Misinterpretation in KJV (XVI)

1 Kings 10:28 (King James Version)

And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

1 Kings 10:28 (New International Version)

Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price.

•

Solomon’s

horses

were

imported

from

Egypt

and

from

1 וּ

5 אֲשֶׁ֥ר6 לִ7 שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה

3 הַ4 סּוּסִ֛ים

→

2 מוֹצָ֧א

8 מִ

9 מִּצְרָ֑יִם

10 וּ

11 מִ

û

ʾăšer li šəlōmō

ha sûsîm

môṣāʾ

mi

miṣrāyim

û

mi

Kue

—

the

royal

merchants

purchased

them

from

Kue

at

the

12 קְוֵ֕ה

►13

14 הַ15 מֶּ֔לֶךְ

13 סֹחֲרֵ֣י

16 יִקְח֥וּ

•

17 מִ

18 קְוֵ֖ה

19 בִּ

→

qəwē

ha melek

sōḥărê

yiqḥû

mi

qəwē

bi

current		price	.
20 מְחִֽיר		←
məḥîr

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Ki 10:28.

1 Kings 10:28 exemplifies how the KJV’s mishandling of a Hebrew word transformed a passage about Solomon’s commercial acumen into an economically nonsensical account of textile imports. The Hebrew word miqwēh was misinterpreted when it could instead be read “from Kue”[1], fundamentally altering the passage’s meaning.

The Root of the Error

The Masoretes—the Hebrew scholars who added vowels to the consonantal Hebrew text—did not seem to understand the reference and added vowels that produced the reading now found in the KJV, “linen yarn.”[2] The same consonants, when vocalized differently, yield “from Kue” instead. This was not a matter of ambiguous translation but of misidentifying what the text actually referenced.

The Geographic Reality

Kue is a name for Cilicia[1], a region in southeast Asia Minor. It was a source of fine horses in Solomon’s day.[3] The KJV’s rendering creates an absurd scenario: Solomon importing both horses and linen yarn from Egypt, with merchants receiving “the linen yarn at a price.” Why would linen yarn accompany horse imports, and why would it warrant special mention?

The Economic Context

If the Masoretes and the KJV are correct, then Solomon imported horses and linen yarn from Egypt. If modern translations are correct (which in all likelihood they are), then Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue—that is, Cilicia in southeast Asia Minor.[2] The latter interpretation reveals Solomon’s sophisticated commercial strategy: From Egypt, Solomon acquired chariots. Thus Solomon acted as the middleman, putting horses with chariots and exporting them to other kingdoms. This proved to be a very lucrative arrangement for Solomon.[2]

The KJV’s error obscures Solomon’s role as an international merchant-trader, transforming a passage demonstrating his economic wisdom into a bewildering reference to imported textiles.

[1] Charles F. Pfeiffer, Howard Frederic Vos, and John Rea, in The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (Moody Press, 1975). [See here, here.]
[2] Phil Logan, “Kue,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Chad Brand et al. (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1001–1002.
[3] Parsons Bible Atlas (WORDsearch, 2012). [See here.]