1 Kings 10:27

1Ki 10:27 And the king made silver [to be] in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he [to be] as the sycomore trees that [are] in the vale, for abundance.

Ver. 27. And the king made silver.] Heb., Gave. And herein Jerusalem became a slender representation of the Jerusalem which is above: where money, the monarch of this world, is nothing set by.

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.

1Ki 10:27-28. The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones — An hyperbolical expression, signifying a great plenty of it. Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn — The two chief commodities of Egypt. The king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price — Agreed on between Pharaoh and Solomon, who gave this privilege to his merchants for a tribute to be paid out of this commodity. Most think byssus, fine linen, is here meant, one of the principal of the Egyptian merchandises.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, he made silver as plenteous as stones.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 27. Made silver - as stones] He destroyed its value by making it so exceedingly plenty.

As the sycamore trees] He planted many cedars, and doubtless had much cedar wood imported; so that it became as common as the sycamore trees, which appear to have grown there in great abundance. This is considered to be a tree that partakes of the nature of the fig tree, and of the mulberry. Of the former it has the fruit, and of the latter the leaves; that is, the fruit had a considerable resemblance to the fig, and the leaf to that of the mulberry tree: hence its name sycamore, from the Greek συκον, a fig, and μορεα, a mulberry tree.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) Made silver . . . as stones.—This influx of wealth is specially noted as enriching Jerusalem, probably without preventing the imposition of heavy burdens on the provinces. Hence the division of interest and allegiance manifested at the accession of Rehoboam. In the earlier years of the reign its prosperity is described as extending to all “Judah and Israel” (1Ki_4:20). But the wealth gathered by tribute, and by a commerce entirely in the hands of the king, would enrich only the Court and the capital; and much Oriental history, both ancient and modern, shows that such enrichment might leave the general population impoverished and oppressed

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. silver] Here the LXX. has ‘gold and silver,’ and so too in the parallel passage 2Ch_9:27, and where the passage is inserted 2Ch_1:15 the LXX. reads τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ τὸ χρυσίον.

in the vale] The word (Shefelah) here rendered ‘vale’ is the name of that low-lying part of Palestine which stretches westward from the mountains of Judah to the Mediterranean (cf. Jos_9:1; Jos_12:8). The R.V. has always distinguished this as the lowland. It was a district fertile and specially well-wooded. The Hebrew word though at first only descriptive, became at last a proper name ‘Sephela.’ See 1Ma_12:38.

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.

And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,.... To mount his horsemen with, and draw his chariots; which seems contrary to the command in Deu 17:16.

and linen yarn; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price; or rather linen itself; or linen garments, as Ben Gersom; linen being the staple commodity of Egypt, see Isa 19:9, but no mention is made of yarn in Ch2 9:28, and the word rendered "linen yarn" signifies a confluence or collection of waters and other things; and the words may be rendered, "as for the collection, the king's merchants received the collection at a price"; that is, the collection of horses, a large number of them got together for sale; these they took at a price set upon them (h), which is as follows.

(h) Vid. Braunium de Vest. Sacerdot. Heb. l. 1. c. 8. sect. 9, 10, 11.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Made silver as stones - This strong hyperbole marks in the most striking way the great wealth and prosperity of the capital during Solomon’s reign. The lavish expenditure which impoverished the provinces, and produced, or helped to produce, the general discontent that led to the outbreak under Jeroboam, enriched the metropolis, which must have profited greatly by the residence of the court, the constant influx of opulent strangers, and the periodical visits of all Israelites not hindered by some urgent reason at the great festivals.

The “sycomore-trees in the vale” (Shephelah) are mentioned also in 1Ch 27:28. Like the olives and the vines, they were placed by David under a special overseer, on account of their value. The tree meant seems to be the sycomore proper, or “fig-mulberry,” which is still common in Palestine, and is highly esteemed both on account of its fruit and its timber.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Sycamores, (Hebrew shikmim) which were formerly very common in Palestine, as they are still about Cairo, in Egypt. The fruit resembles figs, as the leaves do the mulberry tree; whence the name is a compound of Greek: sukon, "a fig," and Greek: moria, "a mulberry;" though some would prefer Greek: moros, "a fool," to denote that the fruit is "insipid." It is however sweeter than wild figs, and proceeds from the trunk of the tree. (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).

Sycamore trees were vile and common. See Isa 9:10.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Cedars made he to be as the sycamore — That is, he imported so much of this valuable wood for building purposes that it lost its rarity in the eyes of the people, and became as common to sight as the sycamore trees that grew so abundantly in the lowlands and valleys.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones an obviously hyperbolical expression), and cedar trees made he to be as the sycamore trees the hmqvi is the sukomwrea of the New Testament, (Luk_19:4) i.e., as the name imports, the fig mulberry the "sycamine tree" of Luk_17:6 would seem to denote the mulberry proper. Though now but comparatively rare in Palestine, it is clear that formerly it was very common, (see e.g., . Isa_9:10) whence it appears that it was used for building purposes, and where it is also contrasted with the cedars. It was esteemed both for its fruit and its wood, so much so that David appointed a steward to have the supervision both of "the olive trees and the sycamore trees in the Shefelah". (1Ch_27:28) The sycamores of Egypt, which were used for the coffins of mummies (Dict. Bib. 3. p. 1394), are referred to in Psa_78:47, in a way which bespeaks their great value. There is a good description of the tree in Thomson, "Land and Book," 1:23-25 that are in the vale Same word as in 1 Chronicles l.c. The Shefelah is a "broad swelling tract of many hundred miles in area, which sweeps gently down from the mountains of Judah "to mingle with the bounding main" of the Mediterranean" (Grove, Dict. Bib. 3. p. 1611). This "Low Country" extended from Joppa to Gaza. The translation "vale" is altogether misleading. Conder ("Tent-work," p. 5) describes it as "consisting of low hills, about five hundred feet above the sea, of white soft limestone," and adds that "the broad valleys among these hills produce fine crops of corn, and on the hills the long olive groves flourish better than in other districts an incidental and valuable confirmation of the text. "The name Sifia, or Shephelah, still exists in four or five places round Beit Jibrin" (Eleutheropolis), ib . p. 276 for abundance.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As stones. But above it states, “of no value.” Our Rabbis explained that one refers to the time before Shlomo married Pharaoh’s daughter, and one refers to the time after Shlomo wedded Pharaoh’s daughter.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.