What Does 2 Chronicles 9:9 Mean?
And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones; and there was no such spice as the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.THE KEY
The queen’s gift is remembered through its fragrance: the Hebrew for “spices” belongs to the language of scent itself.
THE MEANING
The verse holds abundance and singularity together: a gift may be measured in gold and stones and recognized through a fragrance without equal. Its value reaches the reader through what can be seen, touched, and sensed.
THE ROOT
בְּשָׂמִים
besamim
GROWS FROM
ב־ש־ם
b-s-m
Fragrance, aromatic substance.
“spices” in this verse is besamim. The plural names a gathered range of aromatics; its singular form names fragrance as a substance. The verse singles out this scent as the gift’s unrepeatable signature.
ALSO GROWS
bosem: A fragrant substance, perfume.
בֹּשֶׂם
The singular form brings the focus from a collection of spices to the fragrance they carry.
besamim: Fragrant spices, aromatics.
בְּשָׂמִים
This plural form describes the abundance of aromatics in the queen’s gift.
וַתִּתֵּן
wattitten
GROWS FROM
נ־ת־ן
n-t-n
To give, set, or place.
“gave” in this verse is wattitten. The act of giving and the noun for a gift belong to one consonantal family: the gift is giving made tangible. Here, gold, spices, and stones are the forms that giving takes.
ALSO GROWS
mattan: A gift or present.
מַתָּן
This noun makes the shared root visible: what is given becomes a gift.
mattanah: A gift or offering.
מַתָּנָה
The same root turns the act of giving into something received and held.
יְקָרָה
yeqarah
GROWS FROM
י־ק־ר
y-q-r
To be precious, costly, or highly valued.
“precious” in this verse is yeqarah. This root carries costly worth and honor together. The stones embody value that is both material and recognized.
ALSO GROWS
yaqar: Precious, costly, or rare.
יָקָר
This adjective describes the stones’ material value.
yeqar: Honor or worth.
יְקָר
This noun reveals the honor carried by something held as precious.
THE PATTERN
A gift carries value through its substance, its abundance, and the quality that makes its presence memorable.
And their father Israel said to them, If it must be so now, then do this. Take from the best of the land in your vessels, and carry down to the man a gift, a little balm, a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds.The kings of Tarshish and the coastlands return a tribute, and the kings of Sheba and Seba draw near with gifts.And when they had entered the house, they perceived the young child with Mary his mother, and fell to the ground and bowed down before him. And when they had opened their treasures, they brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.THE THREAD
You have climbed to the height; you have taken captive the captives; you have taken gifts among humankind, even the ones who turn away, so that the LORD God might settle among them.In Hebrew, “gifts” here is מַתָּנוֹת (mattanot), from נ־ת־ן (n-t-n), the same root as “gave” in the queen’s offering. The queen gives to the king in this passage; the Psalm pictures gifts being received, keeping giving and receiving within one movement.
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