1 Kings 10:14

SOLOMON'S EXCEEDINGLY GREAT WEALTH; THE DESIGN OF HIS THRONE

"Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other side upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks."

No particular comment on all this is necessary. Montgomery declared that the 666 talents of gold and the solid gold drinking vessels were, "late exaggerations,"[11] but this writer remains unconvinced that he had any good reason for such an assertion. He certainly gave none. By whatever standards one may estimate Solomon's wealth, it must be judged as incredibly great. It is pointless to calculate the weight of the shields, the bucklers, the drinking vessels, etc. Even if we knew what they weighed, the price of gold has moved from $16.00 a troy ounce a few years ago to about $350.00 an ounce today, and nobody knows what it was worth in the times of Solomon!

The images of the lions that decorated Solomon's throne were made in violation of the Second Commandment of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:4), a fact recognized even by the Jewish historian Josephus.[12] Furthermore, we do not allow for one moment the validity of scholarly efforts to justify Solomon's sins in this matter with their assertion that, "It was necessary for him to put himself on an equality in this respect with neighboring powers"![13] All such excuses for Solomon's actions in this chapter are worthless.

"The throne was round behind" (1 Kings 10:19). The Hebrew word for round (formed only of consonants) is also the word for calf.[14] "This means that there may have been the figure of a bull calfs head above and over the head of Solomon; and if this was the case, we may see the ugly figure of calf-worship casting its shadow over the theism of Israel.[15]