'Gold' in the Bible

The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

And in the Holy of Holies he made two sculptured cherubim, and overlaid them with gold.

He made also ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left side, and he made a hundred [ceremonial] basins of gold.

and the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary (the Holy of Holies) as directed;

the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, of purest gold;

and the snuffers, the basins, the dishes [for incense], and the firepans, of pure gold; and for the entrance of the house (temple), the inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the Holy Place (main room), were of gold.

Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. He brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, and he put the silver and the gold and all the utensils in the treasuries of the house of God.

And Huram (Hiram) sent him, by his servants, ships and servants familiar with the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She was accompanied by a very large number of attendants, with camels bearing spices (balsam oil) and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her mind.

Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, a very large amount of spices (balsam oil) and precious stones; there was no such spice [anywhere] like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

The servants of Huram and those of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought almug trees and precious stones.

Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents,

besides what the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, using six hundred shekels of beaten gold on each large shield.

And he made three hundred [smaller] shields of beaten gold, using three hundred shekels of gold on each 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 pure gold.

There were six steps to the throne and a golden footstool attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms.

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; silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

Each man brought his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.

So Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem; he took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house (palace). He took everything. He even took the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

Every morning and every evening they offer the burnt offerings and the fragrant incense to the Lord; and the showbread is set on the clean table [of pure gold], and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God [that is, the obligation we have to Him], but you have abandoned (turned away from) Him.

He brought the things that his father [Abijah] had dedicated and those things that he had dedicated into the house of God—silver and gold and utensils.

Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and from the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram (Syria), who lived in Damascus, saying,

“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, in addition to fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; and it was [melted down and] made into utensils for the house of the Lord, utensils for ministering and for burnt offerings, and bowls and utensils of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of God with [the doorkeeper] Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king’s house (palace), and the hostages, and returned to Samaria.

Now Hezekiah had immense wealth and honor; and he made for himself treasuries for silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of delightful articles,

Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed a fine on the land of a hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

All those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle, and with valuable things, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering.

And they counted: 30 dishes (basins) of gold, 1,000 dishes of silver, 29 duplicates;

30 [small] gold bowls, 410 [small] silver bowls of a second kind, and 1,000 other articles.

All the articles of gold and of silver totaled 5,400. All these Sheshbazzar [the governor] brought up with the exiles who went from Babylon up to Jerusalem.

They gave according to their ability to the treasury for the work, 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly [linen] garments.

Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon and had them given to a man whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor.

Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought back to their [proper] places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

and to bring [with you] the silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

and all the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests for the house of their God in Jerusalem.

And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, you may do in accordance with the will of your God.

and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had offered.

I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold;

also 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.

Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, the utensils are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.

So the priests and the Levites received the weighed out silver and gold, and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites—Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments.

Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas.

And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priests’ garments.

There were curtains (draperies) of fine white and violet linen fastened with cords of fine purple linen to silver rings and marble columns. The couches of gold and silver rested on a mosaic floor of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious colored stones.

Then Mordecai departed from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and with a robe of fine linen and purple wool; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

Or with princes who had gold,Who filled their houses with silver.

And place your gold in the dust,And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value],

And make the Almighty your goldAnd your precious silver,

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].

“Surely there is a mine for silver,And a place where they refine gold.

“Its stones are the bed of sapphires;It holds dust of gold.

“It cannot be obtained for pure gold,Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

“It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir,In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

“Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom,Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

“If I have put my trust and confidence in gold,Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

For You meet him with blessings of good things;You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

Kings’ daughters are among Your noble ladies;At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.

Glorious is the King’s daughter within [the palace];Her robe is interwoven with gold.

When you lie down [to rest] among the sheepfolds,You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].

So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;And let them pray for him continually;Let them bless and praise him all day long.

He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold,And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.

The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold,The work of man’s hands.

The law from Your mouth is better to meThan thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold,Yes, more than refined gold.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,The work of men’s hands.

For they are a garland of grace on your head,And chains and ornaments [of gold] around your neck.

For wisdom’s profit is better than the profit of silver,And her gain is better than fine gold.

“Take my instruction rather than [seeking] silver,And take knowledge rather than choicest gold,

“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,And my yield is better than choicest silver.

As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,So is a beautiful woman who is without discretion [her lack of character mocks her beauty].

How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,But the Lord tests hearts.

There is gold, and an abundance of pearls,But the lips of knowledge are a vessel of preciousness [the most precious of all].

A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches;And favor is better than silver and gold.

Like apples of gold in settings of silverIs a word spoken at the right time.

Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine goldIs a wise reprover to an ear that listens and learns.

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal],And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud].

Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male singers and female singers, and the delights and pleasures of men—many concubines.

(The Chorus)“We will make for you chains and ornaments of gold,[Studded] with beads of silver.”

“He made its posts of silver,Its back of gold,Its seat of purple cloth,The interior lovingly and intricately wroughtBy the daughters of Jerusalem.

“His head is like [precious] gold, pure gold;His hair is [curly] like clusters of datesAnd black as a raven.

“His hands are rods of goldSet with beryl;His abdomen is a figure of carved ivoryInlaid with sapphires.

“His legs are [strong and steady] pillars of alabasterSet upon pedestals of fine gold.His appearance is like Lebanon,Stately and choice as the cedars.

Their land has also been filled with silver and goldAnd there is no end to their treasures;Their land has also been filled with horsesAnd there is no end to their chariots.

In that day men will throw away to the moles and to the batsTheir idols of silver and their idols of gold,Which they made for themselves [as objects] to worship,

I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold,And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir.

Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].

And you will defile your carved images overlaid with silver, and your cast images plated with gold. You will scatter them like a bloodstained cloth, and will say to them, “Be gone!”

For in that day every man will reject and throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold [in disgust], which your own hands have sinfully made for you.

Hezekiah was pleased and showed them his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his entire armory and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his area of dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.