1 Kings 10:18

Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(18) Ivory.—This seems to have been brought in by the Tyrians (1Kings 10:22), and it may be noted that the only other notice of ivory in the history is in the “ivory house” of Ahab (1Kings 22:39), who was allied with Tyre. In Psalm 45:8 (presumably of the age of Solomon) we find mention of “ivory palaces,” or possibly “caskets.” The Tyrians are described in Ezekiel 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.

Benson Commentary

1 Kings 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 Psalm 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 1 Kings 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.”

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

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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18-26. 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 (2Ch 9:18) as attached to this throne, whose magnificence is described as unrivalled.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

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.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

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 Revelation 20:11 may be an allusion to this; the ivory he had from Tarshish, 1 Kings 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).

(p) Appian. Alex. l. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

18. a great throne of ivory] Like Ahab’s ivory house, mentioned later on (1 Kings 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 Jeremiah 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 Daniel 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.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 18. - 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 2 Kings 4:10; Proverbs 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" (Psalm 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 1 Kings 22:39. Cf. Psalm 45:8; Amos 3:15; Amos 6:4. But there is surely this difference between them, that the palace could not possibly be constructed entirely of ivory, whereas the throne might be, and some of the thrones of India have been (Rawlinson)], and overlaid it with the best [מוּפָז, from the root פָּזַז, separavit = aurum depuratum. The chronicler explains the word by טָהור (2 Chronicles 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.] 1 Kings 10:18

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Solomon had a great throne of ivory made, and had it overlaid with fine gold. כּסּא־שׁן is not a throne made of ivory, but one merely ornamented with ivory; and we are to imagine the gilding as effected by laying the gold simply upon the wood, and inserting the ivory within the gold plate. מוּפז, a hophal participle of פּזז: aurum depuratum, hence equals טהור in 2 Chronicles 9:17. The throne had six steps, and a "rounded head on the hinder part thereof," i.e., a back which was arched above or rounded off,

(Note: Instead of מאחריו לכּסּה עגול וראשׁ we have in the Chronicles מאחזים לכּסּא בּזּהב וכבשׁ, "and a footstool in gold fastened to the throne" (the plural מאחזים refers to the footstool and the steps). Now, however easily מאחזים may have been written by mistake for מאחריו, זהב כבשׁ cannot have grown out of עגול ראשׁ by any such mistake. The quid-pro-quo of the lxx for עגול rof xxl ראשׁ, προτομαὶ μόσχων, in which עגול is certainly confounded with עגל, does not warrant the conjecture of Thenius, that the Chronicler found עגל in his original and substituted כּבשׂ (lamb), whereupon כּבשׂ (lamb) was changed by another hand into כּבשׁ footstep, and ראשׁ was dropped altogether.)

and ירת, arms, i.e., arms on both sides of the seat (השּׁבת מקום), and two lions standing by the side of the arms. Beside this there were twelve lions upon the six steps, namely two upon each step, one on this side and one on that. Instead of אריים (1 Kings 10:20) we find ארירת in 1 Kings 10:19, just as we do in both verses of the Chronicles, not because the reference is to artificial, inanimate figures and not to natural lions, as Thenius supposes, but because the plural ending ים- is an unusual one with this word; and even where natural lions are spoken of, we always find ארירת in other passages (cf. Judges 14:5; 2 Samuel 1:23; 2 Kings 17:25; Sol 4:8, etc.). The lions were symbols of the ruler's authority; and the twelve lions upon the steps may possibly have pointed to the rule over the twelve tribes of Israel, which was concentrated in the throne; not "watchers of the throne," as Thenius thinks. This throne was so splendid a work, that the historian observes that nothing of the kind had ever been made for any other kingdom. Upon the early Assyrian monuments we do indeed find high seats depicted, which are very artistically worked, and provided with backs and arms, and some with the arms supported by figures of animals (see Layard's Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 301), but none resembling Solomon's throne. It is not till a later age that the more splendid thrones appear (vid., Rosenmller, A. u. N. Morgenland, iii. pp. 176ff.).