1 Kings 10:16
in 1 Kings 10King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler.
KJV
And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
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This verse in 1 Kings 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,.... Which were a larger sort of shields, which covered the whole body; and these were made of gold beaten with the hammer, or drawn into plates, being melted like wax; so the Poeni or Carthaginians made shields of gold (m): six hundred shekels of gold went to one target; which is to be understood not of the weight, but of the price or value of them, which amounted to four hundred and fifty pounds of our money; so Brerewood (n). (m) Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 35. 3. (n) Ut supra.
This site's exposition
two hundred targets of beaten gold
on 1 Kings 10:16-17
Solomon turns bullion into display, two hundred large shields at six hundred shekels of gold apiece and three hundred smaller shields at three pounds each, housed together in the house of the forest of Lebanon named at 7:2 as an armory of cedar pillars. The targets outfit a ceremonial guard rather than a battlefield, gold too soft for war use, and 14:26-27 later records Shishak stripping them and Rehoboam replacing them with brass, a fall told in as few words as the making. The building that held state administration in chapter 7 now holds Solomon's gold armor, glory concentrated in one room.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But Solomon had shields and targets carried before him, to signify that he took more pleasure in using his power for the defence and protection of the good, to whom he would be a praise. Magistrates are shields of the earth. (2.) He made a stately throne, on which he sat, to give laws to his subjects, audience to ambassadors, and judgment upon appeals,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold - I have already conjectured that the צנה tsinnah might resemble the Highland targe or target, with a dagger projecting from the Umbo or center.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The “targets” seem to have been long shields protecting the whole body, while the “shields” of the next verse were bucklers of a smaller size, probably round, and much lighter. They may be compared with the Assyrian long shield, and the ordinary Assyrian round shield. As the amount of gold used in each of the larger shields was only 600 shekels - worth from 650 to 700 of our money - and that used in the smaller ones was only half as much it is evident that the metal did not form the substance of the shields, but was laid as a coating or plating over them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
This was in addition [to the gold that came from] traveling merchants. Merchants would bring him who visited the land on business. 5 Alternatively, retailers who sell small quantities, spy [=תרים] out the land to determine where to do business.—Metzudas Tzion
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַמֶּ֧לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֛ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| מָאתַ֥יִם | matayim | two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| צִנָּ֖ה | tzinah | body shield[s] | H6793 → | |
| זָהָ֣ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| שָׁח֑וּט | shachut | beaten | H7820 → | |
| שֵׁשׁ־ | shesh- | six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| מֵא֣וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| זָהָ֔ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֖ה | yaaleh | he put up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַצִּנָּ֥ה | hatzinah | the body shield | H6793 → | |
| הָאֶחָֽת׃ | haechat | <the> one | H259 → | 971 times |
וַיַּ֨עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הַמֶּ֧לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֛הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
מָאתַ֥יִםtwo hundred
matayimH3967 →581 times
צִנָּ֖הbody shield[s]
tzinahH6793 →
זָהָ֣בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
שָׁח֑וּטbeaten
shachutH7820 →
שֵׁשׁ־six
shesh-H8337 →216 times
מֵא֣וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
זָהָ֔בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
יַעֲלֶ֖הhe put up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַצִּנָּ֥הthe body shield
hatzinahH6793 →
הָאֶחָֽת׃<the> one
haechatH259 →971 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.