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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
1 Kings 10:18 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.
  • KJV Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.
  • BSB Additionally, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
  • NASB Moreover, the king made a large throne of ivory and overlaid it with fine gold.
  • NLT Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Solomon built a great throne of ivory overlaid with the finest gold. It symbolizes the majesty of his rule.

Overview

The magnificent ivory-and-gold throne was a fitting emblem of a kingdom at the height of its glory. Such a seat of power expressed the dignity God had bestowed on the Davidic king. The splendor of Solomon's throne points forward to the everlasting throne promised to David's greater Son, whose kingdom and reign will never pass away (2 Samuel 7:13; Luke 1:32-33).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Ps 45:8All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
  • 1 Kgs 10:22For the king had a fleet of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
  • Rev 20:11I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
  • 1 Kgs 22:39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
  • Amos 6:4Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall;
  • Rev 18:12merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;
  • Heb 1:8But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
  • 2 Chr 9:17–19Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
  • Ps 122:5For there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of David’s house.
  • Ps 110:1A Psalm by David. Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
  • Ezek 27:6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; they have made your benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the islands of Kittim.
  • Ps 45:6Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
  • Heb 1:3His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 10:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.

How 1 Kings 10:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.