I Kings 10:4-5 · Bible study
1 Kings 10:4-5 Commentary: House or Temple? The Queen's Overwhelming Sight
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Did the queen of Sheba see Solomon's palace or the temple?
Research Summary
- Meaning: The queen of Sheba's firsthand encounter with Solomon's wisdom and splendor overwhelms her, leading her to praise the God who gave him such gifts.
- Key words: 'wisdom' (chokhmah), 'house' (bayit), 'ascent' vs. 'burnt offering' (olah), 'no more spirit' (lo hayah bah od ruach).
- Main debate: Whether 'the house' in v.4 is Solomon's palace or the temple, and whether v.5 ends with a staircase or a sacrifice.
- Theological theme: God's wisdom and glory, displayed through human institutions, can draw even outsiders to worship.
- Best use: A narrative of witness, how encountering God's provision leads to confession and praise.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,
5the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
WEB World English Bible 2000
4When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
5the 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 Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her.
KJV King James Version 1769
4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,
5And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
5and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
4And the queen of Sheba seeth all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he built,
5and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his butlers, and his burnt-offering that he causeth to ascend in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been in her any more spirit.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
4And when the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
5and the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, and the order of service of his attendants, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, there was no more spirit in her.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
4And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
5And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Kings 10:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree on the core scene: the queen of Sheba, after testing Solomon with hard questions, is given a full tour of his realm. She sees his wisdom, his palace, his table, his servants, his attendants in their finery, his cupbearers, and either a grand staircase or a burnt offering. The cumulative effect leaves her breathless, the Hebrew phrase lo hayah bah od ruach (there was no more spirit in her) describes a person utterly overwhelmed, speechless, her wits scattered. Clarke, Barnes, and the Cambridge Bible all note that the list moves from wisdom to material display to worship, building an crescendo of awe. The disagreement about what exactly she saw, palace or temple, does not diminish the unanimous reading that the queen encountered something far beyond her imagination.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Palace view: The domestic details in v.5 (food, servants, cupbearers) naturally belong to a palace, not the temple.
- Temple view: The list climaxes with worship (ascent or burnt offering), and the queen's response includes blessing the Lord, suggesting a sacred context.
- Textual preference for 'ascent': The parallel in 2 Chronicles 9:4 and the ancient versions support a physical walkway as the final wonder.
- Textual preference for 'burnt offering': The Masoretic vowels and some early versions read 'burnt offering,' which provides a liturgical climax.
What is clear: Regardless of the building's identity or the final item, the queen was completely overwhelmed by what she saw, and she responded by praising God.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The identity of 'the house' in v.4 | The queen saw a building that displayed Solomon's wisdom and wealth. | Most commentators (Clarke, Barnes, Cambridge) say it is Solomon's palace, because the following details are domestic. Some (Gill, with hesitation) allow the temple. The parallel in 2 Chronicles 9:3 uses the same phrase, leaving it ambiguous. |
| The meaning of 'ascent' vs. 'burnt offering' in v.5 | The Hebrew word (olah) can mean both 'ascent' (the raised way) and 'burnt offering.' | The Masoretic Text vowels read 'burnt offering' (olah), but many ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac) read 'ascent' (ma'aleh). Barnes and the Cambridge Bible prefer 'ascent' as consistent with context; Clarke and the Geneva Bible prefer 'burnt offering,' seeing it as the climax of worship. |
| The queen's response | She was utterly overwhelmed, 'no more spirit in her.' | Some see this as simple astonishment; others (Matthew Henry) see a spiritual awakening, as she immediately blesses the Lord. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The queen of Sheba came from a region in southwest Arabia (modern Yemen), a wealthy kingdom built on trade in spices, gold, and precious stones. Her caravan, camels laden with treasures, was no mere diplomatic courtesy; it was the gesture of a sovereign acknowledging a rival's superior resources. By the tenth century BC, Solomon's Jerusalem had become a center of staggering wealth, fueled by trade routes and tribute.
The list of sights in verses 4-5 reflects the administrative genius behind that wealth. The 'house that he had built' is most naturally read as Solomon's palace, since the following details, food, servants, attendants, clothing, cupbearers, belong to a royal household, not a temple. Barnes's Notes cites Assyrian banquet scenes that match the description: guests in fringed robes, attendants standing, costly drinking cups. The 'ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord' (or, as the Greek and Latin versions read, 'his burnt offering which he offered in the house of the Lord') was likely a raised walkway connecting the palace on the western hill to the temple on Mount Moriah. Josephus mentions that this structure especially astonished the queen. The cross-reference in 2 Chronicles 9:4 uses the same phrase, while the Septuagint and Vulgate read 'burnt offering', creating a well-known textual question.
Either way, the queen's response, 'there was no more spirit in her', captures the effect of seeing glory that surpasses report. She confesses that not half had been told her. Her visit becomes a witness: the God who gave such wisdom to Solomon is a God worthy of praise.
Textual Notes
The key textual variant in this passage concerns the last item of verse 5. The Hebrew MT reads we'olato ('and his burnt offering'), while the parallel in 2 Chronicles 9:4 reads uma'alehu ('and his ascent'). The Septuagint and Vulgate follow the Chronicles reading here, giving 'ascent', a raised walkway from the palace to the temple. The Syriac and Arabic versions also support 'ascent.' The KJV and WEB follow the MT with 'ascent' as a marginal note; the BSB and YLT follow 'burnt offering.' The difference likely arose from a scribal confusion of the consonants ayin and aleph in the Hebrew. Both readings have strong manuscript support, and the meaning of the passage is not materially affected, in either case, something connected to worship stunned the queen.
Reception History
Early Christian interpreters, reading the Septuagint, saw the queen's visit as a foreshadowing of the Gentiles coming to Christ. Augustine, in his exposition of Psalm 72, linked the queen of Sheba to the Church coming from the ends of the earth to worship the true King. The Vulgate's reading of 'burnt offering' emphasized the queen's witness of true worship, leading medieval commentators to see in her a model of the soul seeking God. Reformation-era interpreters (Luther, Calvin) used the passage to illustrate that earthly glory, whether Solomon's or the queen's, points to a greater heavenly reality. The textual ambiguity did not diminish the homiletic value: the queen's wonder at what she saw became a type of the wonder that faith experiences when it truly encounters God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The report vs. reality: the queen heard, but seeing changed everything (vv. 4-7).
- The details of the kingdom point beyond themselves: wisdom, wealth, worship, each reveals a well-ordered life under God.
- The queen's awe leads to confession and praise: she blesses the Lord who set Solomon on the throne (vv. 8-9).
Five-point outline
- Hearing faith: the queen believed enough to journey (v. 1).
- Testing faith: she came with hard questions and found answers (vv. 2-3).
- Sight surpasses report: she saw and was undone (vv. 4-5).
- Humility of the wise: she acknowledges her own limited understanding (vv. 6-7).
- Blessing the Giver: she turns from the gift to the God who gives (vv. 8-9).
Illustration hooks
- A child who has only seen pictures of the ocean finally stands on the shore, the real thing is louder, bigger, far more alive than any photograph.
- An immigrant visits the capital city of a new country for the first time: the scale, the order, the beauty of it overwhelms all expectations.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does the Bible include such detailed descriptions of Solomon's wealth?
- Does this passage mean we should be impressed by material splendor, or is there a spiritual lesson?
- How do I handle the gap between what I've heard about God and what I actually experience?
Leading a Discussion
This passage invites us to consider how encountering God's gifts, even secondhand, can reshape our understanding of who He is. The queen of Sheba came with questions and left with praise. As you discuss, keep the focus on what the text reveals about God's goodness and the appropriate human response.
Discussion questions
- Read 1 Kings 10:1-9 aloud. What do you notice about the queen's attitude as she arrives? What does she expect?
- Verses 4-5 list specific things the queen saw. Why do you think the writer gives such a detailed inventory? What effect does that have on the reader?
- The queen's response is 'there was no more spirit in her.' What kinds of experiences in life have left you similarly speechless with wonder?
- The queen says, 'the half was not told me.' Is there a time when your experience of God exceeded what you had heard or expected?
- She ends by blessing 'the Lord your God.' How does seeing someone else's blessings lead you to worship God?
- Some commentators think 'the house' is Solomon's palace, others the temple. Does this detail affect the meaning for you? Why might the writer leave it ambiguous?
- What would it look like in your daily life to 'hear' about God and then 'see' Him more clearly through His works?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Kings 3:28 | All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice. |
| I Kings 4:29 | God gave Solomon abundant wisdom, understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore. |
| I Kings 4:31 | For he was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around. |
| I Kings 6:1 | In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh’s house. |
| I Kings 6:7 | The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction. |
| II Chronicles 9:3 | When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, |
| II Chronicles 9:4 | the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his cup bearers and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her. |
| Ecclesiastes 12:9 | Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
5 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that the King James Version mistranslates the phrase about Solomon's "ascent" to the temple; every ancient version reads it as a reference to the burnt offerings he offered there. He also explains the queen's fainting as a natural, intense astonishment that can overwhelm a sensitive person.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes connects the description of Solomon's table to Assyrian banquet scenes, noting how guests in fringed robes, bracelets, and costly cups being filled from a large wine bowl match the biblical picture. He also prefers reading "his ascent" as a private passageway from the palace to the temple, rather than the alternative rendering about burnt offerings.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator draws attention to a textual ambiguity where the Hebrew could mean either Solomon's ascent to the temple or his burnt offering there. He argues that the parallel in 2 Chronicles supports reading it as a sacrifice, which would have impressed the queen far more than a simple staircase. Her breathless reaction confirms she was completely overwhelmed.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill catalogs the specific sights that staggered the queen of Sheba, highlighting not just grandeur but deliberate order: the servants' arranged seating, the distinct liveries, and especially the staircase Solomon built to go up to the temple. This last detail, he argues, proved both Solomon's extraordinary skill and his genuine piety, leaving the queen utterly speechless.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that the queen came from the richest and most fortunate land in the ancient world, yet she declared Solomon's wisdom and prosperity exceeded everything she had heard. This visit marks the climax of the Old Testament kingdom and serves as an historical prophecy of the nations coming to the Messiah.