1 Kings 10:16

1Ki 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets [of] beaten gold: six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one target.

Ver. 16. Two hundred targets of beaten gold.] Which were carried before him by his guard, as 1Ki 14:27-28, being more for pomp than service; and therefore so soon became a prey to the enemy through God’s just indignation.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 10:16-17. Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold — For pomp and magnificence, and to be carried before him by his guard when he went abroad. The Roman magistrates had rods and axes carried before them, in token of their power to correct the bad; but Solomon shields and targets, to show he took more pleasure in his power to defend and protect the good. Three hundred shields — Smaller than targets. The king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon — Where, it is likely, he kept his most precious treasures.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:16-17 Although such shields were typically designed to accommodate infantry (large shields) or archers (smaller shields), these shields probably had ceremonial uses.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

two hundred targets, six hundred shekels--These defensive arms were anciently made of wood and covered with leather; those were covered with fine gold. 600 shekels were used in the gilding of each target--300 for each shield. They were intended for the state armory of the palace (see Kg1 14:26).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. 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 centre.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16, 17) The shields overlaid with gold—the larger called “targets,” and the lesser called “shields”—were evidently used for ornamenting the king’s palace, and (as we may gather from the notice in 2Ch_12:11, of the brazen shields which superseded them) taken down and borne before the king on solemn occasions, as “when he went to the house of the Lord.” We have notices of shields of gold among the Syrians of Zobah (2Sa_8:7; 1Ch_18:7), and of shields hung on the walls of Tyre (Eze_27:10-11). The use of such ornaments argues a plethora of gold, too great to be absorbed either in currency or in personal and architectural decorations.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. two hundred targets of beaten gold] The ‘targets’ here spoken of appear, from the gold consumed in them, to have been much larger than the ‘shields’ mentioned in the next verse. Both the names imply ‘protection,’ ‘covering,’ but give us no clue to their form. The LXX. makes these ‘targets’ three hundred in number, and gives three hundred shekels of gold to each.

six hundred shekels of gold] It was not unusual in Hebrew where it was well known what word ought to be supplied to omit the word ‘shekels’ as is done here. So Gen_24:22; Exo_30:23. No Englishman misunderstands such an expression as ‘three hundred a year.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And 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. (De Ponder. & Pret. c. 5.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Shields. Hebrew tsinnu is rather indeterminate, denoting something sharp or pointed; "a dart," &c. (Calmet) --- Paralipomenon spears. Some of the shields were made with a point, projecting from the middle, (Haydock) with which the enemy might be wounded. (Menochius) --- These arms were used when the king went to the temple, and were reposited in the arsenal, at his return, chap. xiv. 28.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For pomp and magnificence, and (as may be thought from the use of the brazen shields, 1Ki 14:27,28) to be carried before him by his guard when he went abroad.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Targets — Large oblong shields, to cover or defend the whole body.

Six hundred shekels — About eighteen pounds.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And king Solomon made two hundred targets hNxi from a root which signifies protect, a large oblong shield, which covered the entire person, (Psa_5:12) qureov, scutum. See 1Sa_17:7, 1Sa_17:41. The LXX here reads dorata, i.e., spears of beaten gold The authorities are divided as to the meaning of fWjv; here translated beaten. This rendering is supported by Bahr and Keil (after Kimchi), but Gesenius understands mixed gold. Rawlinson infers from the weight that the shields were only plated (shields were commonly made of wood, covered with leather). But whether they were solid or not does not decide the question whether the gold was pure or alloyed. "Shields of gold" are mentioned: (2Sa_8:7 RAPC 1Ma 6:39) six hundred shekels Heb. omits shekels, as elsewhere, Gen_24:22 Gen_37:28; Jud_1:8:26, etc. There were apparently two kinds of shekel, the Mosaic and the royal. (for the latter see 2Sa_14:26) The former was twice as much as the latter, but there is no agreement amongst commentators as to the weight or value of either. Nor can we be certain which is indicated here. Thenius decides for the former, and estimates the weight of the gold on each target to be 17 ½ lbs., and the value to be 6000 thalers ( or, according to Keil, 5000 thalers ( Keil, however, inclines to the belief that the royal shekel is meant, in which case the weight would be 9 lbs., and the value about Bahr, however, estimates the gold at no more than (523 thalers) of gold went to one target.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Targets - For pomp and magnificence, and to be carried before him, by his guard, when he went abroad. The Roman magistrates had rods and axes carried before them, in token of their power to correct the bad: but Solomon shields and targets, to shew he took more pleasure in his power to defend and protect the good.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Solomon had 500 ornamental shields made, 200 larger ones (צנּים, scuta, targets), and 300 smaller (מגנּים, clypei). These shields, like all the shields of the ancients, were made of wood or basket-work, and covered with gold plate instead of leather (see my bibl. Archol. ii. pp. 296ff.). שׁחוּט זהב does not mean aurum jugulatum, i.e., gold mixed with metal of a different kind, but, as Kimchi has shown, aurum diductum, beaten gold, from שׁחט, to stretch; since Solomon would certainly use pure gold for these ornamental shields. "Six hundred shekels of gold he spread upon one target," that is to say, he used for gilding one target. Six hundred shekels would weigh about 17 1/2 lbs., so that the value of the gold upon a target would be more than 5000 thalers (750), supposing that the Mosaic shekel is meant. But this is rendered doubtful by the fact that the gold upon the small shields is estimated at three minae. If, for example, the three minae are equal to three hundred shekels, according to Ch2 9:16, as is generally assumed, a hundred shekels are reckoned as one mina; and as the mina only contained fifty Mosaic shekels, according to Eze 45:12, the reference must be to shekels after the king's weight (Sa2 14:26), which were only half the sacred shekels (see my bibl. Archol. ii. p. 135). Consequently the gold plate upon one target was not quite 9 lbs., and that upon a shield not quite 4 1/2 lbs. These shields were intended for the body-guard to carry on state occasions (Kg1 14:27-28; Ch2 12:10), and were kept in the house of the forest of Lebanon (Kg1 7:2).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

King Solomon made

It might be best to translate so that the reader understands that other people helped Solomon do this. AT: "King Solomon's men made" (See: Synecdoche)

two hundred large shields

"200 large shields" (See: Numbers)

Six hundred shekels of gold

A shekel is a unit of weight equal to about 11 grams. AT: "About 6.6 kilograms of gold" or "Six and one half kilograms of gold" (See: Biblical Weight)

Six hundred shekels

Because the word "shekels" does not appear here in the Hebrew text, some modern versions assume instead the unit of bekah, which was equivalent to only a half shekel. Any version making this assumption would signal a metric equivalent of about three kilograms.

He also made

It might be best to translate so that the reader understands that other people helped Solomon do this. AT: "The king's men also made" (See: Synecdoche)

three hundred shields

"300 shields" (See: Numbers)

Three minas of gold

A mina is a unit of weight equal to about 550 grams. AT: "About 1.7 kilograms of gold" or "One and three-quarters kilograms of gold" (See: Biblical Weight)

the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon

"the house called the House of the Lebanon Forest." See how you translated this in 1 Kings 7:2.

translationWords

shield

palace

Lebanon

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Full shields. [A body shield that] encircles the person on three sides. This is the meaning of the verse in the Book of Tehillim, “as a body shield, with good, will You shall surround him.”

Six hundred. Six manim, for [a piece of] gold is a dinar.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.