1 Kings 10:14-29

Now the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one [particular] year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, besides the taxes from the traders and from the wares of the merchants, and [the tribute money] from all the kings of the Arabs (Bedouins) and the governors of the country. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten (hammered) gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. He made three hundred smaller shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon [the king’s armory]. Also the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. The throne had six steps, and a round top was attached to the throne from the back. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there, one on either end of each of the six steps; there was nothing like it made for any other kingdom. All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea the [large cargo] ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks. So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his mind. Every man brought a gift [of tribute]: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. Now Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue, for a price. [Deut 17:15, 16] A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and in the same way they exported them, by the king’s merchants, to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram (Syria).