The Meaning of 1 Kings 10:28 Explained

1 Kings 10:28

KJV: And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

YLT: And the outgoing of the horses that king Solomon hath is from Egypt, and from Keveh; merchants of the king take from Keveh at a price;

Darby: And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt: a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove of horses, at a price.

ASV: And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Solomon  had horses  brought  out of Egypt,  and linen yarn:  the king's  merchants  received  the linen yarn  at a price. 

What does 1 Kings 10:28 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 10:14-29 - "solomon In All His Glory"
How dazzling is this description of Solomon's glory! And yet our Lord said that it was excelled by a single lily of the field, Matthew 6:28. Solomon's glory was put on from without; the real beauty is that which unfolds from within. If only your soul is planted in the soil of God's grace, it will array itself in the beauties of a holy life. The stainless robes are those which are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Observe again-this was not the glory of June, but of October. Already the germs of disease were in Solomon's heart; already the autumn decay was in the air. The secret is told in the significant words of Nehemiah 13:26. Among many nations there was none like him and he was beloved of his God, but strange women were turning away his heart. It was a true statement that our Lord made concerning the rich, that with difficulty they enter the Kingdom. A holy man had good reason to pray earnestly for a young believer, who had suddenly come into a large estate.
The questions on, Sections 1-30, to be found on pages 177 and 178, will serve as a review at this point.
1 Kings 10:1-29 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 10

1  The queen of Sheba admires the wisdom of Solomon
14  Solomon's gold
16  His targets
18  The throne of ivory
21  His vessels
24  His presents
26  his chariots and horse
28  his tribute

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 10:28 mean?

And had imported horses which Solomon from Egypt and Keveh merchants of the king bought them in Keveh at the [current] price
וּמוֹצָ֧א הַסּוּסִ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִשְׁלֹמֹ֖ה מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וּמִקְוֵ֕ה סֹחֲרֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ יִקְח֥וּ מִקְוֵ֖ה בִּמְחִֽיר

וּמוֹצָ֧א  And  had  imported 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֹוצָא  
Sense: act or place of going out or forth, issue, export, source, spring.
הַסּוּסִ֛ים  horses 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: סוּס 
Sense: swallow, swift.
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֖ה  Solomon 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם  from  Egypt 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
וּמִקְוֵ֕ה  and  Keveh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִקְוֶה 
Sense: hope.
סֹחֲרֵ֣י  merchants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: סָחַר  
Sense: to go around, go about, travel about in, go about in trade.
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
יִקְח֥וּ  bought  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
מִקְוֵ֖ה  in  Keveh 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִקְוֶה 
Sense: hope.
בִּמְחִֽיר  at  the  [current]  price 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְחִיר  
Sense: price, hire.