expedition under Tyrian guidance, Solomon’s action was, as in other points, exceptional, departing from Israelite tradition; and we hear of no similar enterprise, except in the age of Ahab and Jehoshaphat, when the intermarriage of the royal houses of Israel and Phœnicia renewed the close connection with Tyre (1Ki_22:48; 2Ch_20:35). We observe, accordingly, that the sea is mostly regarded in the Old Testament in its terrible power of wave and storm, restrained from destroying only by the Almighty hand of God; and even the one psalm (Psa_107:23-31), which describes the seafarer’s experience, dwells with awe on “God’s wonders in the deep.” In the description of the glory of “the new heaven and earth” of the hereafter, it is declared with emphasis that “there was no more sea” (Rev_21:1).
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 vv27–28 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen…
And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea with the servants of Solomon. The chronicler states (2Ch_8:18) that he sent ships as well as servants, and it has been thought that ships were transported, in parts or entire, by land across the Isthmus of Suez, and there are certainly instances on record of the land transport of fleets. (Keil reminds us that Alexander the Great, according to Arrian, had snips transported in pieces from Phoenicia to the Euphrates, and that, according to Thucydides (Bell. Pelop. 4:8) the Peloponnesians conveyed 60 ships from Corcyra across the Leucadian Isthmus, etc.) But this, especially when the state of engineering science, etc., among the Hebrews is taken into account, is hardly to be thought of. It is quite possible, however, that timber for shipbuilding was floated on the Mediterranean down to the river of Egypt, or some such place, and then transported either to Suez or to Akaba. Probably all that the chronicler means is that Hiram provided the materials and had the ships built. The Israelites, having hitherto had no fleet, and little or no experience of the sea, were unable to construct ships for themselves. And the Tyrians may have seen in the construction of a fleet for eastern voyages, an opening for the extension of their own maritime trade. Possibly in the first voyages Tyriaus and Jews were copartners.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.