Solomon's Great Wealth
14 1Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
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besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land.
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King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.
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And he made 300
2shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in
3the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
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The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold.
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The throne had six steps, and at the back of the throne was a calf's head, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests,
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while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom.
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All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of
4the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.
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For the king had
5a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
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6Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
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And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.
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Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
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7And Solomon gathered together
8chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the
9chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
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And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as
10the sycamore of the Shephelah.
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And Solomon's
11import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price.
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A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of
12the Hittites and the kings of Syria.