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1 Kings 10 Bible study: Not even half was told me
The queen of Sheba came because she heard of Solomon's fame "concerning the LORD’s name" (10:1), and she left having blessed the LORD, who made Solomon king "because the LORD loved Israel forever" (10:9). Jesus called her "The Queen of the South": she "came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42).
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“All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In 1 Kings 10:1, the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame concerning the LORD's name.”
Is that in 1 Kings 10, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
She came because of the LORD's name
The chapter opens with what the queen heard: "When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the LORD’s name, she came to test him with hard questions" (10:1) (tap hard questions and test). She came "with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones" (10:2), and "she talked with him about all that was in her heart" (10:2). "Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her" (10:3). Then she looked: "all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built" (10:4), "the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the LORD’s house" (10:5). The verse ends, "there was no more spirit in her" (10:5) (tap spirit).
Where it leads to Jesus
Someone greater than Solomon
1 Kings 10:1leads toMatthew 12:42
"When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the LORD’s name, she came to test him with hard questions" (10:1), and she said, "Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom" (10:8). When some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign (Matthew 12:38), he said, "The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). Luke gives it as "one greater than Solomon is here" (Luke 11:31). Jesus doesn't use the name Sheba; he names her "The Queen of the South" and says why she came, "to hear the wisdom of Solomon" (Matthew 12:42), which is what 1 Kings 10 tells.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 1 Kings 10
That was a taste
The rest of 1 Kings 10 is waiting in Favor
- Not even half, and a blessing
- Gold, ivory, and silver of little value
- Horses out of Egypt
- No more spirit in her
- To do justice and righteousness
- The Queen of the South
- 12 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
חִידָהchidahsay khee-DAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "riddle, enigmatic, perplexing saying or question", and it lists this verse under "perplexing questions by which queen of Sheba put Sol. to the test". Strong's: "a puzzle, hence, a trick, conundrum, sententious maxim". She came "to test him with hard questions" (10:1). This is its only use in 1 Kings. It is the word of Samson's riddle, "Let me tell you a riddle now" (Judges 14:12), and of the LORD's words about Moses: "With him, I will speak mouth to mouth, even plainly, and not in riddles" (Numbers 12:8). Proverbs opens with the aim "to understand a proverb and parables, the words and riddles of the wise" (Proverbs 1:6).
For your group
1 Kings 10 Bible study questions
- 1The queen came "to test him with hard questions" and "talked with him about all that was in her heart" (10:1-2). What hard question are you carrying right now, and who could you bring it to?
- 2"I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it" (10:7). When has seeing something for yourself changed what you believed about God or about someone else?
- 3She came "from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon", and Jesus said, "someone greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). What would it look like for you to go out of your way to hear Jesus' words this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 1 Kings 10 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home