Stanza 1 Allusions
The first stanza of the poem refers to the riches King Solomon imported to Israel, as alluded to in the Old Testament of the Bible:
.......The servants of Huram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought cabinet wood and precious stones. With the cabinet wood the king made stairs for the temple of the Lord and the palace of the king; also lyres and harps for the chanters. The like of these had not been seen before in the land of Judah.
.......King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked him for more than she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her own country with her servants.
.......The gold that Solomon received each year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, in addition to what was collected from travelers and what the merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia also, and the governors of the country, brought gold and silver to Solomon.
.......Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of beaten gold going into each shield, and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold, three hundred shekels of gold going into each buckler; these the king put in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
.......King Solomon . . . made an ivory throne which he overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps; a footstool of gold was fastened to it, and there was an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms. Twelve other lions also stood there, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this had ever been produced in any other kingdom. Furthermore, all of King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. . . . . For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would return with a cargo of gold and silver, ivory, apes and monkeys. Thus, King Solomon surpassed all the other kings of the earth in riches as well as in wisdom. (2 Chronicles 9: 10-22)