2 Chronicles 9:13-16

Solomon’s Wealth

9:13 Solomon received 666 talents ¹  of gold per year, ²  9:14 besides what he collected from the merchants ³  and traders. All the Arabian kings and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures ⁴  of hammered gold were used for each shield. 9:16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 300 measures ⁵  of gold were used for each of those shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. ⁶ 

[9:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).

[9:13]  ² tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 units of gold.”

[9:14]  ³ tn Heb “traveling men.”

[9:15]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.

[9:16]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.

[9:16]  ⁸ sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.