1 Kings 10:3–5 tells us of the reaction of the queen to Solomon’s wisdom and the splendour of his house and reign, as illustrated in the number of sacrifices that he offered at the temple. If we ask the question as to what impressed her the most, it is not clear that the text gives us an answer to this. Are we to judge by the order that the writer mentions these things? Are we to judge rather by the quantity of things mentioned in the list that we are given, most of which having to do with Solomon’s wealth and the luxurious appointment of his house and servants?
In favour of the first alternative is the fact that it is Solomon’s wisdom that the text tells us previously was the reason for the queen’s visit. In addition, in the next verse she reports to Solomon that the account of him that she had heard in her own country was not equal by half to the reality of his wisdom. This suggests that Solomon had gone beyond her own questions to explain other things to the queen.
Yet, the things that are spoken of in the list of Solomon’s magnificence are so numerous that it seems natural that it was not only Solomon’s wisdom that caused the queen to be breathless at the sight of it. In addition to this, the text moves from the amazement of the Queen of Sheba to the collection of wealth that the trade mission of Solomon and Hiram brought back from Ophir.
Dale Ralph Davis is correct in his belief that the writer of 1 Kings wishes his readers to share the queen’s breathlessness at the magnificence of Israel’s king.1
3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.