1 Kings 10:5

“And the meat of his table, etc.] The various sorts of it, the different dishes, and the multitude of them; (see <110422>1 Kings 4:22,23) and the sitting of his servants; at table, either with him, or at tables by themselves, yet in his presence; for these were his nobles and courtiers, who were placed in order, according to their rank and degree, which showed wisdom: and the attendance of his ministers; or the “standing” f220 of those that waited, both at the king’s table, and the tables of the lords, who each had their proper place and business assigned; so that the utmost decorum was observed, and no confusion or disorder to be seen: and their apparel: their several liveries, which were…”

“And the meat of his table - Compare 1 Kings 4:22-23. The scene here described receives very apt illustration from the Assyrian banquet scenes, where we have numerous guests sitting, dressed handsomely in fringed robes, with armlets upon their arms, and bracelets round their wrists, attendants standing behind them, and magnificent drinking-cups, evidently of a costly metal, in the hands of the guests, which are filled from a great wine-bowl at one end of the chamber. And his ascent by which he went up - A rendering preferable to “the burnt-offering which he cffered in.” The “ascent” was probably a private way by which the king passed from his palace on the western hill, across the ravine…”

“Sitting - The order and manner in which his courtiers, or other subjects (who all were his servants in a general sense) sat down at meals, at several tables in his court. Attendance - Upon the king, both at his table, and in his court; and when he went abroad to the temple or other places. Apparel - Both the costliness of it, and especially the agreeableness of it to their several places and offices. Went up - From his own palace. See Kg2 16:18, but the ancients, and some others, translate the words thus, and the burnt - offerings which he offered up in the house of the Lord; under which, is the chief, all other sacrifices are understood: when she saw the manner of his offering sacrifices to…”

“the meat: Kg1 4:22, Kg1 4:23 attendance: Heb. standing cupbearers: or, butlers, ascent. The original weolatho asher yaaleh baith yehowah, is rendered by the LXX and Vulgate, και την ολοκουτωσιν αυτου ην ανεφερεν εν οικω Κυριου; et holocausta, que offerebat in domo Domini, "And the burnt offerings (or holocausts) which he offered in the house of the Lord;" with which the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic agree; and so also Luther, Und feine Brandopfer, die er in dem Hause des Herrn opferte; and this seems to be the true sense of the passage. Kg2 16:18; Ch1 9:18, Ch1 26:16; Ch2 23:13; Eze 44:3, Eze 46:2 there was no: Jos 5:1; Ch2 9:4 3 Kings (1 Kings) 10:6”