King Solomon and the Olympics

A few days ago, I was reading the Old Testament and came across 2 Chronicles 9:21, which occurs in the context of a passage detailing King Solomon’s wealth, power and splendor.

With the 2012 Summer Olympics set to get underway, I couldn’t help but notice a few things:

• First, the ships came from Tarshish once every three years – not quite quadrennial, but close enough to get me thinking of the Olympic rings.
• Second, I saw the progression of “gold, silver...” and ivory, rather than bronze. It was a different era. Perhaps ivory worked for third place.
• The next part really got me thinking. The fourth item on the list was “apes.” It’s hard for me to comprehend why a shipment of apes would be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill. Odds are, if a courier arrives at my doorstep today with a shipment of apes from you, a courier will not be arriving at your doorstep in December with a Christmas card from me. Seriously, what am I supposed to do with a boatload of apes?
• Back to the Olympic theme... What if athletes who finished fourth – just barely missing the bronze medal – were given apes to commemorate their almost-medal-worthy Olympic accomplishments? Imagine the conversations with the grandkids. “You competed in the Olympics? Did you medal?” “Nope, I aped.”
• Finally, among different translations of the Bible, there seems to be some discrepancy about what the fifth item on the list actually was. Some versions list the fifth item as “monkeys” or “baboons.” Both of these are primates, and while differences among species are important, at least these two species have opposable thumbs in common. Other versions list “peacocks” fifth. I don’t understand how anyone could confuse a baboon with a peacock.
• It’s interesting, though, that NBC, whose logo includes a peacock, is broadcasting the 2012 Summer Olympics.