The queen of Sheba: The exact location of Sheba is debated, but it was probably located on the southwest coast of the Arabian peninsula, corresponding to modern-day Yemen. However, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus called the queen the “Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia” (k Jewish Antiquitiesk* 8.6.5-6), and Ethiopian tradition says that their kings descend from Solomon and the queen of Sheba (see the comments on verse 13).
Fame of Solomon: The Hebrew word translated fame often means “hearing” (coming from the verb “to hear”) or “report.” But in this context it refers to the widespread reputation for wisdom that Solomon had. In certain languages this idea is expressed by the word “honor.”
Concerning the name of the LORD: The sense of these words in this context is not clear to many interpreters. They are absent from the parallel text in 2 Chr 9.1, so some translations omit them here also (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Osty-Trinquet). The shorter text is followed also in La Bible Pléiade, which omits concerning the name of the LORD and in place of these words places empty square brackets.
But these words are part of the Masoretic Text and should be followed. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that the words concerning the name of the LORD may be understood in two different ways:
(1) “to the glory of the LORD,” that is, when the queen heard of Solomon’s fame, she gave glory to (or, praised) the LORD.
(2) “received from the LORD.” This second interpretation means that the queen heard of Solomon’s fame, which he owed to the name of the LORD (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), that is, it came from the LORD. This interpretation agrees with the statement in verse 24 that Solomon’s wisdom came from God.
Another possible meaning is “which brought honor to the name of the LORD” (New Living Translation; similarly De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling).
For the first half of the verse, the Septuagint and the ancient Syriac say “When the queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon and the name of the LORD.” This is the basis for the following translation by Moffatt: “When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and the temple he had built in honour of the Eternal.”
She came: The text does not state at this point where the queen of Sheba came to. That information is given in verse 2, but it is acceptable to shift it forward as Good News Translation has done. If it is more natural to do so, translators may say here that “she came to Jerusalem.”
Hard questions refers to questions that are not easy to answer because the answer requires wisdom or good understanding. Some translations include “enigmatic questions” (Revised English Bible, Osty-Trinquet), “difficult questions” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “subtle questions” (New American Bible). In some languages this will be best translated by the word for “riddle.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .