1 Kings 10:14-29

Every year King Solomon received about fifty thousand pounds of gold. Besides that, he also received gold from the traders and merchants, as well as from the kings of Arabia and governors of the land. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about seven and one-half pounds of gold. He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about four pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. The king built a large throne of ivory and covered it with fine gold. The throne had six steps on it, and its back was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the chair, and each armrest had a lion beside it. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. All of Solomon’s drinking cups, as well as the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. Nothing was made from silver, because silver was not valuable in Solomon’s time. King Solomon also had many trading ships at sea, along with Hiram’s ships. Every three years the ships returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons. So Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had given him. Every year those who came brought gifts of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. Solomon had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He kept some in special cities for the chariots, and others he kept with him in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Solomon made silver as common as stones and cedar trees as common as the fig trees on the western hills. He imported horses from Egypt and Kue. His traders bought them in Kue. A chariot from Egypt cost about fifteen pounds of silver, and a horse cost nearly four pounds of silver. Solomon’s traders also sold horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.