9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, 3 she came to challenge 4 him 5 with difficult questions. 6 She arrived in Jerusalem 7 with a great display of pomp, 8 bringing with her camels carrying spices, 9 a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind.
1 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
2 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
3 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
4 tn Or “test.”
5 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
6 tn Or “riddles.”
7 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
8 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
9 tn Or “balsam oil.”