2 Chronicles 9:9-10

9:9 She gave the king 120 talents 1  of gold and a very large quantity of spices and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. 2  9:10 (Huram’s 3  servants, aided by Solomon’s servants, brought gold from Ophir, as well as 4  fine 5  timber and precious gems.

1 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).

2 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”

3 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.

4 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”

5 tn Heb “algum.”