The Meaning of 1 Kings 9:26 Explained

1 Kings 9:26

KJV: And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

YLT: And a navy hath king Solomon made in Ezion-Geber, that is beside Eloth, on the edge of the Sea of Suph, in the land of Edom.

Darby: And king Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

ASV: And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And king  Solomon  made  a navy of ships  in Eziongeber,  which [is] beside Eloth,  on the shore  of the Red  sea,  in the land  of Edom. 

What does 1 Kings 9:26 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 9:15-28 - Prosperity And Wealth
Solomon was a great builder and employed vast numbers of Canaanites, the old inhabitants of the land, as forced laborers. They performed the drudgery, while the Israelites filled the more honorable and lucrative posts. See Isaiah 60:10. There are Amorites and Perizzites in our lives. Let us not be mastered by them, but compel them to subserve our own growth in grace.
Millo was the key to the fortifications of Jerusalem; Hazor and Megiddo, Baalath and Tadmor guarded the northern frontier. On the extreme south, the navies visited distant realms, and returned laden with gold. Such were Israel's midsummer days. But as, in the latter days of summer, there is the faint odor of decay in the air, and we know that the autumn comes apace, so beneath all this splendor and imperial glory, as we turn to the earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes, we learn that decadence was at its heart.
1 Kings 9:1-28 - 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 9

1  God's covenant in a vision with Solomon
10  The mutual presents of Solomon and Hiran
15  In Solomon's works the Gentiles were his bondmen, the Israelites servants
24  Pharaoh's daughter removes to her house
25  Solomon's yearly solemn sacrifices
26  His navy fetches gold from Ophir

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 9:26 mean?

And a [fleet] of ships built King Solomon at Ezion Geber which [is] near Elath on the shore of the Sea Red in the land of Edom
וָאֳנִ֡י עָשָׂה֩ הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה בְּעֶצְיֽוֹן־ גֶּ֨בֶר אֲשֶׁ֧ר אֶת־ אֵל֛וֹת עַל־ שְׂפַ֥ת יַם־ ס֖וּף בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אֱדֽוֹם

וָאֳנִ֡י  And  a  [fleet]  of  ships 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֳנִי  
Sense: fleet, ships.
עָשָׂה֩  built 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ  King 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה  Solomon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
בְּעֶצְיֽוֹן־  at 
Parse: Preposition
גֶּ֨בֶר  Ezion  Geber 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֶצְיׄון גֶּבֶר  
Sense: the last station during the exodus of the Israelites before they came to the wilderness of Zin; located near Elath at the head of the Gulf of Akaba.
אֲשֶׁ֧ר  which  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אֶת־  near 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
אֵל֛וֹת  Elath 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֵילֹות 
Sense: a port on the north-east arm of the Red Sea.
שְׂפַ֥ת  the  shore 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
יַם־  of  the  Sea 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
ס֖וּף  Red 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: סוּף  
Sense: reed, rush, water plant.
בְּאֶ֥רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
אֱדֽוֹם  of  Edom 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱדֹום 
Sense: Edom.