1 Kings 10:1
New International Version
When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.

New Living Translation
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

English Standard Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

Berean Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

King James Bible
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

New King James Version
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

New American Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with riddles.

NASB 1995
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

NASB 1977
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came to test him with riddles.

Amplified Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with riddles.

Christian Standard Bible
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the LORD and came to test him with difficult questions.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of Yahweh and came to test him with difficult questions.

American Standard Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon and the name of LORD JEHOVAH, and she came to test him with riddles.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the queen of Saba heard of the name of Solomon, and the name of the Lord, and she came to try him with riddles.

Contemporary English Version
The Queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was, so she went to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the queen of Saba, having; heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.

English Revised Version
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's reputation. (He owed his reputation to the name of the LORD.) So she came to test him with riddles.

Good News Translation
The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions.

International Standard Version
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's reputation with the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon because of the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Literal Standard Version
And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the Name of YHWH, and comes to try him with enigmas,

Majority Standard Bible
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

New American Bible
The queen of Sheba, having heard a report of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions.

NET Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions.

New Revised Standard Version
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon (fame due to the name of the LORD), she came to test him with hard questions.

New Heart English Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

World English Bible
When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions.

Young's Literal Translation
And the queen of Sheba is hearing of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, and cometh to try him with enigmas,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Queen of Sheba
1Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. 2She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.…

Cross References
Matthew 12:42
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

Luke 11:31
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:28
Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

Judges 14:12
"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

1 Kings 4:34
So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

2 Chronicles 9:1
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan--with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.


Treasury of Scripture

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

A.

2 Chronicles 9:1
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Luke 11:31
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Sheba

Genesis 10:7,28
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan…

Genesis 25:3
And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

Job 6:19
The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.

heard

1 Kings 4:31,34
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about…

concerning

Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Proverbs 2:3-6
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; …

John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

prove him

Judges 14:12-14
And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: …

Psalm 49:4
I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

Proverbs 1:5,6
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: …

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Connection Difficult Enigmas Fame Great Hard Heard Hearing Prove Queen Questions Relation Sheba Solomon Test Try Wisdom
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Connection Difficult Enigmas Fame Great Hard Heard Hearing Prove Queen Questions Relation Sheba Solomon Test Try Wisdom
1 Kings 10
1. The queen of Sheba admires the wisdom of Solomon
14. Solomon's gold
16. His targets
18. The throne of ivory
21. His vessels
24. His presents
26. his chariots and horse
28. his tribute














(1) The queen of Sheba.--The name "Sheba" must be distinguished from Seba, or Saba (which begins with a different Hebrew letter), (a) The name Seba denotes a Cushite race (Genesis 10:7), connected, in Isaiah 43:3; Isaiah 45:14, with Egypt and Cush, and named with Sheba ("the kings of Sheba and Seba")in the Psalm of Solomon (Psalm 72:10). Seba is, indeed, with great probability identified (see Jos. Ant. ii. 10, 2) with the Ethiopian city and island of Meroe. It is probably from confusion between Sheba and Saba that Josephus (Ant. viii. 6, 5) represents the queen of Sheba as a "queen of Egypt and Ethiopia." (b) The name "Sheba" is found in the ethnological lists of Genesis 10:7, among the descendants of Cush of the Hamite race, in Genesis 10:28, among the Semitic Joktanites, and in Genesis 25:3, among the Abrahamic children of Keturah. The kingdom of Sheba referred to in this passage must certainly be placed in Arabia Felix, the habitation of the Joktanite race (in which the Keturahites appear to have been merged), for the Cushite Sheba is probably to be found elsewhere on the Persian Gulf. The queen of Sheba would therefore be of Semitic race, not wholly an alien from the stock of Abraham. . . . Ver 1. - And when the queen of Sheba [There is no good ground for doubting that by שְׁבָא we are to understand the kingdom of Southern Arabia (Yemen). It is true that while Genesis 25:3 (cf. 1 Chronicles 1:32) speaks of Sheba, the son of Joktan, one of the colonists of southern Arabia, Genesis 10:7 and 1 Chronicles 1:9 mention another Sheba, the son of Cush, and a doubt has arisen whether this was an Arabian or an Ethiopian princess, and it is alleged that she was the latter by Josephus, who calls her "queen of Egypt and Ethopia," and by some Rabbinical writers, and in the traditions of the Abyssinian church. But the kingdoms of Sheba (שְׁבָא) and Saba (סְבָא) are entirely distinct (Psalm 72:10), the latter being the name both of the capital and country of Meroe, a province of Ethopia (Joshua, Ant. 2:10. 2); while the former in like manner designates both the chief city and also the kingdom of the Sabeans (Job 1:15). This tribe would seem to have grown richer and stronger than all the other Arabian peoples by means of its commercial enterprise, and it was especially famed for its gold, gems, and spices (Ezekiel 27:22; Jeremiah 6:20; Isaiah 60:6; Joel 3:8; Job 6:19; Psalm 72:10). It is noticeable that in both kingdoms government by female sovereigns was not uncommon (cf. Acts 8:27); but it is very remarkable to find any country under the rule of a queen at this early date. (The idea that either of these lands was always governed by queens has no real basis.) The name of this princess, according to the Koran, was Balkis, according to Abyssinian belief, Maqueda. Whether she was a widow or virgin is unknown] heard [Heb. hearing. Doubtless through the Arab traders. The record of this visit, following immediately upon the mention of the voyages (1 Kings 9:26), is a grain of evidence in favour of locating Ophir in Arabia] of the fame (Heb. hearing; cf. ἀκοή, which also means the thing heard, report. Compare ἀποκάλυψις καύχησις, etc.] of Solomon concerning the name [Heb. לְשְׁם, i.e., "in relation to, in connexion with, the name," etc. No doubt it was the house he had built לְשֵׁם יְיָ (cf. 1 Kings 3:2; 1 Kings 5:17, 18; 1 Kings 8:17, 18, 19, 20, etc.) had made him famous. But the expression is somewhat unusual, and these words are omitted by the chronicler. Gesenius and Ewald, however, regard the ל as instrumental, "the fame given him by the name," etc., as Judges 7:18; Ezekiel 12:12, etc., and Wordsworth compares the use of ἐν in Greek. The LXX. and other versions read "the name of Solomon and the name of the Lord." But the text is on every ground to be retained. The alliteration in this verse (probably accidental) is to be noticed. There is also a slight paronomasia] of the Lord, she came to prove (LXX. πειράσαι, to test)] him with hard questions [Heb. in riddles; LXX. ἐν αἰνίγμασι. The Arabian mind has ever delighted in dark sayings, enigmas, etc., and extensive collections of these have been made by Burckhardt and others (see Keil in loc.) According to Dius (cited in Josephus, Contra Ap. 1:17. 18) Solomon also had dialectical encounters with Hiram and with Abdemon, or, according to Menander, a younger son of Abdemon, a man of Tyre.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now when the queen
וּמַֽלְכַּת־ (ū·mal·kaṯ-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4436: Queen -- a queen

of Sheba
שְׁבָ֗א (šə·ḇā)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7614: Sheba -- a territory in soutwest Arabia, also the name of one or more descendant of Noah

heard
שֹׁמַ֛עַת (šō·ma·‘aṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

about the fame
שֵׁ֥מַע (šê·ma‘)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8088: Something heard, a sound, rumor, announcement, audience

of Solomon
שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה (šə·lō·mōh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8010: Solomon -- David's son and successor to his throne

concerning the name
לְשֵׁ֣ם (lə·šêm)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8034: A name

of the LORD,
יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

she came
וַתָּבֹ֥א (wat·tā·ḇō)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to test him
לְנַסֹּת֖וֹ (lə·nas·sō·ṯōw)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5254: To test, to attempt

with difficult questions.
בְּחִידֽוֹת׃ (bə·ḥî·ḏō·wṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 2420: A riddle, an enigmatic, perplexing saying or question


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OT History: 1 Kings 10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 9:28
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