Comments on 1 Kings 10 The substance of chapter 10 seems to me to be a lead in explanation of what happens in chapter 11. Solomon ends up famous and lavished in all kinds of opulent splendor. He is also in contact with foreign women (v. 1-13). Solomon goes on to become fabulously wealthy (v. 14-22), and his wisdom ultimately gets him world-renowned with people coming from all sorts of distant lands bearing gifts (v. 23-25). Then Solomon goes on to amass a powerful army or chariots and horsemen (v. 26), enriches all of Israel in the process (v. 27), and gets into the military hardware trade (v. 28-29). This latter practice is explicitly prohibited in the Law, as was the case with his marriage to the Egyptian woman in 3:1, cf, Deut 17:16. v14-18, 21 Previously in 7:1-12 there was no gold in the Palace as it all apparently went into construction of the Temple. But, now, Solomon's Palace is the place where all of the gold is going. And there is so much of it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was more gold in the Palace than in the Temple. Pride, oppoulence, and greed are now an issue. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.