The writer of 1 Kings records for us in these two verses the use to which Solomon put some of the gold that he had acquired. He made (or caused to be made) shields both large and small. It appears that these shields were made out of solid gold, and this suggests almost certainly that they were not intended to be actually used in battle, for solid gold would be far too heavy to be of use to a soldier in battle. Their purpose seems to be ceremonial or symbolic as they were displayed in Solomon’s Palace in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
The large shields numbered 200, and they used 600 shekels of gold. This amount approximately weighs 40 talents or, in modern measure, 1,400 kilograms. The small shields numbered 300 and they were made out of 3 minas of solid gold, which would be approximately 520 kilograms.
16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.